Getting To Know Destiny Julye
October 16, 2015 | Volleyball
The lone freshman on the squad this year, Destiny Julye has already made a big mark on the 2015 season. After seeing action in short stretches early in the year, Julye was used as an offensive sparkplug at the start of Pac-12 play. But a foot injury to sophomore Courtney Schwan thrust Julye into a big role in UW's road match at Los Angeles, which just happened to feature dozens of Julye's friends and family that had traveled the 100 miles south from her hometown of Tehachapi. Julye helped the Huskies get the win at Westwood and then led UW in kills for the first time at second-ranked USC. With impressive speed off the ground and a big arm, Julye doesn't swing like a rookie. Get to know Destiny a little better…
GoHuskies.com: When did you first start playing volleyball? Is it something anyone in your family played? Did you play a lot of sports growing up?
Destiny Julye: Okay, so both of my parents didn't really play sports. I mean my dad played racquetball for fun, but that was kind of it. And my mom, she just did like intramurals, just like sports during school. So my sister and I were the first ones to pick up volleyball in our family. And I picked it up about fifth grade. And I just remember getting to the gym early and wanting to do extra stuff, and staying after and wanting to keep playing, I just really loved it. I'd go home and like serve on top of our roof, just getting extra reps. So it was just one of my first passions.
GH: On top of your roof? That sounds a little dangerous.
DJ: Many balls got stuck up there. My dad was upset but he knew that it was something that I just caught myself doing so he let me do it.
GH: What age did you start playing club?
DJ: I started playing club in sixth grade. And yeah I played it all seven years through high school.
GH: How was your high school experience in Tehachapi?
DJ: Volleyball in Tehachapi was amazing. I mean it was something that the whole entire town came to watch including our football team so it was just awesome. They kind of idolized it and we were always in the paper and traveling and they were making it a big deal. And it was just a fun experience being in high school volleyball.
GH: Were you kind of a standout from freshman year?
DJ: Yeah I think people always knew me as the freshman on varsity and so that was just one thing. But yeah I think it started from the beginning.
GH: What point did you start getting interest from colleges or getting recruited?
DJ: I would say freshman year of club is when I started getting contact from schools. But my club coach Judy, she really made sure that I sat down and we formed a list and that we were talking to the right people. She made sure that I had an idea of what I wanted in a coach, in a school, in a program and that we try to fit it the best way possible.
GH: Did you grow up in Tehachapi your whole life?
DJ: Yeah, I was born in Los Angeles when my parents were visiting my grandparents. And then I lived in Tehachapi all of my life.
GH: What has the transition been like moving away from home?
DJ: It was different but it wasn't scary or anything. I think just coming into a program where I knew the people and I trusted the people, that was a huge thing for me. It's definitely a lot different going from my hometown where you know every single person. Like in the store you're seeing all your friends. But it's different you know making the conscious effort to go out and say hi to people and to form those relationships.
GH: When Coach McLaughlin left did you have to reconsider anything?
DJ: I was definitely sad because I you know wanted to play for him and nervous a little bit. But I knew that they would bring in a coach that knew what they were doing and that they trusted. And thankfully it was someone that recruited me and I just love playing for Keegan and it's been an awesome experience so far.
GH: Now you've had a chance to see a lot more action these past few weeks, did it change your approach knowing you'd be playing a bigger role over the last couple matches?
DJ: I was just taking the mindset that it's not really, “Destiny's a freshman”, it's “Destiny needs to come in and help her team.” And getting past concern about making mistakes. My teammates are there supporting me and encouraging me all the way through it. So I think that just makes the biggest different when it's not like all on you, so that's been good.
GH: What about the difference in the level of play is the biggest challenge or takes the most getting used to?
DJ: I think one of the biggest challenges is just coming into the gym with the expectation to get better every single day. Just coming in and knowing you have to work on something every single day and it's not going to be easy, and you're not going to see results right away. I would say that's probably one of the hardest things. But one of the most encouraging things is you know it's going to pay off sometime.
GH: Is there any part of your game that you think has improved the most since you've been here that you've really been trying to work on?
DJ I would say working on hitting high and hard. You know I came in my first practice and got blocked every single ball that I hit and that was really frustrating. But sitting down and talking to Keegan, he was saying, “You're not going to win that way, you have to win hitting high off the hands and hitting in different directions that you're not comfortable with.” So knowing that and just working hard on it and my teammates saying “Hey, we're going to cover you and you just swing hard and do your part,” and I said okay. So just be willing to make changes to my game has definitely helped a lot.
GH: Talk about that Los Angeles weekend and kind of getting thrown into it. First at UCLA and then the big match at USC, it sounded like you had a lot of support.
DJ: Yeah it was really awesome. I remember getting a text a couple days before the game saying “we bought almost 60 tickets to come and see you, we're excited.” And I was almost in tears because you know they're still family, they still care about me so that's really encouraging. But I'm definitely nervous going in, but that was a time where my teammates were really, really encouraging and really had my back. And yeah I think it really comes down to the relationships you have with your teammates and that can change a game in a positive or a negative way.
GH: It's pretty rare for there to be just one freshman, does that make it a little tough?
DJ: I've definitely made it a point to just take so much feedback from the upperclassmen and you know the sophomores as well. But I don't think it's been an overwhelming thing in a negative way. There's just so much help and I just want to take all of that in while I have so many amazing seniors that are teaching me something everything single play.
GH: How have you liked dorm life and finding your way around campus?
DJ: I love my dorm. I love my dorm mates that I'm living with, they're awesome and yeah it's just a good area. And getting around campus, a couple weeks before I had my first class, I went to go kind of check out everything. Just trying to be proactive and not you know kick myself out on the first day. My sister called me the day before school and she was like, “leave half an hour early I don't care if it's ten minutes away.” And also just knowing other athletes that have the same routine as me. There's a girl that's on the cross country team, we have three of the same classes so we just kind of walk together everywhere so that's been nice as well.
GH: How are classes going so far? Do you have any idea of what you want to study?
DJ: Classes are going well. Just going to tutoring, I actually have another session tonight. And yeah just making the most of my resources. I think coming in, not being afraid to ask for help, whether that's in volleyball or in school because there's so many resources here but only if you use them. Originally, my junior and senior year of high school I was taking a lot of science courses because I thought that I wanted to do kinesiology. Then I thought public speaking or public relations and so I was looking into that and doing research and thought it would be super cool to be a reporter. But not sure that's really for me either. So as of this moment, I don't know. I just know that I have a heart for people and I don't know if that's with social work or something but I'll definitely have to pray about it and talk to other people and just see where I fit in.
GH: What are some of the other challenges or surprises of the freshman year experience?
DJ: For me, just making time for Jesus and going to bible study and church and really making that a priority for me. And just staying on top of everything. At first, I was like oh it's fine, easy to grocery shop, easy to do laundry. But when you're tired it's not easy. So I'm really into putting stuff all over my planner and highlighting, like making sure things get done on that day just so I can be prepped for the next day.
GH: Do you have any other hobbies? When you have any time to kick back and relax.
DJ: I love catching up with friends and going to coffee. And like I said just going to bible study and church. I don't know, I like reading. And I like working out a lot. I don't get to do it a lot here just because we're in the gym playing volleyball a lot. But going to the gym is just like my own time to get stronger and just to get away from everything.
