Ex-Saginaw Boswell, TCU volleyball star eyes Olympics

For obvious reasons — geography chief among them — beach volleyball is generally considered a Californian’s game. But a product of Texas’ north central plains and the indoor courts at TCU has successfully transformed herself into an Olympic hopeful on the sand.

Irene Hester Pollock’s chances of landing a spot on the 2016 team that will travel to Rio is a long shot, but she believes Tokyo 2020 is a realistic goal for her and partner Caitlin Ledoux.

“It’s more of a long shot for us,” said Pollack, who graduated high school from Saginaw Boswell. “Our goal is to be a contender for [2016], but there are a lot of veterans fighting for 2016.

“We’re shooting for 2020.”

Team USA will be made up of two teams — four women — and an alternate player, all based on points earned in international tournaments. The top two teams with the most points will go to Rio. The one alternate spot is awarded to the player with the next-highest point total.

Pollock and Ledoux, who live in Hermosa Beach, Calif., are both members of the U.S. development team and play on the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) circuit, which has afforded Pollock a tour of the world, not to mention opportunities to earn Olympic points.

She generated a list of spots off the top of her head in casual conversation: locales in South America, China, Switzerland (twice), Puerto Rico, Cuba, Russia, Thailand, Canada and the Czech Republic.

The world and her secrets being what they are, of course, life on a beach wasn’t what was supposed to be when Pollock graduated from TCU in 2010.

Pollock’s journey to California and a place on the U.S. development team was more equal parts calling and hunch than a plan.

After TCU, Pollock left for a professional indoor career in Europe, playing in Switzerland and Poland and having arranged for another season in France before injury interrupted her intentions.

A broken pinky finger suffered on the day she was supposed to sign her contract ended that portion of her life, though volleyball was still foremost a priority.

She recalled: “I remember sitting there thinking, ‘God, I know you have a plan. This is extremely hard right now. I love the sport. I know you put that in my heart. What is your plan? Where do I go with this now?’ ”

Beach volleyball was something she had “dabbled in” while at TCU, said Prentice Lewis, Pollock’s college coach, mostly to stay in shape in the summer.

“I wasn’t very good at it at the time,” Pollock said. “I knew I could be good at it, but I had never dedicated a lot of time to it.”

Pollock had had friends try out for the U.S. team, so she decided to give it a go, knowing only 10 or 12 would be selected to train for the world tour. Beach volleyball demands versatility. A player has to be strong as an attacker, defender, server and setting.

“I’d watched it on TV for years,” Pollock said. “I had fallen in love with the athletes, like Misty May was an idol of mine. But I had never fully given my whole heart to the sport of beach volleyball.”

Soon after arriving in California, Pollock met Ledoux, her partner, next to the coach the most important element of an Olympic hopeful.

They have been inseparable, Pollock said.

The duo’s best finish in the top division was a semifinals appearance. In the NORCECA Volleyball Confederation, Pollock and Ledoux earned a title in Canada.

“I spend more time with her than anyone else on the planet,” said Pollock, who married about a year ago. “You really, really have to love one another. She’s become one of my best friends.

“We’ve grown in the Lord together. Go to church together. It shows on and off the court we can trust each other in anything. We have a common goal, and we will do anything to reach this goal.”

It’s that determination that makes Lewis, the former coach at TCU, believe in Pollock’s chances. Lewis — whose credentials include being a key member of Long Beach State’s national championship indoor team in 1993 and the only defensive specialist selected to the U.S. Olympic Festival the same year — recalled well Pollock’s devotion to the volleyball cause and her coachability.

“She’s one of those kids, I just pushed her and pushed her and pushed her until she got it right and understood,” said Lewis of her protégé, who didn’t even begin to play indoor competitively until her junior year of high school. “She took every second of it, and loved every second of it.

“She wanted to be the best and she was going to do whatever she had to do to get there. Irene will work as hard as she possibly can to make [the Olympics] happen. I wouldn’t put it past her to do it sooner than later.”

This story was originally published October 1, 2015 at 6:15 PM with the headline "Ex-Saginaw Boswell, TCU volleyball star eyes Olympics."