Tag: volleyball

Volleyball

brownbeansLeave a comment

The end of an era. I played volleyball for all four years of high school so knowing that it is over is like foreshadowing for the end that is near. This one season is one of the many things that will end this year. I am going to continue to play volleyball, but I will never get to play with this team again. I love playing volleyball, even if I am not that good at it. Freshman and sophomore years, I was so uncoordinated and unbalanced, but I still tried my best. It wasn’t until junior and senior years that I was on varsity and was able to play with the more experienced players. I improved so much from last year and I am still improving each day, I wish I had one more season to play. But, being a super senior isn’t that cool. Senior night was so bittersweet, it was such a fun time while I was playing, but the menacing prescence of it being the last game was always looming over my head. I almost cried so hard but I didn’t want to ruin my make up so I held it in. I am sad that I won’t ever play high school volleyball but I am excited to see where I play next!

credit: Pinterest

Volleyball

candystealer76Leave a comment

This year the volleyball team decided to do one big varsity team instead of varsity and junior varsity. I think it worked out okay because we all got closer to each other, and our team spirit was great. Every game, the players who weren’t playing would support by cheering loudly. Even though we didn’t win a game, I think we still tried our best and did the best we could. There were some downsides to having one big team. When we had away games, we couldn’t bring the whole team to travel with us, so we would have to leave some players behind. It set us off track a bit, but I think overall we worked well together. As the season went by, each one of us improved in one way or another, whether it was getting better at serving overhand, hitting, and even team spirit. A flaw we had this year was losing motivation when we had a bad play, but all it took was one motivational talk in our group huddle, and we were back at it. It was a fun season, and I think everyone tried their hardest to do well, even if we doubted ourselves.

“Volleyball blocking. September 2022“/ CC0 1.0

Sports

leapingwaterLeave a comment

I have never really been interested in sports, especially when I was younger. I never played a sport seriously, nor did I have any interest in watching it either. I think the reason why I overall completely avoided sports was because I felt like I couldn’t do it. I felt like every time that I tried to play sports in elementary school I just didn’t have the “skill.” This was a pretty negative way of thinking. I didn’t want to try. I didn’t have any motivation to, just because I thought I was not going to improve if I was not good at it immediately. This caused me to not branch out and try to find something I liked, which actually applied to other areas in my life involving skill as well. I simply lost motivation way too easily. When Covid hit and online school started, I hardly ever exercised. I thought sports weren’t for me. When I first joined my current school, I was nervous about all of the sports options. There were so many things that I hadn’t tried before. I heard many of the girls in my grade that were joining volleyball, and because I didn’t know what else to do, I joined it as well. When I first began to play volleyball, I was very discouraged. I started putting more effort in, and even though I was so terrible, I enjoyed it. I was excited to go to practice. I would talk to parents about it, and how happy and nervous I was to play in a real game. It is my third year playing volleyball, and although I am still in the JV team (and not good at all), I am so thankful that I first tried playing it.

Also, at the end of September, my best friend and I went to go see a baseball game that she invited me to. I have actually been to one baseball game when I was younger, but I can’t remember very much about it. My best friend first invited me to go during the summer, and we were so excited and ready for the day to come. When we arrived, just being in the environment with so many people passionate about this sport made it all the more exciting. We got into the stadium, and my best friend bought both of us matching jackets! I hadn’t even seen the baseball field yet and I was so happy. I had such an amazing time there watching the game with my best friend who made it even more special, and there was even a fireworks show afterwards. I’m really happy that I have come to appreciate not only playing sports, but watching them too.

pc: me

Center Blocker Bombs

bartholomulethegreatLeave a comment

For the first time in eleven years, my school has a boy’s volleyball team and we have done shockingly well. To begin I play middle blocker, which means that I only play in the front row of the court (against the net) and my main goal is to be a wall that blocks the enemy team’s spikes. I also occasionally spike the ball myself. Going back to the volleyball team as a whole, this season we went 4-5 and made it to CIF as third in the league. Sadly we lost our first match in CIF, but for a team of kids that are just learning how to play the sport, we did quite well. To cover the CIF match we were down for the majority of the first two sets but gained a small lead in the third set but we soon lost that lead and eventually lost the match. I think that we played the best we have all season at that specific match and we still have so much room to grow individually, as well as a team. If all of us put our minds to it and work hard we will get there and eventually destroy the league we play in and get first in the league.

Image Credit: Santa Cruz Sentinal

CIF Volleyball

udarsh318Leave a comment

Yoooooo so Volleyball made CIF somehow, even though we’re like 5-4 in the league. But it’s gonna be lit. We leave at two in the afternoon and the game starts at six in the evening so that’s really cool. We’re gonna be back at like 11 or 12 or something crazy like that, which is so ass, but I’m still excited. It’s hopefully gonna be an incredible game and we’re all super excited. It’s like the culmination of everything we’ve worked for this whole sports season and we are not gonna go quietly. We all love Volleyball and are all beyond passionate about it and cannot wait for the game. Anyway, wish us luck because we are gonna need it.

How to Play Volleyball – Rules & Key Moves | Olympic Channel
Photo cred- Olympics https://olympics.com/en/featured-news/how-to-play-volleyball

Pilgrim Game

udarsh318Leave a comment

Yesterday, we had our second volleyball game against the Pilgrim School. The first time we played them it was at their court which was nice cause it was indoor and stuff, but this time it was a home game. Having it as a home game definitely makes a difference too. We have an outdoor grass court which is far different from an indoor court, you lose a lot of energy jumping on grass compared to jumping on a court, as the grass absorbs a ton of the power you put into the jump to go for a block or spike. Anyway, we did a lot better this time around than when we played them a month or two ago. We were playing our best then but our best was not very good, now we played our best and we held our own. The first time we played them we lost every set and only scored around 12 or 15 points in the three sets, but this time we were able to win two sets which were just awesome. We have never played like that before and we might not again, but honestly, I’m proud of what we did. This is the first year that our school has even had a boys volleyball team ever, and not a single one of us has ever played competitive volleyball in our entire lives. But man do we love it. I think it might be the favorite sports season we’ve had for most if not all of us even though we are probably not going to win the league like we have for the other two sports seasons. Despite our complete lack of experience, we have some incredible players that have held it down for the team in quite a few games. Anyway, next year we are going to beat Pilgrim for sure, we will all have more experience and since none of us are seniors, we will be playing with the same group of guys we have been playing with this year which means we won’t have to relearn the game and how we play with one another. Anyway, I love volleyball and I think our game against Pilgrim only reinforced that love for the sport.

BYU men's volleyball one win away from national title
Photo Credit- Salt Lake Tribune https://www.sltrib.com/sports/byu-cougars/2021/05/06/byu-mens-volleyball-one/

Volleyball

udarsh318Leave a comment

So we started boys volleyball recently. It first boys team at the school in like 20 years which is pretty cool. But honestly, I’m loving it. It’s so fun like genuinely and the games just don’t seem long enough. I’m a starter too which is really cool. We had two games this week, one against SCVI and one against Pilgrim school. We beat SCVI which is pretty cool because I don’t think we were really expecting to. But we played Pilgrim today and we definitely knew we would lose but we put up a good fight. It was honestly some of the best volleyball we’ve played ever. Which I guess isn’t saying a whole lot seeing as we’ve only been playing for a couple weeks but that’s beside the point. I got home and took my shoes off and my toes are literally bleeding from playing, that’s how hard we were trying. Pilgrim was definitely the better team though, but they have had a boys team for a long time. We genuinely were improving as we played the game and it was frickin awesome. We have two more games next week and I can’t wait to see how we do.

Hawaii vs. BYU: 2021 NCAA men's volleyball national championship highlights - YouTube
Photo Credit- NCAA Championships, Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0gpwY1xh-Y

Make It or Break It

kennyroo

https://i0.wp.com/www.conejovalleyguide.com/storage/CalHeatVBClogo.jpgClub season is back again! Every year in October, each volleyball club holds a series of tryouts for the upcoming season. In the past I’ve played for California Heat Volleyball Club. I decided to return back to my club for yet another season.

Just because I am a returning player, does not mean tryouts are any easier. The moment you walk in the door you are handed a number to attach to your shirt, and your picture is taken. Tryouts are daunting for anyone; you’re competing against tons of other girls for the same spot, your spot. Every Coach at the club sits in chairs lined up along the court watching every move you make. That alone can throw you off your game; nonetheless the idea that another girl could potentially take your spot on the roster.

What you do in those two hours sums you up to every coach sitting there, and ultimately makes or breaks you. It’s easy to let one mistake throw off your entire game. The end of tryouts comes and the head coach reads off a set of numbers. If your number is called, you’re being offered a spot. Thankfully, my number was called yet another year, and I was offered a spot for a division one age 17’s team. No matter how good you are, or how long you’ve been playing, tryouts are nerve-racking. I think it’s extremely vital that you stay relaxed throughout the entire thing, but fight for what you want. Show them what you’ve got.

The Week That Changed My Life

kennyroo

This year, my club volleyball team California Heat had the opportunity to go to the Volleyball Festival, which is otherwise known as Nationals, in Phoenix, Arizona. We left on a Tuesday night at 12 a.m. so we could drive all night. The 4 teams took a gigantic tour bus that drove from state to state. With parents in tow behind us, it took us a total of eight hours to get there.

While sitting on a bus for that long is not super fun by any means, it created memories that I will never forget. The bus pulled up to our home for the next week and we all unloaded. After catching up on some much needed sleep, some girls from my team and I explored downtown Phoenix. The next day we had our first nine-hour set of playing volleyball in Arizona, which took a toll on all of us.

We as a team are used to long tournaments, but the thought that it was our life for the next week was daunting. After our long days of playing, the team and parents went out to dinner. Not only was playing nine to eleven-hour tournaments with my team a fear that we all conquered together, but also the time we had off the court was unforgettable. It is so interesting how experiences that a group shares together transform us all in the same way. Driving away from Arizona I felt like I did not only leave a 1st place champion, I left with memories I will take with me to my grave.

festival
Photo Credit To: http://www.volleyball-festival.com/

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Goodbye, Volleyball

rangerthecatLeave a comment

Have you ever had a day in your life that you wish you could do over?

Today was one of these days. Nothing tragic happened, thankfully, nothing life-changing either. But, today was my very last high school volleyball game; my last loss in a high school volleyball game, to be exact.

We lost, and although I wish we had won, that’s not the biggest disappointment.

I just really wish the varsity team had something to show for all of our effort.

We were not the team I know that we could have been. If I could have changed something, it would have been our attitudes, our willingness to try even though we know we might fail.

I will not deny, though, that this season has had its great moments. We have all grown as individuals on and off the court and we have grown together as a team. Even against the toughest public high school varsity teams, we kept fighting until the end. We might have had a losing season, but it was still an amazing one.

There are no words to describe how much I will miss playing volleyball and what an amazing time I have had with the other 7 girls this season. I am so proud of us 🙂