Bump, Set, Spike!

I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle-victorious." --Vince Lombardi

When I was 15 I joined a team, a group, a sisterhood of sorts when I stepped into Hell Week. It was the one week in the summer when everything else was put aside.  When twice a day, I gave everything I had to a game.  I'm a huge fan of Friday Night Lights, the movie, the tv show, the atmosphere.  But years ago I lived for other nights, game nights.  I lived for volleyball.  I trained all year long, all the other sports I played were for the volleyball season.  In less you were in that gym, you may not understand and it's hard to describe.

My coach was Tom Finicle, not a guy that at first glance you would be intimidated by.  But he could yell and he could motivate.  He motivated with balls being thrown at your head at speeds paralleled with major league pitchers.  He motivated with wind sprints, running laps and if you were lucky you got to carry a medicine ball while you ran.  He motivated with inspirational quotes on t shirts, old ball skins, and letters sent to players during study hall.  He hated failure but he also hated winning when you hadn't won by playing your best.locker room until he stopped his ranting. 

The volleyball teams were always successful and I guess that fueled the hard work.  You knew you were on a winning team.  We were as respected as the boys' football team.  It also meant that certain things were expected of you especially as a senior.  As a senior you were expected to lead the underclassman and if they screwed up the seniors were held accountable.  We fought amongst ourselves but we also fought for each other.  One time during a game against an opposing team, I saw an ex-boyfriend.  He was there cheering on his new girlfriend on the other side of the net from me.  I pointed this out to a friend in the front row, who had a wicked spike, and a bad temper.  She asked for the next ball and when it came to her she spiked it into the chest of the 'new girlfriend' and she left the game in tears.  He approached me after the game and asked if that was intentional....I of course had no idea what he was suggesting. Anyway, we took care of each other.

1991 Seniors

You know how I hate Math?  Well, I wasn't very good in school at all, but Volleyball was my motivation.  I trained in the class room so I could train in the gym!  I wish I had that same body and was in that good of shape and could still wear spandex like I did back then!  It wasn't all bad stuff.  We had great camaraderie.  We were friends off the court.  My favorite thing was to have random sleepovers.  At the end of the game, in the locker room we would start planning.  Our parents usually obliged.  They were very supportive and were friends in the stands.  It was great to be part of a team, a successful one at that.

So what did I learn from Volleyball and Fin......A couple years ago I poured out my heart on paper and shared some of this with Fin, I thought it was important for him to know what Volleyball did for me.

What I learned...

*to curse....I know it's not nice but I remember during my 100th windsprint of the practice that I uttered my first curse word, but it was a long time ago. ;)

*weight control and the importance of exercise......I never wanted to run with the medicine ball and I made it thru 3 years without doing so until the last practice my senior year.  I can still hear Fin yelling....

*it takes an entire roll of tape to wrap an ankle......That ankle thing I'm dealing with started because of VB.

*how to mouth off......enough said.

*hard work pays off but not in ways you think....I'm not talented by nature, everything takes work.

*how to stick up for what is right....because at one time a Coach stood up for me.

*discipline......it was drilled into me.

*when the going gets tough the tough gets going......VB training was perfect training for my life as a military wife.  Sometimes you get bombarded with balls such as deployments, moving, or having babies without your spouse present.  You experience the highs and the lows.  And more than once you face your fears and learn what you are made of.

You see, volleyball was more than a game.  First of all, we were a sorority.  We had an understanding.  It was a sisterhood that to this day over a 25 year history of playing for Finicle still stands. 

Volleyball prepared me for the game of 'Life'.  I of course didn't realize this until about 20 years later.  Volleyball and life in general are interchangeable.  I'm grateful for the lessons it taught me while doing thru some of the hardest years of my life.  Some people say that sports are just that, sports.  But I think for every coach out there they need to understand that it's more than just a sport, they are preparing these kids for the big game of Life: winning, lose, success, failure, hard work, pride, discipline.  Tonight the VolleyKnights played in the semi-finals, no matter the score or the outcome, I am a part of that legacy.  It was and still is one of my finest hours, but then again I guess you'd have to have played the game to understand.