This story originally appeared in the Sept. 22 edition of the weekly LINK Reader. To get these stories first, subscribe here.
Growing up in a home with a college basketball-playing father, a college volleyball-playing mother and three athletic siblings, Holy Cross two-sport standout Julia Hunt couldn’t help but have a ball around the house and in the yard.
“Since I was little, there have always been plenty of things to play with and lots of people,” Hunt said. “There are all kinds of balls on the shelves. We just go get them and play. That’s kind of where it all started.”
And then, the kids started getting bigger and bigger.
“Actually, there were balls everywhere,” said Julia’s mother, Holy Cross volleyball co-coach Jill Hunt. “Basketballs and volleyballs, for sure. Out in the garage. In the living room. At one time, at the most, definitely more than a dozen. Probably 15.”
That sounds about right. Two sports balls per person in the Hunt household.
Jill Hunt played three sports at Notre Dame Academy and played college volleyball at Bellarmine. She met her husband, Ray Hunt, a Kansas native, at Bellarmine, where he played for the basketball team. They have four sports-crazed kids.
Maya Hunt plays college volleyball at Marshall. At Holy Cross, she also played basketball. Julia Hunt, a 6-foot-3 middle hitter, is heading to national power, the University of Washington, to play a Big 10 volleyball schedule, fulfilling a personal goal. She’s eschewing college basketball, where she received a smattering of Division I offers. She’s expected to be one of the best prep basketball players in the area this coming season. She is Kentucky’s top high school volleyball player, according to prepdig.com.
Brother Max Hunt also plays two sports at Holy Cross. He’s catching passes and getting sacks as a 6-5 freshman tight end and two-way lineman for the football team. He also plays basketball. Seventh-grader Lacey Hunt is already on the Holy Cross volleyball team. She’s also set to play basketball.
As you might imagine, standing still and doing nothing is a nonstarter at home for the Hunt kids, who always seem to be in motion.
“We work hard in the Hunt house,” Julia said. “We’re all really competitive. I think it got started when we were younger and playing around and nobody wanting to get beat.”
Julia Hunt dislikes losing so much, she’s worked her entire school life to be an asset for every team she’s been with. As she’s grown older, she’s come to realize all those sports balls around the house, all those sibling battles in the backyard and all the play time to beat the boredom have actually helped make her the elite athlete she is today.
“With siblings, there’s always somebody to play with,” Julia said. “A lot of times, I would come home from volleyball and pass a volleyball with Maya. I’ve played pepper with Max. Sometimes I’ve had two practices after school, and then I come home and have another mini-practice. I realize now that’s why I don’t get so tired. I’ve always been on the go.”
When the Hunts moved from Burlington to Independence, there was a basketball hoop in the backyard.
“Max is taller than me and super athletic. When we played at home, I had to come up with some moves, or I wasn’t going to score or get a rebound. I’ve come up with a lot of moves,” Julia said. “We’ve all shot a lot, too. That’s helped me in basketball. We used to throw the football around in the backyard. That would help Max with his hands, and I think it’s made my arm stronger with my volleyball swings.”
Playing with and against family also helped the family members develop a strong sense of sportsmanship.
“You can’t get mad at your family,” Julia said. “Lacey, she’s my biggest cheerleader. I just smile at her. And she holds up her ‘heart hands.’ Maya had her recruiting first, so she was able to help me. She helped me organize my notes. She and my mom helped me organize my calls. So, I’ve learned about time management at home.”
Mom and Dad also gave Julia two coaches at arm’s reach right there at home. With so many resources before stepping out the front door to play club sports and high school sports, no wonder she has more than 2,000 career volleyball kills and 500 blocks and counting at Holy Cross. And no wonder she has almost 1,500 career points and more than 1,100 rebounds in basketball before starting her senior season.
Though she is continuing her sports career as a college volleyball player, Julia hasn’t turned her back on basketball. One of those sports balls hanging around the Hunt household is her favorite bed pillow, shaped like a basketball.
“Oh, I love that pillow. I’ll always love basketball. But volleyball is my best sport,” she said. “It’s good to know all that extra work at home paid off.”