Fowles loving life in France
Dreams are made up of pure desire. A child may dream of becoming a firefighter when he grows up or a teenage girl might dream about a handsome prince riding in and sweeping her off her feet. A father dreams his children will grow up healthy and make good decisions. The owner of a corporation dreams her company will make millions of dollars.
Chelsea Fowles had two dreams. Her first was to go to France. Her second, to become a professional volleyball player.
At the end of December 2011, Fowles signed with the Laon Volley Club and is continuing her volleyball career in the country she has a self-proclaimed obsession with.
“It’s amazing,” Fowles said in an email to The Statesman. “(It is) still surreal and I have a lot to learn, but what an incredible adventure I have the opportunity to experience. Not many have the chance to live their dreams and I couldn’t be more grateful.”
Chelsea’s mother, Debbie Fowles, said she loves how her daughter is finally realizing her desires.
“I am really excited for Chelsea to have this opportunity to play pro volleyball in France,” Debbie Fowles said of her youngest of five children. “It is a dream come true for her, as was her college career. She loves the sport so much.”
Fowles plays on Laon’s National 1 Women’s Division team, helping the squad since playing her first match with the club Jan. 21. The 2011 USU graduate said adjusting to the different style of play has been difficult.
“The girls can hit like men over here,” Chelsea Fowles said. “No joke. The volley we played back at USU was much more fluid and put together. The sense of team is much stronger back home. Here, it’s all about talent.”
Fowles originally made European connections while attending San Benito High School in Hollister, Calif., through a volleyball recruiting company. Once she finished at USU, Fowles re-contacted the promoters who helped circulate her film and information to European clubs.
“After that, it’s all a waiting game,” Fowles said.
She didn’t wait long.
“Opportunities came up for her with two teams that needed setters pretty much right away,” Debbie Fowles said. “So she was able to choose between the Laon, France, team and a team in Geneva, Switzerland.”
Audrey Laurent, who has played volleyball with Laon for six years, said playing with Fowles has been beneficial for the club.
“She is a really good setter,” Laurent said of her new American teammate. “She is excited to play (and has a) positive and cool attitude. She plays faster, so (it’s a) good point for us, and she has (a) really good serve.”
No other Laon players are native English speakers and Fowles said communication with her teammates is difficult.
“My coach doesn’t speak much English,” Fowles said. “It’s a completely different world over here. The atmosphere is obviously foreign to me. When it all comes down to it, there’s a net, a ball and a game I love. They don’t care that I can’t understand 90 percent of what they say or that I have a funny accent.”
Fowles has taken French classes since high school but is getting a chance to better her French skills. During one practice, Fowles said a teammate started making celebratory pig sounds after beating her to a block.
“So I called her the French word for pig, just like they taught me in school, I promise,” she said. “Apparently that is a very derogatory slang word in French. They were all rolling on the floor laughing while I was standing there not having a clue what was going on.”
Laurent said it’s easier to communicate with the former USU star during practices and games because volleyball has a universal language.
“(On the) court it’s easier for everybody,” Laurent said. “Last season we played with another American girl, so we know some technical words. We don’t speak English well, but all (of the) team (tries). She speaks too fast for us, but (it is) OK; it’s funny and we can work (at) our English.”
While the language barrier presents difficulties, Fowles said she’s doing her best to immerse herself in the foreign atmosphere.
“I try my hardest to fit in, but everywhere I go they know I’m American,” she said. “All of my teammates get a kick out of my mannerisms and my laugh. They try and mimic me all the time and they think it’s so funny.”
Despite cultural differences and living away from home, Fowles said she enjoys where she is in life.
“I’m all about living the french lifestyle to the fullest while I’m here,” she said. “I have to modify my diet, my sleeping schedule and my free time. It’s all about the experience, though; I can’t call it an adventure if I keep all my American ways.
Though the season ends in April, Fowles said she will stay in France to visit more of the country with her teammates and then return to the United States in June.
“I’m basically on vacation in my dream country while getting paid,” Fowles said.
– tavin.stucki@aggiemail.usu.edu