Chiara Sgaravatti - Volleyball Player

Today, meet Chiara Sgaravatti, a communication student and volleyball player from Padova, Italy.

@_sgara_ on Instagram

“Since I was a child I would go out to play volleyball with my dad at my neighbourhood park. I have been passionate about this sport till second grade, but due to my current uni studies, I have had to put in on pause for a bit. In my opinion, like any type of team sports, volleyball has the ability to unify people and relationships in a stronger way compared to any other sports I have tried. A positive aspect for me is that you create and nurture long-lasting relationships as well as start trusting the people in the team, which is also very nice. It’s a sense of home. A negative side, however, is competition—depending on how to take it, of course. If it’s genuine competition then it’s great, but when it becomes a matter of showing you’re better than the others on your team, it becomes a problem for you and everyone around you. Sometimes you become too focused on the match and forget about the members of your team and start forgetting to trust yourself.

You have to remember that if someone makes a mistake, everyone loses.So remember to always support each other even in moments of weakness on the field. Maintain a positive mentality and learn from your mistakes!”

What is one great memory you have related to volleyball?

“I had the chance to teach volleyball to little kids a while ago, and what was so remarkable to see was how free-spirited and spontaneous they were. It’s definitely tough to teach them because you need a lot of patience—you have to be able to entertain them and make them laugh while also teaching them how to be competitive in a genuine way. The latter is the most challenging thing to master, but it’s great.”

What would be your advice to someone who would like to get into sports?

“I always advise people to try team sports. It’s such a great feeling to be connected with people and have fun together. If you want to get to a certain level though, I do think it’s important to have solid training and start when you're young. But in general, I would say to just try it! Throw yourself out on the field and play!

Overall, my current hopes for the future are to finish my Bachelor’s degree in Communications, find a team of girls to play volleyball with, do an au-pair experience somewhere around the world, learn more about photography and help my dad with his business, Sgaravatti Trend-Kalamitica.”

On Instagram: @_sgara_