Her voice is soft, but determined as she speaks on the phone.
She answers every question asked of her with the air of confidence professional athletes use at a post-game press conference.
Her name is Jean Buersmeyer, Jefferson City's latest athlete to qualify for Missouri's national team as a volleyball player for the Special Olympics U.S.A. National Games, which begin next week in New Jersey.
Also qualifying from Jefferson City for the volleyball team is George Richardson, a veteran athlete who has competed in basketball, track and field events.
With the clock ticking down before the U.S.A. National Games Opening Ceremonies, Jean and her teammates have their eyes on the big prize, said team coach Curt Yaeger, the former volleyball coach at Jefferson City High School.
"The number one thing for us is to have fun and to compete," Yaeger said. "They want to win a gold medal. They have their mindset to win the gold medal and show the other athletes from Missouri that we can compete on the national stage."
Jean will join 124 other delegates from Missouri competing in the national games, touted as the largest in Special Olympics history.
Yaeger said Jean has become quite a force on the court.
"Jean has made tremendous progress as a player," Yaeger said. "The improvement we have seen over the last year is terrific. She plays the ball exactly as she should."
This upcoming week's events for Jean and her teammates are the result of a yearlong process, Yaeger said.
To make it on the national team, the players must be nominated and attend a week-long training camp at the Missouri Military Academy in Mexico under the supervision of Missouri Special Olympics coaching and professional staff. After the training camp, the coaching staffs for the various sports national team select their players.
Jean said she was very excited to learn she had made this year's team.
"I was just so happy," Jean said. Jean's mother, Lucy, called it a dream come true for her daughter.
"It just blew my mind," Lucy said. "Just to see how much she has accomplished is beyond anything we expected. Special Olympics has been a huge part of her life and to provide her with this opportunity of a lifetime is just fantastic."
Yaeger said the team began practicing immediately following the announcement of the athletes and just wrapped up their practice schedule Monday evening in Columbia.
In her practices, Jean said she has learned so much about volleyball including how to bump, pass, serve and to spike but she has also met some of her new friends.
"These players know they are held to a higher standard because they represent the entire state of Missouri," Yaeger said.
Despite facing teams from across the country including states like Texas and Pennyslvania, Jean said she plans to take it all in stride.
"I have a few butterflies (in my stomach)," Jean said. "But once we start playing, I will be alright."
Lucy agrees.
"She has got such a low-key personality," Lucy said. "She knows what kind of experience this and she knows this will be a memory of a lifetime."
The team opens pool play Monday to establish seeding and then will play a three-day round robin tournament beginning Tuesday. The week ends with the medal games on Friday.
Jean will have at least one familiar face in the crowd in New Jersey as Lucy is also making the trip.
"I wouldn't miss this for the anything," Lucy said. "This is going to be an outstanding experience, immeasurable for her."
Lucy also said while it might be easy to get stuck on the medals or the teams standings in the finals, Jean embodies the motto of Special Olympics - "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me brave in the attempt" - every time she takes the court.
"You can see it in her face," Lucy said. "She plays for the pure enjoyment of the sport."