Three to Get Ready #8: The Unforgettable Teammates

This is the eighth in a series of posts that provides one dad's reflections on the last three months of a daughter's club volleyball career. They will appear every Friday until the JVDA Championships in Louisville, Kentucky.

A few days ago, I received a friend request on Facebook from a former high school classmate. I remembered his name, but couldn't place the face until I pulled out my ancient yearbook, flipped through page after page of faded photos (with bad hair, of course) and finally found his. Yes, I remembered him.

I guess.

But only sort of. I could not recall a single memory of doing anything with him. We must have had a class together, worked on the school newspaper or played in band. I just couldn't remember it.

My daughter will not have that problem 25 years from now when she thinks about her club teammates. This group of girls has left an indelible impression on her that won't fade after 25, 35 or even 50 years. I'm sure of it. Why? Because they're simply too hard to forget.

It's Too Hard to Forget How They Celebrated Each Point
I'm thinking of one teammate in particular. You know the type: It's the kid whose vertical is at least as high after the ball hits the floor as it was to get the kill in the first place. There will be no way to erase the memory of some of those spontaneous celebrations of success.

It's Too Hard to Forget How They Battled Adversity
They say bad things sometimes happen to good people. That's understating it. It's more accurate to say that terrible things occasionally happen to terrific people, anything from tragic personal loss to devastating injury. And when you see one of those terrific people respond with grace and determination in the face of adversity, it's very memorable. My daughter has seen her teammates do just that.

It's Too Hard to Forget How They Didn't Bicker
There's a photo of my daughter's team that says it all. In it, she and her teammates are huddling up before the start of a match and every arm is draped over a fellow teammate's shoulder. Whether they ended up winning or losing the match that followed really doesn't matter. The photo perfectly represents something that will never be forgotten: This team stuck up for each other through good times and bad with remarkably few internal conflicts.

My daughter isn't going to forget these club teammates. But she will most definitely miss them.

Next Week: The Proud Grandparents