We’re proud to be a part of an ongoing partnership with Dick’s Sporting Goods, which is sponsoring our Player of the Week award. We’ll be releasing a featured vballrecruiter.com Player of the Week, sponsored by Dick’s Sporting Goods, on Tuesdays. Below is this week’s Player of the Week: Tenesyn Frye.
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Flashing back to last year, it was Tenesyn Frye’s first season playing club volleyball for Idaho Crush. She was on the 15s team, one that ended up qualifying for 15 Open and finishing tied for 29th at the USAV Girls Junior National Championships in Indianapolis.
So much has happened since then for the 6-1, 4-star athlete who plays high school at Mountain View in Idaho. This summer she wrapped up her second season with Idaho Crush, one in which the club made history. And she recently committed to Houston where she’ll further her career in a couple of years.
It’s been a whirlwind of a progression considering Frye only spent two seasons playing at a small club before joining Idaho Crush, where she’s since elevated quickly.
“The club I was playing for fell apart and Caroline (Bower) asked if I wanted to be on the team,” Frye said. “That’s when I went to Triple Crown and saw all the college coaches. That’s when I thought I could go to college and got serious. Caroline developed my game and I improved so much. She knows a lot about volleyball.”
This past club season was a special one for Frye and her Idaho Crush 16 teammates. They became the first club from Idaho to win a national qualifier when they finished first at the Pacific Northwest Qualifier. That was a remarkable achievement but they didn’t stop there. Frye and company added two more national qualifier victories by capturing gold at both the Salt Lake City Showdown and Far Western qualifiers.
“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity winning three national qualifiers,” Frye said. “Before that no team from Idaho had ever won one national qualifier. So to win two more after winning the first, that was unreal. I love my team. We all get along really well outside of volleyball too so that really helps us.”
The team wound up finishing tied for 13th in 16 Open at the USAV GJNC in Chicago. There’s a sense of pride in representing the state on a stage like a national qualifier and the national championship, Frye said. The team loves that they are helping put Idaho on the map.
“Idaho volleyball is very small, but it’s growing,” Frye said. “It’s still nothing compared to Nebraska, California and Texas but it’s good to hear from random people at tournaments who come up to us. We are the only club in Idaho that plays in Open and we are getting a name for ourselves.”
Frye’s rapid ascension also opened up doors for the next level that she wouldn’t have thought were available previously. She said her recruiting process was stressful at times and that she “didn’t organize well with all the calls and that was my fault.”
When it came to Houston, she said the school offered her at nationals and “that was pretty cool.”
“I was so tired that day and the coaches made my day because of it,” she said. “They are all super fun and super energetic and fun to talk to. I committed on July 15 one month after it started. I decided I waited long enough and didn’t want to lose another opportunity to play at a great school.”
As our featured Player of the Week sponsored by Dick’s Sporting Goods, we recently spoke with Frye about volleyball and more.
Who is a role model or someone you look up to?
Frye: It’s probably my dad. He always has worked really hard. He is the only one from his family to go to college and play sports in college. He’s a big motivation of mine.
What is your favorite food?
Frye: I would say Italian food, pizza and pasta. I’ll try any type of new pizza, but normally I go with pepperoni or the meat lovers is my favorite.
Other than volleyball, what skill would you most like to learn and why?
Frye: I would say getting better grades. It’s not that I have bad grades or my grades aren’t good, it’s just that I would like more time to be able to focus on my academics and do a little better in school.
If you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be and why?
Frye: I think I would go to a different country. I really want to go to Japan and walk around there and learn about their country.
Aside from necessities, what is one thing you could not go a day without?
Frye: It would probably be my phone. It has everything on there. It has my class schedules. It’s how I get a hold of my teachers, my parents and my friends, so it would be my phone.
If you could have any superpower what would it be and why?
Frye: I think I would want to teleport because I would get to sleep in longer. I wouldn’t have to wake up so early. I actually only live five minutes from my school but it takes 30 minutes to get parked and everything. It’s crazy.
Outside of volleyball what are you most passionate about and why?
Frye: I would say my grades. I know I have to be a student-athlete as well as an athlete. I want to have good grades so I can do well in college and be prepared for that.
What is one thing that may surprise people about you?
Frye: Probably that I’m half Vietnamese. My mom is from Vietnam and a lot of people don’t get that.
What is your strangest irrational fear?
Frye: Probably bugs. I’m really scared of spiders and all that stuff. In the summer it can get bad here but it’s usually not that bad otherwise.
What’s your favorite number and why?
Frye: I really like number 6. I like it because I used to watch the NBA a lot and Lebron (James) is my favorite athlete and he wore the number 6.
