A Lifetime of Volleyball

I don’t remember a time when volleyball was not in my life. My parents played when we were younger and my childhood is filled with memories of hanging out in various gyms that may have had more than one building code violation…just speculation here. We moved to Atlanta when I was 9 and our house was next door to the neighborhood sand volleyball court. My family spent some special days playing in the neighborhood volleyball tournament (my team won twice, if you’re interested) and driving downtown to watch the Georgia Tech women’s volleyball team. To be honest, I’m not even sure I was really a fan of the sport, it was just something my family did. For me, I was a ballerina who dabbled in tumbling, violin, and swim team and that was enough for me…or so I thought.

High School Volleyball

After two years of homeschooling (we’ll tackle that topic another day), I was preparing start my sophomore year at a new school. My parents suggested I try out for the volleyball team to meet some people before school officially started. I’m going to be honest, I did not know what I was doing. I had backyard volleyball skills, but I didn’t know the first thing about volleyball drills and proper technique and I was wearing inexplicably large kneepads. But, I caught the bug that my parents had honed for years and I soon wanted to know everything. I loved being on the court, I loved training my muscles to memorize the footwork and arm positions that volleyball required, and I loved competing.

As much as I loved competition, we were really bad that first year. I’m not sure of our exact record, but I guarantee the loss column was bigger than in the win column. Not only did we not have the skills, we also didn’t know the game very well. That year we unsurprisingly lost a game and while the other team had moved off the court, we were ready for the next play, not realizing that the game was over. Tragic.

The next year, we did a little better, but we were still a middle-of-the-conference team. We were getting better and, most importantly, we knew when the games were over this season!

After my junior season I started playing club volleyball, but my high school team was always my favorite. A large part of that was due to my high school coach, Coach Bridger. From the first day I walked into the gym, Coach Bridger taught me everything I know about volleyball. In addition, I trained with him during the summers in preparation for my college seasons. He is the person I respect most in the volleyball world (besides my dad) and the person I always wanted to impress with my play.

The beginning of my senior season was hampered by a slow recovery from back surgery on a herniated disc. It was difficult to be patient because I just wanted to be able to play my senior year. That was the proverbial carrot dangling in front of me and after sitting out the first few games, I was back!

My senior year, 2005, our school was hosting the GISA State Championships and we won on our home court in front of a fun crowd! This was the same court where I learned the fundamentals of volleyball and caught the volleyball bug that would eventually take me across the country to play in tournaments. Quite deservedly, Coach Bridger was also named Coach of the Year for that 2005 season. He took a group of girls with very limited volleyball skills, taught us technique and the game, and turned us into state champions within 3 years. The guy is seriously good!

After graduation, I did play volleyball in college and while those memories are also sweet and I also made lifelong friends, it is difficult to replicate the memory of learning a game with your friends and then eventually winning together.

Full Circle

My Dad is now the varsity volleyball coach at a local high school, and Coach Bridger came back to do a skills clinic for the team this week. Watching him coach took me right back to my 15 year old self (minus the questionable clothing choices and the retainer I should have worn more often). I had one of my favorite days ever just hanging in the gym again surrounded by my dad, Coach Bridger, and volleyball.

I am thankful that volleyball is a lifetime sport and that I made lifetime friends while playing. And, who knows, maybe one of my boys will catch the volleyball bug too.