My 1st Volleyball National Tournament 2018

My team and I have been preparing for the final game of the National Volleyball Tournament for almost a year. I was very nervous, but excited nevertheless. We all worked very hard to reach the finals, and our hard work paid off!

However, when the morning of the tournament finally came, I got a fever and felt very nauseous. There was still 5 hours till the big game and I began to feel a lot more nervous because I did not know how I was supposed to do my best during the game when I felt so sick and physically weak. My stress did not make matters any better. I took my medicine and got ready to leave my house. I did not want to miss this opportunity no matter what. 

When I arrived to the stadium with my team, my head was spinning and I felt more nauseous than ever. But when we started warming up before the big game, I felt myself becoming more at ease with the situation and my surroundings. I told myself that stressing about whether I would play well or not would only affect my performance negatively and that instead, I should focus on doing my best and put all that I have learned during my trainings to use, rather than overthink about what I should and shouldn't do. The short pep talk I gave myself was effective for a little while, but my confidence declined as soon as the referee blew the whistle to start the game; I felt my negative thoughts creeping back into my head. I felt scared of doing something wrong. My overthinking lead to some mistakes on my part, but I was able to do better than expected. Although the scores were very close, we lost the game. 

On the bright side, we won second place in all of Lebanon's under 20 club teams! 

The entire journey from the day I joined this club team to the day of the finals has been an extremely memorable and exhausting one, and it was undoubtedly worth it. I have improved and learned so much about myself and volleyball, and I hope to continue to improving for as long as I can. From now and on, I will work on myself further to stress less and not allow my overthinking to get in the way of my performance.
Honestly, I could not have done it without the nonstop words of motivation and encouragement from my team members and all the hard work they have also put in to get us into the finals. Their love for the sport has made it almost impossible for anyone not to play the sport with anything less than pure joy and love. Teamwork was the key to the success of this team; no matter the downfalls, the good memories will undoubtedly overrule the losses.

"Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don't fight them. Just find a new way to stand."

- Oprah Winfrey

Learning Outcomes reached: 

LO4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences.
This was shown through the countless hours and days dedicated to playing and practicing volleyball, as well as the sacrifices made throughout this commitment.

LO5: Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively.
By recognizing the ability of the friendships I have made in this team to push me and motivate me to become a better player and a better person overall.  
LO2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
Getting sick the day of the tournament, as well as many other barriers in the way such as stress, I was able to overcome these barriers and participate in the volleyball game.