The Volley Bubble – Details, episodes & analysis

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!

Madi Bugg has volleyball in her veins, having learned a lot from her mother at an early age. She went on to play at Stanford, and is now in her 5th pro season. She has played in Switzerland, Germany, and now the top team in France. 

We talk about her early days playing and creating a good relationship with the weightroom thanks to a family friend.  We discuss the dilemma for female athletes between a body which performs best on court or 'looks good in jeans'. She lets us in on what it means for a setter to have a 'good game', and the mindset she has as a setter on court. She opens up about the true cost that COVID, ending all sports in March last season, really had on pro athletes, especially for her team and their nearly undefeated season. And how one weird IG DM led to her starring (or atleast being an extra) in a big international movie coming out soon!

This was a great convo and I hope you enjoy!

See the full video here.

Part 2 coming soon.

follow Madi @madibuggs

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!

Jaali Winters has been chasing the dream of playing pro in France since the age of 14, and she shares the 'secret' to making that dream come true. 

Jaali is playing for Saint Raphaël in the top French League. She played college volleyball at Creighton University, and is now in her second professional European season here in France.  She is a 23yr old outside hitter who is a bit obsessed with peanut butter, loves Frank Ocean but hates apple pie!

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

Follow Jaali on instagram @jaaliwinters

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!

In this episode, Tessa Grubbs and I discuss the importance of finding passions outside of the sport of volleyball, and how those pursuits can actually improve your game as an athlete. 

Tessa currently plays for Mougins in the top French League. Before that she played at the University of Tennessee, as well as a short first professional season in Slovenia.  She is a 22yr old outside hitter who has a passion for Louis Vuitton, mental health work and is currently mastering the subtle art of not giving a f*ck. 

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

Follow Tessa on instagram @tessa_grubbs17

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!

Micaya White talks all about the importance of getting comfortable with being uncomfortable as a top performing athlete. 

Micaya is the new starting outside hitter for RC Cannes in the top French League. She has just entered her first full professional season, having played a short season in Puerto Rico, and was a four-time All-American at the University of Texas.  She is a 24 year old pescatarian, who practices yoga and loves fresh laundry straight out of the dryer.

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

Follow Micaya on instagram @cayamonet

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!

Ronika Stone teaches me a thing or two about TikTok, as well as how she views social media for top athletes in 2020.  

Ronika plays for Volero Le Cannet in the top French League. She is in her first professional season, and played undergrad at the University of Oregon. She is a middle hitter/blocker, loves her Normatec, and is soon to join the vlogging world! Hear all about her experiences in the first two weeks of playing abroad, including overweight luggage and adaptation to life without a dryer. 

See a full day in her life on the YouTube episode we filmed together here! You'll get to know Ronika a bit more, and see where she lives and trains with her team in France. Also a bit about her sunflower seed addiction and practice day rituals. 

Follow Ronika on instagram @ronikastone

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!

Malina Terrell talks us through how to acknowledge, but not give too much power to, the weak link in your mental 'crew'. This 28yr old outside hitter has a fascination for leopards and elephants, her friends call her a 'pineapple', and she meditates every day before training. She plays currently for the Béziers Angels in the top French League, where she was named top scorer in the league 2020. Before that he played at the University of San Francisco, as well as professionally in Denmark, Germany, Puerto Rico, Finland and now France.  

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

Follow Malina on instagram @malinaterrell

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!

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!

This was a fun one! Karis and I laughed a lot in this episode. Maybe we are both awkward, silly and just don't take it all too seriously. 

We talk about our mutual love for audio books over real books, because as Karis puts it "I cant read more than a page without getting distracted by thinking about sandwiches." We talk about the crazy colors of our alma maters (orange and green, orange and purple). We randomly burst into British accents at one point. And then eventually give some pretty good advice for young players.

There's a lot going on in this episode, so sit back and enjoy. 

Watch the full episode on YouTube here

Watch part 2 here

Follow Karis on instagram: @karisw8

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!

Amanda (Benny) Benson graduated from the University of Oregon, and went on to represent Team USA, as well as play pro in France, Germany and now Switzerland. She is a high achiever but so multifaceted, as you will hear. She has compiled her writing and poetry into a book, and started a personal styling business with her downtime in quarantine. We talk about the fears and highs of building a business from scratch, the comparison trap, and why female athletes are sometimes overly sexualized in their sport. 

Great episode for anyone who loves volleyball but it driven to wear multiple hats, and sees themselves as more than just an athlete. 

See the full Volley Bubble episode here

Part 2 of the episode here

Follow Benny on instagram @amandasbenson

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!