By Miguel A. García.
Have you ever wondered why volleyball is so famous around New Horizons’ community? Or have you ever wondered how it actually works aside from just jumping, hitting, serving, and receiving? Then if that’s the case, you are welcome to keep reading this article.
Volleyball is a team sport in which a net separates two teams of six people, the height of the net depends on the age and gender of the players. Both teams aim to ground the ball on the team’s side of the net and score a point under a determined set of rules. Volleyball involves many techniques to avoid the ball touching the ground and to try and make the ball touch the ground of the other team, but the general techniques are setting, hitting or spiking, and receiving, each of these helps the other to make the following technique happen, without a good receive there won’t be a good set, without a good set there won’t be a good spike, ad without a good spike there won’t be a point, this means that everything in the court is important.
Volleyball is known for being a sport “just for tall people,” but although many of the actions do require a tall person or a tall jumper, even if you are a small person, that won’t prevent you from playing, you will have to put more effort on the game if you don’t believe it, maybe you should read the words of the Men’s Team, Diego Feliz.
“It is true that being small in volleyball puts you at a great disadvantage, but it does not make you useless”
-Diego Feliz
The physical exercise that volleyball entails will help your body produce endorphins, which are neurotransmitters recognized for being natural mood boosters. The focus required during a game can also serve as a way of mindfulness, keeping your mind away from worries. Although volleyball can be great for your mental health, other factors like competitive and personal stress can make you have poor mental well-being. Although this type of stress is normal, there are some tools that can help you avoid stressing out too much, which in the worst cases, can turn into performance anxiety. These tools are: changing your mindset, talking with a trusted adult or friend, taking care of yourself, and doing relaxation exercises. Remember that even the best athletes commit errors while playing ( and in life, ) so remember to be quick at forgetting your errors and your teammates’ and move on to the next point. If you had a goal in your loved sport and you couldn’t reach it, set a new one to get motivated again.
Although Volleyball is not the sport that gives the most scholarships, universities and colleges are still really interested in having great players on their list, that’s why many universities and colleges offer good scholarships for being a good volleyball player, this can be great for those students who are great at volleyball, are great academically but do not have the best resources to go to a good college.
Playing for a college volleyball team is great since many of the professional volleyball players were found playing in colleges, a great example would be Erik Shoji, he went to Stanford and ended up being one of the highest-paid liberos in the world, making more than 5 million dollars per year.
In conclusion, this article should help those who have been thinking about entering the volleyball team of the school, but also for those who may need help while facing a big challenge on the court.
Sources:
https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/sports-pressure.html
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