On the court

So last night I finally made it to volleyball. I had looked when I first arrived here for recreation clubs and leisure centers that had open volleyball courts... but couldn't find any. Jane took a look online and ended up speaking to a guy who said that a group of people played on Thursday nights. I was thrilled- but because of working I couldn't make it until last night. I was a little nervous because honestly I wasn't sure it was the same game. I did my research online and saw through pictures that they used the same ball and same net... so I figured anything else would be minor differences. After a long series of jumbling cars and bus schedules, I finally set out last night at about 7:30 to drive to the gym. Keep in mind about 0% of the driving I have done on my own while here has been during the night. Anywhere I go at night I usually take the bus or get a ride...so I was driving to a part of town I had never been in, to a gym I didn't know, in the dark, driving on the wrong side of the road. (I suppose all of my efforts were concentrated on driving, thus the nervousness didn't set in until I was walking from the parking lot to the gym doors). Anyway- with my handy Edinburgh road map in hand (which I triple checked at every stoplight to make sure I was traveling in the right path) I made it safely to the gym.
I don't know if it is fair to say this or not... but I've noticed that people are conservative here (except on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights), but honestly- anyone that I have seen working out here (running, biking, skipping rope, etc) have all been wearing pants (and the weather is nice... so they could have worn shorts). Not to mention the fact that I had to ponder around 3 athletic/department stores to find women's shorts. So I wasn't sure if this was going to be a pant-playing volleyball day or a short-wearing volleyball day (to solve this problem, I brought both in my bag, waited until I got into the gym, surveyed all of the other girls to see what they were wearing, took my shorts to the locker room and changed). The girls (although I was expecting co-ed) were very nice and we chatted for a bit before taking the court. As I was waiting for someone to pick teams or split the group up... the girls started running laps. So I thought 'ok- they're warming up... join in.' Then, much to my surprise... a COACH walked in. Yep- so my dream of playing recreational volleyball and having a good time on Thursday nights was quickly shattered when he called us all together and told us the first drill of the night. I quickly realized that this was a volleyball TEAM and that I was some American girl crowding the court. It started off pretty well- I took visual cues from what everyone else was doing, and then would join in myself. Most of the rules are the same- they call positions different things (so when I'm yelling '15' or 'outside' to get set... they have no clue what I'm talking about). For the first 30 minutes, the coach didn't even acknowledge me. We were standing in a circle listening to what he had to say... and he panned the audience about 3 times while he was talking (each time stopping for a long time at my face as if he were thinking 'huh... is she on our team?' but still never stopping to say hi.) It wasn't until after we finished the first few drills that someone else introduced me to him- to which he started telling me that he 'knew I played competitively because of my good form.' Which made me feel good for a second... but still he still hadn't earned my respect. Let me back up a second. Have you ever seen the Mighty Ducks movies? You know the Russian Hockey coach (whose character name has escaped me at the moment)- that's who he reminds me of. Tall, intimidating, always something negative to say. He would call us all together to explain with glee his latest revelation about positioning or footwork or something, as if he invented it and it just came to him (most of which I was taught in my early teen years playing in vball clubs in the states... but of course I wasn't going to rain on his parade). There were many instances when, while he was yelling, I had visions of previous coaches dancing through my head. Unfortunately we only played about 20 minutes of a scrimmage game, the rest was all drills and skills.
Anyway- overall I had a good time. Some of the players are actually pretty good. I think there is a solid 7 or 8 girls who play during the matches (yes.. they are a traveling volleyball team... with shirts and everything) The girls generally seem really nice- I think I am the youngest. They invited me back next week, which is good and I think I will continue to go. They have a tournament in a few weeks, after Easter, and a few of the girls asked me to play in it with them (now, I'll have to convince Jane and Malcolm and the boys to come watch!). I was really hoping for a pick up team/open gym night... and maybe I will find one eventually- but for now, this will suit. As I left the gym (and by the way walked to the wrong door to start driving... but thankfully I played it off by putting my bag into the passenger seat, then walking to the other side of the car to start driving) I thought... damn, I'm going to be sore tomorrow.