Katie George's Turn on the Volleyblog
August 11, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
Well, it feels amazing to get back into the swing of things. What didn't feel amazing was waking up at 4:30 a.m. with Roxanne McVey so we weren't late to 5:00am breakfast. I guess we have Maggie DeJong to thank for the early wake up call. She had the first class of the day hence we had to get an early start on the day. Luckily, all summer school classes will wrap up tomorrow afternoon and we will start our first sessions later around 8:00am.
Our first session went really well. We had a lot of fun and worked very hard which you like to see. We have a lot of room for improvement but I'm really excited and confident in our abilities and potential. I think you're in store for a very exciting season.
We started our first session at 6:00 a.m. and practiced until 9:00 a.m. From there people went to class and others went back to bed. After practice, I saw. Nicole, our athletic trainer for treatment and she worked on my hamstrings. She literally took a metal instrument out of this medical bag and began scraping the backs of my hamstrings. I pride myself in the fact that I have a high pain tolerance. I was biting a towel so I wouldn't scream as I endured the brutal treatment. I will say that my hamstrings felt much better during the second session thanks to Nicole and her hateful metal digging tools.
After I was finished being scraped, I returned home to my loft. My roommate, Roxanne, was in class all day so I took a long nap. When I woke up, I headed upstairs to Maya and Gabbie's room to eat lunch. Maya is quite the chef. She made chicken, rice and asparagus. It was pretty delicious and enjoyable. Erin Fairs was lying on the couch next to me watching me eat. Oh and Maya's freaky cat kept watching me eat and meowing at me for human food. I'm not a cat person and Maya's cat, Kora, her eyes literally pierce through your soul. It's unsettling.
After I ate it was about time to head back to the gym to start our second session. We started with some defensive drills. Tyler, our new volunteer assistant has a wicked arm swing and Coach asked him to hit balls during a certain drill. His first swing, I kid you not, rocketed through Gabbie's chest. It almost knocked her off her feet. Coach and the rest of us lost it. It's always a great day when someone gets blown up by a ball.
Oh, I forgot to mention that Lola Arslanbekova joined us for the second session. Today was her birthday. So, of course, we made her run through the Gauntlet along with Gabbie, who's birthday was last week. I don't need to explain in full detail what the Gauntlet is exactly but let's just say it's best if your birthday doesn't fall during volleyball season.
Later in the second session, Anne told us we would be participating in the Pit Drill. I loathe the Pit Drill. Two people are expected to cover the entire court and must get two touches on the ball. You have to get eight points (where you get two touches) to get out of the drill. Roxanne and I were partners. We went through two times and did a really good job. However, the Pit Drill is one of the hardest volleyball drills I have ever participated in. The coach running the drill can throw the ball anywhere that he/she wants. So, Alex didn't hold back. Some got through the drill really quickly. While others had to start over multiple times which only prolongs the drill and makes you more tired and out of breath. Kali Eaken and Ashley Pettibone were partners and when they finally got out of the drill they both had a set of blue lips. We were all dying laughing. Their lips were blue and purple because they were so out of breath. That's when you know the drill is a killer.
All in all, today was a really tough day with a lot of hard drills but we made it through. It's about 10 p.m. now and Roxanne just got home from studying. She has a huge final tomorrow in her investments class. So, we are going to hit the hay. We have another 5:00 a.m. morning tomorrow. Maggie.
All I have to say is it feels great to be back. Nothing feels better walking into the volleyball gym and going to work. I swear it feels better than walking on stage in seven-inch heels.
