Games in any sport can make players and parents of the players very nervous, especially if it’s the first game of the season. Game day is very stressful for some people and in my opinion, its even worse when you have school that day and the game is right after pick up. The reason it’s more stressful when school is in the mix is because players can be worried about multiple things, like assignments, tests, etc.

I play on my 8th Grade volleyball team, the 6th and 7th Graders are combined and are separated from us. One perk about being on the team with your own classmates and not any of the older or younger kids is everyone knows each other and knows how we play. One of my classmates actually pointed this out the other day. Because we all know each other, our team is more solid. We all work well together so we will be able to win more games.

Although we work well together, we are still very nervous about the upcoming games. Our first game is on September 21st. Thankfully, we’ll be playing home (at our school) so that eases our minds a little. Last year, the 8th Graders (currently 9th Graders) got to the very last game in the championship but they lost. They set a very high bar for us so we’re extra nervous.

Good mentality is very important in games. For the past few practices, my teammate (never played team volleyball before) says that they won’t be able to make the ball over the net when serving. They’ve come close to but haven’t succeeded yet. This is because they always put themselves down before serving, causing them to think that they can’t do it. When you hype yourself up before a game or even just serving, you’ll be able to do great things.

A good rule of thumb is to always support your teammates and tell them that (after they have messed up) to forget about it and move on. “The past is the past. We can’t change anything about so don’t get caught up in it; focus on the future.” is what my coach said and I agree with her. You can’t put yourself down and you can’t let the other team put you down either or you’re just doing them a favor. “Don’t let them get in your head.” is what my coach also said.

Essentially, you just have to believe in yourself.