When I signed up to play volleyball at St. Joseph my fifth grade year, I was in over my head. Not having any previous experience, I was a newbie. Surprisingly, I picked it up rather quickly after a few swing-and-a-misses. Not only did I pick up skill, but I found a passion in the sport that I hadn’t realized was there. Little did my fifth grade-self know what a journey my new-found love would take me on. Starting grade school volleyball at Freeburg, I was chosen right away as a setter. At first I was skeptical of the choice because setters don’t get much recognition, but I grew into loving it. In a blink of an eye, I was the starting setter, playing all-around, and team captain. With much pressure on my shoulders, I handled it well. Our team was exceptionally successful my 8th grade year, even though we only got consolation championship title. Beyond the glory of the countless games we won, I created memories and friendships over the years. …show more content…
From the Subway slips for the away games and short walk for home games, it was dinner for me every night. I switched back and forth between the Chicken Bacon Ranch and the Subway Club and have only recently managed to consume those sandwiches that were once so constant in my life, again. Even with such a “healthy diet,” athletes still manage to get sick. I found myself ill the morning of Valentine’s Day my 7th grade year. I woke up with a burning throat, a terrible headache, and a sky high fever. I told my mom I had to go to school because we had a big game that night and I was the only setter on the team. Mom let me attend school, and I was miserable all day. I pushed through and played the game; we ended up winning. I later found out I had strep
Pacheco’s love for the game comes from so many aspects. Whether it’s the adrenaline rush of each play, the team aspect of the game, working together and adapting to each other’s personality, or the challenge of keeping her mental game strong. Volleyball has given more to
I recently had the amazing opportunity to watch the University of Illinois women's volleyball team play Stanford, and let me tell you… THEY. ARE. AMAZING. Stanford has a six-foot-eight beast; her head clears the net when she blocks. I bet she's been nailed in the face quite a few times, but hey, if that's the only downside to being that tall and a volleyball player, then sign me up! I’ve chosen to play volleyball in college, but since I’m only five-foot-ten, I won’t have to worry about being smacked in the face when I’m blocking. Attending the game just two rows in front of me was no other than Charlie Rodman, probably the greatest volleyball coach I’ve ever encountered. Never having played, when Belleville West was looking for a new head volleyball coach, he began to read books and teach himself the game. He coached my mom when she was in high school and led her team to win back-to-back state championships in 1990 and 1991. No longer the head coach, he still helps run practices, comes to the games and tournaments, and whenever I have a question about what I did wrong, where to go, or a new technique, he’s always the first person I go to for an answer. He coached two girls who ended up playing for Stanford and the University of Illinois in the same year, so when I say he’s an amazing coach, I’m not sugar coating
Like a pestering fly, it kept in the back of my head; a mother’s badgering voice egging me to dig deeper, and answer a question that had nagged me for years. Did I really want to play volleyball, to put all of myself into continuing a future that would include playing volleyball? On the day of my first tournament of my 4th year playing, I found my answer.
Youth sports can be a learning experience or it can be a health risk to the athletes. Youth sports can teach young children the value of hard work and discipline or it can be emotionally and physically damaging. Three main points are how sports keep you healthy, how they build character, and the values that they will learn from sports and how they will use in the future. These three ideas prove that youth sports can be healthy, they build character, and can teach them the value of hard work and discipline for your kid.
Volleyball is one of the biggest team sports there are. It is big in the summer olympics and all around the world men and women play it every day. The game of volleyball was originally called “mintonette”, it was invented by William G. Morgan in 1895 at Springfield College in Massachusetts, they made it along with basketball. In 1957 volleyball was officially an Olympic sport, the first games were held in Tokyo 1964 and the first beach volleyball games were in 1996 Atlanta. In London 2012, USA got 12 silver medals. In the Olympics, the Soviet Union has won the most medals. The best country right now is Brazil, winning gold medals in London 2012. One of the best volleyball players from Minnesota right now is Tori Dixon who played for the Gophers
I have played volleyball for 5 years. I have played school volleyball for five years, and club volleyball for four. Throughout my years of playing, I have recognized a significant difference between club volleyball and school volleyball. I have played for two clubs in my four years of playing club. The first two years, I played for a club named Platform Elite. The last two years, I have played for Iowa Select, and this year I am playing my club season with Infinity X. Personally, I prefer club volleyball over school volleyball. Club volleyball and school volleyball can be compared in three different categories: price, competition, and “politics” within the sport and its’ players.
Of course we did not win every game that season, but we definitely played our best as a team. When I stepped up to lead the team, the leadership became contagious. Others saw how great it was to be
As most children did, I had the choice to play whatever sport I wanted. Considering my height, 5’10, most would assume that I played either basketball or volleyball. No one expected me to play tennis, and was surprised when I said that I did. During my elementary years, I played softball for seven years, and when I hit eighth grade, I decided to play tennis. My decision came about because of my sister. I had always followed closely in her footsteps because I looked up to her a lot, so when I saw she was playing; I wanted to try it out too. I had never really thought about what it would be like to play tennis. I didn’t hate it, or really know what it would be like to play it. And little did I know that playing would demand so much time, energy, and effort.
Volleyball represents my most meaningful commitment not just because I have invested so much into it, but also because it it’s a passion of mine and has been a part of my life since elementary school. The impact my coaches and teammates have had on my life has helped make me the confident and determined individual I am today. Volleyball also takes up a lot of time and there are many sacrifices that come with the sport and playing on a team. To keep up my skills, I have had to give up a lot of my free time and parts of my summer. Balancing school with practices was also a challenge, but participating in one of my passions made it worthwhile. I have persevered through difficult times and learned new lessons along the way, so there is nothing that could make this sport less meaningful to me. (148)
Watch this high school volleyball player’s insane save (-- removed HTML --) Volleyball is an intense sport that is sometimes under appreciated. It takes a lot of skill, stamina, and teamwork to succeed at volleyball as this high school player can tell you. Autumn Finney Autumn Finney has become an overnight sensation because of her spectacular save at a high school volleyball game. The Decatur High School volleyball team was working on getting a point when they ran into a little trouble controlling the ball. Two players make fantastic efforts to keep the ball in play, but they can’t get it over the net.
Bump, set, and spike! These are all of the things that our team was thinking about at Game 1 of our first game at state. Our team was playing St. Joseph and Hannah Martin was probably one of the only ones on the team that was actually excited to play St. Joseph’s in the first game in the state tournament. Although, state volleyball was a little bit nerve-wracking, she helped us in different ways get a lot of the nerves out of us.
Once again, the next year, I was on the All-Star team. This time we were all determined to stay in the tournament and win the championship. We started off lousy, though, making four errors in the first game and losing 4-0. We now had to win every game and beat the last team twice. We did defeat every team we went up against, including the team that beat us the first game, and once again ended up in the championship game.
Giddens, Sandra; Giddens, Owen. Volleyball Rules, Tips, Strategy, and Safety. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2005. Print.
It was at this moment that I realized that there truly is no “I” in team. A team is not characterized by the individuals within, but rather what the individuals can come together to achieve. For so long I had tried to discover where I belonged on the team. In reality, I should have realized that from the moment I stepped on the court, I was already a member of the varsity team. With a newfound sense of strength, we continued the game. Every single point we won felt like we were putting our lives on the line, while every single point we lost felt like ten-ton chains were holding us down. Even so, it was just another volleyball game. One I had experienced on multiple occasions, perhaps not to the same magnitude, but it was a relatively familiar situation. Strangely, it felt different. I felt more relaxed, more confident, and I was having more fun. At the time, I was not sure what it came from. I was too focused on finishing out the game to pay it much attention. But reflecting on it now, I realize that without a doubt, it was because I truly felt like I belonged on the team. For the first time, I knew that my team was behind me, ready to help me up whenever I fell. We continued on with the game. Despite being down two sets to one at one point, we now found ourselves nearing victory in the fifth set. Finally, we were able to overcome the opponent to win the match three sets to two and secure the second SPC championship for Greenhill Boys Volleyball in three
I remember my mom telling me throughout my life that I would make a great volleyball player, but I never gave it a second thought. Growing up, I had no interest in the sport. However, in September of 2013, the beginning of my 8th grade year, she forced me to go to a travel volleyball