Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Back in Black...

I got to watch my daughter play volleyball this past Saturday... 

That's nothing new right?

Except this this time it was Hannah and not Beth.

Hannah had her first club volleyball tournament yesterday and it was one of the most exciting sporting events that I have ever seen.  I know I'm a little prejudiced because I'm her father and all daddies think that their kids are amazing but there was more to it than that. 

Hannah was nervous, very nervous.  She had never played anything like volleyball before and was visibly nervous as we got ready to leave for the tournament.  She had her spandex, jersey, court shoes and cover up on.  She had her duffle bag packed and ready.  She looked like a volleyball player but she was not confident that she could be a volleyball player.

We drove to Pelham High School where the tournament was going to be played and got there a little early.  When we went in a couple of the other girls were already there and were milling around in the lobby.  Hannah started to get ready to go with her team and warm up. 

I guess I need to give a little background here.

Hannah is 11.  If you think that's a little young to be playing club volleyball you would be right.  Typically, the youngest team at most clubs is a 12 year old team.  USAV has rules all the way down to 10 year old but there just aren't that many.  Team Sting has had 12 year old teams for a while now but this year they decided to create an 11 year old team due to the number of younger girls who were trying out.  Hannah was placed on 11 Black with 8 other girls who range in age from 8 - 11.  Most of these girls are playing volleyball because they have a sister, a friend, a cousin or a mother that is playing or has played. 

There aren't many clubs with 11 year old divisions so 11 Black was entered in a tournament with 9 other 12 year old teams.  This doesn't sound like that big of a difference but in reality when you see the difference in 10 and 11 year old girls and 12 year old girls it is huge.  Most of these girls were 4 - 6 inches taller than the girls on 11 Black. 

Hannah's team was a year younger than the other girls in the group so they were seeded last in their pool which meant that they had to play first match.  The girls took the court and it was obvious that they were all nervous and not sure of themselves or what was about to happen.  They started practicing and warming up.  Hannah served a few balls and very few of them went over the net.  Hannah has been working on her overhand float serve and while she has a good serve she typically is a little short on power. 

Finally, the time for the first match came and the girls lined up on the court and got ready to play.  The other team served first and the game was started.  In tournament pool play typically each team plays two matches against the each of the other teams.  After all of the teams have in the pool have played each other the top teams in the pool advance to the elimination bracket and the lower teams in the pool are sent home at the end of pool play.  In this tournament the top 4 teams would advance and the last place team would not.  The first two matches went about like I expected.  The girls played hard but lost convincingly.  They were trying act as much like a volleyball player as they could but it very much looked like a team of 10 and 11 year olds playing a team of 12 year olds.  The scores were respectable at 25-17, 25-14, etc but the outcome was never in question.  Hannah made some digs and missed several as did most of the other girls.  Hannah didn't hit any of her serves in the first two matches and most of the other girls serves didn't make it.  What was surprising was that 11 Black didn't get discouraged or upset.  They did a little cheer after every point just like they have seen the older girls do and kept right on playing.  The second match was a little better than the first but basically had the same outcome.

There was a 3 game break after the second match and we noticed that 11 Black had disappeared.  The team took the court for the third match and this time they had a new cheer that was original.  They had gone out during the break between matches and made up an entirely new cheer.  The first game was similar to the first two matches but the girls seemed to be responding better and getting more in tune with the speed of the game.  The score was 25-18, their best showing of the day.  The second game started and things were going fairly well.  The score was 14-11 as Hannah came up to serve.  I because nervous since Hannah to this point had not made a serve all day and the coach kept putting her into serve every rotation.  I must admit that at this point I questioned why she kept putting her in when she apparently wasn't ready to serve.  Hannah stood at the line and one of her other team mates, Grace, came up to her, patted her on the shoulder, and said "good luck, you can do it".  The referee blew the whistle to signal Hannah that she could serve.  Hannah took a deep breath, tossed the ball in the air and swung.  The ball was a line drive serve right down the center of the court.  It cleared the net by 12 inches.  The ball hit one of the opposing players hands and shanked out of bounds.  Ace.  Hannah (and every other girl on the team) went nuts.  They jumped up and down and screamed and congratulated each other.  The mood and energy of the team changed from that point on.  These were not the same little kids that played the first two matches.  Hannah served two more serves and tied the match at 14-14.  The match ended in a loss at 25-20 but something was different.  These girls were no longer trying to imitate their mothers, friends and sisters.  They had become a volleyball team.

The fourth match started and 11 Black had to play the Team 205 12 year old team.  11 Black took the court again.  The nervousness was gone.  They were ready to play.  11 Black took the lead and never looked back.  Hannah served several in the game and didn't miss any.  There were several saves that she made that kept the other team from getting points.  All of the parents were cheering for their kids and the girls who weren't playing were cheering their team mates on.  Hannah came in to serve at 24-21.  Game point.  I have seen Beth in this same situation dozens of times but being a new player Hannah has never been in the position with the game on the line that she had to perform.  Especially with her serving being a little questionable.  She stepped to the line and again her team mates wished her luck.  The whistle blew, Hannah tossed the ball and served.  Right over the net to the middle of the other court.  The other team got a quick dig on the ball and passed it back over the right, right to Hannah who had just gotten back to her position in the back court.  She immediately dropped to a knee and passed the ball back up into the air.  A quick hit from one of the other girls and the ball went back over the net.  The girl on the other side of the court missed her pass and the ball shanked out of bounds.  11 Black had just won their first game.  Everyone went nuts.  The girls were high fiving each other and jumping and cheering.  I will remember the look on Hannah's face.  She was as happy as I can ever remember seeing her.  The second game against Team 205 started.  This time it wasn't the 10 and 11 year olds who looked worried, it was the 12 year olds.  The second game went faster than the first and the match ended 25-17.  11 Black never trailed.  They had swept Team 205 two game to zero.  The wins against Team 205 gave 11 Black enough wins and enough points to place them into 4th in their pool and into the Silver Tournament Bracket.

There was a little time off between matches before the silver bracket match started and the girls sat in a circle with the coach and talked quietly.  They were all very happy and proud of how far they had come in a short time.  Once all of the pool play matches were finished they found out who was their opponent in the silver match.  It was 12 Black.  12 Black is the Team Sting 12 Year Old Elite Team.  This is the top rated 12 year old team team for the club.  You wouldn't have known it from the faces on 11 Black.  They looked like they were ready for anything.  The girls warmed up and took the court.  The first game started and went back and forth.  11 Black scored nearly point for point with 12 Black.  After a few series the score was 11-11.  11 Black trailed by a point or two for most of the match and caught up to tie the score.  12 Black went on a run and made the score 14-11.  Then Hannah and Grace went through service and the score was tied again at 15-15.  12 Blacks best server came up to serve and got on a roll.  She was able to serve some difficult balls that 11 Black just couldnt field.  The score went to 19-15.  11 Black got a point and made it 19-16 but 12 Black went on another run and the game ended at 25-17.  I began to feel like maybe 11 Black had met their match.

The second game of the set started similarly to the first and after a few series the score was tied at 15-15 again.  11 Black was playing well and keeping up with 12 Black as best they could.  It was as even as it could be between the two teams.  Then Hannah came up to serve again.  Ace.  16-15.  Her next serve wasnt an Ace but it was returned by 11 Black for a point.  17-15.  There was as much tension as I have ever felt at a volleyball game.  Hannah served the ball but 11 Black failed to return it.  17-16.  12 Black went on a run and the score went to 20-16 in favor of 12 Black.  Again it was looking like 12 Black was going to finish it but the 9, 10 and 11 year olds werent quite done yet.  They rallied back and made the score 22-20.  It was amazing to think that these little kids who had never played volleyball as a team before today were 3 points from beating an elite team that was 1 to 2 or more years older than them.  My daughter, who had never stepped on the court to play a game of volleyball, and her friends were 3 points from what would be a huge win for them.  They had accomplished an awful lot in a day.  They went from being an inexperienced timid group of kids trying to learn a game to being an amazingly effective volleyball team that would make even the best player or coach proud.  In the end 12 Black rallied and the game ended 25-23 and 11 Black just missed getting that big win but for their first tournament they accomplished more than anyone could have imagined.

I feel sorry for any 11 (or 12) year old team that they run up against, they wont be expecting 11 Black.

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