Tina Carter, originally from Alden, Iowa, has been the head women’s volleyball coach at Grand View University for the past nine years. Since coming to Grand View, Carter has led her teams to a combined record of 202-94. Grand View has won the Midwest Collegiate Conference regular season title in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and made national tournament appearances in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. In 2014, the Vikings made the program’s fourth-straight national tournament appearance and were also ranked in the NAIA Top 25 all season.

But success does not come easy. Carter’s has been a long time in the making. She always had a passion for sports because she was raised by a coach — her dad. In junior high, like many kids, she was involved in several sports, including volleyball, basketball, track and soccer.

She remained a multi-sport athlete in high school and college. In high school, she played volleyball, basketball and softball. In college, she started at Northern Iowa Area Community and played volleyball and basketball. After two years at NIACC, she decided to go on and continue her education and athletic career at Southern Methodist University for two years.

While at SMU, Carter solely played volleyball. She was a team captain and also a member of the Academic All-WAC team.

We sat down with Carter to discuss how her love for the game has progressed through her years growing up. We also discussed the sports she played in high school, college and now her love for coaching. This is what she said: