Ever since I was a little girl I’ve loved sports. Baseball, volleyball, basketball, hockey, track and field, dance, and figure skating. You name it, I’ve done it . It wasn’t ‘til elementary school, around grade 7 and 8, when I really gained a passion for sports. Yeah, I played a lot, but none of them really ever stood out to me as a “passion”…expect for one: Volleyball.
It all started for me when I played in a tournament in grade 8 and won. I loved that feeling. I loved the feeling of me and my teammates sharing that moment together after all the hard work we’d put in all year. I couldn’t wait to get to highschool and play with a bunch of new people, and against teams that I’d never played before but wow, did the game ever change when I got into highschool. I still remember my first tryouts like it was yesterday. Oddly enough, I wasn’t scared. Everyone was super kind and helpful. We practiced drills, practiced rotations I’d never learned before and ran. We ran a lot! Although it was of course overwhelming at times, who knew that this would be the start of the best 4 years of my life, filled with tears, joy, laughs, wins, losses, and the most amazing memories ever.
Fast forward 4 years, and I’m in my last year of highschool (which felt like forever, even though it was grad in a blink of an eye). My team and I had just had just got the news that we were going to be playing in the NSSSA finals for a chance to go to NOSSA. Of course, we were over the moon because if we won, this would be our 4th year in a row going. The date for games were set and, luckily, we had the advantage of hosting. This meant we got to play in our own gym, a place where we’ve been practicing all season long. We knew those court lines like the back of our hands. As the days of anticipation lead up to this big moment, we practiced late after the sun had set, and we worked even harder knowing that this could be it. This could be the end of our high school volleyball careers.
When game day finally arrived, I was really nervous but also very excited. I didn’t want this to be the end. I loved volleyball, I never wanted to stop playing. I woke up bright and early, made sure I had everything I needed for the games like my shoes, socks, ankle braces, knee pads, and a water bottle. When I got to the school, we all went into the change room put on our jerseys and headed out to the court. Then, we all partnered up, grabbed a volleyball and waited for the ref to blow the whistle for the captains. Once warm ups started, I could always feel the other teams eyes staring at my team and I while we served and practiced our hitting. It was kind of intimidating, but we wanted them to see how well we played the game. When warm ups were done, it was time to get on the court. Like routine, we would all line up at the end of the court, wait for the whistle to blow then walk up to our designated spots and get ready to receive the first serve. As I waited to receive the first serve, my heart raced with anxiety and sweat dribbled down my forehead. I faintly heard the crowd cheering, but what I was really focused on was setting that ball up for a smash. Once I saw the ball serve off my opponent’s hand and fly over to our side of the net, my teammate bumped it up to our setter and she set it up to the middle, which was me. I thought to myself, this is it, it’s my time to shine. I approached the ball and smashed it over the net to the ground on the other side. I remember hearing the crowd cheering, my teammates encouraging me and I was ecstatic.
When the game end approached, the score was relatively close, and we were getting a little worried but like always, we worked together and got the winning point. That was one of my favourite moments in all of my 4 years. The minute that ball hit the floor and the point was ours, we all jumped and screamed in excitement. To think that my teammates and I had come this far was an amazing feeling. This was 4 years in a row going to NOSSA. Not only am I thankful for all the memories that volleyball has given me, I’m also very thankful for all of my teammates that became family. We’ve been through all of it together and I would do it all again in a heartbeat
