Foluke Gunderson

"I would be lying if I said that I didn’t have doubts, but at the same time, the player I am, I just always believe that whatever I put my mind to, it’s going to happen. It was a goal and aspiration of mine and I was going to do whatever it took to make that happen. But, yeah, there were many moments along the way where I just thought maybe it wasn’t for me."

"It doesn’t help to live in the past. I’ve learned it’s not going to change the outcome for us, unfortunately. If it did, I would do that all day every day. But because it doesn’t, it doesn’t help to do that. And all I can do is hope for a better tomorrow and hope for a better next time."

"I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by great coaches and fantastic teammates who showed me the ropes."

"I never set out to have a long career in volleyball. I didn’t even know the professional world existed when I started."

"I’m not exactly sure what I want to do once I finish my career, but I do know that I want to do something in medicine."

"I think what’s helped me the most is the fact that I never looked too far ahead. I’ve kept my head down, put in the hard work, dreamed big, and tried to treat others the way I would want to be treated. And above all, I’ve been blessed."

"The notion of having a growth mindset has played an instrumental roll in my development as an individual on and off the court. I'm so excited to share what I've learned along the way, with the hope that the youth will be encouraged to pursue whatever they want in life with the confidence and mindset of a champion."

"I got to compete for Team USA for the first time in almost three years. I never truly understood how much weight the USA jersey held until yesterday. It’s been a long and arduous journey to get back here and there were many times I debated calling it quits along the way, but I’m so glad I didn’t. It was all worth it."

"For the longest time, I dreamt of becoming a mom AND a professional athlete. I’m proud to say that I am now both. Thank you to all the badass mothers who came before me and showed me that it was possible, and here’s to those who will follow in our footsteps."

"Every day we come back and we are trying to play our game. We haven't had much time together in these past months, so it's just about streaming up point by point. The Netherlands are always a dangerous team and both of us came out a little bit slow. I think that when we were able to pick up our service pressure it really helped us with block and defence. Our goal is always to focus on things on the court. There are a lot of things we are working on. I think every time we step on the court, honestly, we are just trying to play our game, to score some points, just execute as much as possible and I think we do a really good job. Obviously, there is a lot of room for improvement, but we can continue to improve and to work on some things and come back stronger next game."

"I feel like I've become more of a feminist through this process of becoming a mom and just knowing that women are badasses. I'm just encouraged every day and I'm so happy that there are people who have pioneered this...There's so many [women] who have gone through it before and so many who will come through after me as well. I'm just happy to be part of it."

"Nobody in this program thinks that anything is impossible for Foluke. You could just ask anybody and they say, ‘Well, of course, it’s Foluke; she would have done it if she had to do it in less than 12 less months and play last year (2020). She’s got a very single-minded way of being able to do that. To be able to do that after having started a family is just blowing people away that she continues to be such a professional and approach her craft in such a disciplined way and crush it as a mom."

"I know that she’s (Foluke) such an inspiration to so many women who want to be moms and continue their athletic careers or other careers. She’s just pulled it off, like everything else in her life, with so much grace and resilience."

"I could not be more proud to have played with Foluke, to have known her in college and to see where she’s at now. Not just as an Olympian, but also as a mother. I think it’s fantastic and amazing what she’s been able to do. It just goes to show how incredible her work ethic is."

"She wasn’t afraid of getting down in the trenches with you when you were at your worst or things were at their worst and helping you figure out how to put the puzzle pieces back together."