By Dave Johnson

A 2011 graduate of William & Mary, Camilla Hill is a loyal fan of all Tribe athletic teams. But two in particular, field hockey and volleyball, will always have a special significance to her.
 
Hill played goalkeeper on W&M's field hockey team from 2008-11, during which she started 35 games for Tribe Hall of Famer Peel Hawthorne. From 2013-15, she was an assistant coach for Tess Ellis, who had been Hawthorne's top lieutenant.
 
As for volleyball, her mother is Deb Hill. As in, the program's all-time winningest coach from its first season in 1976 through 2007 (with a pair of one-year breaks in between).
 
So consider Camilla Hill, the founder and principal consultant with Clarity Point HQ, to be thrilled as she works with student-athletes at her alma mater.
 
"Tess and I were speaking when I started my business, and I said I wanted to start working with some athletic teams," Hill said. "It seemed like a perfect fit since she was already looking into some leadership development and team building for preseason, and we have worked so closely planning preseasons before.
 
"After my mom reached out and said 'Hey, you should do something like this for volleyball, too,' I did a one-time workshop for volleyball. And I have been working with field hockey throughout preseason."
 
And to have this at William & Mary, her alma mater and where her mother built the volleyball program from scratch, is ideal.
 
"Those two programs are obviously near and dear to my heart," she said. "I grew up on that campus getting rolled around in the (volleyball) ball cart."
 
After three sessions with Hill, Ellis' has seen improvement in her team's ability to communicate.
 
"I definitely noticed in our scrimmage against Richmond, the conversations on the field were good," said Ellis, whose team opens Friday at home against American. "You can't always be in a team environment and be a cheerleader.
 
"Sometimes, you have to have conversations so we can solve the problems on the field instead of three weeks later. She stressed how we can make ourselves accountable and how can we make our teammates accountable."
 
Katherine Arnason, a junior opposite hitter on the volleyball team, said a three-hour session with Hill was beneficial to the team's mental approach to their sport.
 
"She has done a lot in terms of helping our team's foundation of trust with each other," said Arnason, whose team begins its season Friday at Charlotte. "Every single year, the team looks different. So every single year, there's an aspect of rebuilding and a change of team identity that has to happen.
 
"In our time spent with her, she's done a good job of helping us figure out our 'why.' Why do we do what we do, why are we here, and what are our values and goals?"
 
After working primarily in the DEI field, Hill started her consulting practice last month. On Clarity Point HQ's web site, Hill offers "strategic consulting, fractional roles and project-based support."
 
At William & Mary, Hill saw herself becoming a Civil Rights attorney one day. But when she took her first sociology class, she changed her major and forged a new path.
 
"I love working with people," she said. "I love seeing tangible ways in which people see how to make their environment a better place to be. When people show up and feel more psychologically safe, they're more able to perform, whether that be athletically or in their work or in their schools.
 
"All of that context translates into so many sectors. And it's the same concept. People need to feel like they're valued and heard and feel liked their goals are in alignment so they can perform. All of those things I get to see enacted in real time. That's really fun to see."