As High School Volleyball is coming to an end, rather than sad, our house is mostly just flat out excited. The end of the High School season means the beginning of the Club season. And it’s true that there are politics involved in Club season, because it’s life and that’s just the way it is. But nothing can hold a candle to the kind of politics that happens in the High School season of Volleyball. Never have I experienced the ability of a group to try and remove all the fun and love of a sport from the playing of a sport at the High School level, which is sad because that’s what kids dream about, playing for their High School. But, there it is...high school sports are just rough now.
The kids are put through the wringer. The parents are put through the wringer. And always there is a sense of potential doom. When I played, you kind of had this feeling that if you made the team one year it was because the coach believed in you and you had a great chance of continuing the years after. Now? Nope. Every statement Sydney makes it, “Well, if I happen to make the team next year...”. And I can’t reassure her, all I can say is “ Yeah, we’ll see.” And then I remind her that High School ball is not the end, it’s a beginning. It’s fun if it happens for you, but it’s just as fun if it doesn’t because she will find plenty of other worthwhile fun things to do in that free time. There is volleyball to be played with or without high school.
Club tryouts this year were really hard, and emotional. You spend months with the same players and families and you get close to each other. When the Clubs manipulate the teams your players don’t always stay together. At the end of the day, doing the best for your kid is the only thing that should happen. For us, we had to try to find the best spot for both our girls. We were pretty secure that Sydney would have a spot, there were just barely enough girls for two 15 age group teams. And Sydney was offered the 1’s team on the first day. Madison’s age group definitely didn’t have enough girls to fill more than one team, so we had to wait and worry and wonder through the first day of tryouts. As we were walking out of tryouts on the first day, Madison had not been talked to by the coach, the same coach she had last season. She was quiet but still hopeful, because Madison will remain hopeful until she can’t be anymore. Eric and I were concerned and stressed for sure. Without playing High School ball, Madison doesn’t have as many coaches seeing her play and knowing her, plus there are less teams in this age group, less options for her.
Her tryout on Day one was good, but the setter trying out didn’t like Madison so she wasn’t being set and never got to hit unless someone else had to get second ball. It was interesting because the coach from her first year (was also her team’s assistant coach last year) so she knows Madison and when she came up to watch with us she asked how Madison was doing, we just smiled and shrugged - pointing out the setter issue and how this could be a rough year for her to make the team, let alone be on the team because of animosity from a potential teammate. It was nice for the coach to see what we were talking about firsthand, and it made her unhappy too, so it wasn’t just us.
At the end of day one, while we loaded up Bradley and his gear, the coach for this year’s team called her over, told her he had a place for her if she wanted it. She was a fast and excited yes. She has never been on a 1’s team, always a 2. She’s always been working to get to a 1’s team though. Not long after we got home, the coach made the official phone call and offered her a spot on his 1’s team. Madison was so excited she was dancing and then she was crying. Sydney might have been a bit misty herself because she had accepted her spot on the contingency that she was only staying if her sister was staying. She would have gone with Madison where ever, but she sure wanted to stay.
For us, we were thrilled for the girls. They were where they wanted to be. But we were also sad with them, along the way they had lost some of their friends - some to different teams, clubs or even a few that stopped volleyball. We knew we had some tight connections in our volleyball family, but until that day, the reality that these girls might not stay together hadn’t felt real. It was now real. Families that mean the world to us, are ones we’ll see in passing at practices or maybe tournaments. Now we have to make the time to sit and share a meal and catch up, connections we will work harder to maintain for sure. But it is certainly tough, it was hard on us, and it was hard on the kids.
By the time Sunday night rolled around, we knew about everyone but one girl and her family. Probably the one player and friend that Sydney has become closest too over the last two years, and her decision on where she was going to play we knew would be the hardest for her to make and the hardest one for us to lose if she chose another team. We love her family, in Orlando, Sydney and I spent most of our free time with this girl and her mom because we are that close. When they finally made a choice and let us know - I actually cried, and cheered - so did Sydney. She is staying with Sydney for at least this year, and for Sydney (and us) this season is already pretty great and we don’t get started until November.
Just like life: we lost a lot, we gained a lot, and managed to keep at least one of those precious connections that keeps everything worth it. The girls are in a good place, still with some good people, so that makes us happy. One more High School Volleyball game for Sydney on Tuesday and then clear the slate to get them both ready for a long, and hopefully fun Club season. Dad, Mom, and Bradley will be cheering the whole way. 😁🏐
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