Volleyball changed the trajectory of my life. I resort to volleyball for everything: boredom, sadness, nice weather, a beach day, upset, frustration, anger. It is just an escape, my escape. But one thing that ties into volleyball is having good teammates, teammates that let it be an outlet for you.

I have played with almost the same group of girls since 7th grade. In the 7th grade I wanted something new to do. I was bored of soccer and looking for something completely different. I decided that I would try out for volleyball. Trying out that first year of the school season was terrifying. I knew of all of the girls and they seemed like they were all very close. Me on the other hand had never had a real conversation with any of them. As soon as the list was made, we had all begun to share something in common, volleyball. We started to feel comfortable around each other and we all got very close. Then the season ended. Once the season ended, we all drifted back apart only exchanging waves and smiles.

Before I knew it, it became time for 8th grade tryouts. We had a one week camp during the summer, we instantly re-clicked. That week we spent together was an insight to what this year’s season would become. The day of tryouts came in a blink of the eye. The same girls who were on the team last year all played each other in a . We were scrimmaging, laughing, and overall, just having fun. This year the coaches said they would send an email to us that night to tell us if we made it or not. After tryouts we were all waiting for our rides and we were just talking about how its going to be almost the same team as before. Later that night we got our email and two of the best players there and I had not made it. We were shocked. I was texting one of the other girls who didn’t make it- we were pretty close- and we both decided to be managers so we could still be part of the team.

We all had a good season and were even closer due to changes in friend groups and being around each other almost every day. Even though my friend and I weren’t aloud at practices all the players treated us as if we played with them on the courts.

We waited a few months after October which is when our season ended and we got the email that high school conditioning would be starting in the middle of March. Just like the email had stated we did start conditioning every Tuesday and Thursday. Once the summer started, we began to have more condition and we started to play more. This helped us start early bonding and we all knew what was going to happen.

The day of tryouts came, it was August first and second. Three of the girls had a birthday either on the first or second so after day one of tryouts we all went and got ice cream. The second day was when we found out if we made it or not. The freshman coach called us randomly to the back and gave us a little speech. After every girl came back from the meeting you could tell who made it or not. We started to recognize the pattern, all of the girls who had made it were either on the seventh or eighth grade team.

Practice started right away and since we all knew each other fairly well there was no awkward stage. Us having that connection made sure we had a very productive season. Starting in a few weeks we will start conditioning and be reunited as a team again. It is very important to have a supportive team who is always uplifting you and making you a better player and this is what we do.