coaching: the new condom

tonight marks the last night of what i have come to call my "hour of free birth control". for the last month and a half or so i have helped run a youth volleyball program that's held bi-weekly for an hour. the program is offered by a prestigious north carolina volleyball club and is a great stepping-stone for young girls looking to learn more about the sport. when i signed-up for the gig i had no idea that the kids would provide me with so much entertainment.
ranging from 2nd grade to 8th grade, these little tykes embody such a wide scope of personalities it will make your head spin (as it did mine). there's the outspoken and the deathly shy, the comfortable and the self-conscious, the calm and the rambunctious. one girl makes it her personal mission to sprint to and from the water fountain on water breaks--i can't imagine ever having to put her to bed at night. another girl was obviously taught that there is no such thing as a stupid question for her hand shoots up every single time we are addressing the group (no exaggeration here). during a drill the other week, one of the girls cupped her hands over her mouth as she mumbled something unrecognizable to me...so i just assumed she got hit in the mouth with a ball and sent her to the bathroom to clean up. turns out i was a little off...the girl actually threw up on the court. she later told me that this happens all the time to her and that she didn't know why her mouth was open instead of closed like it usually is. precious.
so thank you, youth volleyball program parents, for bringing your hyperactive, uncoordinated, and apparently sick children to these weekly sessions. not only have i learned a great deal about how and how not to communicate with girls at this age, i have learned that i am in no way ready to handle one for the other twenty-three hours of the day.