“If you’re watching us play, or watching her on the floor anywhere, she catches your eye,” said Kickapoo volleyball coach Marci Adams.
Kickapoo senior Lauren Forbes didn’t start playing volleyball until 7th grade.
“I was kind of a late bloomer; I didn’t get serious with it until high school,” Forbes said.
After her sophomore year, she was attending a camp at the University of Missouri, and she caught the eye of the Tiger’s coaches too.
“That was actually the year I got recruited, after my sophomore year. They said it was the first time they’d ever had a recruit from a camp. Normally it’s always from them going to tournaments and finding the players, and stuff like that,” said Forbes.
Last year, Forbes earned All-Conference and All-District honors, racking up 109 kills, 102 digs, and 25 aces as an outside hitter. But, that position is set to change when she plays Division-I.
“They recruited me as a libero, so I’m expected to obviously just play back row. I would love to hit, but I’m only 5-7; normally it’s those 6-2 girls,” Forbes said.
But according to coach Adams, height doesn’t necessarily matter for Lauren Forbes.
“I wouldn’t totally count her out of the hitting. When she jumps, she’s up there with the tallest of the girls. She is just an all-around volleyball player. She could do anything on the court, so I think that’s one of the big things that’s attractive about her to [Mizzou] is that she excels at almost every part of the game,” Adams said.
No matter where she’s playing on the floor, Lauren Forbes is sure to make an impact, both here at Kickapoo, and next year at Mizzou; and that’s why she’s our Arby’s high school Athlete of the Week.
