The 'Magic' Volleyball School Bus: Part 2

On Sunday morning Feb. 13

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I woke up way too early and went to watch the Kaepa Marion Magic Volleyball team in a tournament at Coe College in Cedar Rapids.  I arrived at 8:15 AM and the match was already well underway.

Instantly I was entertained by the playfulness of it all.  Yes, the girls were competing but it looked like all were having fun.  One girl swung and missed on a shot, and laughed at herself.  Another girl hooked a ball 15 feet left out of bounds and laughed it off, getting high fives from her teammates.  There were no coaches yelling, no crazy overbearing parents, just girls playing a sport they choose to play.

Why they choose to play it was actually the reason I was there.  I wanted to know why these girls, aged 15-17 choose to participate in something they don't have to do, especially at 8 am on a Sunday!!  I was able to speak with 2 of the players for the Marion Magic and get there perspective on what they do.

Sarah, a Junior at Marion and Micaela, a sophomore at Marion were both resting after the first match was over.  IPods and CapriSuns were everywhere. Blankets and sleeping bags were sprawled out among the group all talking and relaxing.

I asked both of them, “Why do you choose to be apart of a team like this?"  The answer I was given was a very enthusiastic ,"it's fun!!" Both girls noted that they enjoyed being a part of a team, improving their volleyball skills and having a step ahead on other competition going into the fall.

Sarah, also said, "working towards a potential scholarship is always on my mind, being able to play volleyball in college would be amazing."  Most of the public probably assume full ride scholarships to a D1 school like Iowa is a large goal but even partial scholarships are given from colleges like Coe, Kirkwood and Iowa Wesleyan.  "Any amount of money always helps for college" they said.

Also in Micaela's case, volleyball is not even the only sport she is playing right now.  She is also on the Marion Varsity basketball team.  Micaela's reason: "It keeps me active, I love the game and I want to improve."

I aksed both girls what's the biggest lesson they have learned from all of this, they said "being self motivated and having a mental edge going into the fall."

Sounds like they know what they want.  I applaud them for that.  In today's world of many kids walking the mall on Sunday afternoon, laying around Pancheros all day,  or going to see the Justin Bieber movie, these girls having taken the opportunity to help with a small part of their future.  Congrats to them.

Note:  They are actually very excited to see the Justin Bieber movie.

Joseph Larsen

Community Contributor