Personal Narrative: The Most Important Part Of A Volleyball Team

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.

I was sitting in the quiet wrestling trailer listening to the rustling of pads and the click-clack of cleats on the floor. Of course I was already dressed, my pre game routine always on time unlike my teammates. Ten minutes early is on time and on time is ten minutes late. Everything was tucked in perfectly, every string and undone shoelace was taped down. Our trainer had taped my ankles perfectly, unlike the useless student-trainers who always tried to tape us before Andrew could get to it. My cleats, tied as tight as possible. The spats on my cleats kept the jarring of the torn ligaments in my ankle to a minimum. The compact tape made me feel safe, a little pain to know I was alive, just how I liked it. My compression knee sleeve reached into my Nike socks, the white color faded and stained from the sweat and blood. My knee brace followed, perfectly tightened at every strap. The amount of tape covering every inch of my brace almost looked uncomfortable. White wrist tape and white gloves, the underside of my left wrist bearing a date, 7-28-12 as a reminder of the hard work. I could feel my hands clamming up underneath my gloves with every tap on the shoulder I received as my coaches passed by. My heart was racing, but my hands were still. I had forgotten the sound of the loud slow rhythmic thumps of the drums as we lined up outside the trailer. Bum-Bum-Bum, I was timing my steps with the slow beats as I got to the front. I locked hands with my two best friends and began

I went back to the service like and took a deep breath in, and I thought to myself, “I can do this, for the team, and for district. Over and in, over and in.” I served and the other team shanked it, I served again and again, and next thing you know, we are up by seven. From serving and scoring so many points got the rest of the team pumped, and we ended up winning that game.

Volleyball has been a large part of my life the past five years as I've played on Greenwood High School's Team. My transition from elementary school to middle involved joining the high school volleyball team, along with two other to-be seventh graders. These past few years have been marked with both struggle and triumph as we experienced three different coaches as the original coach stepped down. This left us with only 14 girls to play with one year, when an average volleyball team plays with 30 girls. We struggled as a team that year but we also came closer together through shared experience, which enabled us to work together even better as a team the year after under the tutelage of our third coach. My ninth grade year I participated very heavily on the team as I played both Freshman and

Yesterday we weren't champions, yesterday we were just a typical team. We weren't expected to be Minnesota State, Class A, Girls Basketball champions. We were going up against the number one team in the state, the team that beat every other team by at least 30 points. Everyone thought that we would have gotten beat by 30 points too, but it was yesterday when all of that changed.

“Wooooo! Let’s go!” We cheered and clapped as we all bolted on to the court to begin warm ups. The cheering of the fans brought butterflies to my stomach. We warmed up for thirty minutes, but it went by much faster than expected. Beeeeeep! The buzzer went off and we gathered at the bench.

opposing team, had the ball. Here comes the ball bouncing, and banging on the court like a crowd

As I viewed the ladder of this seasons spring tennis list, I joyfully thought of all the fun and easiness this year will bring considering im 11th on the list which puts me at the junior varsity team. Then comes the actual start of the season with practices in 80 degree weather and challenges made by the coach to try and see who has improved. Funny enough, I won both games and got to be 9th on the varsity team.

Tennis is marvelous. I picked up a racquet for the first time last season and decided I wanted to try a new sport. Tennis is the first and only sport that I've played that I hadn't started when I was about five. Being behind others who had been playing for a while was a new experience to me. Last year I worked my way up to the top spot on Junior Varsity and ended the season playing some varsity. This year I am number six on Varsity and hopefully, I will work my way further up as the season progresses. Today is our first match. I am playing doubles with Elli V-C and I am ecstatic. She is so sweet and a very supportive teammate. Tennis was surprisingly really easy for me to pick up. I am beyond glad that I decided to step out of my comfort zone

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.

Let's us deal with another post about a volleyball weekend, but don't worry since it probably is the last I'll post about club volleyball. To continue, this weekend I had to drive to Minnesota for a three-day weekend. I'm just going to sum up the tournament for you so you don't have to deal with it. To conclude, my team didn't do well with 1-6, but I didn't expect much since it was such a big tournament, with the name of Northern Lights Qualifier. I'll at least talk about what I did in Minnesota that doesn't include volleyball. On Friday, my team and I went to the Mall of America and I spent most of my time there walking around. I at least got a Supernatural shirt from Hot Topic and some snacks on the way. In the morning on Saturday, my team

I first started playing volleyball at a very young age. I was in the seventh grade when my volleyball career started. My sister started playing in the seventh grade and I just wanted to follow her footsteps. My seventh grade year was ok because I had just started out and really didn’t know the game. There was A team and a B team, where A team was better than the B team. I tried my best to be on the A-team, but guess where I ended up, on the B team.

I know that even though my label comes with negative thoughts I know that I will never be ashamed for loving to play volleyball. Hearing people say things to make darkness override just makes me want to work harder and prove them wrong. Enjoying something that makes you feel like you belong should never make you switch your light because you will always make up to a new bright

The gyms are full of hot and sweaty people. No air conditioning, but with just a little wind from some fans over head. People bump into each other in the crowded rooms. Whistles are blowing, players are yelling with excitement, while some are upset about a loss. Teams are winning and teams are losing. Outside, the beach waves are washing up onto the sand. The sounds of seagulls’ wings flapping against the air. Children splashing the water with excitement.

When I played volleyball I took it for granted. I never realized how precious playing the sport is until it's all taken away from you in a blink of an eye. Everyday I went to the court, I went to win, I went to rule over everyone, I went to grow as a player. For instance, I put myself out there as a potential choice for different clubs and colleges that I wanted to experience in the future. My dream was to get a athletic scholarship and go out of state.