Serving style: Meet ASU Beach Volleyball player, biomedical student and entrepreneur Kate Fitzgerald

4 minutes

 

 

Kate Fitzgerald is more than a senior Sun Devil studying biomedical sciences at The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences — she’s also a disciplined athlete and an entrepreneur who started her very own volleyball clothing line.

“I found my passion for volleyball through my mom. She taught me at a very young age how to play volleyball. We would pass in the backyard, bump and set,” Fitzgerald said. 

“I always loved the sport, and then I tried out for my high school volleyball team and my first club volleyball team for indoor. Long story short, in my junior year of high school, I found beach volleyball as a sport, and I absolutely fell in love with it.”

After signing to play on the ASU Beach Volleyball team, affectionately known as the Sand Devils, Fitzgerald noticed a gap in the styles available.

”I went to go to the bookstore to get my family an ASU beach volleyball shirt for Christmas and, to my surprise, I could not find anything,” Fitzgerald said. “I decided to launch VBAmerica as a volleyball lifestyle clothing brand.”

Due to then-NCAA regulations on how athletes can benefit from their name, image and likeness (NIL), Fitzgerald’s vision was on hold until the rules were updated in her favor during the summer of 2021.

“I was able to get licensed with ASU and sell in the bookstores, sell out, do an amazing job, which has led us to expand the licensing process,” she said. “My favorite part about it is to inspire the younger generation.”

Fitzgerald said it was an inspiring moment when she first spotted others wearing her designs in support at volleyball games.

“It's amazing to talk with young girls through something simple like a t-shirt, we're able to tell them a story and inspire them to keep playing their sport, keep going for their dreams,” she added.

VBAmerica works with a local screen printing company in Tempe, Thrive Screen Printing, to create special volleyball-focused shirts and hats.

“We have designs that incorporate the landscape of ASU, we have an A-Mountain beach volleyball design,” Fitzgerald said. “We also have some designs with a very simplistic, modern little volleyball.”

For other ASU students who want to pursue starting a business, Fitzgerald said the most important thing is to simply take the first step.

“It's never too late to start, especially if you are another student or student-athlete who wants to start their own company,” Fitzgerald said. “Expect to fail. You're going to screw up. I have so many stories that I could explain where I've screwed up or something's gone wrong, but you'll always be able to figure it out and it's always a great learning lesson and at the end of the day, it's really fun.”

“There are people, especially if you're a student, student-athlete, there are people around your ecosystem that want to help. They're here to help you and to help you get started. Now's the time,” she added.

How can one find the time between being a student, athlete and business owner? According to Fitzgerald, it’s all about finding the balance and doing what you love.

“Just keep going for it,” she said. “Focus on making sure you're understanding your love for your sport and also something that you love outside your sport. Find the joys in all of the little things and don't get caught up with the not-so-important details and just enjoy playing. Everything is possible.”

Originally signed to an out-of-state university, Fitzgerald decided to stay close to home instead. Fitzgerald made the significant decision not only to embark on her journey through ASU but also to do so amidst the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I got the opportunity to walk on to ASU right before my first year, which has been the biggest blessing in disguise I could ever imagine,” Fitzgerald said. “I absolutely love ASU. I love being close to home. I love the weather, the campus, the administration in athletics is incredibly supportive and I love the team and just the way we've been able to see it grow over the last four years is just incredible.”

After graduation this May, Fitzgerald plans to pursue a Master of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the W. P. Carey School of Business.

For students who want to support Fitzgerald and the ASU Beach Volleyball team, you can find their schedule on the Sun Devil Athletics website or keep up to date by following the team’s Instagram (@SunDevilBeach).