My last post was about perseverance after a tough loss. I’ve had a long career and experienced plenty of failures. One trait that makes you a professional is how you respond to losses. After finishing last place in the season opener, it was back to work.
I picked up a new partner in Troy Field. Troy and I had done a few South of the Border Volleyball Vacations this off-season and while consuming too many churros at the all-inclusive resort, I proposed a My Best Friend’s Wedding pact. If neither of us lands Phil Dalhausser next year, we’ll play together. Unfortunately for me, Troy and Phil played the first event. But with Phil auctioning himself for New Orleans, Troy became available. So we fulfilled our Mexico pact.
It’s been a rough winter in Idaho. We’d made it to April, and it was still snowing! I was getting uptight about not being able to train with a tournament fast approaching. If I got another poor finish like the one in Miami, my season (and career) could be over sooner than planned. I was doing bear crawls across the carpet in the living room and pouting about not being able to practice when Janelle said, “Why don’t you go to California? I’ll cover club practice. Go train for a few days!”
So I bought a last-minute flight and headed to LA to train with Troy. We got in a few days of practice to iron out our set locations and defensive systems. For the past year, Troy had been playing right-side defender. With me, he would be a left-side blocker. Or, as he puts it, he’d be “going home.”
There were a lot of expectations put on Troy in the previous tournament. Along with the opportunity to play with one of the greatest players of all time was the feeling: “If you play well you’ll win your first tournament! If you don’t win, it’s obviously your fault!”
We went into New Orleans without the same pressure. For some reason, there were fewer “You’re playing with Billy Allen? You’ll win for sure!” vibes. We were just focused on playing hard and being good teammates. If we did that, good things could happen.
Like in Miami, my first match was against Satterfield/Uruttia. Andy Benesh and I had lost to them, derailing our reunion tournament from the start. I usually find the first round of the tournament the toughest mentally. As a higher seed, you’re playing a team you should beat. (Expectations strike again!) But everyone is dangerous, and we came out expecting a battle and beat them in two sets. After that first win, things started rolling. We got better with every match, learning how to play together as we went.
We worked our way through the winner’s bracket (the smarter way through a tournament if you have the choice.) This allowed us to sit in our hotel room playing cards during Saturday’s long weather delay instead of being swept away to Oz along with the AVP Ball.
After a tight three-set night match against the #2 seed of Brewster/Friend, we were into the semi-finals. On Sunday we beat Caldwell/Frishman for the second time that tournament and earned our spot in the finals.
My jump had felt medium all tournament, whether because of age or lack of training, or both. When I’m not jumping well and my hits are struggling to clear the net, I feel the most vulnerable. In the final, we were playing a solid team, the #1 seeds, Bourne/Schalk. Tri Bourne is a dangerous blocker if you swing low, so I tried to take him out of the game by relying on my vision and shots more than power and playing against Chaim’s defense.
Playing big matches on stadium court has a different feel to it. It’s both thrilling and nerve-wracking. But throughout the tournament, we hadn’t put extra pressure on ourselves. We just played. And that continued in the final. I wasn’t my usual nervous self. We came out playing steady and enjoying the moment and took the first set. Bourne/Schalk stepped up their game in the second, and I made too many hitting errors. We lost in three.
But after a last-place in Miami, it felt great to rebound and have a solid finish. I wasn’t the physical specimen I once was, but I found ways to score and get the job done. The success in New Orleans might have prolonged my career another few tournaments.
Bouncing back is hard after a tough loss. But motivation can be even harder after a good finish because a loss kicks your butt into gear. But professionals get back to work, regardless of their feelings. So now that the weather in Idaho is finally tolerable, I’m getting out and practicing with Janelle, doing bear crawls in the sand, and preparing for Huntington Beach.
It was fun playing with Troy, and I think there’s a good chance we’ll play more events this summer.
Unless Phil calls.