Investments and Making a Difference...

When I was about 15, I tried out for my very first volleyball team.  I knew nothing about volleyball.  The only knowledge I had was "gym class volleyball" (which no offense, is the WORST kind of volleyball).  My sophomore year of high school, a friend had encouraged me to try out for the JV team.  I figured it wouldn't hurt to try, but also reminded myself that the chances of me making the team were slim to none.  To my surprise, after 3 days of tryouts, the list was posted and I had made it.  That year I would spend most of my time warming the bench.

The following year, after living in Upstate New York for 12 years, God called our family to Bel Air, Maryland, where my Dad would serve as Pastor.  I would start my Junior year in a totally new school, one that was double the size I came from, one where I knew no one, one that would shape me in ways I couldn't have imagined.  As a junior, I knew the chances of me making the volleyball team were once again slim, and I knew that I really needed to be a part of a team in order to make friends.  That year, I sat a season out and ran cross country instead.  The following summer I signed up for several local volleyball camps and did everything I could do to make the team my senior year.

I did make the team my senior year, but once again, spent most of it riding the bench.  While that was somewhat expected with my lack of experience, what I didn't expect was how that year would mold the way I would coach in the years to come.  I had an intense coach.  He had been and continued to be an extremely talented volleyball player and knew the game inside and out.  I learned a lot during that season.  Unfortunately, in the means of encouragement, he wasn't so talented.  That year, we had made it to the regional playoffs and I had got about as much playing time as the parents sitting in the stands!  I felt like I had worked my butt off, felt like I had proved myself as a defensive player in practice, and as a senior, felt like I had earned the right to play.  Towards the end of the season, I decided to do something bold.  I mustered up the courage to talk to my coach and ask him if there was any chance of me getting playing time.  His response to me was this, "Andrea...I have absolutely NO confidence in your play."

I can remember that day like it was yesterday.  Words have a way of sticking with you.  Ironically, that next day at the regional playoff game, one of our defensive players would play awful, and I would be given the chance to step in.  I wound up having an incredible game, but would walk away from my high school experience remembering those words, "I have absolutely NO confidence in your play."

Thankfully, God opened some awesome doors for me to play in college at Eastern Nazarene College, a small division 3 school.  I was coached by two amazing coaches, one who had played at ENC and one who had played at Bucknell, both who chose to believe in me as a player.  I was on a team with some amazing girls, several of who would become friends for life, ALL who continued to encourage and build me up over the years.  Those four years I had the opportunity to not only be a starter for that team, but eventually a captain as well.  While I never walked away with any "achievements," like "player of the year," or "MVP of the tournament", I walked away with a sense of confidence that came from coaches who chose to believe in me, invest in me, and see in me what I couldn't see in myself.

I have now coached for over 10 years.  I started off coaching at a small private school in Kansas City and am now in my 8th season (I think!!!) coaching at Boonsboro, a local high school.  I love the sport of volleyball.  That's a big reason that I coach.  But beyond just a love for the sport, I coach because I want to see young people believe in themselves.  I want to see them walk away as confident young women who believe they can do anything they set their minds to.  I want them to understand the difference they can make in the world.  And so...I coach.

Over our adoption process, I had often imagined what our life would look like when we finally brought a child home and attempted to mesh that with the world of teenagers.  I wondered if coaching and parenting would be able to co-exist.  I wondered how we would continue to invest in students while investing in our own child.  I have come to realize that the students we have spent time investing in, are now investing in our child...and he has only been home a few weeks.  Over the past several weeks of being home, several of our former volleyball players have stopped by to see Biruk.  Many of them have been following our story through Facebook, even though they have graduated high school and moved on to college.  They have brought gifts and words of encouragement.  They are beyond excited to see the child that they too have been cheering for and waiting for over the past 3 years.

I got to the high school the other day for an away game, when our teams all gathered in the gym.  I had no idea what was going on, and one of our seniors stepped forward and said something along the lines of, "Coach...we just wanted you to know how happy we are for you that Biruk is finally home.  We are really excited for you."  In that moment, 23 high school girls and 3 coaches stood together holding up homemade onesies for Biruk, ranging from size 12-24 months, that he will be able to wear for every game of the season.  Tears immediately formed in my eyes.  Girls I have attempted to invest in were now beginning to invest in my child...and they have no idea what difference it will make.

Someday, when Biruk is old enough, he will be able to look back at all the pictures we have taken and see just how many people have invested in him.  He will be able to see people of all ages who chose to love him and root for him before he even came home.  My hope is that he will grow up with confidence, knowing that he too can do anything he sets his mind too, and he too can make a difference in the lives of people.