Jenna Waldron didn’t make the decision most would have. After a lifetime of playing softball, traveling around the nation to tournaments and having the opportunity to play the sport at the Division-1 level at Binghamton University, she said….no.
“It was a big decision,” said Waldron.
What felt right was a different sport at a different school, St. John Fisher in Pittsford, NY.
“I looked at Fisher and said, ‘I want to go here and I’ll just walk on to the volleyball team,’” said Waldron, a 2006 Windsor CSD graduate and 3rd grade teacher at C.R. Weeks Elementary. “I’m such a competitive person, once I made the team I said, ‘Step one, done. Now let’s be good at it.’”
She was. She set the school record for digs with 1,979, including becoming an NCAA statistical champion with 21.77 digs per set in 2008. She was 2007 Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year. Now Waldron is set to return to Fisher, this time as a member of the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame. She will be inducted on November 9th.
“Getting this award confirms I made the right choice,” said Waldron.
But the right choice wasn’t necessarily the easy one.
“It’s Division-III. You’re not getting a scholarship, you’re doing it for the love of the sport and you’re sacrificing so much of your college life. But, I made so many friends,” said Waldron. “It gave me so much structure. It helped me focus on my work, getting it done before tournaments or before games.”
Waldron played softball, volleyball and field hockey for the Black Knights. She developed a love for volleyball thanks in large part to Windsor volleyball coach Scott Symonds.
“He really created a team. He made it feel like a family atmosphere,” said Waldron.
“She was such a team player and leader. We depended on her so much. I’m not sure she really understood that since she was so humble of a kid,” said Symonds.
She may have been humble but she was confident enough to trust her instinct.
“I made a choice to stick to my gut (going to Fisher). It was the best thing I could have done,” said Waldron.