Volleyball Game

The main event of Lobo Middle School on Saturday is the final day of the season’s first volleyball tournament. Today the eighth grade girls are playing for a chance at third place. Entering the air conditioned gym the dominate sound is that of volleyballs hitting the glossed wooden floor as the girls of both team practice.  There is no price of admissions which seems odd for during last basketball season in the winter of 2013 there was, I wonder if the school has adopted a new policy of not charging the family members and supporters of the athletes. Approaching the bleachers to take a seat I notice there is not a great deal of homemade posters to cheer on the girls, only two including mine to cheer on my athlete and a mother who we'll call Mrs. Spirit. Looking around the bleachers, the majority of the spectators appear to be adults of Hispanic ethnicity, there is a lack of supporters of middle school age cheering on their peers, I wonder if its due to the fact that it is nine in the morning on a Saturday or if it’s because it is one of the first games of the season.  There is not much discussion going on amongst the supporters and the little that I can hear is done so in small groups with the people either speaking Spanish or a mix of Spanish and English.

The game is beginning, against Lobo Team and Orange Uniform Team. Those girls not playing on the court  are not sitting together as team but rather in small clusters on two or three – have they yet to bond as a team or is this the socially practice of adolescent girls in keeping with cliques.  Mrs. Spirit and my party of my parents and myself appear to be cheering the loudest and most frequent whether it be to encourage the girl or applaud them on a good play. Of the other audience members though not as loud and frequent as Mrs. Poster and I, it appears that parents of the Lobo team are cheering more than Orange Uniform Team parents even though Orange won the first game.  As the games goes on I see Mangers from both team are on their phones. The Coaches of both teams are acting in different manners – Orange Team’s coach is middle aged woman who is scolding her girls on mistakes (she can be heard from where I sit across the court) while Lobo Team’s coach is a young adult and she appears to be correcting the girls (she is demonstrating proper bump technique, I can barely hear her from across the court), I’m curious if this is because she is closer to the player's age.

Team Lobo wins the second game. Game three, the deciding match, commences. Now both team’s spectators are reacting more vocally to the mistakes and points being made of each team.  Team Lobo wins, 15 to 8.  Orange Team shakes Team Lobo hand and then go off to what I assume is to discuss the game and find their parents on the bleachers. Team Lobo is jolly, presented with the trophy they are exclaiming loudly amongst themselves and all are smiling, all girls seem to be interacting with one another. They are taking pictures as team. The main method of taking photos are phones, with another parent and me using digital cameras.  I notice as I am around the girls waiting for my athlete to get her gym bag that the girls are forming little groups again and are speaking mainly English. My athlete with her stuff collected ask if she can go on the bus with the team rather than ride home with us. Maybe she wants to rejoice with the team.

The Game opener

As I walked into the soccer complex to watch a soccer game, people were already filling in the stands.  It was about 15 minutes before kickoff for an early morning game.  Most of the people that occupied the stands this early were adults above the age of 35.  Most of the adults were engaged in simple small talk, about what plans they have for the weekend or about the game they are currently going watch. I suspect mass majority of these adults were parents of the players or had relations with the players in some way, because I overheard several adults say "what number is your daughter wearing or how is your daughter enjoying in school".  Most of the adults were wearing crimson or Aggie attire.  In general the mood seem very positive and supportive.

About 5 minutes after I sat down a large group of college kids entered the complex dressed in either Aggie attire or wearing Fraternity or Sorority T shirts.  Most of them look rather tired, which makes sense, since it was early in the morning.  These college student shuffled into the stands as a cohesive group.  As it came closer to game time most of the college student were situated within the stands just talking amongst themselves.

On the field, the female players were warming up for there big game. Right before kickoff,  there was an introduction for the players.  One by one, each player who was going to start was called by name.  Once there name was called the crowd erupts with applause and cheers.  The first couple of players got loud cheering and applause but as the process went along the cheering got fainter and quieter.

After the introduction the game begins.  At first the crowd was loud and supportive to the players on field giving them positive encouragement and praise.  I noticed that the adults were cheering more for the individual players, rather for the team as a whole.  However, the college students were rather cheering for the team as a whole rather than for individual players. Additionally the college students would break out in a chant to support the players.  The chants and encouragement continues even when they for scored on for the first time.  However, when the Aggies got scored on for the second time a the crowd got quieter.  At this point the college student were not cheering at all, but the adults were still being supported.  By the end of the game, the end score was 0-3.  The Aggies lost.  Majority of the college students went home shaking there heads, while some of the parents stayed around to talk to the players.  At this moment I took my leave from the complex.

Socialize Hall

It is a sunny, but late afternoon and the athletes seem to be coming here from every which way. They all meet in these rooms with white walls full of desks and computers where they are supposed to fulfill their hours of "study." It is "study" because in reality they are hours of pure socialization and gossip.

The staff in charge of these meetings of study merely clock athletes in and out based on the amount of time they think they have been doing school work. Backpack sits there and smiles as she takes your student id and you enter the realm of student-athletes.

There are two types of rooms used for the two different types of people. The single rooms, used by the minority of kids who are actually using the building for its purpose of getting work done. And the other general studying rooms, where you will find a small number of people doing work while the rest will just sit there and talk amongst each other.

Single room number one. Quiet, peaceful, and serene place of study. One would only be able to hear the thoughts of Bio Book studying in there. General room number one. Filled with at least 7 student-athletes some from the same and different sports teams. Although there is a "No food or drink allowed" sign back in the front where Backpack sat, apparently some of the students didn't get the memo. Subway content with what he's eaten offers everyone else his left over barbeque Lays chips. Gummy worms attempts to secretly eat all of her healthy but delicious snacks. While Sweet Tea comes in with a full meal ready to grub on whatever he got from the local deli. For athletes, they sure do know how to eat snacks with good nutritional value.

A good 45 minutes has passed and the athletes of general room number one keep going back and forth on which team has the hardest workouts. Girl star 1 insists that Guy star 1 doesn't even know what a hard workout unless he was to try and complete one of her teams workouts. Guy star 1 refuses to believe that the girls team works any harder than his team. And the argument never ceases. The other athletes of general room number one are too busy being involved with the art of storytelling to even notice Guy star 1 and Girl star 1's little disagreement. These stories get crazier and crazier by the second because someone is always trying to one up the other persons stories. By this time Subway has left the room to find peace and quiet in single room number two because in the past 2 hours not a pen or pencil has been used for writing or a keyboard for typing, only the chatter of student-athletes filled the room in this socialize hall.

Backpack gives you back your student id, clocks you out, tell you how my hours you've put in "studying," and smiles and tell you "See ya next time!"

All Athletes

The room is crowded, but purposeful. Each person has a reason to be in here, and only particular students are even allowed in this building. I am sitting in the athletics center, a well kept building made specifically for the student athletes here at the university. It is obvious that the school's or the athletics department keeps the athletes taken care of. This room is heavily stocked with expensive equipment for only the athletes to use. In the room, I can see three temperature-controlling tubs used for ice/heat therapy, an underwater treadmill that probably costs thousands of dollars, mats, dumbbells engraved with the school's mascot, scales, ice machines, locker rooms, showers, therapeutic bands, rollers, treadmills, etc. The athletes are supervised by multiple well-trained athletic trainers, a doctor, and coaches to help the athletes with injuries and any health concerns. I can see the each staff member must wear a shirt with the university logo printed on it while on the job. The room is kept at a cool temperature, probably to keep the athletes from overheating, (it is over 100 degrees outside). 

The room is crowded with the athletes. Each look slightly exhausted and beat up, either sweat rolling down their face or an ice bag tied to some part of their body. They each walk around with a different sort of confidence, or "swagger" than most students on campus, knowing that they are student athletes and that they represent the school in a unique way. It is obvious that these people are extremely fit and are put through grueling workouts. Some of the men in the room easily weigh three hundred pounds of pure muscle, a lot of them are football players. It is sometimes easy to tell which sport they play by their body time. For example, the men's and women's basketball team tends to be tall and extremely strong-looking, while the cross country athletes tend to be skinny, without an ounce of fat on them. You can tell what sport they play usually by the logo on their shirts as well, and it seems like athletes from particular sports seem to congregate together. While they all look tired from a hard day at practice, the general tone in the training room is light-hearted. Lots of laughter and positive vibes from everyone. The athletes and the trainers alike seem to feel very comfortable in this place, and everyone from each respective sport seem to know each other pretty well.

As I am observing the athletes more closely, I see that some are sitting in ice baths, and seem to be very uncomfortable from the cold water. Some are stretching, and some are being treated by the trainers. Others are also simply standing around chatting with one another while eating protein bars. I can hear some talk of how a particular practice went, some "gossiping" and exchanges concerning injuries with the staff members. The staff members seem extremely helpful, and the athletes seem to trust them with their injuries. There are some massages going on in the back corner, and some complicated-looking medical procedures taking place. This seems to be a normal day in the athletics center. 

The Coffee Shop and the Student

A slow night at the Coffee Shop. But it is also quiet. Students, including myself, sit alone or in small groups doing school work or relaxing. The ones relaxing sit in the comfy chairs where the lit is dim compared to the one above me. Two people behind me are in comfy chairs but seem to be doing school work.

Outside, conversations take place in the summer air, welcomingly cool. Across from me, two male student, Jimmy and John, sit and do homework. They don’t say anything, just work. Behind me and to my right is another student, Miss Doctor. I assume she is a medical student of some sort by the title of her book. Do all medical students study alone?

Four of the students, Miss Doctor, Jimmy, John, and Viet who sits in front of me, listen to their own music, blocking out the music, sounds like a soft pop type of music, coming from the speakers of the small shop. One man, Purple Shirt, has been here for a while as he has gone back to the register to refill his drink. Another student sits at the bar and reads in their soft light. Behind the counter, Joy interacts with her customers, particularly Purple Shirt in this instance. Does she know Purple Shirt? Does he come in here often? Is Joy also a student?

Joy is a student. She is an animal science major which I found out as she asks another customer about her major and is asked about her own. Animal science. That is a really good major to go into. That’s how we find out more about ourselves as a human race sometimes.

I wonder if students come here for the free wi-fi. That seems to be why Mr. Basketball is here, along for the coffee. A look outside the window suggests that the Coffee Shop’s outside patrons have left.

Jimmy seems to be done with his homework. John is still reading. But he looks tired. Jimmy has decided to leave, done with his work for now.

Two cheerleaders, I assume from their black shirts with their school logo on them, walk in. They must be waiting for someone since they sit in chairs near the electric fireplace in front of the counter. They don’t order anything. They might later though. Bar student has left and the cheerleaders have gotten a call. They step outside. A co-worker, Red, joins Joy behind the counter and begins taking orders. Miss Doctor prepares to leave, done with her tedious reading for the time being.

As the hour grows later, more people, students mostly, come into the Coffee Shop. A small hum of conversation from two female patrons waiting, a student on his phone, and a couple of students off to the side of me, but lower than the music from the speakers.

A father and his small child take up a space by the window and share a sweet treat. Father-Son bonding. The cheerleaders have returned and ordered themselves something. As I sit here, I can’t help but wonder if I will see the same students here next time. It seems this is a favorite place for us to hang out and study. It’s also a place where strangers meet for the briefest of moments. A place where old friends meet. Now, only Purple Shirt, Jimmy, Viet, and the student on the phone are the only ones that remain of the people that were here before me.