of a lifetime
by Taylor Tashima
Playing in USA Volleyball’s High Performance pipeline has not only helped me fulfill my potential in volleyball, it’s made me more resilient when facing tough challenges off the court
LAST FEBRUARY, EIGHT DAYS BEFORE USA VOLLEYBALL’S Junior National Team tryouts and midway through my freshman year at Northwestern University, doctors discovered a giant osteoma in my head the size of 1.5 golf balls. The news felt unreal. Honestly, my first thought was “How soon will I be able to play volleyball again?” I could not grasp the gravity of the situation in the moment. An osteoma is es- sentially a bony tumor. Thankfully, it’s usually benign. However, the CT scan showed that the tumor extended through two of my sinus cavities and into my right orbital cavity. The doctors explained that it had grown around both of my eye muscles and was very close to my optic nerve. Within 24 hours, Northwestern’s athletic trainer had somehow man- aged to secure appointments for me with one of the top ENT surgeons and the top optical plastics eye surgeon in the Midwest. Despite more than 60 combined years of experience between them, neither doctor had ever seen anything quite like this or heard of any similar case studies in which a tumor this size had grown into the orbital cavity. They wanted to remove it immediately, but I asked them to postpone the surgery for over a week so I could attend the Junior National Team Tryouts in Colorado Springs, as initially planned. I knew it was a reality that I might have permanent double vision after surgery, or lose my eyesight completely, and I wanted a chance to play one last time. The doctors thought it was an acceptable risk, so they gave me the go-ahead. Given the diagnosis, my purpose going into the tryouts was no longer just to make the 2015 JNT. That was still my goal, but now it was also about playing and having fun with some of the lifelong friends I’d made through the USA Volleyball pipeline, which I’d been a part of since I was in eighth grade.
My first USA tryout You never know when a seemingly minor decision will have a
profound impact on the course of your life. When I was 12 years, I heard about the USA Volleyball High Performance tryouts for the first time and decided to attend them. I wasn’t chosen for a Select team that summer, but I told myself I’d try out again the following year. Later that same year, during my freshman high school season, I unexpectedly got an email from USAV saying that I was an alternate for the 2010 USAV HP Select Holiday Camp to be held at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center. I had no idea that simply attending a tryout would give me a fighting chance to be considered for future USAV programs. I couldn’t have been happier when I received another email a few weeks later indicating that a spot had opened up! Before attending that Holiday Camp, I had never played with girls outside of my community and had never received proper setting train- ing. The opportunity was one that immensely shaped my skills, character and altered my life goals. I’m now a sophomore setter at Northwestern University, having graduated from the High Performance Pipeline after being a part of the 2012 and 2013 Youth National Teams and the 2015
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Taylor Tashima served as captain of the U.S. Women’s Junior National Team at the 2013 FIVB Women’s U18 World Championship. (Photo: FIVB)
Junior National Team. However, the path I’ve traveled to get to this point has been far from smooth. When I walked into the U.S. Olympic Training Center gym for the first time, I was in awe at the intensity level and the positive competitive atmosphere. It seemed like everyone was taller than I was and could hit the ball harder. There were players around my age who could outplay me in every aspect of the game, and the feeling was both humbling and motivating. From that moment forward, I knew I wanted to be in the USA gym
every single opportunity I got. What’s better than being around top athletes and coaches who are going to push you to become the very best player you can be? I’d been taught at a young age that the best way to speed up the learning curve is to reach outside your comfort zone, and that’s exactly what I did. Participating in the programs USAV had to of- fer really gave significance to the quote, “When you think you’re working hard, there is always someone else working harder.” After each session at that initial holiday camp, I scribbled down even the littlest tip offered by a coach, trying to absorb all that I could. I now have two full notebooks with everything I’ve learned from each USA camp and each team I’ve played on. They serve as a reminder to continu- ally strive toward improvement and that great achievements are born of thousands of tiny, determined steps.
Louder is better A couple of months after the Holiday Camp, I tried out for the
USAV High Performance Select program again. This time, I landed a spot on the 2011 Girls’ Select A2 Blue Team. Having not made any of the teams the previous year, I was on cloud nine! Even though I wasn’t
When I walked into the U.S. Olympic Training Center gym for the first time, I was in awe at the intensity
level and the positive competitive atmosphere. It seemed like everyone was taller than I was and could hit the ball harder. There were players around my age who could outplay me in every aspect of the game, and the feeling was both humbling and motivating.
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