Ashlee Sandiford is a fourth year member of the University of Regina Cougars womens volleyball team.
Two years ago, she was second on the team in kills. Last year she was looking to build on that, but suffered an ankle injury and had to miss the final 10 games of the season. This year is her comeback season.
“It just feels great, I am so thankful that I was able to recover and I have taken care of everything that needed to be taken care of and I am very excited for our league to start in a couple of weeks,” Sandifird said.
Sandiford, who is from Weyburn, Sask., is one of many student athletes at the U of R that is excelling on and off the court. She has been named an Academic All Canadian for the past two years.
“I’m very proud to go back to Weyburn or any classroom, and explain what a student athlete is and everything that I’ve learned from it,” Sandiford said.
Sandiford’s coach, Melanie Sanford, feels the same.
“When she is studying, she is doing that 100 percent, when she is playing volleyball or training she is doing that 100 percent, and one of our goals is aspiring to excellence, and she does both things well,” Sanford said.
This summer Sandiford took on a new challenge, becoming a mentor for young girls at the YWCA.
Once a week she spent time with a group of girls in grades 5 and 6, talking about nutrition, body image, culture and building relationships.
“I don’t want to take all the credit, because they do impact me, and push me to be a better leader in the community, so I try to offer my skills to them to make them better in the community as well,” Sandiford said.
Congratulations Ashlee Sandiford, for all you do on and off the court, and in the classroom, you are this week’s, Global Sports MVP.