Descriptive Essay About Volleyball Days

Counting down the seconds in a crowded dark hallway, listening behind doors to the song Welcome to the Jungle blasting in the gymnasium mixed with the sounds of the crowds roaring. The only thoughts going through everyone's head, is that this might be the last time we ever play together again. As soon as the song gets to the que we run out of the hallway under a tunnel made of arms, running into the moment that can make it or break it.

Middle school is a time when kids attempt to figure out how they fit in, and that is exactly what I was looking to do when I started playing volleyball. I was in seventh grade when I decided to try out, and it was only because my best friend was playing. Little did I know just how organized and complex the game was; I just assumed volleyball was a more intense version of “don’t let the balloon touch the ground.” I never thought that I would become so passionate about this sport that it would have an impact on my character.

It was the day of volleyball tryouts. I was obviously pretty nervous as most should be, but it was way more than that. But something about this current volleyball tryout felt good. Very good.

     The sport of volleyball was created by a man named William G. Morgan of Holyoke, Massachusetts in 1895. Morgan was a physical education teacher at the YMCA and called it "mintonette". It was an indoor or outdoor pastime that had characteristics of both handball and tennis. The first rules were written down by Morgan himself. He wrote that the game called for a 6 foot 6 inch net and a court of 25x50 feet. A match composed of 9 innings and 3 serves for each team in each inning. In case of a serving error they got a second chance just like in tennis. If the ball it the net

The ball whipped through the air, echoing through the gym like the snap from a leather whip. Lauren, our libero,had served. I glanced at the flashing scoreboard and winced at the score: 21-23. The other team had received the ball and were ready to set their outside hitter. Their hitter made a lightning fast approach and the ball spun through the air over to our side, aimed right at me.

Donovan Bailey, an Olympic medalist, once said, “Follow your passion, be prepared to work hard and sacrifice, and, above all, don’t let anyone limit your dreams.” Doing what you love no matter how hard it gets is a very tough thing to do. Being willing to to give effort in order to achieve greatness, is when someone finds their passion. Going through the West Delaware Volleyball program, has given me the chance to see that when you work hard and believe, anything is possible.

In my life, just as everyone else’s, we win and lose some battles, but every once and awhile, we lose a big battle. When I was a sophomore I had tried out for the volleyball team and unfortunately I did not make it. While this was a big loss for me, I soon learned that I would come across a huge achievement.

I grabbed the broom lying against the wall. I started to sweep under the table and into the dustpan. “ Ok I think we’re done.”, “Ok”. I saw that there wasn’t much left to do, so I just started grabbing the plates and cups that were clean. “You’re my bubby” I said grabbing Evelyn by the arm so she would follow me. “I can’t wait until we get to go tubing!”, “Me too”. We took the clean dishes to the ledge and walked back to our table. “Who is tubing?” Cecilia one of our camp counselors asked “ We are” I said speaking for evelyn. “So am I” Georgia and Pier added. “Okay, let’s get you girls changed” We walked out of the dining hall and went back to our cabin. We were out in just a couple minutes, and ready to go tubing. As we walked to the waterfront stairs, we passed the red chairs and hammocks. Our excitement grew. We walked down all 70 steps to get down to the waterfront. As we reached the sand I took off my water shoes and felt the soft sand touch my feet. “Ok Emma is going to wait here with you while I check how long you have to wait until it’s your turn to tube. Emma is the cabin 9

My last middle school volleyball game was over. Next season I would be moving to the junior varsity team, and I was far from looking forward to it. I thought I wanted to stay in middle school volleyball forever, but what I didn’t understand was that I was no longer learning or growing in the position I was in. I had soaked up every bit of knowledge from my coach and team, and now it was time to leave middle school behind.

Mark Zuckerberg once said “The biggest risk is not taking any risk. In a world that is changing quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks." Without the opportunity of taking a risk, I would have never learned the skills imperative to succeed. One significant risk I took during my high school career, was joining my school’s volleyball program.

I have been playing volleyball since I was ten years old. Now that I’m a senior, I applied to be a coach for the seventh grade volleyball team at our local middle school, Taylor. During the first week, I had a small team with nine girls, which was not nearly enough. Tryouts continued and the sign ups trickled in and soon enough, I had seventeen girls and two teams. I was sharing the gym with the sixth and eighth grade teams, so vying for gym time for each team was taxing, not to mention the two games per week for each team. The girls I was working with were scattered in skill level, ranging from beginner to near expert.

Running into the gym with my team, knowing it was my last middle school basketball game, but first championship game I felt elated and truly blessed. My knees quivered with anticipation after seeing all the bleachers filled with people. After realizing even the press and other media was in attendance I grasped the moment like a newly elected president at his inauguration. I am warming up doing basketball drills, when I began to look at the flags on the gym wall depicting the history of the basketball team. The years and dates of the last championship game, Historically a championship game had not been won since 2007 . The more I stared at the flags, the more it made me want to win this game and make history in this gym. As the crowd and cheerleaders start to chant, cheer and get loud, I started to feel more comfortable and rowdy more than I had ever felt in any other game that I’ve played. Waiting for the referee to blow the whistle for jumpall to start. I felt my fingertips tapping the side of my leg, which for some reason gives me a sign to myself that I am pumped up and ready to play!

I felt like I could do anything. The moment was extremely surreal. I hadn’t accomplished anything so arduous in my life. The crowd’s cheers were thundering through my body. I had so much adrenaline coursing through my veins that I wasn’t even weary. People were jumping up and down, screaming in victory, and clapping so loud I couldn’t hear myself think. I couldn’t believe that I had just won the State Championship volleyball game.

I was the start of a new day, the sun was shining, and autumn had decided take over for summer. I just started a new sport, and my first practice was today. My gaze was fixed on the window watching the cars drive by, and then my dad popped the question. The decision that I made about this question has shaped and changed my life forever.

Volleyball, one of the world's greatest sports. From the hot and muggy gym, to sweat dripping down each players face, volleyball is not for the faint of heart. This sport requires a single-minded desire: to win. It takes more than just teamwork to win. Volleyball has always been one of my favorite sports. I would always meet a new friend anywhere I would go. Believe it or not these situations are how you could meet your life long best friends.