I’m not good at volleyball but I’ve just completed my second season playing on a recreational volleyball team.

Photo: Sander van der Wel

I’m pretty short and have no jump height so volleyball isn’t naturally my best fit for sports. I’m not the one spiking the ball on anyone, if you know what I mean.

I’ll admit, I really didn’t like playing when I first started. I said I’d join a team of friends but once I started playing I HATED it because I was bad at it. As someone that is relatively good at a lot of things, I hated being the worst player on the team. Hated it! I honestly thought about quitting but decided to stick with it for the full season.

That was the best decision I made because I’ve made a ton of progress and have now actually enjoyed two seasons of playing volleyball and finding my place on the court and within my volleyball team.

What I Learned Playing Volleyball

Despite not being great at volleyball and being relatively new to the sport I’ve learned a lot in the last two years.

• Other people can see things about me that I can’t. While I’m playing I don’t necessarily see things like I try to play balls that are too far behind me. It helps to have teammates that will point out areas for improvement and growth. This is true in sports and in life!
• Forcing yourself to do things you aren’t good at helps you grow. When I started playing volleyball I hadn’t played for a long, long time and I’d never played on a real team. I wasn’t good and barely knew what to do. But I forced myself to play and I ended up having a ton of fun and learned a lot.
• You get better at the things you work at regularly. You know what? I’m way better now than I was when I started. I’m still not good but I’m definitely better because I’ve worked at it regularly and played weekly during the season.
• Playing team sports is fun. I’ve written about why I like playing recreational sports before, but the main reason is because it is fun! It is social and it is a fun way to get in exercise.
• Exercise variety is important! I love certain forms of exercise like Zumba, triathlons and strength training. But trying out different forms of exercise like playing volleyball

Those are just a few of the lessons I’ve learned while playing volleyball!

I’m pretty sad that this season is over officially. I’ve actually run out of teams to play with for recreational sports at the moment going into fall and winter. That means I’ll soon be switching things to a different form of activity… whatever that may be. I’m thinking kettlebells and trying out a bootcamp style class next sounds fun!

Are any of you volleyball players? What have you learned? Or give me some tips to get better for next season!!