The Most Unnerving Sport by Kersti

The Most Unnerving Sport by Kersti - December 2013 Scholarship Essay

As an extracurricular activity I played volleyball. Volleyball was very different from any other sport I had played. In volleyball, you are never anywhere near your opponents. You are never close enough to really touch them and interact with them. It is also unnerving because there is a lot of the court you cannot see.

Since it is only ever your team you are near, you become very close with them. You celebrate spikes and aces together and you encourage each other after a bad play. Furthermore, you are physically close to at least one person on your team. You see everyone giving high fives. Often, before you substitute in or out or before you switch sides with someone you will grab her hand so she knows where you are. You also have to talk a lot in volleyball. You are constantly telling someone where you are and what you are doing. I have seen some of the strongest friendships come about because they played volleyball together.

Volleyball was also very unnerving for me. You have your spot which is maybe ten foot square. There a lot of things that happen behind you that you cannot see. Sometimes the ball will go over your head and you are not supposed to back up to get it. You are supposed to rely on the girl behind you to get. This is especially true when you are blocking because you cannot see any of your court. Also, the court itself is pretty small and balls are frequently hit out of bounds. If it is near you, you still have to chase after it. However, you need to trust a girl behind or in front of you to tell you if the ball is worth hitting. You have to immediately trust their judgment without question because there is not enough time to question it.

Volleyball impacted me a lot. There was no way not to be close to the girls you play with. You can make some great friendships that way because there are girls you naturally play well with. Furthermore, it forced me to trust people. I had no choice not to. I had to let some things be out of my control and rely on someone else to do it. That was something that was very hard for me to do at first.