Saying "Goodbye" to a season is never easy, ESPECIALLY this one!

Thinking about this year brings back good and bad memories. School was rough because I’m now in high school (kind of,our high school doesn't start until 10th grade but since I'm in 9th I can play for the high school volleyball team) and volleyball was stressful because throughout the year the thought of “I’m not good enough” kept coming back to me. So, yes I did have a tough year, but I also had the best year of my life. I learned that everything is mental. This includes volleyball, school, extracurricular activities, family, etc. I learned that you need to surround yourself with great people. And finally, I learned that nothing is better than looking at what you’ve accomplished.

"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”   

-Mahatma Gandhi

GSL 15-1 and 15-2

This year was very hard for me. School never gets easier and now that I’m was in 9th grade I felt like I wasn't quite prepared for all the homework. But somehow I survived Freshman year of Honor & AP courses, kept a High Honor Roll, and will live on. Volleyball also doesn’t get easier, and when I was surprised about the club tryout results (not just for me but for other great players) I came into a long stage of mental weakness. For a long period of the time I felt useless. My grades went down and I didn’t want to play volleyball anymore. Nothing like this has ever happened to me, but suddenly I found myself locked up in my room, sitting on my phone, and avoiding any volleyball. I began to dig myself into a hole not knowing when or how I was going to get through it. It wasn’t until Club GSL that my love for volleyball and my motivation for good grades came back to me.

"The difference between the old ballplayer and the new ballplayer is the jersey. The old ballplayer cared about the name on the front. The new ballplayer cares about the name on the back.”

-Steve Garvey

GSL 15-1 NCVA Qualifier

I feel like this quote really explained a perfect player and team. I’ve been on teams with drama before (remember I live in a small town).  I've had a Setter NOT set me during games for an irrelevant reason (she told me after high school season was over that she didn't set me).  That is not what good players do. My mom always says “I’m not raising a volleyball player, I’m raising a decent human-being who happens to love volleyball”. And I can’t stress that enough. So many players I know trash their club team during lunch at school. That’s not teamwork, that’s someone making excuses. This year I surrounded myself with great volleyball players and coaches, but mainly great people. My team was the best team I’ve ever been on! It meant so much to me when I, a quiet girl from Park City, was able to come into a team so easily. And I can’t brag about my team without bragging about my coaches. I said this way too much but I can’t say it enough: My coaches this year were the best coaches I’ve ever had! Torre, Austin, Melissa, and all the other coaches at GSL all care about every single player’s game, future, and life. I know that I was with the best people in the sport when I think back to the season and cry my eyes out with joy. I will never forget the fun dinners and obnoxiously loud points we celebrated. I will never forget when Melissa came up to me after beating the team "that was too good for me to sit bench on" and giving me a great hug while saying “I am so proud of you, I’m so happy for you” and giving me a giant kiss on the cheek. 

“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall don’t turn around and give up figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

-Michael Jordan

First day of high school volleyball we ran PC Hill, a small mountain behind the school. It wasn’t even 30 minutes into the day and we are already running up the hill. I’m not going to lie, it sucked. No one was prepared. But from the top of the hill we all sat there, looking over Park City, excited about the season. Obstacles are difficult. I never thought I could run up PC Hill. I never thought I could run a 5k without walking. I never thought I could be playing Libero on one of the highest ranking teams in the state/region for my age division. But I am. I did. And as I was saying to my sister as we were running the Girls on the Run 5K this past weekend, "the most rewarding thing is working so hard and then running through the finish line". Looking over Park City gave me the inspiration to do anything. Running through the entire 5K gave me the confidence to run another three miles. Sometimes I don’t get what I want. Sometimes I’m stopped by others saying or giving signs that I’m not good enough. Not this year. After lots of support and mental training I feel like I can accomplish anything. Sometimes all I need is a little kick or a good run to show me that I can do it. 

This year was rough. This year would be hard to talk about at times. But now I’m looking over the season and what do I see? Great friends, a great team, a great club, and a great family. Because I couldn’t have done it without my mom, dad, and little sister. My sister has always been there at the games, dragged around from city to city and state to state, yet she is still smiling. My dad has been a trooper. All the volleyball talk must make him wish he had a son to talk about baseball or something. But all in all he’s been so hardworking and caring allowing me to do what I want to do. And finally my mom. Someone that I need in my life. She doesn’t go around hand-feeding me french fries on the side of the volleyball court or putting my laundry away in my closet. However she does go around supporting me through everything I do. Without her I wouldn’t have even tried volleyball, so she deserves a round of applause. Thank you everyone from GSL, Wasatch Beach, and the beach volleybal coaches I work with out in California.

getting some training with Sammee Thomas
and Dave Morehouse (Offshore VBC)

Don’t worry. This isn’t the last post. I just really felt the need to thank everyone. So to recap, for any young players out there, volleyball or not, all you need to do is: 1) Be mentally tough. It’s going to get hard, just push through it. 2) Surround yourself with great people. They are the ones you can count on and fall back on. 3) Work hard, because it will pay off. Trust me when I say this, there is literally nothing better than looking at your accomplishments.

Until next time…Volley on!  Brie

GSL 15-1 SCVA Qualifier Las Vegas

training with Rick Reeve at
Beach Elite, Huntington Beach, CA