volleyball – DANDELION'S DEN

I am such a great volleyball fan. I am watching a live game on TV now of FEU vs. ADU; the UAAP Season 76 League.

While I am watching with so much tension, I don’t have a preferred team (haha). I am nervous and anxious for either team. That makes me the lone loser; I getting tensed when either team scores. 🙂 Nobody cared for my cheers except for my neighbors who are now curiously peering on me by the window.

I know volleyball that is why I always had weird reactions for anything that goes wrong in the games I watch. I played it in my younger years. I was trained with all the drills and plays, and I was educated with all the technicalities and the rulings; so I think I know a good play when I see one.

But somehow, it is really different when you are actually playing the game and just watching and cheering from the outside. I say, there is more tension in watching, really. Analyzing it now why, I realize that when I am actually playing the game, I can release all the tension and I am in control. I am hitting the ball and make plays together with my team mates. Whereas, when I am only a spectator, just like now, I cannot contain my nervousness. It makes me want to play!

I stopped playing when I got injured and my parents won’t let me play anymore. But it didn’t stop me from loving the game. 🙂

I was once an athlete. When I was in my third year in high school, I joined my school’s volleyball varsity team. We trained for months and I even skipped classes just to train. I fell prey to the need to excel in the game so I will be chosen to advance in the next regional athletic meet. I felt the need to show off. It was during this one fateful game when I got me injured. I had fever and I was clamoring for the pain in my left middle finger. I went for a check-up at a local hospital and the doctor declared broken ligaments. The first few months were denial months. People ask me why my finger won’t straighten, I told them it will in a few months. But, it was nowhere near straight until now. Everyday I wake up, it reminds me that I was once a sportsman, only injured.

But being a sports enthusiast once gave me lessons in life. The attitude to push the limits and won’t settle for mediocrity are some of these. I trained hard. It gave me confidence and determination later in my life. Way back, I also remember the camaraderie. I learned to be a team player, with friendship forged in trust with team mates.

It also made me a risk taker. In a game, the coach dictates the set-up and strategies, but most of the time, the agreed plan never pans out. So, during the game we take risks, in any way, with the purpose to defeat the opponent. And then we give all up to fate.

I also became prayerful. In every game, we start with a prayer. Our prayers were not always wanting to win, we pray to have the will to win and the courage to accept defeat. That, i think, is the mark of a true sportsman.