My freshman year, I went to college and became a member of my school's volleyball team. And each year, a new group of girls joins us to do the same, to try to leave a legacy and leave their mark on the court. As veteran players, we have hopes and fears for these new players. Each new player that joins us has the potential to make our team better, or to destroy it from the inside. When your sports team is your family, every new addition changes its identity.
I hope that you will be a good player, of course, that you will raise the team's skill level and talent, that you will bring us something we didn't have before. But more than that, I hope you are a hard worker, I hope you have a good attitude, and I hope you are enthusiastic about our sport. I hope that you will bring laughter, joy, and new friendship when you join. I hope that you will be a positive force for the team to get us where we want to go. I hope you will pick me up when I am having a bad day, and be receptive to coaching and encouragement when you are. I hope that you will be that player that drives the rest of us to do better, to be better.
I fear that you will take my starting spot, or worse, that you won't even try to. I fear that you will be complacent to make a low impact on the team. I fear that you will see yourself as 'just a freshman' and not understand how important you can be. I fear that you will let me down as a teammate, on or off the court. I fear that you will not understand our legacy, our reputation, our vibe - that you will ruin these things without a care because you want your own identity to be something else. I fear that you will disrespect our program with your actions. I fear that you won't give a shit when you do.
I see your potential. I have seen your potential since you visited as a junior or senior, but I have had these fears since then, too. I have seen your actions then, and the first five minutes of preseason, and the first week of the season, and I have been hopeful and fearful. There is so much you can do right, but there is so much you can do wrong, too. I hope that you will make more right decisions than wrong ones.
