Haley Hall
Graduate of 2016
Volleyball
The Role of Communication
Everyone has struggles throughout their lives, and everyone has their own way of dealing with them. I, as well as all of you, deal with some of those struggles by playing sports. Not only do sports build your health, teamwork, and relieve stress; they also help develop social skills, such as responsibility, persistence, confidence, and communication.
All of these benefits of sports apply to me, especially communication. Ever since I was very young, I have always struggled with communicating with other kids my age. This is because my brain has always been more matured and developed than my peers. I never knew what to talk about, because I had nothing in common with anyone else. Throughout school, I was one of those people who would get nervous in public speaking, or stay in my room when my family had unfamiliar guests over. I never really had many friends until the 4th grade, when I began to play volleyball. Even at that point, I still struggled. It was a county league, and I didn’t know many people at first, but at that point the sport had already saved me because I had fallen in love with the game.
Volleyball is a very verbal sport. You have to be able to talk to your teammates constantly; reserving your area of coverage, calling the ball, preparing for the attack, yelling for help, reminding your teammates that it's 3rd hit and the ball needs to go over, and most importantly congratulating and crediting your teammates for doing well by making excellent digs, sets, hits, blocks, and serves. Therefore, you have to be able to communicate.
I made the school team and grew closer with my teammates throughout the season, and now I consider everyone on the team a best friend. I was forced to communicate, because it’s the key to success. Playing volleyball allowed me to have something in common with other people my age, and gave me the confidence to try other new things too; because I realized that it wasn’t that I thought I had nothing in common with other people, it was that I was afraid of rejection. Playing volleyball gave me the confidence to talk to anyone, as well as the desire to want to try other clubs and sports I was interested in. So what if I didn’t have anything in common with them? The more things that interest you, the more likely you’ll have something in common with someone in the first place!
This communication lesson is not only learned by volleyball, it can be taught by any sport. I know that sports have saved me, not only by making myself healthier physically, but also mentally and socially! Now I can’t wait to go out and see what friends I can make, and do anything that I set my mind on!