Editorial
Front Page - Friday, April 30, 2010
YMCA volleyball provides accessible sport for non-pros
David Laprad
The Hamilton YMCA adult volleyball league runs for ten weeks in the spring and fall of each year. The league is open to all men and women ages 18 and up. Here, First Lutheran goes up against the Volley Llamas.
- David Laprad
The semi-pro and college sports teams based in Chattanooga are, by their nature, exclusive. The only way a regular Joe can take part is as a spectator. However, that’s not true of all local athletic competitions. The Hamilton YMCA adult volleyball league is, by its nature, inclusive. There are no crowds of spectators at its games because everyone, 18 and above, can jump in and play.
Take 61-year-old Larry Harris, for example. His step might not have the spring it once did, but at 6 feet 3 inches, he’s an asset to the team from First Lutheran Church. “I don’t try to do things I know I’m not capable of doing,” he says before First Lutheran’s match against the Volley Llamas at the Hamilton Family YMCA on Shallowford Road. “I let the ball come to me.”
Harris says he likes playing team sports but stopped several years ago due to his age. When the opportunity to play volleyball came along, he saw it as a way to have fun without getting hurt. “I figured I wouldn’t look too much like a fool,” he says. “I’m not here to win; I’m here to keep in shape and enjoy myself.”
One of Harris’ teammates, 18-year-old Allen Meissner, says he joined because he was looking for something to do with his dad, who’s also on First Lutheran’s roster. “Ours is a multi-generational team,” his mother, who watches the action from out of bounds, says.
Like Harris, Meissner says the adult volleyball league is more about camaraderie than winning. “The first team we played destroyed us,” he says. “But there was no ill-will. This league is more about having fun than being competitive.”
Nathan Daugherty, commissioner of the league, agrees, but says the gameplay can still get pretty intense. “Our league has three divisions: A for super competitive teams, a BB division for less competitive teams and a B division,” he says. “A lot of the local club coaches that played in college come here to play, so the level of competition in the A division is pretty stout.
“Things are different in the B division. Those players just want to get some exercise and do a bit of socializing. So there’s a broad spectrum of skill levels and reasons for taking part.”
With team names like Scared Hitless, To Kill a Blocking Nerd and Spikin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, it’s obvious even the participants in the A division aren’t taking themselves too seriously. And even though the B division is more laid back, the players still give each match everything they have.
Before going up against the Volley Llamas, First Lutheran spends three minutes on the court warming up, takes a breather and then heads back out for two more minutes of prep time. Next, the TSSAA referee overseeing the match blows her whistle and calls the captains of the teams to the net to explain how things are going to go. Then she tosses a coin to decide who will serve first.
Minutes later, the sound of squeaking tennis shoes fills the gymnasium as First Lutheran and the Volley Llamas go head to head. While both sides botch a few returns, the teams also get a few exciting back-and-forth runs going and regularly meet at the top of the net to spike or block the ball. The match moves quickly due to the use of rally scoring, in which teams score points even when the serve is changing sides.
The ref stands atop a stepladder, watching the game with an eagle’s eye. “I’m just as strict during these games as I am when I officiate a middle or high school game,” she says. “It’s the only way someone can learn how to play the game. If I let something slide, then the player won’t know he’s doing something wrong.”
The gym is clean, cool and well lit, and the net doesn’t look any worse for the wear it experiences, either. All in all, it’s the perfect venue for indoor volleyball.
Although the referee wouldn’t tolerate bad sportsmanship, she doesn’t have to blow her whistle at any delinquent behavior. Once First Lutheran scores the final point for the win, both teams meet at the net and congratulate one another on a well-played match. “We bragged on each other,” Harris says. “You don’t see that in more competitive sports.”
The Hamilton YMCA adult volleyball league runs for ten weeks in the spring and fall of each year. The league is open to all men and women ages 18 and up. (Membership at the YMCA is not required.) Teams play an eight game schedule followed by a single-elimination tournament. Matches usually take place on Mondays, Tuesdays or Thursdays. Teams interested in joining the league can contact Daugherty at 423-899-1721 or email ndaugherty@ymcachattanooga.org.
“Whether you want to socialize, get some exercise or really compete, we have something for everyone,” Daugherty says.
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