'This is life changing.' Golden Valley volleyball standout makes college choice

Westin Bylsma's life is headed down a different path than he envisioned a few years ago.

The Golden Valley High senior thought he would graduate and work full time on the family's dairy farm. It looks like Bylsma is taking a detour.

Bylsma signed a national letter of intent to play volleyball at Dordt College in Iowa on Thursday at Golden Valley High.

"My dad really wanted me to go to college," Bylsma said. "He never got the college experience. He wanted me to have that and at the same time learn something that someday could help the family business."

Bylsma first became interested in Dordt College because of their Pro-Tech program. Bylsma will study farm management in a program that is a taught in the classroom and also hands-on experience working on a farm.

Bylsma's family also owns a dairy farm located about 45 minutes from Dordt College.

"I'm really excited," he said. "I wasn't planning on going to college. My junior year, I thought I would just go straight to work. This is life-changing."

Bylsma was convinced into playing volleyball by Cougars coach Scott Livesay. At first, Bylsma was hesitant to play volleyball. He wasn't into the sport, but once he started playing, he quickly became passionate about it.

He leads Golden Valley with 152 blocks and is second on the team with 197 kills.

"(Dordt) is getting a player who is an incredibly fast learner and is only going to get better," Livesay said. "He's kind of deceptively athletic. He's still growing into his body. He's literally still growing. He grew about a half inch this season. He's an intense player and I think that's been a key to his success. He's incredibly passionate. He's a tremendous raw talent."

Livesay feels Dordt is lucky to take a chance on Bylsma early. He feels as his game evolves, Bylsma would have had an opportunity to play at a lot of schools.

Bylsma is ready for this new chapter in his life.

"I'm really, really excited," he said. "I'm going across these different states to a new school. I'm nervous to be living on my own, but I'm excited to learn something new and play something I love."

This story was originally published May 3, 2018 at 3:49 PM with the headline "'This is life changing.' Golden Valley volleyball standout makes college choice."