Lincoln Christian’s Power Finds Home at Colorado State
They say that when one door closes another one opens. Well, for Lincoln Christian senior setter Barrett Power, she had a door open and then a new one opened as well, and ultimately that led her to commit to Colorado…
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Continue ReadingThey say that when one door closes another one opens. Well, for Lincoln Christian senior setter Barrett Power, she had a door open and then a new one opened as well, and ultimately that led her to commit to Colorado State.
Power is a four-year starter with more than 2,000 career assists for Lincoln Christian, where her mother Vicki is the head coach. This summer, Power was leaning toward Montana State, but then Colorado State contacted her and altered the direction of her future.
“A door opened for me at Colorado State in July that I didn’t think would be there. I had been very heavily considering taking another offer I had from Montana State, but was waiting until after the MSU elite camp to make my decision,” Power said. “A couple weeks before I was set to go to Montana, the CSU opportunity came up. I talked on the phone with one of the assistants and a week later was on campus for camp.”
It was in July that Waverly setter Annika Evans decommitted from Colorado State to take a walk-on opportunity at Nebraska.
“My first visit out to CSU was in July for camp. It was just a quick weekend trip, but it was really good for me to see the campus and the facilities and meet the coaches,” Power said. “Fort Collins as a community is amazing, and it was that first weekend that I began to fall in love with the community surrounding CSU. When I went back about two weeks ago it was reaffirming for me just how much I loved everything about CSU. The coaching staff they have is amazing. Their campus is amazing. Their program is very successful. The people they have in and around their program are awesome. Their academics are great. The players hold each other to a high standard both on and off the court. CSU just encompassed so much of what I wanted in a school. Montana State did too, but for whatever reason I could feel my heart was at Colorado State, and so ultimately that’s why I chose to be a Ram.”
Colorado State is currently 12-1 on the season and ranked #16 nationally in Division I. The Rams have had a history of success with players from Nebraska, with North Platte native Olivia Nicholson a big part of the team this year and former Gretna standout Amanda Young had a successful career as a libero for the Rams.
Part of the allure of going to Colorado State for Power was also the ability to compete at a high level and push herself beyond her current comforts.
“I think just stepping out of my comfort zone and into a new challenge excites me the most. I know that CSU is an elite level program and that I am going to be challenged and pushed in ways I’ve never even imagined,” she said. “I know I’m undersized and not experienced at the level of play of the Mountain West, but I’m excited and ready to work to compete for a spot on the floor.
“Overall (CSU coaches) said they like that I am a well-rounded player with good technique. They like my athleticism and ability to handle balls that are tight to the net. They also said they liked my jump touch, considering how tall (short) I am. Coach Tom told me that they believe in me as a player and that he believes I can come in and compete for a spot on the floor. He said they will give me many opportunities to prove myself and that if I earn a spot, I will play. He said he will push me and coach me and develop me with the goal of getting me onto the court to play. And if I’m not playing, I will run the BOM squad (scout team) and continue to compete for a spot on the floor. They have a senior All-American setter that’s started for a few years, and a 6’ left-handed redshirt freshman that’s been in the program for a two years as her backup, so next year I will be one of two setters on the roster.”
Barrett’s older sister Ashlyn is the starting setter for Division I Weber State and her older brother Logan is an assistant basketball coach at Division II Angelo State, and she said she was able to get great advice from her siblings during the recruiting process.
“I am so incredibly thankful to have not one but two older siblings who went through the recruiting process before me. Both Ashlyn and my brother Logan helped me in different ways throughout the whole process. Ashlyn was always willing to listen, offering encouragement and advice but encouraging me to make my own decision, not let anyone else make it for me,” Barrett said. “Logan was super helpful too in part because my college decision came down to one pretty similar to his a few years ago. He helped me see the blessings and challenges in each of the schools I was considering, but also encouraged me to make my own decision as well. He also offered some extra advice from the perspective of a coach, which was very helpful as well. Overall just having both of them to talk through things with was such a blessing because they’d been in my shoes before and they could give me advice from the perspective of someone looking back on their own decision.”
Power is also a rare example of a standout player waiting until her senior season to commit. She said she never felt rushed or pressured to make a decision and thinks that other players should strongly considering taking their time in making such an important decision.
“I’ll admit that my recruiting timeline was not what I wanted it to be. I had hoped to commit during club season, and if not then, then before high school season, but that obviously didn’t happen. I had some great opportunities come up before and during my junior year, but I was never completely confident and ready to commit to any of them,” she said. “I was just doing my best to be patient and wait for the right opportunity. It was hard to say no to some of those first opportunities, especially considering I didn’t know if any more would come. But I did my best to be patient and trust the process. I was very fortunate that neither of my final two schools put any time pressure on me.
“The only time pressure I had was from myself. I wanted to make my decision but I wanted to be ready and confident to do so. Obviously not very many girls commit this late in the game, especially when committing to a Division 1 program. I think sometimes girls fall into the trap that they have to commit early and to the first offer that comes, but I can attest to the fact that the first offer isn’t always the best and it takes patience to find and know what college is best for you. As hard as it sometimes was, I look back and am so grateful that I had people around me supporting me and pushing me to be patient and trust that the right place would come.”