Alumni Volleyball

Basketball has far and away always been my favorite sport.  There was little doubt from a very young age.  However, I played other sports all throughout my childhood and high school.  In my town, volleyball was huge.  We had a great coach and great tradition.  I remember watching the high school volleyball players when I was a young girl and I wanted to be like them and get to do the cool stuff they did.  I also have a lot of really great memories from when I was in high school and all the volleyball games, practices, and summer workouts and camps we did. 

So, this past weekend, some people from my hometown put together an alumni volleyball game as a fundraiser/benefit for a woman with cancer.  She was about 7 years older than me, but I knew her because our parents were friends and it was a small town, so everyone knew everyone.  She played volleyball and so did her sister, who was a senior when I was a freshman.  Our coach, who left after my junior year for a bigger school, came back and hosted a camp for younger players and helped organize the alumni game. 

I can't even describe how awesome the evening was.  It was kind of like a class reunion, but a whole town reunion.  There were so many people there I haven't seen for many, many years.  There were about 30 women who played in the alumni volleyball game.  I got to play on a team with the exact same starting line up from my senior year.  It was so fun!  I haven't played volleyball since high school, but it was amazing how quickly it came back. 

The really cool part was just the support for Sarah, the lady with cancer.  She no longer lives in the town, her parents moved away, her sisters moved away.  But so many people came out to support her; travelled several miles to support her.  It speaks volumes for small town community and for our former volleyball coach.  I wish I was able to put in words how wonderful it was.  I don't go to my hometown anymore because my parents don't live there, so it was extra special for me to see people I grew up with.  It was fun to see everyone's kids, especially to pick out who belonged to whom as they ran around the gym.  Aria had a good time playing with the girls of one of my very best friends from my whole childhood 0-18.  It was quite nostalgic to watch them play together.  Super awesome event!  Kudos to those who made it happen.  I'm not sure it could ever be duplicated!