Volleyballs

At La Cancha this evening for semifinals in the Women's Golden Division I noticed this pile of volleyballs being used for a girls practice. The variety of balls is astounding. Back when I coached high school volleyball in the States, we made certain we had plenty of practice balls and tried to ensure they were all the same brand, age, and condition. Here at our outdoor courts (a major difference in its own right) no two balls are the same. There are indoor and outdoor, old and new, good quality and a step above playground level. I am pretty sure it is because practices are run with the balls the players bring. There is no coach managing a seemingly never-ending supply of volleyballs, here everyone contributes. Maybe somewhere there is an American style program with lots of balls, a ball cart or two and an even court surface, but not in Zihua where everyone contributes to the team's well being.