Star Volleyball Player Goes Global
.
November 10, 2009 • Natalie Hagglund
Filed under Sports, Sports Center
As I stepped off the congested industrialized plane, I immediately realized that I had stepped into a third world country. Over two hundred foreign eyes gazed upon me and became fixed upon the colorful red, white, and blue flag which fluttered across my fitted v neck t-shirt
My blonde hair and tan body seemed to be a subject of deep curiosity. Those who stared spoke to each other in Turkish, a language that included words that I couldn’t understand, words that sounded like terrible insults.
It was two o’clock in the morning, and outside of the old airport it was pitch black. The lights were florescent and barley lit up the airport. They hung high above the dirty white floor and frequently flickered. The thirty-two hour travel seemed everlasting however I couldn’t help but smile, thinking that the best volleyball experience was standing one hundred feet in front of me. I gathered my luggage and gazed upon the crowd in search for seven other teenagers who were above the height of six feet. I spotted my team and hustled to the van where they were packing their bags.
“Welcome to Turkey,” a masculine voice hollered. I took one step outside the airport, looked up at the orange rising sun, and smiled.
As we drove, I stared out the window in a daze. I dreamt about the two months of intense beach training that had occurred before the trip. I was one out of eight teens-four girls and four boys- in the nation who were chosen to represent the United States in the Under 19 Federation of International Volleyball World Championships in Turkey. Representing the United States in an international volleyball tournament had always been a dream of mine, however I never dreamt of making it so far at such a young age.
Our first game started in two hours. My partner Dalas and I had jet lag, but that was something that we expected. The Polish team on the other side of the court was tall, dark, and skinny with muscular bodies and brown slicked back hair. We could not speak to each other so we shook hands; we smiled, they glared. The stands around us filled up quickly with people. Our crowd began to increase because our red, white, and blue bathing suits and USA tattoos attracted foreign watchers. Dalas and I began to feel nervous, however lucky for us, we were trained to play under pressure.
The whistle blew and the Poland team served the first ball. Dalas launched forward to receive the serve however it escaped her path and landed untouched. The Polish crowed went crazy and beat against the stands like wild animals. The next ten points went to the Polish team as well.
We were down three to twelve and our future in Alanya, Turkey looked as if it were destined to be over. Our crowd was disappointed and the stands began to empty. I turned to Dalas and told her, “If we are going to lose, let’s have fun doing it. Let’s lose with pride…for our country.” She smiled and agreed. Unfortunately our comeback was not strong enough and my volleyball dream of winning the gold medal in Turkey was over. I was angry and disappointed in myself because losing had always been unacceptable.
Dalas noticed my anger, looked at me and told me that there is more to life than winning and being in Turkey without having to worry about playing was going to be an unforgettable experience.
“Winning makes you feel like you have already accomplished everything, losing makes you feel like you want to accomplish more. You will learn from this and will become a better player and person,” she said.
Loading ...
Comments
Feel free to leave a comment...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!