Off The Bench: Rookies Road

Date:

By Kendra Muffo

Coming into the OCAA this year I was pretty blind sided. Being a rookie is already hard enough but I was also given an opportunity at a new position as setter.

I started playing volleyball in grade nine for my high school team then gradually worked my way into playing club volleyball in grade 10, 11 and 12 but the only position I’ve ever played was power.

Being a setter for my first time ever and starting for a post secondary team my first year was very challenging. There
are so many things people don’t know about setting. I wasn’t even aware of anything I learned this year prior to my season. What people underestimate is that setting isn’t a piece of cake. I was one of the people who did underestimate it as well. I didn’t realize on how much your vision of the court had to change, how technical your form needed to be and how much of a leader you needed to be.

I had a difficult time adapting to the new position but I didn’t give up. I kept pushing along with the help of my amazing teammates and coaches. As the season went on it eventually started to get easier and I eventually started falling in love with it. I didn’t think I would like setting as much as I did, even though I missed hitting and having that feeling of crushing a ball. I feel better as a player setting up my team mates.

This season was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I am very thankful that my coach Dale Beausoleil believed in me and put me up to this challenge.