Volleyball Withdrawl

It has officially been a week without any volleyball activity (unless you consider Friday night league at Western Sports Mall, which is a poor excuse for any physical activity, and volleyball is a word used lightly). We had our last GWAC game a week ago from Sunday, and I have been in withdrawl to say the least. Even though there were times I swore I was going to walk out of that gym and quit the whole coaching thing even though it has barely just begun, I really do miss the girls and the atmosphere.
St. Al's is not your typical school, for it is barely holding on, with 10-20 people per grade, some grades and classes combined, sacraments recieved such as Reconciliation and Confirmation only take place every other year, and much less room for success because of the small size. The outstanding students have to stoop down to the level of their classmates because the resources are not available for advancement, in both academics and athletics. Although there may be some disadvantages of small school life, there are many things I wish I would have been able to grow up with that I didn't at St. Dominic. The community atmosphere is unlike anything I have ever experienced before. In Sayler Park, everyone knows everyone else, and you can always come to them when you need a favor or help, they have your back. The people I met during this experience are some of the most selfless, compassionate individuals that would do anything for another person. Their priorities are about other people, whereas most other places, people only concern themselves about their own personal interests.
I had enough trouble dealing with withdrawl during Christmas and New Year's, I don't know how well the next 8 months will turn out. I will definitely keep in touch with Anne and her family through e-mail or an occasional lunch, or I may go insane.

White Death

I've had enough of this snow. It only messes up plans, causes stress, and more chaos than it's worth. Even though I enjoy the snow day off of school, I would much rather have a normal, routine, mundane day compared to that of multiple near death experiences. People are horrible drivers to begin with, and the snow can only multiply this. That is one of my biggest pet peeves..when someone drives on your tail, especially when the road conditions are not ideal. I know I'm a terrible driver, and anyone that has driven with me can verify this point. I had never been too worried about the roads until last November when I slid off a wet bridge and into a person's yard, just feet away from a tree and killing myself and my best friend.
Last Wednesday, my sister's car had to be taken to get fixed on Glenway. The roads in Delhi were so horrible I had to pull over three times on the same road to get out of people's way, and the fourth time I pulled over my mom came and picked me up. I was shaking so bad and knew I wouldn't even be able to make it to pick up my sister, much less get home.
Bottom line: The snow needs to go!


At least someone enjoyed the snow (after a little getting used to) with her aunts!

Steelers vs. Cardinals

So the Superbowl this year was one of the few that I have actually sat down and watched more than 3/4 of in all of my years. Previously, I have always been more interested in the food and the people I'm with rather than what is actually going on in the game. This year, the commercials were pretty much a bust, minus the Doritos one created by the brothers from Batesville, and there were way too many about upcoming movies and television shows on NBC. With my deep dislike for the Steelers, I actually cared about the outcome more than in the past. Surprisingly, I was on my feet, giving high fives and booing the refs for their poor calls when the game finally got exciting in the second half. Although the team I was rooting for didn't bring home the victory, and I will continue to listen to Professor Bell ramble on about how well the Steelers played and how Arizona was horrible for about the next three months, all in all, it was a good Superbowl to enjoy with people I love.

Spring

With all of the snow we have had this past week, it's time to think Spring. Only two weeks until Spring Training, which can't come soon enough. Once spring is here, it flies by, and summer is not far behind, and I can't wait. I have been checking out some Spring Break destinations, which I am desperately in need of getting out of this city like you wouldn't believe. One place I would like to spend a few days in would be somewhere on the West Coast, or Vegas. If I don't go there, I am most definitely going down to Sarasota, Florida to catch some Reds games before the season starts. I have always wanted to go, and I figure if I don't go now, I probably won't go to Arizona when they move to their new Spring Training home in Goodyear. We'll see what happens, but anywhere warm and sunny would work for me!

Final feat

This weekend marked the last time I would coach for about ten more months when it starts all over again, but with after losing 6 very important girls to high school. It's crazy how close I got to the older girls- I feel like I am a friend and sister to them in so many ways. At first, I was completely unsure about how it would all work out, but we came together and grew dramatically in just two and a half months.
We went into our final match Saturday night knowing we had to pull out all three games in order to keep our first place status, not knowing what the second place team had done earlier that day. We were only in the lead by one game, and could easily fall into second place if the right moves weren't made. The game was late in the evening, the exact opposite of when they had been previously the entire season, not to mention no practice during the week because of the endless amount of snow, so I was extremely nervous about what the night was going to bring. My sister and assistant coach, Heather, was breaking out in rashes down her neck throughout the first game because her nerves had gotten the best of her! We brought our game faces in front of a large crowd at Victory to cheer the 8th graders on in their last pursuit, and took the win and the trophy.