Toni Rodriguez Bio
I’m a southern girl from small town St. Amant, Louisiana. I grew up playing multiple sports including softball, basketball, and track and field but never volleyball. When getting to high school, I was approached at summer workouts by the volleyball coach, Allison Leake. She asked me how tall I was and if I wanted to play volleyball. This was the start of my amazing volleyball journey.
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I ended up trying out for the volleyball team during a summer practice. I did not know how to do anything and if you ask the girls that were there, they would probably say I looked like a baby giraffe. I picked up on the game quick and began playing varsity my freshman year. I only got better over the years and really got to start developing my game. I decided that I wanted to play college volleyball after getting invited to a High Performance USA camp the summer going into my junior year. I played for a couple different volleyball clubs in Louisiana including: Bayou Bandits, Louisiana Volleyball, and VIA (Volleyball Institute of America). It wasn’t until the summer going into my senior year that I got heavily recruited. I knew I wanted to play for a Division one (D1) school and for the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
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I wasn’t recruited much by Louisiana State University (LSU) but I did take an unofficial visit and met with Head Coach, Fran Flory. I was recruited by New Mexico State University and the University of Tennessee. After weighing the pros and cons, I decided that I wanted to become a Volunteer, but little did I know God had a different plan.
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Going into my senior year, we were favored to win the state championship for the first time in program history. In the third game of my season, that all changed. I remember transitioning off the net to get ready to hit on the outside against Mount Carmel, reining state champions. In the blink of an eye, I was down and in excruciating pain. A week later, I found out I tore my ACL and my meniscus. A week after finding out about my season ending injury, Tennessee called my parents and informed them that they were pulling my scholarship.
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I was lucky enough to reconnect with Fran Flory at LSU and ask her if I could join her team. I walked on at LSU my first year and I also redshirted due to coming off my injury. The next year I was given a scholarship, which is what I was promised. That same year I went through another ACL surgery but on the opposite knee. This time around I felt overly prepared and ready to kickbutt in my rehab, but I ended up developed a bad infection post surgery. This landed me in the hospital for a week and set me back majorly in my rehab process. Once I finally recovered from my injury, which took 9 months, I was able to prove myself out on the court after major adversity. I was then given a scholarship for my last two year on the indoor team, which was a huge blessing.
As my indoor career ended, I was so excited because I finally got the opportunity to cross over to the sand. I was going to cross over to the beach my redshirt freshman year but with my injury it wasn’t possible. My first season of beach was amazing and I fell in love with the game instantly. With my crazy story and injuries, I was able to apply for a medical redshirt through the NCAA. I was granted my 6 year of eligibility June 2019. I was ready to compete for a national championship in 2020, when COVID-19 hit. When season ended, I was very devastated, but luckily was granted my COVID year back and during quarantine I decided to go ahead and have shoulder surgery.
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This surgery was very different from my knee surgeries and it definitely was a process. I had a partially tear in my rotator cuff due to overuse, that’s why keeping your shoulder strong and healthy is important. In the Fall of 2020, I played the whole offseason left handed. I knew I needed the reps, so I made it work. I recovered my shoulder by the time season rolled around and I was able to compete. The fairytale ending of winning a national championship for LSU was not accomplished, but so many other things were.
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I’m now the famous 7th year. I graduated from LSU with a Bachelor's in Kinesiology with a concentration in Physical Activity and Health, a Master's in Kinesiology with a concentration in Pedagogy and Psychological Sciences, and a Master's in Leadership and Human Resource Development. After competing at NCAA’s this year, I knew I wasn’t done with this sport. I have official decided to pursue a professional beach volleyball career. I’m currently living in California and I'm so excited to experience something new. I plan to keep you guys updated through my journey! My professional career is the major reason for creating Level Up Volleyball, so I can keep impacting the volleyball world in a positive way even if I’m not in Louisiana.
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I’m currently on the search for sponsorships. If you are interested in sponsoring me or want to make a donation, please contact me at trodr25@gmail.com.