Two years after Lettys Espinosa left her native Cuba, the Proviso West graduate is ready to begin a new chapter in her American life much to her surprise.
Espinosa, a 6-0 outside hitter, will play volleyball this fall for Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa and hopefully transfer to a Division I program in two years.
And last weekend, Espinosa’s Sports Performance 18 Elite club volleyball team won an AAU national championship at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Fla. Espinosa played alongside All-American Florida recruit and former Joliet Catholic star Kelly Murphy.
“I wasn’t expecting anything,” Espinosa said of her new life in the United States. “I didn’t think I’d ever play volleyball again. This is really nice and I’m really happy for that. In one year I played for the [Sports Performance] Elite team, it’s the best team in the country, and I’m so happy because I wasn’t expecting to play again or be on the best team or get a scholarship.”
Espinosa, who was an elite volleyball player in Cuba, decided to leave the communist country in 2006. She left her Cuban team while they were playing in an international volleyball tournament in Monterrey, Mexico. After leaving Mexico, Espinosa went to Melrose Park to live with an aunt, Felicia Cruz.
But Espinosa’s volleyball dreams were delayed when she needed surgery on both shoulders. She developed the injuries in Cuba and never received proper treatment.
At Proviso West, she did not play volleyball but instead ran track her junior year. Early in her senior year, in September 2007, Espinosa had surgery on each shoulder.
“My shoulders are fine,” Espinosa said. “I wouldn’t say they’re good, but they are much better than they were months ago. I can hit the ball harder.”
Cruz said playing for Sports Performance’s Elite team helped Espinosa get interest from major college programs.
Espinosa received offers from Northern Illinois and Michigan State, which showed the most interest. After two years at IWCC, Espinosa plans to move onto a Division I program and has either Michigan State or Penn State in her sights.
“I’m not ready for a big university right now,” Espinosa said. “I’m thinking at a [community college] I can learn more of the language. When [the club team] goes out to competitions they don’t speak Spanish, they speak English. I always wanted to learn English, because I didn’t want to be here without speaking it.”
Cruz thinks IWCC is a perfect fit for her niece, who will report to campus on Aug. 1.
“She likes the team and the school and the coach,” Cruz said. “She improved her English a lot and she’s going to go right into regular English classes there. They have two players there from Puerto Rico and one from Brazil.”
Cruz said if it wasn’t for people like Sports Performance club owner, coach and director Rick Butler and sponsors like Karen and Gary Trebels, Espinosa wouldn’t be able to take volleyball to the next level.
“I don’t have the money to support this and without people like Rick Butler, we can do nothing,” Cruz said. “And Karen and Gary helped pay for all the trips wherever Lettys goes. I really appreciated it.”
And Cruz’s father, Carlos, is trying to bring Espinosa’s mother, Maria Leticia Cruz, to the United States from Cuba so the family will be reunited.
“She knows everything that is going on,” Espinosa said of her mother back in Cuba. “But we don’t talk a lot. We send some e-mails. She’s really happy for me.”
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