3-1!

About two weeks ago, I was seriously wondering if coaching volleyball was a good decision for my personal sanity. It meant 12 hours a day at school, and still coming home with work to do. It meant forgoing my workout schedule and having less time to cook healthy meals to stay in shape. It meant collapsing into bed dead tired, and waking up feeling like I got hardly any sleep. And it meant 2 more hours a day with 12 and 13 year olds. It didn't feel worth it, and I was not sure I'd survive.

Today, many of those things are still true. I can't remember ever feeling this tired, both mentally and phsyically (although I can imagine I felt similar to this at some point last year). I hardly get 7 hours of sleep, and I haven't run in 2 weeks. But I'm loving it.

I'm loving the opportunity to be with such a great group of girls outside of school and really build relationships. I'm loving playing a sport that I miss so much, even if it's just standing in for a missing girl during practice. And I'm loving seeing the girls WIN and be excited about it.

As of yesterday, we're 3 - 1! We've only played two teams, but we play double headers because the schools are all so far apart and it limits the amount of travel. Our first match was away, and you could tell the girls were nervous. We lost in two games. But once the nerves were gone, we came back and won the next match in three games. The girls went NUTS--they pigpiled on top of the girl who served the winning point. They were so proud of themselves that they told everyone at school the next day that they won--and failed to mention that we also lost a match right before.

Yesterday, we played our second double header. The other team was significantly smaller and less talented. But the girls were equally as excited about winning 2 more matches, and it was so encouraging to see them celebrate their victories. The coach from the other team complimented our girls' talent, and it really meant a lot to me. Because two weeks ago, we looked rough. Balls were dropping on the court left and right. There was no communication, and we hardly looked like a team. I was honestly worried that we weren't ever going to win a game, much less a match. Not only did we not look so good, but I am an inexperienced coach and had no idea what drills to run in practice to make it effective. I was worried and frustrated and exhausted, and I wasn't having fun.

And then, I decided that it wasn't worth being stressed over. I decided that I just wanted it to be fun for the girls, and for it to be an opportunity to teach them about responsibility and working hard. I wanted them to focus on being a team and acting like one. To represent Enfield in a positive way, especially since there is so much negative attention on our school.

So far, I'd say it's been a success. Not only have they worked hard, they've been WINNING and making me proud to be their coach. I'm truly enjoying being on the sidelines of a game that I love with girls that I love, as well.