Volleyball
Author: Kylee Kim | Category: Unkown category | Date: 06-11-2020
I’ve been playing volleyball since I was 9 years old. I was introduced to it by my dad, who played in his high school varsity team. When I first watched a volleyball game, I knew little to nothing about the number of rules, nor the technique required to play that game. I had just moved to San Francisco and had to quit my dance studio and soccer team that were both based in LA. With little physical activity, my parents signed me up for a class at a local YMCA. With around 7 years of experience, I can say that volleyball has not only taught me physical technique and strategy but has also hugely impacted my life emotionally and mentally.
From the very beginning of my volleyball career, I was a shy person. I had not learned to escape from my shell until volleyball gave me a voice. One of the most important aspects of a team’s strength is their communication. Whether it be calling for a set to make a play, or deciding on who is going to get the next touch, there always has to be communication. I never had the courage to scream until I was told I had to in order to be a good player. My weak shout turned into a demanding and powerful voice where I can be a central player in helping the team’s energy and consistency when it came to talking on the court. Communication is a key part of life too. Had I stayed sheltered like I was in elementary school, I would have not become the outgoing and social person I am today. Volleyball is the one consistency that helped me develop my personality and strengthen my weaknesses. In this way, it is similar to other sports, athletics a great way of building character and friendships, while also becoming a better athlete.
The thing that caused me to love and stay with volleyball for such a long time stems from the way that it is set apart from other sports. In volleyball, you can only touch the ball once in a row, otherwise, you have to wait for another player to touch it before it can be sent back over the net on the third touch. My coach of close to five years once told me this: “Volleyball forces the team to cooperate and communicate with each other. If a play goes wrong, everyone has to shake it off and talk to each other as if it never happened because you can’t play volleyball with one player.” Unlike other sports where there is such a thing as “ball-hogging,” volleyball players such as myself are forced to be able to let it go to another person. This sports truly emphasizes the phrase “there is no ‘I’ in ‘Team.’” It’s a long game, up to three sets with twenty-five or fifteen points to win. If we don’t forgive and forget about the last play, we don’t stand a chance. The emotional capacity I have built for talking to my teammates and making sure they don’t feel the burden of the whole game is something that I treasure because I use it in everyday life. Someone shouldn’t feel alone on the court or in life and I feel like volleyball is the only sport that has been able to teach me such trust and friendship.
As I enter this new season with a new group of teammates and a new level of competition, I hope that I can build friendships with my seniors and juniors and reach a new level of trust and enjoyment for the sport with each other. Volleyball is the real team game since there is no possible way to play it without each other.
About: Kylee Kim
