This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at USF chapter.
Being a club volleyball player has its distinct features. From countless hours traveling, spending entire days playing in massive convention centers, and practicing until death was near, club volleyball players are a different breed. Here’s a definitive list of things you know if you’ve played club volleyball.
- Your most dangerous weapon is your kneepads: Honestly, the stench of those little things could kill a whole population. No matter how many times you wash them, they still reek. But lucky for you, you already own many, many pairs—you can rotate them out.
- You’ve become immune to the volleyball bag stench: On top of having lethal kneepads, your bag is just as dangerous. Carrying your warmups, shoes, extra socks, knee pads, ankle braces, and miscellaneous protein bars, the smell packs a punch. You know it’s bad when your mom breaks out the air freshener or you compare the stench of your bag with your teammates’ bags.
- Your wardrobe consists of T-shirts and Spandex: From being provided them from your club and buying them at tournaments, you always have a steady supply of T-shirts. And Spandex? You might as well not own any other bottoms because that’s all you ever wear. Whether or not you’re in a gym, this is what you’re wearing.
- You’re covered in bruises and get new ones every week: This is one of the most noticeable features of club volleyball players. Our knees will probably never be a normal skin color again.
- You can shave around floor burn like a pro: Being covered in bruises obviously isn’t enough. Floor burns are the worst, and shaving around them is even worse.
- Your alarm looked like this for AM wave: You wanted AM wave so you can go out afterwards, but you pray for PM wave so you can sleep in.
- You’ve learned how to do pretty much anything in a car: From sleeping to changing to homework, you’ve picked up all these skills while spending long hours driving to different cities every week.
- You’ve gotten really good at packing: Since you’re in a new city every other week, packing has become a piece of cake. If it were a race, we’d be setting records.
- You’ve also learned to live out of a suitcase: Sometimes you just deem unpacking unnecessary when you know you’ll be throwing pretty much the same stuff right back into the same bag.
- You have a new cover photo every season: New team picture? New cover photo on Facebook.
- You also always have a plethora of images for Instagram: Yes, I’m sure you wanted to see another volleyball picture. You’re welcome.
- You’ve learned how to ignore any noise: Whether it’s obnoxious fans and players, the whistle for the other court, or those moms in the stands, you can block out any noise that comes your way.
- You know how it feels to be truly happy: Whether it’s just getting a kill, winning a long set, or winning first in gold, you’ve learned true happiness.
- You’re a pro at spotting cute boys at tournaments: Her brother? Their boyfriend? Her cousin? The world may never know, but man, is he cute.
- Your teammates become your family: After spending so much time with them every year, your bond becomes more and more special. They become your sisters, and their moms are like your own. These are relationships you’ll treasure forever, even after the last match is over.
All photos courtesy of the author.