Much More Than Just Skills

You know that day when everything seems to be going horribly that you feel that things just can’t get much worse? Or you feel like your never going to get a “yes” in your entire life and you are just going to be turned down by constant “no’s?” Well, everyone experiences a “no” in their life, at least, I know I have.  It’s not the happiest thing to hear in your life. All I know is I have experienced that word many times in life and the word just doesn’t seem to go away, ever. There are a numerous amount of times where I could describe a situation where I heard the word no. But one of them has always stuck with me.
         When I was in middle school, I was pretty athletic and I always seemed to be a happy person. Our school had a volleyball team. I never touched a volleyball in my life until seventh grade and I never knew that one word of “No,” could lead me to where I am today. I remember playing volleyball in middle school on the team and I remember not being able to serve overhand. People had always told me that I would never be at such a level to be able to play in high school. That right there, hearing the word “no,” made me want to play in high school even more, not just because I wanted to prove them wrong, but I also loved the sport so much and I knew I wanted to continue to play it.
         Middle school volleyball for the rest of the year and eighth grade too. From the first time I stepped onto the volleyball court, I had a new determination to become the best I could be. But people just didn’t believe I could do it and if I wanted to do it, I would need a lot of training and coaching. So I did just that. During the summer before becoming a freshman at high school, I had a coach help me with volleyball so I could make the freshman team in high school.
         At our very first practice with only a few girls in the group, at Friess Lake School, he asked us to do a transition from the ten foot line to the net and back. Well, I attempted it and it turned ugly. He looked at me like,” What do you think you are doing?” He saw that I was trying and decided to help me from the very beginning. We practiced three times a week at that gym and shockingly, I got better. It had only been a month and I remember him telling me, “You know what…I think you might have potential, I am proud of you, Corina.” From that day forward, I knew hearing that I couldn’t do it was just a lie and that I could if I put my mind to it. That is exactly what I did.
         I tried out in August for the Freshman Volleyball Team and I was a nervous wreck. I was so scared that I would mess up and forget about my transitions and all those technical things. Well, lucky for me, no one else really seemed to have a clue what they were doing either. Tryouts passed and I was called into the little room. I walked very fast while I saw someone come out of the same room in tears. My stomach dropped to my feet at that point. I sat down on the chair where the Freshman Coach and the Varsity Coach sat in front of me. They looked at me and said, “Congratulations, you made the team.”
At first, I didn’t know what to think or say. Then it hit me that all my hard work had paid off. Thanks to that coach who actually believed in me and wanted me to succeed.
         Ever since then, I have played volleyball from freshman level to JV and for the past two years, I have been on Varsity. Since I actually loved the sport a lot, I tried out for Club Volleyball freshman year and since then too, I have played club, first for Eclipse for two years and then G-Force. I tried out for Milwaukee Sting last year which is one of the best clubs in the state and I was told a no. But then two days later I got a call that they wanted me on their 17 3’s team. Unfortunately, I had already told G-Force I would play for them. I guess this time I got too many “yes’s.”
         In the end, I learned a lesson. When you think you can’t push yourself any harder, that is when you push to do your very best and try even harder. From the first day I touched a volleyball to now, I don’t see the same person. I see a person who is way more determined not only with volleyball, but also in her everyday life.