The Hubby Playing Ball!

Any chance to talk about my hubby and of course I get excited!

So here is, I guess, a semi-romantic, semi-volleyball related post.

I only ever actually remember noticing my now husband, at drop in volleyball mostly because of his serve. He used to do (and sometimes still does) this really silly toe drag as he contacted the ball, and well, it got my attention. 

(You can kind of see the toe drag here)

Mark has not been playing ball for nearly as many years as I have been, but watching the way he plays, you would never know. Mark moves so fast, gets a touch on pretty much every play, can play in basically any position, and is just an overall hard working player. Yes, his technical skills are a little bit lacking (he never had much proper coaching), but what he lacks in proper technique, he makes up for in his passion and commitment for the game. 

It's very important to me that Mark and I share this volleyball passion. I've had previous relationships where the guy had no interest in volleyball, and well to be honest, it just didn't work. They were always mad that I was busy playing, and I was always mad that they never wanted to watch me play. 

With Mark, this anger/resentment doesn't exist. We both love the sport endlessly, and we both love getting to watch the other person play so we both fully understand each others need/love of the game. 

When we first started dating, we were playing probably minimum five times a week together. We've toned it down a bit now, and we also sometimes play separate from the other (we have to have some independence from each other to keep our sanity), but all in all it definitely is a huge foundation for our relationship. 

(This is a photo from one of the first tournaments we played in together - May 2009)

Now don't get me wrong, Mark and I have had our moments where we are pretty hard on each other. We used to be a lot worse, and would bicker on the court like an old married couple (before we were even close to an old married couple), but over the years, we have learned how to handle ourselves a whole lot better. All in all, as long as we focus on the fact that we are team mates (both on and off the court), we can concur anything :)

With all this focus on our relationship being based on volleyball it does sometimes make me worry. I hate saying this out loud, but it makes me cringe to think, what would happen if one, or both, of us could no longer play. Sure we've had our share of bumps and bruises, injured ankles, thumbs, etc, where we've taken a few days off here and there, but we've both always been able to play. Hopefully we will never have to face that, but if we do, would our relationship be the same? 

I don't know if we're unique in the way our relationship is so strongly focused on this one shared passion, or if that's a common thing with other couples (yes, of course we have other shared interests as well), but I am hopeful that because a team sport is our foundations for our relationship, that we will have no problem being each others best team mates for plenty of years to come no matter what the circumstances. 

-Linds