On the outside it is clear that Georgia State and the athletics department have rapidly evolved, but not many people have experienced these changes first-hand like our head beach volleyball coach. Prior to her coaching career, Beth Van Fleet was a standout indoor volleyball player at Georgia State. From player to coach she has witnessed the growth of GSU athletics.

Van Fleet first heard about Georgia State when a couple of teammates on her club team in Florida were being recruited by the program. Van Fleet was interested in everything they were saying about the team. After her visit she fell in love, especially with the diversity of the team and city. After convincing her family this was the place for her, she started her career in Atlanta. 

Campus in the mid-90s looked extremely different than today. According to Van Fleet, the current recreation center and the science center were both parking lots. On-campus dining and residential offerings were extremely sparse. Van Fleet, like many student-athletes, lived in apartments off Druid Hills during her freshman year. The Atlanta Olympics were held the summer between her freshman and sophomore year, so the following year athletes moved to the Olympic Village located right off the interstate, which is today a part of Georgia Tech's campus. 

"Campus was a lot smaller. The footprint in the city was not what it is today. I think after the Olympics left is when campus started expanding a bit," said Van Fleet. 

As the campus has changed over the past twenty five years, so have the athletic facilities and resources. What is now a small cluster of office spaces in the GSU Sports Arena  used to be the entire training facility during Van Fleet's career. Instead of having the weight room GSU athletes experience today, student-athletes used the same weight-room as all students at Georgia State. There was one strength coach that oversaw every sport. They would have a nutritionist come speak to the team, but there was not a  consistent presence. Of course there was not a football team or big stadium train horn either. 

After graduation, Van Fleet moved to California where she played beach volleyball professionally and worked with an advertising firm. While away, she always remained connected to the GSU volleyball program. She would  frequently look up the roster and results. If the team reached out to her for any donation or assistance, she always did what she could to help. 

Even while Van Fleet was playing professionally, she knew she loved coaching. So when she received the call that GSU was interested in starting a beach program her decision was easy. 

"I always wanted to come back to the East Coast. There was not a better reason to come back than to start the beach volleyball program at my alma mater. It put all the puzzle pieces of my life together," said Van Fleet. 

Since coming back she has seen the effects of having improved facilities and a football program on the athletics department. While exciting progress and expansion of facilities continues to occur, some of the biggest differences she has seen have happened off the playing fields such as the school unity, brand identity, and community impact Charlie Cobb and the athletics department have worked towards.

"The administration is working hard to have an impact in downtown Atlanta. We are catering to the whole development of the student-athletes because it is so much more than being an athlete," said Van Fleet. "We did not have as much school pride when I was a player at State. We are so much further now than back then."