A
Time for Reflection:
James Stover
Captain, Flying Zucchini
As I got up on Sunday,
June 5th to return home from Nationals 2005 in Denver, I was
a little disappointed that I was leaving
without a medal. The past three Nationals I had attended my
team had won a medal in one division or another; but this year,
none.
I got
on the shuttle to the airport and began to reminisce about
my trip. It had started 10 days prior when I had picked up
my
friend Susan and we went to the airport. At the airport we had
a beer and met up with some other teammates from our Co-Ed team,
Jeff, Leigh and Mike. We all traveled to Denver together. We
arrived in Denver, saw a bit of the town and had some dinner.
Later that evening, after dealing with plane issues due to weather
in Tucson, Anni, our 6th team member arrived. We started playing
Saturday morning, and despite what was a disappointing 5th place
finish for us (primarily because we had finished 3rd the year
before) we went 5-2 in the two-day tournament. We played
some great volleyball, had fun hanging out, going to dinner,
and continuing to bond as friends and teammates.
Then, we had a two-day break
before the Men’s and Women’s
divisions started. What were we to do? Maybe watch some volleyball
during the day and party at night? That is exactly what happened.
Soon, we were having such a great time, our 5th place finish
faded from our memory.
Then the Men’s tournament began. My Co-Ed teammates went
on to be with their teams and my men’s teammates began
arriving. As a team, we had our ups and downs, but overall we
played well and had a great time. Also, not having played at
this level of competition with all of my teammates, I learned
to appreciate them on a different level.
Saturday night, after the tournament was done, a large group
of us went out to eat, drink and dance. During this night, I
became closer with many people I have known for years, and I
also got to know several people with whom I had only been an
acquaintance much better.
So, to recap, I spent a week with some of my closest friends.
During that week I made several new friends. We played some great
ball, supported other Arizona teams, ate and partied together.
Do I wish I would have won, of course I do! But, how could I
regret such a terrific week?
There are many people who made this trip great for me, but I
especially want to thank my teammates; Anni Siebenmorgan, Leigh
Burkey, Susan Attaway, Jeff Couchman, Mike Morzinski, Travis
Hoffman, Dustin Maass, Ryan Mathur, and Brian Farlee for making
this trip special.
Back
to June 2005>>>>
