Hello. My name is Laura and my daughter was on a 2s team club volleyball player. I know. I know. The horror.  

Or was it?
 
In 2010, I co-created a volleyball opportunity for my daughter with a college friend and fellow parent whose daughter was the same age. We started it because we wanted a local opportunity and wanted to introduce a game we both loved in the hopes they would too. 
 
It started with camps and evolved to club…one team, then three, then 17. It started with a naïveté´ that families would be simply grateful for the opportunity to have an organization to partner with so volleyball could be played. 
 
Fast forward to yet another frustrating parent interaction from the latest fall tryouts and that’s what propelled me to connect with you in the hopes you gain some insight and maybe realign your expectations for your daughter’s journey as well as yours.
 
My daughter
My daughter, let’s call her Sadie (because that’s her name) “sort of” got my height. (I’m 5’11”.) “Sort of” because in middle school she was taller than most and played middle. “Sort of” because she plateaued at 5’8” and sized more to be an outside hitter in high school. 
 
Sadie wasn’t the kid who always had a volleyball in her hand, read the volleyball newsletter, or asked questions outside of the season. She was, however, scrappy, had a great attitude, and understood her ability, especially amongst her teammates on the court, and gave it her all during the season.
 
Me
I’m the most competitive person I know but when it came to parenting somehow I was blessed with a “pass”. The pass that I saw my kids for who they were knowing they may not be the star, but they were hardworking, and that was okay. 
 
Her dreams fell into place on her own
Sadie played Club volleyball with Wisconsin Premier all the way through her senior year of high school. She played on our White (2s) teams and rode the bench when needed. She was humbled by age. As a 14-year-old she wanted to play for the University of Wisconsin VB team. At 15, she thought maybe she should look at D2 teams. At 16, she thought a D3 school sounded like a good idea. At 17 she said she was looking forward to playing on bar leagues with her friends someday. She also decided at 17 to play one more year of club. Why? Because she loved the game. 
 
This decision changed everything.
Her 17/18s team was bruised by injury early. The original team fell apart, but it allowed for her to play all the way around as we added other hard-working players. Her volleyball IQ skyrocketed. Remember that word “scrappy” I mentioned above? Well, scrappy they were. To me, this was fun to watch. There were no prima donnas. No “I only play middle” mentalities. No sneers from the others who were playing for personal stats. Lots of diving, talking, hustling, and most importantly, laughing. 
 
I believed it to be her last
Her last game at Badger Region Championships was bitter/sweet. It was so fun to watch her grow up on the court but I realized it was going to be the last time I would see her play this competitively. I took in every point. We walked out of the Wisconsin Center reminiscing about memories from 5th grade. 
 
But then, she surprised me in January of her freshman year of college.
“Mom, I’m going to try out for the University of Minnesota Club Volleyball team this semester.” Gulp. I gulped because as parents we want to protect our kids and while she definitely peaked in her senior year, I never want to see my kids disappointed. I gave her the unsolicited parent advice pulling from the ol’ parent card playbook like, be sure to have a good attitude, work hard, have fun…blah, blah, blah. But, she already knew that.
 
And then she surprised me again.
“Mom, I made the team. The B Team. The gyms were packed with about 100 girls and they only took 4 of us.” Gulp again. She did it! She did it in spite of being a 2s player all those years in club. In spite of the odds. I was thrilled not only because she made the team but because she had the strength to be vulnerable and just do her thing. She earned another chance to play a game she loved.
 
Her experience was beyond what I expected.
The University’s Club Program offered was incredible with practices 2 times a week with a coach. They had 4 tournaments from January to April. One in Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Atlanta, and Denver. The university picked up the travel and the cost to play was only $350. The Club didn’t discriminate by team level. All the players socialized (my mom-word for partied) together including mingling with the boys’ club program. She made great friends and lifetime memories.