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The University of Utah Athletics
Former Ute VB Player Makes Mark With the Bees
10/17/2018 5:02 PM | Volleyball
UtahUtes.com Caught Up with Nikki Sim for Homecoming Week
SALT LAKE CITY – When a coach is recruiting, they not only sell what it will be like playing on the team, but also how the university will help them fulfill their dreams after college.
Schools will recruit all over the country, but for Nikki Sim she decided to stay close to home. The Salt Lake City native chose to attend the University of Utah and to also play on the volleyball team. She couldn't have predicted her journey from there though.
In the middle of Sim's volleyball playing career, the Utes athletic department made the jump from the Mountain West to the Pac-12. This is a big leap for any sport, but especially in volleyball where the majority of the conference is ranked in the top-25 year in and year out and contending for national championships.
"The transition was crazy," Sim said. "My freshman year was in the Mountain West, so we went from being second in the conference to competing in the Pac-12. It was quite a different level of play."
As tough as the transition was for the team, a lot of lessons were learned those first couple of seasons in the Pac-12.
"I felt like we had to work harder than every other school because we were the new school coming in," Sim said. "We had to test the waters as far as what these teams were looking like."
Working on the court to help the team to keep getting better, Sim also had an eye toward her future. She was majoring in sport management knowing that she had a passion for sports.
That passion paid off after graduation when she took an internship with the Salt Lake Bees in their operations and marketing department. Once her internship was over, Sim had made enough of an impression they wanted to keep her on the team. She was hired to work in their sales office.
After two years in the sales office, Sim was promoted to Game Operations and Marketing Manager this past season.
"Now, I'm in charge of everything fun going on at a Bees baseball game," Sim explained. "All of the theme nights, giveaways and on-field promotions are what I'm in charge of."
It's hard to move up in any business, but after playing collegiate volleyball at the highest level, Sim knew what it was going to take to earn her spot.
"Being a student-athlete you learn so much about time management and how to accomplish goals that you set for yourself," Sim said. "Especially with me working in sports, the amount of knowledge of what it takes to be dedicated and what it takes to be good at your job is what it took to be a starter on the Utah volleyball team. I'm not training, doing weights or conditioning or watching what I eat as closely, but it's using the same energy for a presentation at work or a game log is very similar to the preparation you would put into a match or a tournament."
With the ultimate goal of working in the major leagues one day in game operations and marketing, Sim is well on her way. She's confident in herself based on what she learned at Utah as a student-athlete.
"I wouldn't be as successful as I am in my job now if I didn't play collegiate volleyball in the Pac-12," Sim said. "The things you learn about yourself and what you can accomplish when you set your mind to it, you just apply that to day-to-day work and it's amazing to what you can accomplish."
Schools will recruit all over the country, but for Nikki Sim she decided to stay close to home. The Salt Lake City native chose to attend the University of Utah and to also play on the volleyball team. She couldn't have predicted her journey from there though.
In the middle of Sim's volleyball playing career, the Utes athletic department made the jump from the Mountain West to the Pac-12. This is a big leap for any sport, but especially in volleyball where the majority of the conference is ranked in the top-25 year in and year out and contending for national championships.
"The transition was crazy," Sim said. "My freshman year was in the Mountain West, so we went from being second in the conference to competing in the Pac-12. It was quite a different level of play."
As tough as the transition was for the team, a lot of lessons were learned those first couple of seasons in the Pac-12.
"I felt like we had to work harder than every other school because we were the new school coming in," Sim said. "We had to test the waters as far as what these teams were looking like."
Working on the court to help the team to keep getting better, Sim also had an eye toward her future. She was majoring in sport management knowing that she had a passion for sports.
That passion paid off after graduation when she took an internship with the Salt Lake Bees in their operations and marketing department. Once her internship was over, Sim had made enough of an impression they wanted to keep her on the team. She was hired to work in their sales office.
After two years in the sales office, Sim was promoted to Game Operations and Marketing Manager this past season.
"Now, I'm in charge of everything fun going on at a Bees baseball game," Sim explained. "All of the theme nights, giveaways and on-field promotions are what I'm in charge of."
It's hard to move up in any business, but after playing collegiate volleyball at the highest level, Sim knew what it was going to take to earn her spot.
"Being a student-athlete you learn so much about time management and how to accomplish goals that you set for yourself," Sim said. "Especially with me working in sports, the amount of knowledge of what it takes to be dedicated and what it takes to be good at your job is what it took to be a starter on the Utah volleyball team. I'm not training, doing weights or conditioning or watching what I eat as closely, but it's using the same energy for a presentation at work or a game log is very similar to the preparation you would put into a match or a tournament."
With the ultimate goal of working in the major leagues one day in game operations and marketing, Sim is well on her way. She's confident in herself based on what she learned at Utah as a student-athlete.
"I wouldn't be as successful as I am in my job now if I didn't play collegiate volleyball in the Pac-12," Sim said. "The things you learn about yourself and what you can accomplish when you set your mind to it, you just apply that to day-to-day work and it's amazing to what you can accomplish."
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