Secret to Success
Erin Fralick, the younger sister of two-time all-MIAA football player Gavin Fralick '03, had no trouble carving out her own identity at Alma College.
The senior from Petoskey became Alma’s first-ever American Volleyball Coaches Association First Team All-American after an outstanding 2005 season. She also was named the MIAA’s Most Valuable Player and ended her career as Alma’s all-time hitting percentage leader.
Gavin knew better than anyone how quickly the time would go when Erin transferred to Alma for the 2003 season after a one-year stint at St. Clair County Community College.
“When she told me about her decision I was a little surprised,” says Gavin. “She had originally gone to St. Clair County Community College in hopes of earning a Division I or II scholarship. During her semester there she came up and visited me at Alma quite a bit, and I think she saw how much fun I had being around my teammates, as well as the balance the college placed on athletics, academics and social life. I think she realized that Alma was a place where she could come and have fun playing volleyball, get a great education, and still have time to be a normal college student.”
“I was in Alma just about every weekend,” says Erin, “so I got to meet some people through Gavin and see what the coaches were like. I liked how the coaches treated the athletes and how they treated each other. After watching the success Gavin had, I knew Alma was the right place for me.”
In addition to excelling athletically, both Erin and Gavin were team leaders who led by example.
Fralick '06, Alma’s first-ever American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) First Team All-American and the MIAA’s most valuable player, was also selected first team All-MIAA and named to the AVCA All-Region Team.
“In my opinion — and I think that Erin would agree with me on this – neither one of us has individually impacted the football or the volleyball programs,” says Gavin. “We have both been very fortunate to be a part of excellent teams that have collectively impacted their respective programs. During my four years I was on teams that won two conference championships, played in Alma’s first playoff game, and later on, the team that hosted Alma’s first playoff game. Overall I think that our group had a tremendous impact on the program and hopefully helped raise the standards and expectations for the program.
“I think that the groups that Erin played with have had a similar impact on the volleyball program,” he says. “She was able to contribute on two of the teams that won four consecutive MIAA titles. That type of dominance is very rare, and I think it has set the standard that future volleyball teams will be judged by.”
Gavin calls the four years he played football at Alma as “the greatest years of my life.”
“When you play football at Alma you truly become a member of a football family,” he says. “The combination of success on the field, and the friendships that you can take with you when you leave the field, are what make playing football for Alma College so special.
“After being part of two MIAA championship teams, I realize how difficult it is to win one,” continues Gavin. “I know how much work and sacrifice goes into it. Seeing my sister be a part of two championship teams has been special because I know the price they paid to achieve their goals, and I know how thrilling it can be when all of that hard work pays off.”
Erin advises future Alma athletes that hard work pays off.
“That’s something I learned from Gav,” she says. “He used to work long days of construction during the summer and then go work out. There’s no secret to becoming a great athlete other than hard work and dedication.”
— Lindsay Carpenter '02
