It was my first year in middle school at Stanley Clark. At the time, I wouldn’t have considered myself as a person who enjoyed sports, because when I was younger I didn’t have a lot of exposure to them. My strengths were in the fine arts, like drawing and painting. However, when I entered the fifth grade, I was required to play a sport. I chose volleyball because I thought it would be an easy sport. It’s played indoors, is non-contact, and doesn’t require as much running, compared to other sports. But over time, through practice, I realized that volleyball requires a lot of technical skills and that each player’s performance is dependent on their teammates. So that first year, I choose to play non-competitive volleyball, because I thought I wasn’t good enough. I was also afraid that I would disappoint my teammates.       

Then, in sixth grade, my mom convinced me to play competitively. Throughout the year, I found that when I practiced more, I got better. And when I got better, I started to enjoy volleyball more. This came about because I had additional playing time in games and I was more consistent in my passes. Our coach, Mr. Clyne, also taught us to encourage and support each other even when we perform poorly. This taught me that it was okay to fail and try again. As the years went by, my love for playing volleyball increased. It allowed me to play a sport I enjoyed with my friends and it became a way to further connect with them.

During this experience, I have learned that even if you don’t think you’re good at something, that you can get better through practice and even learn to enjoy it. If it wasn’t for the school giving me this opportunity to try volleyball, I would have never realized how much I love playing on a team and actually do enjoy some sports. Volleyball is now one of my favorite sports and I even hope to play in high school.