JUNIORS JOURNAL Savor the struggle
Volleyball (and life) can be difficult and sometimes even uncomfortable, but that’s a good thing by Jaimee Rindy
here are times, in sports and in life, when the challenges you’re facing seem too arduous to continue to fight. Such times ask us to dig deep into our vessel of mental strength and decide whether the task at hand is truly worth the struggle.
T
As I have found, most difficult things are worth the battle. When the nagging desire to give up threatens your persever- ance, it’s important to remember why you are there in the first place. Whether for glory, pure love of the game or some com- bination of the two, the greater experience of success will always outweigh the small moments of doubt. In August, I began my collegiate vol-
leyball career at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The program is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. The pace is faster, the girls are stronger, the competition is tougher. And while this all was a little intimidating at first, I never expected college volleyball to be easy. I was pushed to my limits right off the bat, and there were definitely moments (namely in the midst of tough physical condi- tioning) when I wondered what I was doing there, why I had decided to do this. But I remembered how far I had come for this and all the times in the past when I may have thought it wasn’t worth it. To me, get- ting on the court and fighting for a victory with my teammates will always be worth it. Ultimately, the desire to win and to prove myself beat out the urge to give up. Giving up is, without a doubt, the easier way to go. But champions don’t take the easy route. Champions find new paths - paths that few dare to take. They understand that, in order to be the best they can be, they must do things that set them apart. Champions have an inbred hatred of quitting. However, you shouldn’t think of champions as people with superhuman tolerance. There are times when even champions want to give up. It’s the choice
to keep going that makes them win- ners.
I believe
“You shouldn’t think of champions as people with
superhuman tolerance. There are times when even cham- pions want to give up. It’s
the choice to keep going that makes them winners.”
that if you want something badly enough, you have the ability to reach it. If you want the point badly enough, you won’t give up on the play. If you want the win badly enough, you won’t give up on the match. If you want the spot badly enough, you won’t give up on yourself. You may surprise yourself when you step up and ac- cept the challenge. There will certainly be competition, whether for a single point or a spot on the court or a championship title, but you should welcome this competition as a chance to better yourself. You cannot move forward if you’re constantly running away when things get difficult. And what’s great about volleyball is that it’s a team sport. Perhaps the most comforting thing to realize in certain times of hardship
is that you are never fighting alone. You struggle through the same pains together, you tackle the same obstacles. Your team- mates are there to help. In those times, it’s more important than ever that you refuse to give up. Your teammates refuse to give up on you.
When you finally achieve the goal that you have worked so hard for, any pain you may have endured along the way seems so minuscule and irrelevant. When you are successful, you understand that every moment of hardship was worth it. In fact, you probably couldn’t have been success- ful without those moments. Part of having a genuine love for the game is continuing to fight for it even when it seems easier to quit. The difficulties you’ll come across are not so much roadblocks, but rather just a chance for you to discover a different route on the path to success.
26 | VOLLEYBALLUSA • Digital Issue at
usavolleyball.org/mag
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