The Volley Bubble

This is The Volley Bubble Podcast.

Whats up guys, I'm Ci Michel; Professional Volleyball Player, Olympian, Photographer, YouTuber and now, Podcaster! I have been playing volleyball professionally for ten years and I want to shed a little bit of light on what that means, especially in the era of 2020 and COVID. So I'm driving across Europe on a mission to meet other professional female volleyball players, and tell their stories. Because as you guys know, each one of us is so much more than just an athlete.

Visit YouTube.com/cimichel for the Volley Bubble Video Series, to see behind the scenes with each of the podcast guests, as well as tons of videos about life as a professional volleyball player and how to go pro! Follow along on instagram @vb_ci. Be sure to subscribe and rate this podcast, and let me know any of your suggestions for future guests! Share this episode with friends or on your socials and tag me so I can repost! It really means a lot! Thanks for listening!

Wow. If you listen to any of these episodes, listen to this one. Caila opens up so honestly about her struggles with mental health, eating disorders and body image in this raw episode of the Volley Bubble. Months away from family and friends can take a toll on your wellbeing, physically and mentally, and Caila lets us in on her experiences, as well as some methods for coping, and helping teammates or friends than might be going through something similar.

Caila Stapleton graduated from San Diego University, and has played pro in Switzerland, Finland and France. She is 27 year old American Setter from California, who has tasted pro life and also the real world. She is brutally honest and candid in this interview, and shares her insights on the true highs and lows of life as a pro athlete overseas.

See a full day in her life on the YouTube episode we filmed together here!

Follow Caila on instagram @cailastapleton

Visit YouTube.com/cimichel for the Volley Bubble Video Series, as well as tons of videos about life as a professional volleyball player and how to go pro! Follow along on instagram @vb_ci. Be sure to subscribe and rate this podcast, and let me know any of your suggestions for future guests! Share this episode with friends or on your socials and tag me so I can repost! It really means a lot! Thanks for listening!

So Britt and I played together in Mulhouse, which is where she cemented herself as an up and coming star on the European volleyball scene by earning MVP of the French league, and also earned herself the nickname 'Spider Monkey' from myself and our teammate Lexi. I'll leave it up to you to decide which was more important for her career.

Basically Britt is an amazing player, a Belgian national team player, still only 21 years old and has so much more left in her! She was named MVP of the CEV Cup which she won in Busto Arsizio her first season there, and also won the hearts of the fans who named her their favourite butterfly that season. She is known for her grit and fire on the court, and to me for her easy smile and silly nature off the court. This girl is always laughing, joking and full of energy! I loved catching up with her, meeting the infamous and adorable Matsko, and hearing how she deals with negative comments (especially from some angry Busto fans after she left to the rival team Novara this season!)

She has idols of her own and big ambitions for the future, so enjoy this sneak peak into the personality and mindset of the fireball of energy that is Britt Herbots!

see the full video day in her life here

follow Britt on instagram: @brittherbots4

Visit YouTube.com/cimichel for the Volley Bubble Video Series, as well as tons of videos about life as a professional volleyball player and how to go pro! Follow along on instagram @vb_ci. Be sure to subscribe and rate this podcast, and let me know any of your suggestions for future guests! Share this episode with friends or on your socials and tag me so I can repost! It really means a lot! Thanks for listening!

Ali Frantti, aka Moose, is one of my close friends! We played together in Mulhouse, her first full season pro and straight into CEV Champions League! Moose is sweet natured off court, but such a fire cracker on court. She was a four year starter at Penn State, and has played pro overseas in Slovenia, France, Poland and now Italy A1 in Chieri. We talk about why she chose Penn State, how to handle being benched, and why Finding Nemo is a actually a scary movie. Yup, all that and of course why she has the nickname Moose!

see the full video day in her life here

follow Ali on instagram: @afrantti14

Visit YouTube.com/cimichel for the Volley Bubble Video Series, as well as tons of videos about life as a professional volleyball player and how to go pro! Follow along on instagram @vb_ci. Be sure to subscribe and rate this podcast, and let me know any of your suggestions for future guests! Share this episode with friends or on your socials and tag me so I can repost! It really means a lot! Thanks for listening!

Britt Bongaerts almost missed out on the opportunity of a lifetime, being a starting setter on the Dutch national team, which will likely take her to an Olympics during her career. She is currently playing in Poland, and has dreams of Italy and Turkey.

In this episode we cozy up to avoid the cold Polish weather outside, with some warm socks and a cup of coffee, some traditional Dutch cookies, and have a little chat about all things volleyball, and not.

We both started our pro careers in the same first club, the ladies in Black of Aachen, Germany, and bond over some fond memories of the place. She admits her online shopping addiction, for clothes but also more recently real estate. She gives us her take on the new Champions League format, and also what it means for a setter to have a 'good day'.

You can see a whole day in here life on youtube here

Some video clips from the podcast episode here.

And follow Britt on instagram @brittbongaerts

Visit YouTube.com/cimichel for the full Volley Bubble Video Series, as well as tons of videos about life as a professional volleyball player and how to go pro! Follow along on instagram @vb_ci. Be sure to subscribe and rate this podcast, and let me know any of your suggestions for future guests! Share this episode with friends or on your socials and tag me so I can repost! It really means a lot! Thanks for listening!