volleyball at the Y

 

It’s been almost six months now that we’ve been playing volleyball at the Y, once a week.  We went to a one-time event called “healthy happy hour” where we played and Jack got inspired, so we collected email addresses and drummed up support for more volleyball time.  Now he’s the volunteer coordinator for it, which means that we set up and take down the net and shoo away the basketball players who sometimes try to shoot hoops on the side of our game.  It also means we have to show up every week.

Especially during the stress of this summer and early fall, I found that every single week I did not want to go, but then every single time I enjoyed myself.  I suppose there’s a lesson there.

I think Jack would like to play more in a more competitive place, and I would enjoy that too, but for now, this has been a convenient, inexpensive way to return to team sports and to do something fun together.

We usually have about 10-12 people show up and every single week there is a new person.  The level of play varies considerably, but the inclusive spirit of the YMCA is definitely part of what I like about it.  We have some regulars who are pretty good but some of the better people who came at the beginning stopped showing up, presumably because they didn’t want to risk playing with people that were considerably less skilled.  We’ve had a good run the last few weeks, with some thrillingly long volleys.  Last week I even dove for the ball successfully and a wild hit actually made a basket.

In these Trumped out days, the diversity of the players is also quite welcome.  Superficially, the group and the revolving cast of new players is racially, ethnically and linguistically diverse, but I also have the sense that we are economically diverse.  Part of the advantage of volleyball is that you play in close proximity (without physical contact, ideally) so you can joke a bit, but in the loud, reverberant gym, there is no pressure to actually converse.  I know most regular players’ names, but only one person other than Jack’s job.  It’s simply about playing and being a good sport.

 

Starting today we get an extra half hour of court time!