A Middle Schooler’s Volleyball Journey
For my first blog for Omoroi Life, I’d like to share my journey to Volleyball. During my 7th grade year in middle school, I used to always play soccer. I never really thought about trying out for any other sports. I was so into playing Brawl Star with my best friend, Luke.
Things started to change when I received an email from the high school varsity volleyball coach, Coach Sparrow, who invited the entire middle school, telling students to come and tryouts for high school volleyball.
I didn’t really think much about it at the time until my dad forced me to go to tryouts. I also had my (osananajimi – “childhood friend”) friend named Melvin. He knew I was really tall for my grade, so he also convinced me to tryouts.
On my first day of 7th-grade tryouts, I had no clue what I was doing. I was just trying to do my best to get the ball over the net and hit the ball. Somehow, I made the starting team for junior varsity team 1 (A team). However, I was benched most of the time. I was the worst player on the team which motivated me to do better and work much harder.
After that season, I knew volleyball was my new passion. The feeling of spiking the ball was just incredible. There are no words to explain my feelings at the time. By my 8th-grade year in middle school, I was starting to dominate the game. I went from the worst on the team to the best on the team. We did not lose a single set that season.
After the season was over, I finally got serious and trained even harder. I basically carried my volleyball everywhere I went including Japan, Singapore, California and New Zealand.
I currently live in Singapore playing volleyball whenever I get a chance and enjoy meeting new people. Omoroi Life has helped me step out of my comfort zone and connect with people around the globe. I am truly grateful and blessed to be playing with Omoroi Life.
Ryuichi – omoroi life member
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