Get To Know More About The Scarlet Knight Senior Right Side Hitter & Her Passion for Volleyball
Volleyball has been an integral part of senior Beka Kojadinovic's life and her passion for the sport continues, even if this fall looks a little different than most.
"This sport has been a part of my life since the age of six," said Kojadinovic. "Honestly, there is nothing in the world that I would rather be doing than going to practices, touching that ball, digging, blocking, spiking. Why am I passionate about it? I feel like it is the one thing I enjoy most. I'm happy to be back."
Even while in quarantine before the unconventional 2020 fall practice schedule commenced, Kojadinovic found a way for volleyball to continue to be a part of everyday routine.
While the 2019 Academic All-Big Ten selection kept up with her final weeks of summer school, she also found ways to keep herself ready for the rigors of practice on a team in the best volleyball conference in the country.
"I found a lot of unconventional ways to practice inside the four walls of my room," she laughed. "Using water bottles, using laundry, whatever I could use in trying to figure out different ways to stay in shape as much I could. It was hard, but it can be done." Beka Kojadinovic with her father, mother
and sister Lara
"Where there's a will, there's a way" is a lesson she learned early on from her parents, who she credits her involvement with volleyball.
A self-professed "stubborn kid", Kojadinovic recalled learning to serve and getting frustrated at continually finding the net.
"I remember crying to my dad how I would never get the ball over," she recalled. "He used to tell me 'trust me, I'm older than you. I'm wiser. Just trust me. You're going get it over.'"
While the younger Kojadinovic thought her father was only trying to make his daughter feel better with words of encouragement, the older version of herself now realizes Dad was right after all. By practicing and working at her serve, Kojadinovic improved.
By continuing to work hard and be challenged under first-year head coach Caitlin Schweihofer and her staff, Kojadinovic also sees how the Scarlet Knights can grow and get better.
"They're so dedicated to coaching and really want us to improve and to succeed," she noted. "They have some different ways and approaches that I haven't seen before even though I've been playing volleyball for 16 years. I feel like it's going to bring a lot of change, especially in the long run."
As a veteran entering her fourth season "On The Banks" in 2020, Kojadinovic will be looked upon to help guide some of the change. During her junior season in 2019, the Belgrade, Serbia native helped trend Rutgers upwards and plans on keeping the momentum going.
Last season with Kojadinovic on the court, the Scarlet Knights had their best start to a season since 2012 and its best performance in the Big Ten since joining the conference in 2014. The squad captured the Rutgers Invitational title behind her 18 kills, a career-best .521 hitting percentage and 10 digs against in-state rival Princeton. The next weekend, Kojadinovic captured seven kills with no errors against New Hampshire en-route to the Ellis Roland Memorial Tournament title. Then during conference play, the right side hitter logged nine matches with double-digit digs, including a career-high 16 to go along with 12 kills in a win over Northwestern.
Change isn't always easy, especially under a pandemic, but Kojadinovic, her teammates and the staff are committed to the process.
"Obviously it's kind of an unusual situation for everyone right now," Kojadinovic mentions in talking about what practice now looks like. "We have to wear masks all the time while practicing, social distancing, you can't high-five your teammates – you kind of do it with your elbow. There are all kinds of differences, but I feel like as time has gone by, we're getting used to it more and more. Unfortunately it's our reality right now, so we have to do it for our safety and the safety of others. It's kind of tough, but at the same time, I think we're doing a really good job on sticking to the rules and following the guidelines.
"There are a lot of new people and trying to adjust to one another, but you can already see improvement after a few weeks of practice. As more people start coming into this program, they are going blend into this team energy that we've created. I feel like it's a great thing to see that every week we're trying to improve on different sets of skills. Our team environment is definitely going to be something that will be to our advantage in the next coming months whenever the season finally happens."
Whenever the opportunity does come to take to the court, Kojadinovic does not want to forget why she came to the states.
"It was my goal to play in the best conference in the United States," she said. "I'm getting to do that and also get an education from one of the best universities in the country. Every time something hard happens, I try to think about that and remind myself how much it is worth it."
Combining her love of volleyball all while working towards a business analytics and information technology degree has been a dream come true for Kojadinovic. However, even when it's time to graduate from "The Banks", she still sees volleyball as an integral part of her future.
"I think about playing professionally because I've been doing this for so long and I just want to keep doing it," said Kojadinovic. "Then I think maybe I should start working and maybe it's time to dedicate my time and efforts towards something different. So it goes back and forth.
"I've spent so much time playing, or going to games, and going to watch other people play professionally. I just have this huge love for the sport and I don't think I'll ever stay away from it. I will be involved in this sport somehow in some way. I've found this incredible love towards the sport."
