last game

How do you approach the last game of your season? How do you step onto the court for the last time of your career? After years of devotion to learning this game, after countless team huddles and high fives on the court, hundreds of bruises and ice bags since the day you first touched a volleyball, from the ‘line of shame’ to a newfound resentment for the butterfly drill, you stop and realize that it’s not just a game anymore. And tonight’s game is no bigger than your first game or even the game you played last weekend, but it’s different. It’s special.

It’s different because it’s your last. It’s your last chance to play with this particular group of girls that composed your team for a season. For some, it’s our last chance to play in a real game like this ever. It’s special because you can see everything more clearly. As much as you counted down the days to season being over for different reasons such as more free time, a break from commitment, or change in general, in that moment, before your last game, you see with clarity just how special the journey has been. You look around the locker room at these faces you’ve spent hours with every day for the past few months and wonder how often you’ll still see them after tonight, you step into the gym and begin to pepper with your partner and wonder how something as simple as that warm up drill can still be fun after twelve years since you were first taught, and then when that first game whistle blows you feel a spark inside you come alive, a whole hearted love of the game and desire to compete that runs deep inside your veins. For a moment you fear tomorrow, fear losing that spark and that deep part of you after you’ve turned in your jersey for the ending of a season.

But then you are brought back to the present. It’s game time. Even though it’s not a championship title you’re fighting for, you find you’ve still got that fight and that urgency inside of you. This is your game. This is your last opportunity to play with these girls that you love. This is your last chance to show your heart and your passion for this game. This is the last time your voice on the sideline will make a difference to your team. Sure, in the future you may cheer for other teams, but an encouraging word from the bleachers doesn’t have near the impact as that from a fellow teammate. Don’t take your voice for granted.

Going into your last game it’s interesting to find that you aren’t nearly as concerned with getting a win or passing a perfect 3.0 or trying to add a kill to your stats as you once were. You set goals for tonight with different eyes. You see the things that are really important. Yes, you still want to compete and do your best. That’s always been something to strive for and it’s no less important tonight than it’s always been. But tonight is about even more than that. It’s about looking at growth, personal growth and team growth and wanting everyone else in that gym to see and recognize it too because it’s something beautiful, something too important to miss. And tonight is about friendship, the kind that only teammates experience. It’s about that comfort you have when you come off the court and your friend knows just the right thing to say to pick you up or the right song to sing to keep you relaxed. Tonight is about energy. You realize that it’s probably not appropriate in everyday settings to dance to Sandstorm or throw your hands up after someone did something awesome or to bark just for the heck of it. You better take advantage of that tonight.

Going into this season there was a lot of talk about all the firsts we were faced with. First season with a new coach, lots of first time college teammates. But as we’ve journeyed through this season I think we’ve all learned a few things about lasts as well. We watched as some of our teammates were faced with injuries that put an end to their ability to continue to play with us. We grieved as a fellow conference team suffered the loss of a teammate. And from these circumstances I think we all gained a clearer perspective on the frailty of life and the value of our gifts and every day we’ve been given to use them. It taught us to cherish one another and play each game as though it could be our last.

So back to my question: How do you approach that last game? To answer that simply, do what you’ve always done. Lace up your shoes, pepper with your partner, celebrate and encourage every point that you can, and when that final whistle blows congratulate the other team on a good game. From the outside fans may not notice anything different about you tonight, and they don’t need to. But embrace that something different will be happening inside of you and within your team that last game. And in regards to that I say cherish and celebrate. Cherish and celebrate for the growth you’ve had, for the friendships you’ve made, for the opportunity to play with passion and energy, and for that spark inside of you.