Where are they now? Jackie Simpson
January 26, 2010 | Volleyball
Jan. 26, 2010
MADISON, Wis. - Former Badger All-American Jackie Simpson is continuing her playing career in Cyprus this season. In 2008-09, Simpson played with VC Wiesbaden in Germany and moved to Cyprus last November.
Simpson, a 6-0 setter, earned second-team All-America honors in 2006. She was a two-time first-team All-Big Ten honoree and ranks second on the UW record list for career assists. Simpson trained with the U.S. A-2 Program in 2006 and following graduation in 2008, served as an assistant coach at Winona State University in Minnesota. She returned to Wisconsin last fall, serving at the head coach at Oregon High School.
UWBadgers.com caught up with Simpson in late December to see how her season in Cyprus was going.
Current Postion:
Starting setter for AEK: Kition
A little bit of information about your current club:
I am currently living in Cyprus (an island in the Mediterranean). The club has been around since 1994. We have a volleyball team as well as a men’s basketball team and soccer team. We also have a lot of youth sports which is cool because there are opportunities to coach the youth teams. We have other sports in the youth divisions such as swimming and wrestling.
Your experience playing overseas:
This is my second year playing abroad, last year I was at VC Wiesbaden in Germany. I was lucky to be on that team for my rookie season because I was able to play with former Badger teammate Sheila Shaw as well as Erica Lott from BYU and Paula Gentile Minnesota. There were players from a total of eight different countries on the team last year.
Who are some of your teammates?
The team dynamic here is much different, I am the oldest player at 24 years old and everyone but three of us go to school during the day. We have four foreigners, including my two roommates from Estonia and a middle blocker from Belarus. The rest of my teammates are only 18-21 years old, which is strange sometimes because some of the girls I coached at Oregon (Wis.) High School are that age!
How is your team doing?
The team was seventh in the league when I arrived a month ago. We have only dropped one match to the No. 1 team in the league. We are currently in fifth place and are hoping to win tonight to finish fourth going into our holiday break.
When is your season and who do you play against in your league?
The season is from August through April, but I arrived just before thanksgiving. We play every team in our league (only Cyprus teams) twice and then we have cup games. The cup is equivalent to a conference tourney, but it is unseeded and a complete luck of the draw with whom you play. Basically there is a league champion and a cup champion.
Where do you live?
I live a few minutes from the beach! We are on a small island with the longest road trip being around two to three hours. I live in a three-bedroom apartment with my two teammates from Estonia. I have a Mitsubishi Lancer to drive as well as wireless internet.
What do you do in your free time?
I like to go out and see the island. There is no such thing as a map here since it is nearly impossible to get lost here. So we just hop in the car and drive along the sea until we run into some adventure. This past weekend we found a temple to Aphrodite! It was awesome to walk around and climb through the old ruins. Then we took my cute new little husky puppy to the beach! He is only about three months old so he was afraid of the waves!
How do you handle the language barrier?
There really is no language barrier because everyone speaks amazing English. My coach and club president spent several years in the U.S. and I am super lucky because my coach actually coached for Wake Forest a few years ago so he gets the American style of volleyball (which is way more intense and aggressive) that anything I have seen in Europe. However, I am trying to learn Greek because I find it absolutely fascinating!
How is the food, culture and lifestyle?
They are all fabulous! The food is amazing! Cypriots are very picky about their meat. My coach said “If it wasn’t walking this morning, it won’t be on your plate tonight.” The culture is exactly what you would expect from an island, laid back and chill. I absolutely love it! Not to mention it is December and it is 73 degrees and sunny everyday! The people here in Cyprus are amazing, they make you feel like family and will do anything to help you out.
How do you like playing where you are now?
The volleyball itself is at a much lower level than in Germany or when I played at Wisconsin, however, it is still really fun and a challenge to lead the team. It is a good fit for me however, because I have a lot of injuries and this way I will be able to play for a longer period of time than if I played at a higher level.
Any unusual experiences?
I think the most unusual fact is they don’t use maps (seriously try to find directions on map quest or Google maps… good luck). The other is you can seriously buy anything from a truck. They drive around town like the ice cream truck in the summer. There is a fruit one, a teddy bear one, a hotdog stand, a stand with clothes, everything.
Anything else to add?
I am so thankful for all of the opportunities that I have had because of the sport of volleyball. Also, I have played all around the world now from China to Europe to everywhere in the USA and I can honestly say that BADGER FANS ARE THE BEST!
Thank you for all of your support and it makes me such a proud Badger to come back to the games to watch the current team and see so many familiar faces! It is because of you that the Field House is the best place in the world to play (or sadly now only to watch) a volleyball match!
