The mentality of volleyball has a big effect of what it does to the environment on the court. The questions we ask each other are Why is it so easy to feel the tension on the court? How do we get out of it? Why is a good mindset important? Why do we get in our head? (this means to have a bad fixed mindset on the court). Volleyball girls call this getting into our heads.
The thing is volleyball is such a mental sport and you wouldn’t think it would be as complicated, but it really is more than just hitting a ball over a net. Your heart starts to pound when facing down the other team. It’s almost like you can hear but yet everything is blocked out. Your eyes become laser focused on one individual person who is intimidating. You start to feel pleased with yourself and the game but also not pleased. You start to think about all the possible mistakes you could make, which really helps you understand and focus on what to do when you go up to hit, when you go to serve, when you go to get the perfect pass. The fact is there is no such thing as perfect anything. According to psychologist Carol Dweck, “your beliefs play a pivotal in what you want and whether you achieve it.”
You would think in a perfect world, everyone on your team would get along and support each other but there’s more to that. People tend to complain and backstab others. This drama can ruin your on-court focus. Your task is to get rid of these negative behaviors with your unconditional support of your teammates, at least when on court. Forgiving people for being imperfect and simply focusing on the ball, not the team dynamics. Erikka Williams senior at William J. Palmer high school Quotes “My mindset helps me on the court. I pride myself on staying positive and using mistakes that I made to better myself. I keep a good attitude, and this directly impacts the rest of the team as well. When I get in my head, I recognize it. I look at the big picture, not just this moment.” Doing this helps so much and can improve how you react to mistakes not just in your sport but outside of it.
When you step onto the court and really register what you are doing you can see, feel, smell, hear and even taste everything. The court always has the perfect grip for your shoes. You have that one new ball that you love to hit and serve with. You have that one smell you get when you walk into the gym and stand on that court. You see the family and friends that stand in the crowd cheering when you get a point. You can feel your feet hit the ground when you jump, you can feel it when you hit the ball, when you give high fives, and when you hug your teammates after a good play. All these things are a good thing, it’s what you want to feel when you are playing a sport and just being able to have a good mindset is never easy. It’s like a roller coaster ride that just goes up and down as time goes by. “Getting in my head, or anybody getting in their head for that matter, directly impacts the team. It’s never fun when somebody is upset, it totally ruins the atmosphere. Then everyone gets mad then you lose. That’s always the result. “Erikka also states. Getting in your head is like a virus spreading all over.
A good mindset in volleyball is very important because it helps you think, feel and behave in situations such as when you start to lose the game but then you learn how to turn it around. “When I get upset about being pulled off, or about making multiple mistakes in a row. But I see that, and I change it. Being upset when I come off isn’t ever going to make my coaches want to put me back on. I look at the big picture, not just this moment.” Erikka recites. Volleyball is such a beautiful sport and it’s almost like a wave when everyone is flowing back and forth through plays, and transitions. Everyone goes up to hit from who’s in the front row and back gets the hard balls when blocks happen.
The mentality of sports helps us be more positive not just in a game but in life too. It makes you think about how to react and when to get mad or stay positive. It also helps you form friendships and build bonds between new people. That’s a big part of the mentality on the court, it’s being able to know each other and become a whole when things are low and high. “I’ve formed friendships I never would’ve had, I’ve become so much more extroverted and friendly, and it’s helped me become a vastly different person than I was before. The connections people make are why I fell in love with it, as well as the drive that it gives me.” Erikka Williams said.
That’s the mentality of volleyball, and the feelings, the game itself, the connections it brings, and how you respond to sports and life situations are the biggest parts of not just the community of a sport but the communities in life too. Volleyball is more than just a game it gives the benefits of good habits and a good growth mindset.