Volleyball Training

Ginger Sullivan was tall. Very tall. Standing at 6’-2,” she towered over all the boys and girls in her high school senior class. She was eighteen and had stopped growing, but her height made her stand out in a way that made her uncomfortable and lonely, since boys never asked her out. Ginger was more beautiful than many of the models you would see in glamour magazines, with a willowy toned body and long fiery red hair, but she wasn’t into fashion.

She loved sports and spending time outdoors running, hiking and swimming, but her favorite sport was volleyball. Although she had a very shy, sweet personality, she was very competitive when she played volleyball. She wanted to be the best and worked hard to try to accomplish her goal of winning a scholarship to the major university located about an hour north of her town.

Ginger’s parents were blue collar workers and her father had tried to start his own business, but their town was on the decline with many young people moving to the university town after graduation for better job opportunities. They did not have enough money to pay for Ginger’s university and she was worried about carrying the debt of student loans.

Her coach was Cliff Harrison, who was a state champion basketball player and had won a scholarship to the same university where she wanted to play volleyball. He was a top draft pick for a championship professional basketball team and played for two years after he graduated, but knee and ankle injuries had ended his career. He had made some money from basketball and from an inheritance from his parents, and bought a modest house near the university, as he really enjoyed the energy of the busy university town.

He became the physical education teacher at Ginger’s high school, where Cliff had also attended. He also coached the women’s volleyball team and Ginger was his star player. Although he was now 25, he remembered what it was like to be the tallest student in school, as he was 6’-4” tall. He hoped Ginger could lead them to a volleyball championship, as he wanted to coach for his university alma mater, so he didn’t have such a long commute every day. Winning the championship would not only give Ginger the opportunity for a scholarship but would also help him win a coaching position.

He had watched Ginger not only develop as a volleyball player, but also develop into a beautiful young woman, but he tried to put those type of thoughts out of his mind. At the latest after school practice he became frustrated with Ginger’s performance.

“Ginger, why do you keep missing those easy shots?” he shouted at her.

“I’m sorry Coach Harrison, I’m just so distracted. My parents aren’t doing well financially, and I need to not only help us win games, but I also need to keep my grades up if I am going to have any chance to win a scholarship.”

“I understand Ginger, but you have to get into the zone, where you focus on nothing else but being in the moment you are in and getting the ball over the net. I know you can do this. You just have to have the confidence in yourself that I have in you.”

“Thanks Coach, I really appreciate all the help and guidance you’ve given me over the years. I’ll try not to disappoint you and the team.” Ginger idolized Coach Harrison and even had a crush on him, as he was very handsome and well built. She wished she was closer to his age, although she was very focused and mature for an eighteen-year-old.

“Ginger, it is not about disappointing the team or me, it is about disappointing yourself.” Ginger put her head down in embarrassment and hoped she would do well in the coming game against their rival school. Ginger had helped her team start the season with an undefeated record, but they needed to keep their winning streak to advance to the state championship.

The next game Ginger did well but she missed many shots and her team barely won the game. Unbeknownst to Ginger, Coach Harrison had convinced the scout from the university to see Ginger play in the final game of the season, which was only a few games away. The coach called Ginger into his office after the game.

“Ginger, you did good today, but not good enough. We are going to be playing against harder teams in the remaining games, to complete the season and we need to win all the games to make it to the State Championship.” He didn’t tell her yet that he had convinced the scout from the university where Coach Harrison attended, and she wanted to attend to come to their final game. There weren’t that many games until the final game of the season.

“I’m sorry Coach, I really am trying to stay focused but I’m nervous about getting the scholarship and about disappointing everyone, including myself, if I don’t.”

“Ginger, we’ve talked about this. When I played basketball, I had a lot distractions, including thousands of fans either cheering me or booing me. Being able to ignore all other thoughts in your mind besides winning is the difference between a true champion and an also ran player.” As Coach Harrison looked at Ginger, he realized how beautiful she really was and how attracted she had become to him. Although he always looked at her like a younger sister, he was now looking at her with lust in his eyes and he prayed these feelings would pass.

The next game they won, but again Ginger played in a lackluster distracted fashion. Coach Harrison was also distracted, as he watched Ginger run up and down the court with her long ponytail swaying back and forth. It was then that the good and bad sides of his brain came together with a plan to make Ginger more focused, but also satisfy his newfound lust for the sexy teenager. His scheme would be for her own good, he rationalized to himself.

After the game, he told Ginger he wanted to speak to her after everyone had left, which she found odd. She hung around the locker room moping about her subpar performance, which was going to make it difficult to win the rest of the games before the final game. After Coach Harrison was sure everyone had left, he called Ginger into his office.

“Ginger, I want you in my office right this minute!”

He had never spoken to her in this way before and she was scared about what he might say. Would he kick her off the team? She meekly walked into his office and sat down in the chair in front of his large wood desk.

“We’ve talked about your performance many times, haven’t we?”

“Yes, Coach. We won again today through, right?”

“Ginger we have tough games to win next to go undefeated this season and make it into the state championships. You really need to focus more.”

“I know Coach.”

“Well, I have some good news and I have some bad news.”

“What’s the good news?”

I’ve convinced the scout for the women’s volleyball team at the university to come see the last game of the season. She is an old friend of mine from when I played basketball there.”

“That’s great! Thank you so much Coach Harrison! What’s the bad news though?”

“You are in competition for the scholarship with the star player for the team we are playing in the last game. She is stronger than you, faster than you, tougher than you and has scored many more points than you have. You have very little chance of beating her and getting the scholarship.”

Ginger started crying. “But Coach, isn’t there some way I can train to beat her?”

This was the moment he knew he had Ginger where he wanted her to satisfy his lust for her.