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Beach Volleyball

BeachBlog: Part 4

Hey Stanford Fans!
 
We just wrapped up the Stanford West Coast Classic, and it was another busy weekend on The Farm. It was nice to play on our home courts for our first weekend of spring quarter, and even though the forecast predicted rain throughout the tournament, we got to play in perfect, sunny, and 72-degree weather both Saturday and Sunday. We played Cal Poly and Pacific on the first day, and then UCLA and St. Mary's on the second day. We had a new lineup for the weekend with several new partnerships, and it was awesome to see our team's depth on display and how flexible and adaptable everyone on our team is, especially in the face of adversity.
 
I just got back from a talk from former Stanford lacrosse player Jessica Verrilli, who is a founding partner of the investment collective #ANGELS. She was also the former VP of Corporate Development and Strategy at Twitter. Her talk was all about failure and the narrative of failure. As Stanford students, we are inundated with several incredible Silicon Valley success stories. However, Jessica's talk encouraged us to seek and share a much more realistic and genuine human narrative that highlights not just the highs of the journey, but also the lows, and the lessons learned along the way.
 
In sports, we often hear stories about underdogs overcoming the odds, and as Stanford student-athletes, we strive to cultivate and confidently assert the narrative of the "Home of Champions." It's crazy to look back and think about how much this program has grown over the course of the last four years. We have improved so much since last year, and even since this season started. Our record has mostly reflected the incredible season our team is having, probably the best in program history. Because of this immense growth, while our team has always been grateful to get wins, our expectations for ourselves have shifted because of how well we know we can compete with the best teams in the nation and how close we are to breaking into that upper echelon. As Andrew describes it, we are velociraptors at Jurassic Park, just trying to figure out how to break down the door.
 
But as great as this season is going, it hasn't been perfect, and we have had to deal with a lot of adversity. One such example is our loss to St. Mary's on Sunday. The dual was tied, 2-2, and it all came down to my match with Kate. To be honest, I didn't play anywhere close to the way I wanted to during the match. I was tired after a long weekend of several long 3-set matches, I let my exhaustion get the best of me both mentally and physically, I began to doubt myself, and I tightened up. Even though we held a four-point lead at one point, we ended up losing our match, which unfortunately meant that our team lost the dual 3-2.
 
No, I didn't play my best in that St. Mary's match. But I know that my teammates know that I gave it the best that I could in that moment. As Winston Churchill once said, "Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts."
 
And it does take courage. The mental side of beach volleyball is probably the hardest skill to master, and it is hard to stay confident and continue to believe in yourself after a tough loss. We are often our own toughest critics, and our greatest opponent is the one staring back at us in the mirror. That is exactly why I feel so lucky to have the teammates that I do. I know that I am surrounded by people who trust me and who believe in me, even when I can't believe in myself. They are the reason that I can continue to play fearlessly. But playing fearlessly isn't about not having any fears or doubts—it's about playing despite those fears. I can't change the past, but I can move on, learn from my mistakes, and control how I react to it. And that's the beauty of sports—they teach you to take the bad along with the good, and to find meaning in both experiences, which is an incredibly valuable life skill.
 
I'm heading into my last three weeks as a Stanford Beach Volleyball student-athlete, so instead of dwelling on one lost game or a couple of bad errors, I have decided to cherish these last few practices and matches and have as much fun as possible. With my college career coming to a close, I've been thinking a lot about the bigger picture. In my reflection on my time here, I know that one game does not define me, nor does it define this team or this program. I think about how much I want this program to continue to grow and how firmly I believe that Stanford Beach Volleyball can eventually be the best in the nation. But more than anything, I think about how grateful I am to be at a school that I love, playing the sport that I love, with people that I love. This team is filled with incredible players but believe me when I say that they are even better people than they are athletes.
 
Maybe in a few years I won't be able to remember the scores and specific plays and our win-loss count, but I know I'm going to remember how it felt to be out on the court and battling with my best friends. I know I'm going to remember how freeing it felt to sing and dance and laugh in the locker room between matches with them.
 

 
Maya Angelou once said, "People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel." I hope I never forget how special it felt to be part of a group as kind, funny, intelligent, and loving as this one.
 
We have a lot of great matches in the next few weekends to finish up our 2018 season, and I look forward to having more opportunities to deliver for my team. We head to Seattle this weekend for the Pac-12 North Invitational, so we are excited to compete against more of our Pac-12 opponents. Go Cardinal!