Some collegiate athletes start straight out of high school. Others take extra steps before starting their eligibility.  

Junior volleyball player Yael Benjamin came to SIU from the Israeli Army. 

Since its independence in 1948, Israel has been fighting to protect its border. The nation implemented mandatory enlistment — men for three years, women for two — in the army for all eligible adult citizens, according to the Israeli Defense Force website. 

Benjamin started her service a few weeks after graduating high school.

“Kids in Israel want to serve and get better jobs in the military,” Benjamin said. “Some people tried to escape from it, but I wanted to do it. It changed me as a person — it made me a better and more mature person.” 

Benjamin, an outside hitter, worked as a trainer for other enlisted soldiers. She led runs and other workouts.

Every aspect of a soldier’s day is planned, including sleep. Benjamin typically trained from 3-9 a.m., practiced volleyball from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., served at the military base from 3-7:30 p.m. and practiced again after that until she went to sleep. All gaps in between were used to travel to the next destination.

“Practices here are much easier, just don’t tell [coach Justin Ingram] I said that,” Benjamin said. 

In the military, she had a special title that allowed her to leave and train with her volleyball team after her military duties were done for the day. 

Benjamin had been training and competing with the Israeli national volleyball team since she was 14 years old. There, coach Arie Selinger — former U.S. Olympic women’s volleyball coach — instilled the importance of hard work in Benjamin. 

“Selinger has incredible standards,” Ingram said. “You can tell her work ethic was learned and molded from his tutelage.”

In 2010 and 2011, Benjamin led her club team, Tichon Hadera, to back-to-back national championships. Benjamin was named MVP for both tournaments.

A few weeks after Benjamin ended her service, she started school at SIU. 

The 22-year-old junior played in the loss to Western Kentucky this weekend with one kill on seven attempts and one block.

“Going into the military at 18 made me grow up fast,” Benjamin said. “I think I’m a harder worker and a better teammate because of it.”

Evan Jones can be reached at [email protected] or on twitter @EvanJones_DE.