Three Cheers for James Dummert

OK, we love this story on several levels. First the facts: This past weekend, Wisconsinite James Dummert played with the Molten USA 65s and finished second in the Mens 65 and over division at the 2009 USA Adult Volleyball Championships. Congrats are definitely in order.

And while that's certainly exciting news, what makes this story special for us is how we found out about it. We heard the news from a very enthusiastic younger player (probably twenty-something) who could easily have been entirely consumed with his or her own volleyball successes (which, by the way, are not insignificant).

Instead, this talented player made the effort to contact us and share the news, as well as a little info about the path James took from open gyms at the West Suburban YMCA in Wauwatosa to the medal platform in Minneapolis:

"Jim was asked to play with a west coast volleyball team in the Nationals in Minneapolis last week. He had a great time and finished with the Silver Medal! There were 11 teams in the over 65 division--the team that won the Gold has two former Olympic players. Jim has been active in volleyball for years. He goes to the national tournament whenever possible and often plays with a group of local players at the Senior Olympics. He's also one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. He can often be found at the Wauwatosa YMCA open gym MWF from 1:30 - 4 holding his own with high school players and adults half his age. He's taught himself to hit with either hand as well, which makes him more effective."

We don't usually insist that our own kids pay much attention to this blog, but we're gonna ask all of them to read this particular post. Why? It's a story that not only proves that volleyball is truly a lifetime sport, but also how important it is for younger players (like the one who sent us the e-mail) to recognize this fact and give proper respect where proper respect is due.

Later today or tomorrow, we plan to do a post about one particular 16-and-under club team's recent tournament experiences. Think about this: James is half a century older than some of those kids and he's still enjoying the sport for one simple reason: Volleyball is an extraordinarily enjoyable sport. Barring injury, a young person playing today really could still be playing volleyball in the year 2060 or even beyond. Mind-boggling.

So whether June 2009 ends in incredible triumph or bitter disappointment and whether you make the teams you want to make during tryouts in the fall, please, please, please stick with this incredible sport. You'll be glad you did.

And now we literally want to hear at least three cheers for James Dummert in the form of some comments to this post. Feel free to leave them anonymously, but it would be great if you shared how old you are and how many years you've been playing. (Note: It does sometimes take awhile for comments to appear since we have to approve them first so please be patient.)