My other idea for a blog was "Confessions of a Recovering Millenial," and though I may still create and contribute my mental meanderings under this heading, the present blog intends to be a direct outgrowth of the passions that I was taught to listen to and let flow! Having been born in 1984 I am a member of the "you can do anything" and "you're special" generation. I now have my own son, and I have yet to accomplish all that I believed I could or may have sought to achieve in the world of volleyball, but I realized that I can still share my passion in words, photos, videos, posts, and all other media thanks to the wonderful world wide web. I plan to share here all of the knowledge that I have obtained about the game, whether it be drills and ideas, venues to play, upcoming tournaments, commentary on the USAV, FIVB, and AVP, or simply a player interview, professional or otherwise.
To start, a brief history of my experience with the game: I first played in sixth grade in a parochial coed volleyball league in Rockford, Illinois. Our coach was to be the father of one of the other players, however he only ever showed up once and at that time handed the reins over to my mother, who had not a clue as to what she was doing. This ended up giving my brothers and I an advantage as we learned along with her, and spent countless hours on the court. I still link my passion for the game back to these foundational moments. From there, high school offered no opportunities for boys’ volleyball, so I sought out adult open gyms and pick-up, any opportunity to play and learn from those who knew so much more than me. In college I played some club volleyball at Iowa State University, some off-season ball with the mens’ team at CUNY Hunter College Manhattan, and then practiced here and there with the mens’ and womens’ clubs at Kent State University during my studies for a master’s degree. Sprinkled throughout, I learned to play on the grass and in the sand, and thereby familiarized myself with the many iterations of the game.
Everywhere I went, I single-mindedly pursued opportunities to play, watch, and learn about volleyball. When we made this last move to northeast Ohio, my first objective was not to move in, but rather to see whether I could coordinate my brother and I to play in the Tourney on the Turf that same move-in weekend. I have played in Peru, Australia, the Caribbean, Miami Beach, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Texas. You could perhaps say that it’s my goal to play everywhere possible in my short time on this earth. This leads me to my purpose in writing: to connect you to the people you want to meet and play with anywhere and everywhere in the world.
From here we will build a digital community geared toward improving the game, increasing its exposure, and building up the community of people that serves as its foundation. I am excited to share in this mission and journey with each and every one of you and look forward to facing you on the court!
