Viva Kreis is Match To Serve Her Nation Within the Navy and Sports activities
In 1986, President Ronald Reagan was talking at a proclamation for what was known as “The 12 months of the Flag” when he shared what he felt have been symbolic meanings for every shade of the Stars and Stripes.
“The colours of our flag signify the qualities of the human spirit we People cherish,” Reagan mentioned. “Pink for braveness and readiness to sacrifice; white for pure intentions and excessive beliefs; and blue for vigilance and justice.”
United States Air Power 2nd Lieutenant Viva Kreis might haven’t considered the flag like that when she mentioned the Pledge of Allegiance or stood for the nationwide anthem throughout her childhood, however she feels a a lot higher private connection to the crimson, white, and blue now.
“It means a lot if you hear the nationwide anthem earlier than each handball recreation. The flag means a lot to me now that I’m representing our nation within the most means attainable. It’s one thing I don’t take evenly.”
That deeper connection is as a result of Kreis not solely serves America within the Air Power, however she additionally represents america as an athlete, coaching and competing in handball together with her sights set on the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, CA.
“As somewhat child, the massive purpose is to compete on the Olympics and signify Staff USA. I didn’t know it could be in handball. It wasn’t even on my radar.”
Her twin roles as Airman and athlete are attainable due to the Air Power’s World Class Athlete Program (WCAP). WCAP is a specialised navy initiative that enables elite athletes to coach and compete full-time in worldwide sports activities whereas serving as active-duty Airmen or Guardians. Not like commonplace responsibility assignments, WCAP athletes are assigned to this system as their major responsibility. This enables them to focus solely on their athletic coaching, teaching, and competitors schedules.
Younger Viva was already impacted by service due to her mom’s profession within the Military. Kreis entered WCAP after finishing Officer Coaching College. She is related to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, however she is presently primarily based in France, the place she is coaching and enjoying with knowledgeable handball crew to maximise her ability set because the Olympics draw nearer. Although she is a great distance from dwelling, she adjusted to her new settings rapidly.
“It’s positively my cup of tea, and I’m in my component,” she mentioned. “I’m very excited.”
Discovering a Completely different Sport
Handball is a highly regarded sport in Europe, which is why Kreis is presently there.
“Handball gamers listed below are seen as celebrities. Youngsters run as much as them after they see them,” she shared. Kreis describes the game as “soccer with the arms” or “water polo on land.” A standard courtroom is barely longer than a basketball courtroom with targets on every finish. The handball might be dribbled, handed, or thrown in direction of the purpose. The crew that may rating probably the most targets in 60 minutes is the winner.
“It’s extraordinarily quick paced,” Kreis acknowledged. “It’s high-flying, excessive paced, and full contact. There are some facets that People would love.”
As widespread as it could in her present a part of the world, it isn’t as established in america. Previous to falling in love with the game, she performed soccer, basketball, and took half in lengthy distance working in Pennsylvania the place she grew up. Nonetheless, she found the game throughout health club class. After she informed her mom about her new favourite sport and that she needed to pursue it, they needed to journey practically an hour away the place a gaggle of gents taught her easy methods to play.
“I believed I used to be going to simply watch, however they’d me come onto the courtroom and gave me a girls’s handball to make use of. I nonetheless have it to this present day.”
Throughout the pandemic, she joined the USA Staff Handball Youth Advisory Council and bought extra concerned with the game. The group of ten have been tasked to develop handball within the U.S. After her basketball crew bought eradicated from their event in 2022, Kreis went on to strive for the underneath 20 nationwide handball crew and made it.
“Lower than a month later, I used to be enjoying within the North American championships,” she recalled. 5 months later, she was within the World Championship. Quick ahead to now, and he or she shares a courtroom with professionals and is prursuing the largest stage in sports activities whereas additionally serving her nation.
She is Additionally an Writer
Kreis isn’t simply enthusiastic about handball and the navy. She additionally enjoys the written phrase and journalism. That’s why she graduated from Arizona State College in Might 2025 with a level in Mass Communication and Media Research. She has used that schooling to study extra about girls’s sports activities with the intention of sharing that information with youngsters. She went so far as touring to each WNBA metropolis to interview executives and gamers about their careers. This served not solely as schooling for her to soak up however to cross it on to others as effectively.
In 2023, Kreis wrote her first kids’s guide, She Did That!?: Superb Feminine Athletes from A to Z, which focuses on feminine athletic function fashions. The guide contains athletes from completely different sports activities and backgrounds. She hopes it would attain younger ladies and encourage them to pursue their very own targets and goals as she had.
“My mother used to learn me tales about athletes each evening, however the majority of them have been male,” she recalled. “I needed to fill that hole in order that little ladies and boys might see girls attaining success by means of sports activities.”
A Shiny Future for a Shiny American
Although she hasn’t even turned 21 but, Kreis has already achieved so much each as an athlete and a supply of inspiration. As a substitute of counting on her early success, she’s doubling down on the grind of an athlete whereas getting ready for a profession within the Air Power following the Olympics. Kreis not solely sees herself retiring from the Air Power however establishing a path that others can observe, and that’s all the inducement she must take advantage of the alternatives in entrance of her.
“There could possibly be little youngsters tuning into the 2028 Olympics and seeing me and pondering ‘she’s within the navy? I can do this and play sports activities?’ That’s actually what it’s all about; empowering the following era.”
Extra details about WCAP might be discovered at this web site.
You may as well observe Kreis’ journey in direction of the Olympics on Instagram and buy her guide right here.
M&F Senior Navy Editor Rob Wilkins contributed to this text.
