Jan. 5, 2009
By Richard Stevens — Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
Jeanne Fairchild already has done some research on Puerto Rico and has obtained some information critical to a college kid considering a four-month stay on the island.
“I hear the beaches are beautiful and it’s warm all year around,” said Fairchild. Oh, yeah, and there’s pro volleyball, which is the main reason Fairchild is packing her bags and heading to Mayaguez, Puerto Rico to join that city’s team.
“I’m very excited,” said Fairchild. “I’m looking forward to a new opportunity, playing on a new team, meeting new people and experiencing new things. I guess I’m a little nervous, too. I’ll be living somewhere else for a while.
Fairchild leaves for Puerto Rico on Tuesday (Jan. 6). The season starts on Jan. 30 with 22 matches that run into May. It’s a 12-team league.
Fairchild’s link to the Mayaguez team was first formed by UNM assistant coach Steve Hendricks, who had mentioned Fairchild to a previous owner of the team. Hendricks kept up the contact and sent the current owners a tape of Fairchild in action. When Fairchild was in Omaha, Neb., in December to receive her All-American award one of the current owners recognized her.
“I was standing in line at breakfast and this man came up and said, ‘Are you Jeanne Fairchild?'” she said. “He was one of the owners. We sat down and had breakfast and before I knew it, he had a contract in front of me.”
Fairchild took the contract back to Albuquerque, talked it over with mom and dad and a few other people, and signed it.
“I knew I wanted to try and play somewhere,” she said. “I had thought about going to Italy, but it’s more expensive over there and a huge cultural change. It’s also pretty far away. Puerto Rico isn’t that far away and it just seemed like the best fit for my first time (as a pro).
“Puerto Rico is part of the United States. It has a KFC and Walgreens and a lot of the same stuff we have here.” And at least one thing they don’t have in Albuquerque = a beach with a view of the ocean.
Fairchild said she has researched the team’s roster and there should be at least two other American girls to hang out with. “I went to the team’s web site, but it was all in Spanish, so I didn’t learn much,” she said.
The 6-foot-1 Fairchild came to UNM via St. Pius X and the University of San Diego, where she was named to the West Coast Conference All-Freshman team. She left USD after a semester and transferred to UNM. She sat out of volleyball for a semester and through the summer before joining the Lobos’ team as a sophomore.
Her father, John Fairchild, played basketball for Brigham Young and for the Los Angeles Lakers. Her brother played hoops at Hope Christian in Albuquerque. She was All-Mountain West Conference as a junior and this past season as a senior. In December, she was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America Third Team. She is the first Lobo player to make an All-American team since 1992.
“She is an unbelievable athlete and she plays at a high level,” said UNM coach Jeff Nelson.
Said Fairchild: “I could see making a career out of volleyball, but right now I’m just taking one step at a time. After this season is done, I’ll see what other opportunities present themselves. I love the sport and I love playing and I’ve been really blessed to have the opportunity that I have.”
Fairchild also was the Mountain West Conference Co-Player of the Year. She finished third in the nation in kills per set at 4.81, a number which topped the MWC. She finished her Lobos’ career ranked No. 3 on the all-time kills list with 1,238. She was a three-time MWC Player of the Week this season and was named to four all-tourney teams this season.
The only down note to Fairchild going to Puerto Rico is that she has to drop out of UNM before completing her degree in communications. But UNM has not seen the last of Fairchild.
“My plan is to play for Puerto Rico and come back and graduate in the fall,” she said. “I need 14 hours to graduate and I’m definitely going to come back and finish. I’ve come too far and gone through too much not to get that degree.”
Editor’s note: Richard Stevens is a former Associate Sports Editor and sports columnist for The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him at rstevens50@comcast.net. Previous articles are available at The Richard Stevens Corner