Volleygirl

The first time I played volleyball was in sixth grade. I don't know if it was the Jr. High coach doing some recruiting or what, but one day there was a net set up in the school gymnasium and our class shuffled in to play. I don't remember there being much instruction; mostly I remember that Trung and Willie knew all these words I'd never heard before. Exotic words, like "set" and "spike." How did they know about this? It was a whole new world to me and despite my red, stinging forearms, I was hooked.

Starting in 7th grade, I played at least one season for the next sixteen years (with a year or so break after I moved to Portland). A broken ankle put a stop to all of that rather abruptly more than four years ago. After my ankle healed, I went back, played three more games, and realized that my shoulder wasn't going to let me play anymore. I unceremoniously dropped the sport.

Until recently, that is. After four years of sitting on the sidelines, I wasn't sure I was at all ready to play again, but was inspired by watching the Olympics and thinking, "Hey, I've actually done some of that stuff!" Of course, I never did it as well or as consistently as the Olympic players, but it was a neat thought to have nonetheless. Poor Ransom — who views all team sports with suspicion, especially if they don't involve wheels — had to listen to me nattering on about the beauty quick sets and explaining various rules.

So I went to an open gym two weeks ago, tentatively tied the laces of my running shoes (not having been able to locate my proper volleyball shoes), and picked up a very flat ball that has been in my basement gathering dust for the last four years. I pumped it up, bounced it, and hit it with an open palm so that it would bounce off the floor and back up. This simple gesture practically made my heart palpitate, it felt so good. It was part of my pre-serving ritual, and it sent a thrill of electricity up from my toes to the middle of my chest. It felt like a missing puzzle piece had sunk into place.

I won't go back to playing regularly right away. After playing for an hour and a half, I realized that rock climbing has strengthened my shoulder quite a bit, but I'm fairly out of shape for volleyball. I told three teams that I'd sub in for them during the fall, so I'll definitely get some court time in. For now, that's as much excitement as I think I can handle.

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