My Very Own Volleyball

Funded Feb 10, 2024

When the members of the Neuwirth boys volleyball team opened up the bag with their new personal volleyballs, their eagerness to use them right away was only restrained by their thoughtfulness to ensure that each person received a ball of their own first. Then, they let themselves get carried away. Joel, Axel, and Andrew ran to the net to test the new balls out in hitting lines. Jatziri and Ali began peppering back and forth. Juan and Israel grabbed a sharpie to proudly write their names on their very first personal volleyballs.

In the following days, the members of the team could be seen carrying their volleyballs through the hallways of the school as they buzzed with excitement to practice and play during nutrition and lunch breaks. Justin sent me videos of him practicing at home and asked for feedback--previously, he had practiced the techniques without a ball. I actually had to confiscate a ball or two during my class because certain members wanted to pass it back and forth indoors.

To everyone's surprise, we made to it playoffs this year. In the first round, we won against the opposing team. Johan, a senior who was happy with the way the season had seemingly ended a few weeks prior, rushed at me and we celebrated together. He was the only member who had been a part of the team with me since my first year coaching three years prior, and he knew all too well how far we had come since then. Even though we lost in the second round, Johan plans to continue playing volleyball

and managing for a team during college. When he moves away, he plans to take his volleyball with him.”

With gratitude,

Mr. Hou