Crappy Play
Man, I played the crappiest volleyball game yesterday. Maybe I’m just down because it was my team’s first loss this season. The team we played was one of those teams with a bunch of jumpy, manly, hard-hitting guys. They had the two required females, who obviously felt inferior to the guys’ playing ability. Our team, on the other hand, has all girls and two boys. So, I feel pretty good when we hold our own up against the crazy boy teams.
Anyway, I had a couple of really good hits. But, I’m mostly remembering the stupid hits. The ones where I got a piece of the ball and sent it flying the wrong direction. Or the times I tried to tap it up to the setter, but hit it too hard and gave the manly men a perfect set with which to smash it back in my face. It was indeed a hard game. I know I was capable of better play but it just wasn’t there last night.
I was reflecting on how volleyball, or any sport game for that matter, is kind of like life condensed in a short period of time. You have a good hit and everyone gives you high-fives and you feel all good about yourself. Then a crazy ball comes and you hit it out to the bleachers. Everyone gives you a “it’s okay, better next time!” kind of thing. You try to shake it off. Then you hit another crappy ball and another. Then people start telling you what to do. “Turn your body! Angle to the net!” Blah blah blah. And you know how to hit it, but for some dumb reason you’re just not hitting it right. You start to feel bad. “Why am I playing this???” you ask yourself. But then, you hit another super ball and you’re feeling good. High-fives all around.
And you experience all of these ups and downs in the course of one game. I guess I think playing volleyball has not only been super for me physically, but also in strengthening me mentally. I need to focus on evening out my emotions. Not letting big hits go to my head and bad hits get me down. I need to look at every ball as a new day, a fresh start, and attack it with all I have an know. Then, after it’s hit, learn from it, forget about it, then prep for the next ball. Kind of like life…