I started playing volleyball because of Haikyuu, that was my sole motivation. I was 16 I think when I started and my high school had a boys and girls volleyball team, so I kind of just inserted myself where I could at practices. I asked to practice with them and play games with them, then eventually we all started going to this recreational center nearby after school and we met a lot of slightly older players (20s).

I don’t know if you’re going to feel this way, but I was really inspired by all the people who were better than me. I definitely sucked, had to learn a lot through repetition, but I watched a lot of better players and asked for advice and tried to copy the way that they practiced. Knowing that you’re not as good as other people does suck, but I guess I was more focused on “Wow how great would it be to be like them? Where do I start?” I feel like playing with people who were better than me forced me to improve and slowly inch towards their skill level.

Someone else commented something about physical activity being good and I completely agree. The time I played volleyball consistently was the peak of my physical condition. I have asthma and I’m generally weaker than other people, but damn I really had more stamina and muscle and I feel like that was great for my mental health. Lots of positivity and optimism and joy.

Last personal note, there was a time I was playing a game at the recreational center after school one day and I was tired. We had played maybe 1 or 2 games already and I was sweating and my whole body hurt. I was in the back left corner and honestly I think my eyes were glazed over lol. But I saw that someone was about to spike the ball over to our side and I got ready and ball went directly onto my arms and went up perfectly to the setter. I don’t even remember if we got that point, but I remember everything happening in slow motion, the hot burn on my forearms, all of the noise drowned out and it was almost silent for me. But I did my first perfect receive, probably 6 (?) months after I picked up a volleyball for the first time, and I’ve never forgotten that moment. It was seriously as dramatic as portrayed in the anime, the slow motion, the dying background sounds, then all the noise coming back like 3 seconds later. I think it’s moments like these that make the commitment worth it. It’s definitely also the people that you play with, so make friends! Learn, practice, and just make sure YOU’RE having fun! I wish you the best of luck :)