Palileo puts finishing touches on volleyball roster with first international transfer since 2007
The first international player to join the Mean Green volleyball team since 2007 is officially set to go for the 2018-19 season, as head volleyball coach Andrew Palileo rounds out his final roster for the season.
Yasmin De Lara comes to UNT as a transfer from Curitiba, Brazil, and will be the first international player to join the program in 11 years. De Lara is the only international player Palileo brought in this season.
De Lara enters her first collegiate season under assistant volunteer coach Luiz Lima after coming off a two-year stint with Clube Curitibano.
“Coach Luiz brought her to my attention,” Palileo said. “[We] thought she would be a good fit.”
De Lara was a member of the Paraná state team where she participated in the annual tournament Copa Do Brazil De Voleibol. The freshman was a two-time champion in her home state and was invited to participate and practice with the national beach volleyball team. Despite competing on the national level in Brazil, De Lara was lured to the U.S. by a different opportunity.
“In Brazil you have to choose to play volleyball or study, and here there is a really nice opportunity where you can choose to do both,” De Lara said. “That’s essentially what drew me [to the U.S.] — to do both.”
De Lara received offers from schools in Washington and Florida. However, there was a personable aspect she felt from North Texas that helped her make her decision to come to Denton.
“I was talking to other schools, [and] the college in Brazil was trying to recruit me,” De Lara said. “It was actually just really nice to have the head coach contacting me and trying to recruit me.”
Transferring from a foreign country to the U.S. can be a difficult transition for many student-athletes.
“I think the most important thing in this first year is to make sure academically she is comprehending and understanding her courses, along with knowing what resources are put in place to in order to meet her academic needs,” Palileo said.
While it can be a challenge to transition into working and playing in a new country, De Lara said her team should make an impact on how quickly she will transition into her life here in Denton.
“We know how hard the transition process is, and we hope to make that as easy as we can for her,” sophomore Barbara Teakell said.
De Lara feels this opportunity is special for her and said she feels honored to be the first international player in the program since 2007.
“It’s special,” De Lara said. “It’s really nice to be the first international player in a really long time.To be with this team, it’s really special.”
De Lara acknowledges it will be a long and hard process to kick start her volleyball career here, however she has no lack of excitement for the opportunity to play and study in the states.
“I don’t expect to get all this playing time in tournaments,” De Lara said. “I expect to work hard and receive the consequences that come [with it].”
Featured Image: Freshman outside-hitter Yasmin De Lara watches the Mean Green play during a game against Louisiana Tech. The Mean Green won (3-0). Rachel Walters
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