All For The Love Of The Game

Most. Intense. Ever.

That’s it, three words to explain what happened this week.

Let’s start from the beginning: on Monday I get the text from my track coach saying that I am entered to run in the regional meet, which of course I can’t go to because of my two-day volleyball tournament. Then we start into SAGE testing, thank god at least a portion of that is over, however that probably had a contribution to my pent-up rage for this weekend. And on Thursday I slammed my wrist into a large metal handle on the gym door, only to keep banging it on the floor at practice that evening.

On Friday, my dad picked me up early from school so we could get to Timpview high school for our very last tournament of the season. For probably the first time ever, I showed up first, this was no big deal except for the fact that no one else from my team got there until about an hour afterwards, but whatever I got to scout the competition, which was a combination of club and premiere for both fifteens and sixteens. Aka, giants in comparison. Soon enough we were all geared up and just itching to get on the court, well, I was anyway. 

The blisters on the backs of my heels

Unfortunately, it seemed everyone on my team was half dead so we didn’t even really show up to the first set. It was sickening how badly we lost that game. I mean, yikes! And believe me, I contributed my fair share of shitty passes, but we were all shanking. Thankfully by the end of the second set, we had woken up from whatever daze we had fallen under and were playing like usual. It wasn’t enough to win that match but we carried our momentum through the rest of that day and into the next. (Minus the first match on Saturday, but that was against Wasatch and we don’t wanna talk about it). That momentum carried us to be the only fifteen year old team in the silver bracket on Saturday, making us the farthest advanced fifteens team in the tournament.

Right now, I am going to bed so covered in bruises that that i doubt I’ll be able to sleep much because we fought, and we fought hard. But the bangs, the bruises and the blood are what set us apart. It’s all for the love of the game.

And my banged up knees, even with the use of pads

Going Completely Insane

So I’ve been giving it my all this week to go the extra mile to practice, which is rather difficult given that we had one organized practice, there is snow and ice everywhere outside my house, I have several finals next week, and my parents aren’t exactly all for the whole play in the house thing. They think I’m gonna break something or whatever. So I’ve taken to watching all of the training videos on the club website and getting some one-arm touches while sitting on the floor in my room. Not really the greatest conditions but it’s my third year, I know enough to make it work. Now not that I’m complaining, but my mom and brother aren’t going to be around for my first tournament of the season. My mom gets to go to my brothers house in Texas for a little while because she’s going to help look after my fifteen month old niece while his wife is doing a bridal shoot (she’s a photographer). As for my brother, Wes, he’s going on a road trip with his friends.

Normally this would be totally fine, my dad and I will just spend the time watching 1,000 Ways To Die, horror and action movies and eating. No biggie, we’ve done it before. Here’s the thing though, my mom let me know she couldn’t come by saying, “Since I’m going to Jake’s next week I won’t be able to make it to your first tournament. I’m sorry, 

I really wish I could go.” At which I smiled and said, “Nah, it’s fine. Isn’t my game this week anyway?” Nope. It’s next week. Gah!

Image courtesy of the Club Elevate site

So not only have I been struggling to find time to study for all my finals and to get some touches in, but now I also have to wait another week! What?! No! I do not remember signing up for that. Next week is going to be a brutal battle to get through. So just in case I come crying and complaining to my blog and poor unfortunate readers, I apologize now. I am truly and deeply, sorry. I’m also totally lying, expect ranting and whining about wanting to play. Starting now, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine. There ya go.

The only way that you will be able to escape this outcome is to comment and refer shows, movies, and YouTube videos. Yes, I have an addiction, please don’t judge me, I know people who are worse. So here’s where you must come in my young padawons, direct me toward the the multimedia to distract me for the remainder of the week. Enlighten me! I wish to view the things! All of the things! Send me all the funny, scary, dorky and utterly unnecessary links you can to keep me from going completely insane.

A Medal To Start

So we’ve started playing in practice now, versus just running and doing drills. Now we have to work on teaching the new girls the rotations, which is much easier said than done. It’s complicated. Very complicated. Not to mention we have one more practice before our first tourney of the season next week. Picture this: we have serve. My true position is back left (known as A for hitting) but after the server has made contact with the ball, I have to haul ass across the court and get ready to cover my blocker if necessary and the run to my place in the front of the court, called my POH (point of hesitation). After setting the ball for one of my primary hitters, either outside (on far left of court), middle, or opposite (behind me on far right) I tradition back into what is known as my quick spot. Then I get ready to pick up tips (soft hits that will fall just behind the blocker) and move up to set again as long as the ball is still live.

Seems pretty complicated huh? That’s just one rotation for one play for one specific player. And it’s counting on everything to be perfect. Yeah, it’s hard. Now add in all the other “perfect” plays and the scrappy ones where every player is doing everything she can just to keep the ball alive. Plus reaction to the other team, the never-ending roar from other courts in the gym, and yelling from your coach. Now let me remind you, that’s a practice. During a game everything will be multiplied with the additions of relentlessly screaming parents, tension between teammates, and having to push yourself to the breaking point for the sake of the game.

This is our idea of a good time. Physical and mental torture all for the chance at winning enough games to move on to the next stage in a strong place (really convincing some of you to play I bet, haha). But the feeling at the end of a tournament day when your team has really come together, and hung in enough to get where you wanted to be is indescribable. When the ref from your last game of the day calls your number to step up and place a medal around your neck, a sigh of relief will leave your lips. the moment you’ve worked at all day, sometimes all weekend, is finally here. Another to add to the collection, and for the newbies, a medal to start.

My medals in order of when I received them (left to right)

You've Gotta Want It

Okay FINALLY club season has started, because I am dying for game days again. There’s just a couple little problems. For starters, we’re kinda behind the power curve at the moment so we have to work our asses off to catch up; to make that worse, we have a lot of first-years in my age group. Now I’m all in for anyone giving it a shot, but this sport is way harder than it looks and you have to give 100% all the time. You can't slack off and not pay attention until we get to play, conditioning and drills are really important. To quote my coach, Tobin, “We’re never gonna be the biggest in the gym. That’s why we’ve gotta be the best at all the little stuff. Our passing, setting, hitting, serves. We’ve gotta have it all.”

Now everyone who’s played on Elevate for at least a season knows that this is true. Us Vets as we’re sometimes called, do our best to be our best and try to get that mindset into the Rookies as well. However, not all of them will get the message the first time, there will always a few that walk in expecting to be the next USA team without practice. This time though… Yikes.

My coach during the summer season

So some friends and I been with elevate for what will be two or three years now, but none of us have ever seen Tobin blow up this way before. Of course there were a few girls that weren’t paying attention during a drill, it wasn’t hard but some focus was required for it to work, which is the exact opposite of what was happening. A freeball, (easy, underhand tossed) would be tossed at us and all we had to do was pass it, set it and roll shot it (gentle, well received hits) to the other side six times consecutively, then we could start attacking (hard, difficult to return hits). It was a pretty simple drill, or it would be if everyone did their part. 

Unfortunately we never got to the point where we could attack. We did however do six sets of suicides in less than twenty minutes, incorporating: push-ups, crunches, dives (running to a graceful slide as far as you can across the floor). Which would’t be too bad if we were allowed to catch our breath afterward instead of returning to the drill for people to yet again stop paying attention.

As you can guess, we were all getting fed up with this, but none more than my coach. After about three rounds of this he lost it, I’ve never seen him get so mad at players. Understandably though, everyone was suffering because a few people could’t get their act together. Tobin doesn’t have a lot of rules: come ready to play, give it your everything, clean up after yourself, be there for your teammates, and most importantly, don’t waste anybody’s time. You’ve gotta want it.