Playing any sport or being part of any team-like structure teaches you some important lessons about cooperation, leadership, perseverance, and confidence. My career as a volleyball player in high school has taught me more about bonds of friendship friendship and pursuing goals in the face of adversity and trials than I ever expected to learn. Here are ten of the most important lessons that I learned while playing my favorite game:

1. You'll never know until you try.

I didn't initially want to try out for volleyball. I'd never played before my freshman year and my mom was intent on making me play a sport in high school. I was new to the school and like I said, I'd never played before, so naturally I was a ball of nerves. I eventually made the team and had the time of my life, meeting some of my very best friends. Had my mom not pushed me I probably never would have tried out for the team and I would have constantly wondered whether I would have made it. You never know until you try. So just try! You'll be glad you did.

Embarrassing photo of me trying to pass a ball. Yes I actually wore those socks during a game. *sigh*

2. Team work makes the dream work.

Sometimes there will be people on your team that you just don't get along with. Personal differences are insignificant when it comes to the game. These petty blemishes should never be a reason why a team cannot work well together. There comes a time when you learn the skill of getting along with others for the sake of a common goal, and that is a valuable skill, my friends. Love them or hate them, they're still your teammates at the end of the day. Out there in the real world, you will be forced to work with people you don't like; it's just a part of life. You can either hinder yourself by fostering negativity and being uncooperative, or you can find a way to make it work.

3. Best friends brave floor burns, hip bruises and concussions with you.

Along with having some people you may not like on your team, you can also make some of the strongest connections with members of your team. Tough practices, bruises, floor drills, angry coaches, team bus rides, weight room, long games, ice room talks, tournaments, athletic training pow wows, locker rooms and more. There is so much to bond over, and without a doubt the best friends I made were through volleyball. In fact, I don't know where I would be without them.

Sorry guys, you knew I had to use this freshman year picture.

4. It is very possible to be an athlete and to be extremely clumsy at the same time.

You needn't do anything more than just look at me.

5. Always thank your setter and your libero... always.

For saving your horrible passes and making them usable and for covering the holes in your block. I have always been in awe of my setters. They fly with such grace through the court and basically support the team. Whether you have been in their way a few times and stopped them from digging or setting a ball, or called a ball that they could clearly have gotten to because you (wrongly) thought you had a better chance, or even ran into them accidentally destroying a play, your setters and liberos still powered through for the sake of the team. Thank you a million times!

6. An experience is what you make of it.

Your experience means nothing unless you put in the work. The amount of time you spend doing something is not what makes you the best. You can have played for 10 years or have had no experience; what really matters is how much effort you put into the game. If you want success you cannot mull about with lackluster ambition and no desire to be better than you are. Commitment and dedication are crucial to success, whether it is in school, a job or a sport. If you love doing something and want to succeed, you have to want it more than anything else and more than anyone else does.

#nostalgia #tears #imissmyteam

7. Your team is nothing without the coaches.

Just thank your coaches for putting up with your shenanigans.

8. Confidence is key.

The minute your confidence dips is the minute the other team has won. Hesitation and self doubt will absolutely cripple you in the game and in life. Your thoughts control your actions and if you are constantly torturing yourself with negative thoughts of failure, then failure will be sure to follow you.

9. Never think you are above anything.

Never think you are above doing a drill or a workout that can help you improve your skills. No matter how great you think you are at something, nothing is too trivial and nothing is beneath you. There is always, always room for improvement and if you're not aiming for more and to be better, then you are doing something wrong.

10. Practice makes progress, not perfect.

Always practice like you play, and you will play like you practice. It never quite made sense to me when someone would say, "Oh it's only practice." To me practice is like the dress rehearsal for the play. If you can't get the lines right for the dress rehearsal what makes you think you'll get them right for the real deal? When you practice for something, you have to practice at the same level you would if it was the real deal, otherwise you're cheating yourself and your teammates. Short cuts and loopholes don't work when you are trying to improve yourself. Work through the issues you are having with 110 percent effort and you will reap the benefits. Practice bad habits and laziness, and they'll follow you out onto the court.

I want to know what we were talking about here..