Jaclyn Childress’ Career Comes Full Circle

When we first talked a few weeks ago, Jaclyn and I discussed her 11-year journey so far as a volleyball player, essentially her whole identity. She committed to Wake Forest at age 15, signed her National Letter of Intent almost four years ago to this day, and just decided to end her career on a high note this fall. 

Healthy and excited for what the future holds in both her career and life in general, Childress decided to opt out of the spring volleyball season that the NCAA and ACC are piecing together. Ironically, our meeting Wednesday night was only a few hours after she broke the news to her team about her departure.

With a job to both find and look forward to, classes to finish off for her major and minor and no injuries at present, the stars seemed to align for her to shut the door on this chapter.

“I would not quit on something that I did not feel was complete, but I had shed all the blood, all the sweat and all the tears for this program,” Childress emotionally discussed over Zoom. 

As a captain this season, her role became one of mentorship for the impressive freshman class that immediately commanded playing time. While she envisioned a lot more time on the court, her commitment to the team morphed her role into that of a mentor for the younger players.

There are so many layers to Jaclyn’s story to discuss throughout this feature piece. From coaching changes to knee injuries, ankle issues to a freak throat incident, a coaching scandal or COVID-19, her journey in volleyball has been a wild ride to say the least.

Jaclyn’s story is one of persistence through injuries, leadership and an unwavering commitment to both her team and herself. Today, on Nov. 4, all of this came washing back over her as she stood, teary-eyed, in front of her teammates to tell them that her time on the court was done. As a captain, or ‘team mom’ to some, her strengths as a unifier off the court was most critical this year while she played in just one set on the court. 

To dig deeper into this story, I plan to connect with her co-captain and freshman roommate, Paige Sebesta, to learn more about their role on the team this fall and her thoughts on Childress’ progression from their freshman year dorm room to today. I also will seek different perspectives from a non-volleyball friend, Molly Todd, and a former roommate and teammate who graduated, Caroline Rassenfoss. Finally, Head Coach Randi Smart and Volleyball SID Lucy Berres will bring light to her journey at Wake Forest.

Our initial conversation hit heavily on her experience throughout high school and her start at Wake up until this year while this conversation shifted to the present season and her decision to end her volleyball career. I plan to follow up in a few weeks, when her decision is not so fresh, to get her perspective on her career as a whole and new life as a normal Wake Forest student soon to enter the real world.