Walking into a convention center fills me with a thrill and excitement that I haven’t been able to find anywhere else. I hear whistle after whistle, parents cheering, teams celebrating, hitters calling sets, and the commotion of the building. I can feel the weight of my big, heavy backpack packed with gear and snacks, and can hear the clacking of the bag tags I’ve accumulated over multiple seasons. I often zone out all of this with my Airpods, which are always set on noise cancellation even though I can still hear everything. 

I can see the seemingly countless number of courts, each with two teams playing and one reffing. Sitting back and observing all of this makes me feel small. It’s almost therapeutic. Seeing teams do the same cheers my team does, or seeing a singular player making the same mistake I’ve made countless times. It makes me realize that there are many people doing the same thing as me, which enforces my need to make my own personal experiences.

At the first practice, I usually recognize a few people, but there’s always a majority of new faces. That’s the most exciting part. Meeting new people and being with them for multiple hours on multiple days of the week. 

The first two months of the season don’t have any tournaments, so it’s just us trying to get to know each other. Eventually we come around to Christmas time, when we always do a team Secret Santa. 

Relatively early on in the season, we also have media day. This is a chance for us to do activities together that aren’t a practice or tournament. It’s nice to hang out for an extended period of time when we’re not in our usual sweaty states. Even though we’re all still in uniform, the change of purpose brings out a chance for us to not just be teammates, but to begin forming real connections. In fact, my teammates and I added a rainbow in the corner of our team poster because our team had most, if not all, of the queer players in 17s/18s.

But practices and basically anything in our facility are only a sliver of it. The real memories are made in hotel rooms and in random towns, when we’re on our own. This is when our true personalities come out, and we bond over stuff outside of volleyball.  The only thing that makes us seem like a team is the size of the group.

When we’re away at tournaments, there’s usually time to go out and do something before or after playing. This gives us the opportunity to get out of our volleyball clothes and into outfits we would wear in our day-to-day lives. This small aspect of playing on a travel team, just being in regular outfits, is a reminder of our individuality. It’s always fun to see what my teammates decide to wear to go out and explore whatever town we’re in.

I’ve been fortunate enough to meet a lot of cool people and gain real friendships out of my past two seasons. I have many core memories with those teammates that have shaped my sports experience. I remember going to Atlanta for a tournament and eating as a team in Waffle House while we were given Waffle House merch. Or when we drove to In-N-Out after media day and my teammate popped her tire so my dad came to fix it. I’ve learned the best memories with your teammates are made when you’re not in uniform.

I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve had a teammate braid my hair. It’s a part of volleyball that isn’t necessary, but it holds some sort of meaning. Whenever I have my hair braided, specifically two Dutch braids into a ponytail, I play my best. I think it adds to my confidence and feeds into the saying “Look good, feel good, play good.” This is a common sports superstition of which I am a firm believer. 

There’s usually only a few hair braiders on each team. Honestly, you’re lucky if you have more than two. I’ve played multiple sports, but not one with such a serious hair culture. While slickbacks have been growing in popularity recently, braids have always been prominent. During my junior school season, I had the same teammate braid my ponytail into two regular braids before every game. It’s something you don’t realize you’ll miss until it’s gone.

With all of the things that go into playing club volleyball, one of my favorite aspects of it is clipping. This is a part of volleyball culture that spewed from cheerleading competitions. Players will take clothes pins and decorate them with colors, stickers, or phrases, and secretly clip them onto a random player. This trend is something that not only serves as a hands-on activity, but also a form of bonding within the volleyball community.

I have a specific memory, from my 2025 season, where we were at Far Westerns. This is a national qualifier tournament in Reno we go to every year. After a day of playing, all of my teammates and I met in the hotel lobby to make clips. We had a bunch of stickers and beads to choose from, and we all made each one unique. When the next day came and we had free time, we would go off in small groups and sneak up behind players and clip them. It gives you a little adrenaline rush and sense of excitement because everyone wants to be clipped.

At the end of the day we’re playing volleyball, but everything else is what really matters. The people you meet, the things you see, the places you go. Finding people you can be yourself around, and enriching your life with fun experiences is what I find to be the most valuable.