Volleyball

Now on to a topic that is dear to my heart, volleyball. It wasn't always that way. There are some people who have such a natural athleticism, that no matter which sport they attempt, they have success. Not the case for me, although I do have certain physical traits that give me an advantage for many sports. My height, for instance, enables me to jump and reach higher than most other women. But there are sports for which height is an advantage that have never been my forte. Basketball is one such sport. I literally detest being bumped, scratched, and pushed, which are all to be expected if I play post (as a person of my size is expected to do). I also can't shoot a basket to save my life! Other sports like track and field and cheer leading came easily for me.

Volleyball was initially a sport I played because a friend convinced me to try out with her. I was quite terrible from the start. I sat the bench on my middle school and JV team, which takes a certain level of incompetence to achieve. I was so bad, I actually didn't try out or play my sophomore year, but was convinced to try again the following year (with the same friend). This time, things began to click for me. Perhaps I had grown into my height, or perhaps all the coaching had finally begun to sink in. Whatever the reason, although track was still by far my favorite, I began to see some success in volleyball, and was part of a very successful, county and sectional championship team in my senior year.

There were now several different colleges who approached me about playing volleyball and/or running track. I initially decided on Houghton College because it was small enough to allow me to do both sports. Making the transition from a high school team to college level volleyball was the hardest, most challenging thing I had ever done up to that point. The pre-season workouts were grueling, my new teammates were much stronger players than I was, and what was "good enough" in high school didn't even come close in college. I began to learn true self-discipline for the first time under the instruction of my coach, "Skip" Lord. We ran incessantly, lifted weights, and played whenever we weren't running or lifting. To my suprise, I made the travel team, and had a regular position, rotating in the right-front, or "weak side" for a teammate who was a senior defensive specialist.

Although not playing my favorite position, middle blocker, I began to learn and grow as a player with the incredible support and extra help I received from my amazing assistant coaches Judy Fox and Jody Hildreth. Judy would spend an extra hour after each practice with me, working on my approach to attack and my blocking. Jody introduced me to the joy of playing doubles for the first time, and after winning my first tournament, I was hooked. A stress fracture in late winter sidelined me from participating on the track and field team for college my freshman year. By the end of the year, I had decided that one college sport was more than enough to keep up with, and my heart belonged to the hard court, not the field.

The following year, I earned the middle blocker position and the rest is history except to say that there is something about the game that simply fulfills me. The rhythm and feel of the ball, the quick and regular movement on the court from defense to offense, serve receive to serve, and passer to setter to hitter is something that I cannot accurately describe. Even thinking about the game puts me in a bit of a trance. I have been blessed to have so many wonderful coaches and opportunities to grow as a player and coach over the years, for which I am forever grateful. There is nothing I love so much as the time I spend showing young players why I love the game. If anyone had ever been dragged kicking and screaming to an activity, it was me, and now there is nothing I enjoy more.