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Hahn Solo

A one-on-one interview with Fab 50 middle Christi Hahn

May 7 — The date circled on the calendar is October 1. That's when Texas A&M and Texas meet in a Big 12 volleyball showdown. It's also when the Hahn family will have to make a decision: do they cheer for the Longhorns, where their oldest daughter, Kathy, is a 6'2" all-conference middle? Or will they cheer for the Aggies, where daughter Christi will be on the other side of the court as a 6'1" freshman middle?

"They decided they would sit in the parent section of whichever daughter is playing at home," said Christi, an all-state performer for Leander and a member of Austin Junior’s powerful 18s Navy team.

So when A&M visits UT, the Hahn's will be decked out in Orange and White with the other UT parents. When UT travels to A&M they'll be wearing Maroon and White with the Aggie parents. But just to be fair, why not wear Orange while sitting in the Aggie section and Maroon in the UT section?

"That probably wouldn't be too smart," said Christi.

Hahn was one of only three Texans named to Volleyball Magazine’s annual Fab 50 list of the nation's top seniors for 2003. (Jenny Andrew of Kingwood/Texas Tornados and Amber McCray of Longview Pine Tree/East Texas were the others.) She was a member of the LoneStarVolleyball.com All-Texas Team and she played a key role in Austin Juniors’ drive to the Tour of Texas 18s championship and the team's recent third place finish at the Lone Star qualifier. The Lone Star performance earned the club an Open berth at this summer's national championships in Atlanta.

"We really wanted to get back to nationals in Open," said Hahn. "And we finally played well."

Of course the big news from Leander to College Station is that she will soon be an Aggie.

“I couldn't be more pleased to have a player and person like Christi coming to our program,” said Texas A&M coach Laurie Corbelli. “Her work ethic and her athleticism are certainly top notch. She has the potential to make a big contribution to our team in her freshman season and knowing her academic success as well as her volleyball accomplishments, we considered her to be a great fit for our program even when she was a junior."

Oh yes, there are also academic achievements. Hahn is the valedictorian of this year's senior class at Leander — by several points. She is a member of the National Honor Society, the Youth Leadership Team and the Good Shepherd Youth Group. For three years she was also a member of the Leander track team and was named the squad's co-MVP as a junior.

But the first thing many people focus on when discussing Christi is how she compares as a volleyball player with Kathy. And that’s not fair, says Corbelli.

“Because Kathy is three years older, it's hard to compare them,” says the Aggie coach. “They are both fantastic athletes with a lot of energy.”

One person who may have the best perspective is Leander coach Sally Schlobohm Tan, who coached them both. (Warning! Tan may be prejudice. She was two-time All-America and National Player of the Year as a setter for the Longhorns in the 1980s and was recently inducted into the UT women's Hall of Honor.)

"Apples and oranges," Tan says of the sisters whose parents were college athletes at Southwestern. "Both are phenomenal players. Kathy was a surprise - she didn't bloom until her junior year and then all the sudden she was hitting (inside) ten feet. Christi doesn't hit as hard as Kathy, but she has better court vision. They are totally different people, but both are very good."

So did the former Longhorn try to talk Christi out of going to A&M?

"You betcha," said the coach, laughing. "It will be fun to watch them both perform at the highest level. Christi is just a great person from a great family. She's a great role model for younger kids. She works her butt off and then her athletic ability is way above that."

During the high school season Hahn teamed with Lauren Galler to lead Leander to the District 14-5A title and the regional quarterfinals. She had 37 kills in a three-game victory over Cypress Falls in the Region II area round. The team was eliminated a few days later by Cy Creek, 15-5, 8-15, 15-9.

Hahn was named the All-Central Texas co-player of the year by the Austin American-Statesman, the 2002 District 14-5A co-player of the year and will participate in the Texas Girls Coaches Association senior all-star game this summer.

Like many of today's top athletes, Christi is a person of strong religious convictions. "My faith is number one," she says, admitting that she turned to her faith to help her make her college decision.

"Christi brings the type of maturity to be a top player and student," Corbelli said. "She wants to be the best and it is nice to see that drive in a high school player. Because she has trained and competed at a high level for so many years in juniors, we expect her to make a very smooth transition to the college game."

As her club season winds down and she looks forward to her freshman season at A&M, we decided to give Christi a chance to reflect on her high school and club careers, the stressful recruiting process and, of course, to look forward to facing her sister across the court for the first time.

Why A&M?

So many things. There were three big things I was looking for. First, a place I could build my faith. Second, a great academic school – after all, the point is to expand your mind. And third, I was looking for a good volleyball program. I went on an unofficial visit my junior year and got to meet the coaches. They were everything I hoped for. They told me the one thing they look for is someone who fits into the team because chemistry is so important. They said, “you will fit in with the team.”

Did you consider UT, or should I say TU?

Yes. I was being recruited for awhile. I knew I wanted to stay in Texas because I wanted to be close to my family. I heard great things (about Texas) from Kathy, so I couldn't decide. But it kind of worked out because they recruited a middle from Indiana. That was a blessing because I wanted to create my own career.

Was it a tough decision? Did you consider other schools?

Oh yeah. I was so confused. When Texas dropped out, A&M was the only choice in Texas that I was considering. I visited Purdue, Indiana and Colorado. Laurie told me that if I ever started being pressured just to e-mail her and let her know and she would give me an honest appraisal of where I stood with A&M. That’s what ended up happening. I got an e-mail from Colorado and they said they needed an answer. Then Oregon State said they needed an answer. I had also been talking to Duke and they said that since I hadn't expressed interest, they put me back in a pool with eight other girls. That night I went to a youth group meeting and I wrote a letter to God and said “please let it be clear where I should go.” I e-mailed Laurie and the next day when I called her she said the coaches had met and decided they wanted me to be an Aggie. I remember that it was the national day of prayer. That was a very quick answer to my prayer.

How did you break the news to Kathy that it was going to be A&M?

Kathy was there with me (photo at right). She said she wanted to be with me when I made the call. We were out at the lake. I took out my phone and called Laurie and said I wanted to be at A&M and Kathy was right there listening to the conversation.

Do your parents have ties to either school?

Not really. With Kathy there for two years they were leaning more and more to Texas. And my uncle played for football for Texas one year they won a national championship. He gives me a hard time. Before I signed he said, "You realize you are going to the middle of nowhere and you can un-commit." I'm just very happy that I am staying in Texas.

So who's better - you or your sister?

Definitely Kathy. She's awesome. I've heard her tell people I'm better than she was at my age, though.

Did the two of you get along or did you fight when you were growing up?

We did a little of both. When she had friends over I was her worst enemy. I remember when I was little my favorite candy was Skittles. She would have her best friend, Emily, over and they would sit against the door and eat an entire bag of Skittles while I was on floor crying. A couple of years ago she admitted that it made their stomachs hurt really bad. But we were very close.

How are the two of you similar.

We’re very similar in terms of interests and different in personalities, but not in a striking way. I’m more talkative, although Kathy is super talkative when she’s around people she knows. We’re just different people

Did the two of you play together in high school or club?

No, we never did. She was too much older.

Are you looking forward to the first chance to play against her?

Oh wow, definitely. She’s super excited, too. She told me, “I hope you stay in the middle so I can play against you.” It will be good for me if I can do one thing that’s good against her because she’s so good.

Do you know her weaknesses?

I don’t really know. I know her strength is that she hits really well off of one leg.

Who will your parents be cheering for?

That’s kind of complicated. We talked about where they would sit and what they would wear. When we play each other they will sit in the parent section of whichever team is the home team.

Have you talked to her about what to expect? Has she given you any advice to prepare for the college game?

Off and on. There’s not any time where we really sat down and talked about the future. We talk about things we’re going through — how frustrating it is or how time consuming. I’m kind of scared. I stayed in volleyball period at high school with another girl and we work out. Some days we go super hard because I know how tough it's going to be.

Did she give you any advice during the recruiting process?

Basically she said to pray about it with all my heart. She said that when the right decision comes I would know it and that was so true.

Have you always been an athlete?

I started playing soccer when I was six, but I didn't like it. I've got red hair and light skin so I would get hot. They put me in goal but I would just hang out around the goal post and pick flowers. I started basketball in the third grade for the Little Dribblers and in seventh grade I started playing volleyball and running track. I ran the mile relay in track until this year. I didn't really like it, but it was the race I was good at. I also triple jumped and I loved it. I stopped playing basketball after my sophomore ear. I just lost the passion for it. I talked to my coach and she told me that I was going to be on varsity as a sophomore and I should see if I liked it. Then my junior year the coach left so I sort of weaseled out. Basketball just wasn’t my thing anymore. It was super physical.

When did you realize you wanted to pursue volleyball.

My freshman year I started loving volleyball and I saw how much Kathy loved it.

So what was the highlight of your high school career?

Definitely my junior year when we played Westwood. They were our big rival and we lost the first game and in the second game we were down 14-6 and one of girls said "I believe in us. We can do this. Lets go!" We ended up winning the match.

What has been the highlight your club career?

Definitely nationals our 16s year. It was so exciting to get fifth place. You always go in hoping to win, but deep down I don’t think we expected to get fifth. I remember one time playing Circle City. In one span of two minutes our team played perfect...no mistakes. I had like two or three huge kills on the slide and big blocks. Our coach said it was one of those times coaches dream about, when the players are able to get on court and play without instruction. That’s how it was those two minutes.

Any major disappointments?

My junior year when Melva Johnson tore her ACL. I was second middle and she was our super star. When she got hurt in the middle of district, our team was just devastated. I really thought that year we would have been able to go really far. This year my major disappointment would have to be (playoff loss to) Cy Creek. I was completely expecting that we would be able to go further. We were so close this year. We had scouted them and knew how they played and we fell apart at the very end.

What do you think is the strength of your game?

Just my quickness. I’m not a real big middle, but because I am so quick I can beat a lot of big middles.

What about weaknesses?

I really want to improve my blocking.

What would people be surprised to know about you?

I don’t really know. I’ve been blessed with a lot of gifts and people think I have a lot of things going for me, but they don’t realize that I struggle with things. I'm not super smart so I work really hard, but I don't work as hard as some people think. The misconception is that I only study and play volleyball. Apparently that's what a lot of people think. But I have a life. I’m involved in church, the leadership team and the “sing for praise” team. I love hanging out with family and friends. We aren’t into partying, but we get together a lot and have bonfires.

Do you have any superstitions or pre-game rituals?

I always put my left sock and left knee pad on first. I don’t know why, and it’s not like I would take it off if I started on the other side, but I always start on the left.

Who is the toughest player you ever played against?

Last year I played against Kim Glass. She's about the toughest. And I've played against Laura (Jones - Big 12 freshman of the year and fellow Aggie). She's also very, very tough.

Finally, what’s the greatest play you ever made?

I really can't remember a single play.

OK, how about embarrassing moments?

That’s easy. When I was a freshman we were at Westlake. Part of the warm-up was to run a couple of laps. I tripped and completely busted it. You hope nobody is watching, but of course everyone is.