Welcome to my space. Be careful where you step; I just repainted the lines on the court.

I have to admit, I am jazzed about being able to write a volleyball blog here at BVM. I’ve been involved with the sport for over 25 years now. In grade 7, I was growing too tall for gymnastics, and I didn’t like being elbowed and scratched and bitten on the basketball court. My father was concerned that I wouldn’t find my niche. “Why don’t you try out for volleyball?” he suggested. Heck, ANYONE can play volleyball, he thought.

So I did. And ever since that first week, when I tried out for the school team, I was hooked. I loved it. I was also, unfortunately, cut.

So I worked on it, and the next year, grade 8, I came back, determined and better than ever. I made the cut that year. Third string, bench warmer, but I did it.

Once grade 9 came along, and I found coordination and muscles and a big vertical, I was in it for life. Volleyball was the only game in town, as far as I was concerned. Club teams, high school, camps, university… I ate, slept, breathed volleyball, playing year long. Once school was done, I played women’s leagues, rec leagues, whatever I could find.

And when my playing days were drawing to a close, I coached. It was my turn to give back to the volleyball community what I had gotten. I wanted kids to have a place to play, to grow into a player with a love of the game, to develop that fire and be involved in something they could love for the rest of their lives. Or, more likely, to have a good time, and maybe win a few games. Whatever. It was all good.

This blog is another way for me to give back to volleyball, by giving people a place to share information about the sport they love. It’s another way for me to continue to enjoy volleyball. It’s another way for me to stay in the game. Still, to me, the only game in town.

Enjoy.