My journey as A Volleyball Player Started with Mistakes

I gave up on my career as a cricket player. I move on to volleyball.

As a woman, I should decide whether it is a marriage (having a baby) or a career as an athlete.

Me: get married, having children and be a good wife at home.

You might say, “oh, come on! You can do both.”

I know, I know. I also often heard a success story from a women who can do both having baby while continuing their sports career. But in fact I can’t do that here in my country.

I am from a small village and was playing cricket for a big city and even representing our country. However, me and my husband, we decide to back to his hometown and start over in everything. Restart our live.

I was so frustrated at the beginning with all things as I move out from my comfort zone. I can’t stay at this “nothing to do” stage of life. So, I then try to find a way to earn money remotely.

Five years after that, while working at home (too much freelancing at home) I go outside and found this volleyball team who accept a loser like me to join them and start over my sports journey as a volleyball player.

FYI. After successfully deliver my second child, a baby girl, I gained much weight.
My weight before marriage: 49 Kg
My weight after married: 58 Kg
9 kg different.

I’m not as agile as unmarried me.

2 years after that here I am, playing a local volleyball tournament and make mistakes.

We play 5 sets with score
Set 1 : we won 25–23
Set 2 : we lost 24–26
Set 3 : we won 32–30
Set 4: we lose 23–25
Set 5: …

Our team (14) — away (13), suddenly the umpire blow the whistle and showing her finger four, means the ball passed 4 times. In fact, 2 of our players hands was up an down on each other. For real, the ball only touched by one player. I make a protest and said it was only 3, but not success. Umpire decision was an absolute.

Our team (14) - away (14), 2 more point then we win.

Away teams turn to serve but their position seems in chaos, 3 players were head to the serve position. They are all seems confused. All of us look at the umpire and want to see what they will do. They do nothing and then away teams settled to serve but not sure with their position.

The ball served and this is a chance for us to attack.

I manage to get one point by a strong smash. It hits the net and the ball above us crossing the net spinning and drop in their side. I celebrate it aloud, “Woohoo…” but as it happens one of their old player, a woman around her 50s was stand in front of me face to face. Score 15–14.

This is the first game of our tournament. If we lose then we will not play again for the rest.

Our side serve and the ball was received well by our opponent. It was a quite strong smash but we handled it very well. Now, a chance for an attack from our side. The smashed ball crossing the net but again well received, the game still on. We are ready to defense, the ball receive by their defender, passed to the setter and she passed the ball to their best player to smash it in back. The ball flies in the air but we can’t received it because the ball was hit the ground outside our field.

We got our last point and win the game. All of supporters are in crowd, some happy and some sad but both seems satisfied with our performance.

All player line up to shake hands.

Oh joy…

But, all of our opponent players are emotionally saying to us, “don’t yelling to loud when you play again later”, “mind our grandma”, “where is your manner?”, bla bla bla with their angry face. “Moreover you number 5!”. Oh-oh, that’s my number, I don’t even know what the hell is going on.

I said, “it just a game!” then I apologize if I accidentally did wrong to their old player. But, one of their player who seems younger, so young, said, “don’t forgive her!”

I don’t know what to do, then I talk to my self, “please calm down and consider their condition, they are all tired and lost the game. So, its easy for them to blame anything for that, including me. If they won the game, maybe they won’t care about that either.

Things complicated when more and more people try to be a part of this matter.

However, I talked to the umpire that I am new as a volleyball player and don’t really familiar with specific rules yet. I will take this as a lesson for my next game. I made mistake. I know I am wrong.

But, what the opponent players did also wrong. If they know what I did was break the rules, why they are not make a complain at that time to the umpire other than mocking me instead. In other words, they are also break the rules as I am.

Finally, all is over. We won our first match of the tournament and will play again on September 7th against Arter Team from a small village called, “Zed”.

Thank you for reading my shit! Hope to see you again. Bye.