New Experiences All Around

It was in ink on my day-planner. Non-negotiable. I'm committed. I'm there. Kelsey's first middle-school volleyball game.

Questions abounded that helped me escape a bit of the day's stresses (see below). Do you have to pay to get in? Is it better to start on the "B" team or ride the bench on the "A" team? Where do you sit to get the best view? Is this how Mia Hamm's dad felt when Mia was in middle school?

Well, you do have to pay to get in. $2 for adults. $1 for students. Well, you have to pay unless you arrived previous to the parental volunteers setting up the table. She started on the "B" team. Sit anywhere but precisely at mid-court. The referee stand will block your view if you sit there. Me and the other dads all had the same questions ("I didn't think my kid was going to make the team, did you think yours would?"; "Is this going to be that rally scoring or is it like when we were kids?"; "Where should we sit?") to which the answer to all of them was "I'm not sure." I think all dads feel the same way: You don't particularly care about wins or losses, you only want your kid to do well. The reality is that if your kid does well, somebody else's kid probably didn't. Empathy abounded.

I can tell you this. There was this blonde-haired (special volleyball "do" involving lots of rubber bands and braids--all hobbies have their own subculture) blue-eyed starter (#4) right smack in the middle of the action of the first set (winning 25-14) and the third set (set 15-8, and match, 2-1, Lamar Longhorns "B" team wins!) who had fun and did comparatively well.

I can also tell you this. I'm pretty proud of her for trying new things and trying to do well in those new things. I can learn a thing or two from that mindset.