Volleyball Update

L has chosen a team! We had a lot of angst over the decision, but after getting some scoop from another mom, I think she is with the best possible coach for her. She really needs someone she can learn from. The club she's going with is definitely the most convenient for us. They have their own facility that's only 15 minutes away, as opposed to the other options that practice at different places all over the place. We don't know who else is on the team, but I don't think it matters much to her, as she didn't really know any of the girls anyway. She has several friends on her rec league volleyball team, but none of them are interested in playing at the club level.

So, we're now committed to volleyball in a big way -- financially, for one, but also timewise (they practice three times a week and generally attend 2 out-of-town tournaments a month.) Should be interesting!

All Volleyball All the Time

One of my daughters, L, is trying out for volleyball this weekend. After several years of playing rec leagues and making the school team last year, we've agreed to let her try out for a "club" -- an advanced travel team. We had no idea what we were getting into! She is trying out for three clubs in our area, and we really don't have a sense of whether she'll make any or all of the teams. She is attending multiple tryout sessions -- two today, three tomorrow -- and we've cut our lake vacation short to accommodate all these tryouts. I'd (silly me!) assumed that you had to attend *one* tryout session; oh no, you have to go to all of them (3-5 per team!)

The fact that she willingly gets out of bed at 7 am on a Saturday morning and eagerly jumps in the car indicates to me just how passionate she is about the sport. She wants to play all the time. She participated in a beach volleyball club over the summer, but unfortunately our travel plans and bad weather meant that she missed more than she went. But she was always doggedly determined to be there - urging us to drive down to the oceanfront even when storm clouds threatened, in the hope that the session wouldn't be cancelled.

I'm glad she has an activity that she is so passionate about. I know that M feels a little bit of jealousy and animosity that her sister is taking the sport to the next level, and that it will mean some sacrifices on her part. Starting with the delayed start of our lake vacation this weekend!