North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: Eddins Heading Overseas to Play Professionally
2/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Feb. 10, 2006
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH -- Stefani Eddins admits that she knows practically nothing about Jakarta, Indonesia, other than it is the capital city of a country that is made up hundreds of islands in the Pacific.
The record-setting middle blocker who just completed her eligibility with the Wolfpack volleyball team also knows it isn't cold there, like it was in Austria, where the other professional team she tried out for is located.
So on Friday, the native of Irving, Texas, will leave on a 20-hour plane trip to Indonesia to become NC State's first professional player. It's a short season, only about two-and-a-half months, but it will be lucrative for Eddins: on top of her salary, all of her living and travel expenses are paid for.
It also gives Eddins, NC State's first first-team All-ACC selection since 1988, the international and professional experience she needs to boost her credentials when she tries out for the U.S. national volleyball team in December.
Eddins got a taste of playing internationally in January, when she and former Wolfpack teammate Adeola Kosoko went on a four-country tour of Europe with a Bring It Promotions exposure tour for about 40 American players looking to sign professional contracts. The tour played matches against European professional teams and worked out for international coaches looking to add American players to their roster.
She broke off from the tour when it visited Austria to try out for a professional team there, but there were some drawbacks. Namely, all the white stuff on the ground.
"It didn't offer as much financially as I will be getting in Indonesia and playing there would have been for four months, instead of two and a half," Eddins said. "I would have had to stay there in January and not come back home, and I really wanted to come back here and take care of some things before I started playing.
"And Austria is very, very cold. I don't like cold."
So she is heading to Indonesia, sight unseen.
"All I know is that it is a little more tropical and it is very hot," Eddins said. "I am from Texas, so I will be glad to be in a summer-like environment."
She'll be one of two Americans playing on her team, and she's corresponded with the other player via e-mail. She's not too worried about all the minor details just yet, like how to communicate with her new coach and other teammates.
"I am not as scared as I would be if I couldn't speak English to someone," said Eddins, who spent two years with the Wolfpack after transferring in from North Carolina A&T. "We will experience it together. I am fine with trying to figure it out. We did that on the European tour.
"They let us go; we figured it out."
The ACC Academic honor roll student still needs to complete 12 hours of school and an eight-hour internship before she can get her degree in Sports Management. She plans to knock out her internship this summer working for Bring It Promotions, the California-based sports agency she recently chose to represent her in signing the professional contract. She'll return to NC State in the fall to finish off her course work.
"I am excited to represent NC State, and I am going to come back to graduate," said Eddins, a dean's list student.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
