"Those You've Known" (SPRING AWAKENING)

As we moved into the spring of 2004, I was consistently going to the Friday and Sunday open plays. I have to explain the set up for Brandeis open plays. You have two courts in the front of the gym which are regulation size courts, these are considered Court 1 and Court 2 and labeled advanced and intermediate. Then in the back of the gym are much smaller courts with lower nets, these are considered beginner courts. So when I started going obviously I went to the back courts since I was a beginner. Fridays were my quiet time in the backcourts because I really didn't associate with too many people, I just came there to play and then leave. But something different took place on Sundays where I played on the far backcourt. The same people came on Sundays and played on the same court, we showed up at 1pm and walked to that backcourt. This also included my college friend Barbara which helped me out socially. This is where I met Amy S., Peter S., Teri, Andy S., Christina Y., Sue, Rebecca, Cira, Zach, Bob S., Laura G., Paul, Mel, and many others. It turned out that that backcourt was 'our' court. It was our space and our own special time. It became a world where I met people I probably never would have met in my own job, personal world. It was the world of volleyball that had brought us together. Years later, I would talk with my friend Sue about how special that time was because we all were going through things and these people were brought into our lives at that time for a reason, to fill something we needed. It would eventually blossom into a social network that I would carry with me today.

Jump forward to last night at Brandeis, it would be the first Friday after the passing of our good friend, Cosmo. Things went as normal including me waiting in the below freezing temperatures outside handing out numbers, but I had prepared myself and completely layered so much that I was handling it okay. Ruth, Donald, and I had discussed what to do this night to honor Cosmo, so we settled on buying a volleyball that everyone could sign and then accept donations to send to Cosmo's family in his memory. Dave had reduced the rate for the evening too. So I walked to each of the courts and explained what we would be doing that evening. So after we had our warm-up time, we called all the courts on the front court and had a moment of silence and prayer by Donald. Donald's words were so perfect about Cosmo and his advice to embrace the day because tomorrow is never promised. We'll miss you Cosmo, rest in peace!

"I Still Believe" (MISS SAIGON)

The title of "volleyball junkie" was actually thought of by the volleyball slut herself, Haruna. When I met Haruna, she would play on her own teams and then "sub" on other teams when she could. She was play almost every night, and she was an awesome player who towered over most. We called her the volleyball slut strictly as a term of endearment and respect. She was another open play creature that I had seen and played against but did not really know. That changed when I played on her team for a charity tournament. She was a great captain who made us wear pink shirts as a team. Her enthusiasm, potty mouth, and creativity really made her standout. I loved going to cheer her and others on if I didn't have a game so it became more like an addiction. So she called me a volleyball junkie. She moved to California last year for her job, and in true Haruna fashion, she already had a tournament lined up to play the first weekend after she arrived driving cross country. Like I said--volleyball slut.

As I entered the winter season of 2004, a few team members wanted to continue in the new season. But we still needed to fill some spots so we had to do some recruiting at an open scrimmage. Now the tables were turned and it was our turn to ask people to join our team. We already had one interested person, my college friend Barbara, ready to join us. So Anne, Julie, Gaby, Norm, and myself showed up at open scrimmage to pick up a few new people--Mark C., Irene, and Carlos G. This would comprise the group known as Team REZ. Again, we kept playing with a lot of promise, just not the results we wanted. I became so critical of myself which is not an unusual thing, but I was realizing the areas that needed help--ME--because I was captain for the first time. Being captain means being the emotional stronghold of a team, they provide substance to build upon for a team. Each week before the game, I would send encouraging team messages and then recap the match asking for input and opinions. I didn't know if I was failing or just barely making it because I was dealing with my own errors on the court. I wish someone had instructed me on how to be a captain, but I didn't know too many others playing volleyball besides my team to ask questions. Not only do you have to make sure your team makes it to the match, you have to give the line-up, provide cheerful support, and basically become an emotional center. Your own mental state has to be put on the backburner because the team as a whole has to come first in the match. If you make an error, get over it and get ready for the next point whether it be yourself or someone else (I know that now but then?). I was a complete mess. My teammates kept believing in the best, I just wish I had gotten over my own personal demons to actually help me believe in ourselves. I was a bit of a disappoint that first time out as a captain. We didn't finish on top but we weren't at the bottom either so that was something to be proud of.


SCORECARD
Brandeis Open Play

"I Know Where I've Been" (HAIRSPRAY)

That first team seemed so long ago, and it was because the adventure since then has been filled with laughter, drama, and few tears. And that was just on the court.

I started with a team of beginners that knew the basics of the game, much like myself, all being a little timid but completely enthusiastic. The ten of us were ready to face the season together. We showed up once a week to play our match, and the results were not pleasant. We were discouraged but a few of us realized that we needed practice outside of our league match. A team member, Rochelle, had mentioned an open play that another league had on Friday nights. I was thinking, "Crap, another social situation where you play with people you don't even know." Again, what was I so afraid of?

A few weeks went by and I really needed some practice. Another team member, Norm, suggested Sunday open play that the other league would be beginning soon. A few others said they would go so we could all practice together. Okay, there was no more excuses. So that November 2, I walked into Brandeis at 1pm and there was only one court of players, the first one with about 12 players, and they were a pretty serious bunch. I couldn’t believe I had to jump on the court with them but I did and talk about scary. I mean I just started playing volleyball a few weeks before. My teammates eventually trickled in and we moved onto the empty court. Thus began my fall-winter routine--Sunday open play. So I continued going to Brandeis on Sundays and Fridays and would just show up, play, not talk to many people, and then leave. Not a social bug, just a fly on the wall feeling the place out.

Those Friday nights at Brandeis introduced me to a gentleman who played the part of heckler (and league rep/moneytaker), Cosmo Miranda. With the exception of being out of town, I pretty much spent almost every Friday at Brandeis open play and he was always there. I saw him more than I did most of my friends. Once a week, he would take our money, check us off the list, and always offered a peaceful send-off at the end of the night, “God bless and get home safe. See you next week God willing.” Sitting in his chair, he offered his scathing commentary about a certain play and made his usual Sherman remarks. He didn’t pay too many compliments when it came to plays on the court, and to ever get one from him you were lucky because they weren’t given out easily. I was surprised and a bit humbled when he gave me a small compliment recently after a play. Sadly, he passed away on Tuesday from a heart attack. That compliment he gave me I appreciated even more now, somehow a little bit of validation after three years. He was a good man and he will be missed on Friday nights.

SCORECARD
Stefan and Claire's team (One Hit Wonders): 2-1

"Forget Regret Or Life Is Yours To Miss" (RENT)

Tonight I sat in a gym along with four friends watching a few matches. I did the same thing last night and I will do it again tomorrow night. Then the following night I will gather and play some friendly games at a league open play. What is this something that inhabits so much of my life, not just on the court but also beyond the doors of the gym? The sport in question is volleyball. This sport has taken me on quite a ride, not so much by playing it but from what I learned from the experiences--a little self-discovery.

Since September 1999, I've been enjoying my life in New York--just an avid theatergoer. Some may even call it bordering on fanatic enthusiasm, especially when it came to my then-favorite show, HAIRSPRAY. My social life was the theatre. That was why I moved to New York--to be near Broadway and all its glories (as an audience member, not actor). My job and life beyond that revolved around that performance space called theatre and a fascination with all who inhabit it. You could find me at some show just about every night of the week.

But in September 2003, I began an adventure that I've been on ever since--this thing called volleyball. For a few years, I would see an ad in the Village Voice for the Big City volleyball league. "Join a volleyball team" sounded so interesting. There was a problem--sports and my body did not go together. It had been years since I had tried any physical activity. So I would take that ad and just put it off until the next time. A chance to react completely ignored. I think I lost about two years because I did not take that chance. But things happen in their own time is my belief. But what was I so afraid of in joining a new sport for fun. I remember playing volleyball with my extended family in my grandparents' yard for years. They had a small court set up on grass with metal poles cemented into the ground. It was all fun. That was what I associated with that sport--family and fun. But an organized league meant new challenges on a social and physical level, both aspects I felt completely weak in. I liked my comfort zone that I had built around me. Theatre was everything to me, and the theatre district was my playground. I mean I could tell you the character names and who portrayed them in almost every Broadway show running at that time (and I think I can still do that). I just thought finding another hobby would be cool, but a team sport was a long ago territory forgotten since middle school.

I finally got up enough nerve to go that fall open scrimmage for Big City. I remember walking through the little alley and up the stairs at High School of Environmental Studies with such nervousness and then to see so many people on and around the court, I felt maybe I was not ready for this. No. I was not going to keep thinking like that. I kept putting it in my mind that there were other people like me--beginners. That was not so bad. I got on the court, rotating, bumping, and serving like others, and made mistakes. I needed to make the mistakes to let others know how flawed I was just so they knew what they were getting if I got on their team. I waited in line to get back on a court when Anne T. came up to ask if I had a team yet. She asked me to join her team and thus the adventure began.

SCORECARD
Viewed matches:
Kevin and Jon's team (Hit It and Quit It): 2-1
Tomoko and Yumi's team (High Q Honey): 2-1
Deb and Leah's team (NY Chix): 2-1