Cruz was a four-time All-American for the Gators from 2000-03.
5 Questions with Gator Olympian Aury Cruz
Monday, July 31, 2017 | Volleyball
2016 Olympian Aury Cruz (2000-03) is enjoying retirement and time with her family back home in Puerto Rico
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Aurea Esther Cruz Dalmau, better known as Aury Cruz to Florida volleyball fans, returned to Gainesville for the first time in nine years earlier this month.
Much has changed since her last visit to the university, for both her and the Gators.
Cruz, who played for the Gators from 2000-03, helped the Puerto Rico Women's National Team reach their first Olympics in 2016, a crowning achievement for longtime members of the program.
Cruz's first year with the national team was 1996, when she was 14 years old. Her older sister was already on the team, so she was encouraged to participate in some of the team activities. Turns out, it was a tryout of sorts, and everyone was impressed enough to award Cruz with a spot on the team.
For her, the Olympic berth was a culmination of her 20 years of work with the national team, which consisted of several veterans who played together for multiple Olympic cycles.
Earlier this summer, Cruz retired from the national team. She is also taking a break from professional volleyball overseas to spend time with her family in Puerto Rico.
At age 35, Cruz is well aware it is time to navigate life after volleyball, and she is off to a wonderful start back home. Cruz is in the process of founding a volleyball school, and she created a foundation to help at-risk children and families, which allows a semi-professional team to "adopt" a house and provide support through volleyball clinics and mentorship.
FloridaGators.com contributor Zach Dirlam caught up with Cruz during her time in Gainesville.
Are you fully retired, both professionally and nationally, or is just a bit of a break for you?
Aury Cruz: Still kind of a question mark. I'm not fully retired (professionally), but I just want to come back (to Puerto Rico) and not play overseas for the season coming up right now. I want to be close to my family, close to my mom and my dad. I've been playing professionally overseas for 12 years, plus with the four years I did in college it will be like 16. It was a lot of time being away from my family.
I retired from the national team. When you play 20 years for the national team, you never have that break. Every time you come back from playing eight months professionally, you only have a week and a half off. Then you start working out with the national team and traveling for four months with the national team. Then you have another week off and go play professionally.
It was a great 20 years. It's time for me to stop and let the other young girls come up. They're doing a great job. I will have more time to do my own things that I want to start building up. I don't want to wait until I'm older to start figuring out what I'm going to do with my life.
What does the immediate future hold for you back home?
I have no idea (laughs). I started doing volleyball clinics in Puerto Rico, and then I envision a volleyball school. I have a few sponsors and others really interested in the idea. We already have baseball academies, they started doing basketball, and we said, 'Why not do a volleyball school?'
Sports on the island are huge. We start from a young age, and we have a lot of talented kids that really want to get a full scholarship playing (collegiately in America). We also have players who want to follow the steps I've taken—playing professionally. We want to help them out.
What was the entire Olympic experience like, even going back to qualifying?
I was excited we made it. I always trusted this team, this young group we had. We'd been together for three (Olympic) cycles and knew that moment had to arrive. We struggled a lot in some of the other cycles.
We had the chance to earn that ticket playing at home. It was exciting seeing the arena packed. It was our first time seeing that kind of support there, and being part of that history.
Being (at the Olympics) was hard. We were like rookies. It was our first experience. It was a different atmosphere, a different habitat. I was happy with the way we worked and the way we played even though we didn't win a match. It took that experience to prepare for this Olympic cycle, and (to know) how much they have to work to get that ticket for Tokyo in 2020.
What does Florida still mean to you today, and what do you make of the facility renovations?
I learned everything at Florida. Being coached by Mary Wise and (assistant coach) Nick Cheronis, without them I don't think my volleyball career would have improved.
I'm walking around here now and thinking, 'Why can't I do this all over again?' But the rules are only four years.
Any life lessons Coach Wise taught you that you still live by today?
The way to be disciplined and how to divide your time to take care of everything.
We still talk a lot about volleyball. She's always been there. Every time I ask her a question, she's been there for me and given me that feedback. She backs me up, and she tells me I should never be scared of doing anything I know I want to do.
Bonus coverage -- Cruz also took the time to participate in a video opportunity for the Gators' social media platforms shortly after the conversation with FloridaGators.com.
Much has changed since her last visit to the university, for both her and the Gators.
Cruz, who played for the Gators from 2000-03, helped the Puerto Rico Women's National Team reach their first Olympics in 2016, a crowning achievement for longtime members of the program.
Cruz's first year with the national team was 1996, when she was 14 years old. Her older sister was already on the team, so she was encouraged to participate in some of the team activities. Turns out, it was a tryout of sorts, and everyone was impressed enough to award Cruz with a spot on the team.
For her, the Olympic berth was a culmination of her 20 years of work with the national team, which consisted of several veterans who played together for multiple Olympic cycles.
Earlier this summer, Cruz retired from the national team. She is also taking a break from professional volleyball overseas to spend time with her family in Puerto Rico.
At age 35, Cruz is well aware it is time to navigate life after volleyball, and she is off to a wonderful start back home. Cruz is in the process of founding a volleyball school, and she created a foundation to help at-risk children and families, which allows a semi-professional team to "adopt" a house and provide support through volleyball clinics and mentorship.
FloridaGators.com contributor Zach Dirlam caught up with Cruz during her time in Gainesville.
Are you fully retired, both professionally and nationally, or is just a bit of a break for you?
Aury Cruz: Still kind of a question mark. I'm not fully retired (professionally), but I just want to come back (to Puerto Rico) and not play overseas for the season coming up right now. I want to be close to my family, close to my mom and my dad. I've been playing professionally overseas for 12 years, plus with the four years I did in college it will be like 16. It was a lot of time being away from my family.
I retired from the national team. When you play 20 years for the national team, you never have that break. Every time you come back from playing eight months professionally, you only have a week and a half off. Then you start working out with the national team and traveling for four months with the national team. Then you have another week off and go play professionally.
It was a great 20 years. It's time for me to stop and let the other young girls come up. They're doing a great job. I will have more time to do my own things that I want to start building up. I don't want to wait until I'm older to start figuring out what I'm going to do with my life.
What does the immediate future hold for you back home?
I have no idea (laughs). I started doing volleyball clinics in Puerto Rico, and then I envision a volleyball school. I have a few sponsors and others really interested in the idea. We already have baseball academies, they started doing basketball, and we said, 'Why not do a volleyball school?'
Sports on the island are huge. We start from a young age, and we have a lot of talented kids that really want to get a full scholarship playing (collegiately in America). We also have players who want to follow the steps I've taken—playing professionally. We want to help them out.
What was the entire Olympic experience like, even going back to qualifying?
I was excited we made it. I always trusted this team, this young group we had. We'd been together for three (Olympic) cycles and knew that moment had to arrive. We struggled a lot in some of the other cycles.
We had the chance to earn that ticket playing at home. It was exciting seeing the arena packed. It was our first time seeing that kind of support there, and being part of that history.
Being (at the Olympics) was hard. We were like rookies. It was our first experience. It was a different atmosphere, a different habitat. I was happy with the way we worked and the way we played even though we didn't win a match. It took that experience to prepare for this Olympic cycle, and (to know) how much they have to work to get that ticket for Tokyo in 2020.
What does Florida still mean to you today, and what do you make of the facility renovations?
I learned everything at Florida. Being coached by Mary Wise and (assistant coach) Nick Cheronis, without them I don't think my volleyball career would have improved.
I'm walking around here now and thinking, 'Why can't I do this all over again?' But the rules are only four years.
Any life lessons Coach Wise taught you that you still live by today?
The way to be disciplined and how to divide your time to take care of everything.
We still talk a lot about volleyball. She's always been there. Every time I ask her a question, she's been there for me and given me that feedback. She backs me up, and she tells me I should never be scared of doing anything I know I want to do.
Gator All-American @AzCruz is back! Working with the pin hitters @FloridaVBcamp Not every day your camp coach is an Olympian. pic.twitter.com/2XzpXhtTg5
— Mary Wise (@GatorMary) July 18, 2017
Bonus coverage -- Cruz also took the time to participate in a video opportunity for the Gators' social media platforms shortly after the conversation with FloridaGators.com.
Gator Olympian @AzCruz was back at UF for the first time in nine years!
— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) July 31, 2017
She's loving retirement and the O'Dome renovations!#GatorsAlways pic.twitter.com/6JmT6Zjwip
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