ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) -- UCF point guard Ashley Polacek wrapped up her workout in the Knights' practice gym on June 15 in the same fashion that she usually did -- with a typical dribbling drill. She decided that this time, she would record it on video.
What started out as a simple post on her personal Instagram account has turned out to be the Internet's next viral sensation.
Here's a brief look at some of the numbers:
•Bleacher Report (Instagram): 766K+ views, 70K+ likes, 5K+ comments
•Whistle Sports (Facebook): 9.7+ million views, 120K shares, 92K reactions, 20K comments
•Basketball Vines (Instagram): 537K views, 95.1K likes
What's more, her personal Instagram account has mushroomed. In less than a week, she went from having 980 followers to 23,300.
Polacek's official UCFKnights.com player bio received 1,202 views. It ranked as the website's fifth-most viewed page during June 12-18. Of those 1,202 views, 958 were unique visitors --people who had never accessed the bio before.
Before we get to a Q&A with Polacek, we must remind you this isn't the first time she has displayed highlight-worthy moves. Back in February, the point guard wowed CFE Arena with this unbelievable, long-distance, half-time buzzer beater against Memphis:
Q: Why did you do this drill?
AP: "I always do different types of dribbling drills at the end of my workout just to see how much I've got in me. It just unlocks so many aspects of your mind so that when you get in the game, instinct takes over. That drill is really focusing on hand-eye coordination, speed, and it tests you at the end of your workout -- when you're supposed to be done, you're actually doing something else that pushes you harder."
Q: When you first posted it, what was some of the response like?
AP: "I follow a lot of trainers, so I tagged some of them in the video just for them to see. The first people to comment were my friends. I didn't know that other people would find out about it and actually share it. It wasn't intended to be viral."
Q: How did the ball get rolling, so to speak? Who was the first outlet to pick it up?
AP: I got a DM from Whistle Sports to ask to share it. I didn't know what Whistle Sports was, so I said sure why not? I thought it was a little Instagram page. It's actually social media for sports with more than a million followers. Then I heard it was on Bleacher Report, and I didn't know what Bleacher Report was either. People were freaking out over that and I didn't know why. To be honest, it still hasn't sunk in. I imagined this for years -- I knew this was going to happen one day, eventually, because hard work won't go unnoticed forever.
Q: And since then you've posted more videos.
AP: I noticed that people love it. It inspires people and that's what I've always wanted to do. I wanted to help people succeed because I graduated high school with no offers. I want to be there to help people. I'm just there to inspire through work ethic and dedication.
Q: Is that where you got the inspiration for your hashtag: #InspiringToBeGreat?
AP: Everyone has their own thing that separates them from everyone else. I feel like that describes me and describes the process I'm in right now. I'm just going to try to keep that going. It's more for everyone else than for myself.
Q: How did the success of the video make you feel?
AP: At first, I felt very overwhelmed. I stopped for a second and said, `I'm still doing this for me.' At the end of the day it's not to impress people. Obviously there are going to be haters, especially being a female. If I see a comment, I'm not going to try to prove them wrong. Or reply. I'm never, ever going to reply to a negative comment. But I will reply to positive ones and questions. A lot of people have reached out to me. I try to reply to most of them with a simple thank you or just show that I saw their message and I appreciate them.
Q: What are some of the messages that people sent?
AP: `Do you have any advice on dribbling?' `Keep posting videos.' It's not like now I'm going to be on social media all the time. It's just I'm more aware of the influence I have and I want to keep that going while still being me. Nothing has changed. The only thing that's changed is I make sure that when I work out, it's on camera (she smiles).
Q: What did the team think? Or your parents?
AP: When it first blew up, the team said something about it. But it's not to the point where they treat me differently. The coaches haven't said anything, and that's what I like. I want to be treated the same. My mom isn't really on social media and my dad isn't at all. They are really old school. But they are happy, of course.
Story by Jenna Marina