Opposite hitter Emiliya Dimitrova is thankful for the opportunity to experience the birth of a new professional league for women.
Story by Mark Newman
Emiliya Dimitrova has traveled around the world and back to play pro volleyball, but she was thrilled beyond measure when she finally landed in Michigan.
Born Emiliya Nikolova in the Eastern European country of Bulgaria, her ambition had always been to someday play in the United States, and with her arrival here as a member of the Grand Rapids Rise in the new Pro Volleyball Federation, her desire has become a reality.
Able to speak or understand several languages due to her extensive travels as a professional athlete, Dimitrova still had never set foot in the U.S. outside of an airport before signing a contract to play for the Rise.
Over the years, she has played in Italy, Turkey, Romania, Japan and her native Bulgaria, a Balkan nation with "beautiful mountains, beautiful lakes, and a beautiful seaside," she says proudly. "We are a small country, but we have everything."
So the idea of coming to America was not a foreign or unfamiliar concept when Dimitrova got the opportunity to move to the land of malls, movies and Motown. For years, she had romanticized the idea. She didn't know where, when, or even how it would happen, but she was resolved that it was an adventure that would eventually find her.
Her wanderlust began at an early age, moving frequently because her father was frequently being reassigned.
"I moved a lot from a very young age because my father was military police and his job changed many times during my childhood," she recalled. "I would start kindergarten in one place, then another place, always changing schools whenever we changed our home.
"When I was 12, there was a junior level tournament and one coach liked me very much and asked me to gather my documents and apply for the sports school in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, which was known to be the best club there.
"So I said yes and we moved from the seaside to another city that was five hours away, just for me so I could have a better career. I studied in this school for two months only because there was some misunderstanding between my parents and the club, so I ended up at a completely different sports school."
Playing in Sofia, she quickly established that she was a player who was going places.
"I was good for my age, and the head coach of the women's team asked me to join them when I was 13," she said. "I went to school for 7th grade, but that was my last year of normal school, because for the next five years of my education, I only had exams twice a year, because I was practicing twice a day and playing with the women's team."
She looks back at those times with mixed feelings.
"It is something I do regret because I did not have the normal education like everyone else does, but I was catching up with my volleyball career. And even going back, I would probably make the same decision because it led me to be able to meet different people from different cultures and different parts of the world.
"My high school friends did not move from Bulgaria at all, because that is how their lives developed, so I'm grateful to the sport because it gave me all these opportunities because I was able to have an amazing life with volleyball."
At the age of 17, she reached a crossroads of sorts. She tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) when she landed badly after jumping for a ball during a World Championship qualification contest against Serbia. She ended up going to France for surgery before spending the next nine months in rehab.
"From then on, I have tried to find the positive out of the negative," she said. "I always say to girls who get injured during some part of the season – when they are really in a bad mood about it – that they have to think about the positive in this negative situation."
She remains grateful for the assistance she received from a Bulgarian family at the time, but she admits that she was essentially on her own in Lyon, France.
"I was so young to go through that alone, staying in a different country by myself, taking care of myself, going to rehab every single day, learning to change buses and everything else. I learned how to take care of myself and count only on myself because nobody could do things for me.
"I got to know more about myself and what I want. I became 100 percent sure that I wanted to continue doing this sport no matter what because getting injured is always part of the sport, but I learned that taking care of your body can help keep you safe and free from injury.
"It was hard but I came back a stronger person after the injury. I understand at that moment how important it is to take care of my body so I can show a good performance. I think getting to know this early in my career helped me have the long career I have had to this point because my body is taking care of me."
While she was seeing a clear path forward, her rehab produced another silver lining to what would be the cloudiest part of her career. She spent a considerable amount of her compulsory confinement in the company of an American who helped her practice – English, not volleyball.
"They teach us English in Bulgaria, but learning, studying, and talking are completely different things," she said. "So this was the first time that I got to really speak, and I had some nice conversations in English with her."
It was a skill that would serve her well in the coming years, whether she was playing in Italy -- where she would spend several years -- or Turkey, Romania or Japan. "I have played with many American girls over the years," she said. "In Italy, for example, I spoke Italian with my Italian teammates and coaches, but with my foreign teammates, it's usually English."
Getting to play in the Land of the Rising Sun ranks as a career highlight for Dimitrova, who was the 2017 Japanese V.League MVP. After traipsing across the European continent, she had honed her ability to adapt her skills to playing for new teams in new countries.
"I think because I started very young and I was always moving from a very young age, I am used to adapting very quickly," she said. "At the end [of the day], going to all these places was my choice. It was my dream to play in Japan and it was a dream to come here to play in the U.S.
"Coming to America is a dream I first had in high school but there was no professional league. Now that I am part of this new league, it is another dream come true."
Dimitrova jumped at the chance to be a part of the inaugural Pro Volleyball Federation campaign.
"I had different options for this season, to play in Turkey or Italy, but I was following my dreams and I decided to come here," she said. "I felt like I was prepared for this decision, knowing how to handle a different life, different cultures, different people. But I still had to look at the decision from every point of view because I am not alone anymore."
In May, she will mark 10 years being together with Denis Dimitrov, who entered the coaching ranks after a successful playing career. His experience in both playing and coaching professionally overseas made him an ideal addition to the Rise's staff, where he will serve as an assistant coach during the team's inaugural season.
"Once we decided to move in that direction, that I continue playing and he moved to a coaching career, we knew that it wouldn't be easy because people won't believe that this can work professionally," she said. "As husband and wife, we knew that it was a big risk, but we already worked together on the national team.
"People walking into the gym who do not know that we are husband and wife could never say that we even know each other. We are really professional, never showing any feelings, never showing any preferences, so we can get the best from each other together for the best of the team."
Dimitrova believes they make a good team.
"Part of the secret is to always keep it professional," she said. "When we are on the court especially, there is no affection, no physical signs or no verbal preference shown. Actually, I think he is tougher with me than with other girls, which can drive me crazy sometimes, but it's good for me because he is pushing me to my limits and so I am getting better."
In May 2019, they welcomed the birth of Michaela, whom Dimitrova calls her ladybug. "To me, the color red is a symbol of self-confidence, and that is how I want her to be," said Dimitrova, 32, who now wears a tattoo in honor of the daughter who changed their lives.
"I knew that I wanted to come back after having her," said Dimitrova, who resumed playing when her daughter was six months old. "I was still not in my best physical shape because I was still breastfeeding and playing and it was difficult to get back into perfect shape. I played for the national team again and I didn't give up. I'm so grateful that I could come back and compete at the highest level and compete against the best players in the world.
"I think being a mother made me stronger. No matter how difficult it is physically and mentally, I know that I have this sunshine at home who repairs every possible scratch on my everyday life no matter the struggle.
"Being a mother and a professional athlete is a huge thing and I feel like more people should support our experience. Balancing life between family and sport while competing at the highest level makes everyone stronger and I think it's made me a better athlete."
In fact, it's motherhood that makes Dimitrova want to nurture the nascent pro league she has joined. She feels she is in the unique and envious position of having a front-row seat to its inevitable growth and development.
"This is one of the reasons why I came here," she said. "Being the first of the first is very important. Being able to leave my mark on those who will come later is very important to me. If I can share my experience with other people, I want to be a good example and help people love our sport even more.
"I want to be a good community member as well as a good teammate. This can be a good example not only for my daughter but for every kid who wants to be good at sports, no matter which sport, or if they just want to be a good person in life. I am so grateful for this opportunity for my family.
"I think back to my first coach – he was amazing and I felt honored that he believed in me because I am not as tall as other players at my position, so I had to develop my play in different ways. When I became a mother, I developed even more as a teammate. In the last few years, I became more like a big sister to my teammates because I would help them with whatever they needed.
"It's a big circle of those things that make me love the sport. I met my husband thanks to the sport and a lot of other good things have happened, too, so through my story, I want to show other kids that the sport of volleyball is something good. I did not go to school because of sports but this sport has probably given me more than school ever could do. So this will be my legacy to my kids, and whether they follow me as volleyball players or not, I just want to show them how to be good people."
Because she believes in giving 100 percent to anything she does, Dimitrova said she never finished school because she was fully committed to her sport. Now, however, she is rethinking her stance as she peers into her future. She has chosen to pursue her university studies in pedagogy (the methods and practices of teaching) to eventually pursue a role in education.
"When I was young, I felt like I was having an amazing life with volleyball and earning good money. But with age, I started asking myself questions about what I am going to do after volleyball, and I think too many educational systems care more about developing the brain and not developing the body. I believe developing both at the same time can lead you to better results."
For now, Dimitrova is focused on helping the Rise enjoy a successful season. As an outside hitter with a powerful left hand, she is determined to be an all-around force on the court for the new Grand Rapids team.
She also hopes to find time to see more of the U.S. while here. The family had plans to visit Chicago during the holidays and figures to eventually find their way to Niagara Falls and Disney World as well. But she has bigger dreams, too. "If we win the championship, hopefully, we will go to Hawaii," she said. "Hawaii is my every day motivation."