Apr 23, 201211:01 AM

A local volleyball player digs into the South Bay’s beach scene.

Love Is A Racket

I’m trying to convey that I’m interested without coming on too strong. I like her athleticism. Quick arm. How she carries herself on the court. And I like playing beside her. So, without an instruction manual, I’ve been doing what I think anyone in my position would attempt in this business: set up as many dates as possible.

 

I’m proud to say that my entire week is booked. I’ve been especially pro-active in organizing training sessions and setting up games based on the simple logic that the more court time we share the more opportunities we have to figure out if we click…do we have a future? To be perfectly honest—and I kind of hope that she isn’t reading this—my wish is that one or two weeks of diligent dating will lead to the unanimous decision that we belong together. Hey, it could happen…but since I tend to put all my eggs in one basket (in both dating worlds) I’m trying to have a little something on the side here. This is not to say that the person “on the side” is in any way less worthy of my attention or respect, just that she’s not my number one because I’ve never even met the girl. She lives up in Santa Monica and neither of us has seen the other play. I wouldn’t have even heard of her if it weren’t for a fellow player who thought we would make a good couple, a.k.a. compliment one another on the court. We’ve been trying to set up a blind date for weeks but the distance, coupled with the fact that she doesn’t always have the morning off to train, has caused us to continue pushing back our plans to meet. The other week it was the blustering wind that kept us apart and this past weekend it was Coachella. Maybe these are the beginnings of the kind of “how we met” story you hope to tell the grandkids someday, but I seriously doubt it. If we don’t meet face to face soon then there may be no chance for us this season.

 

Another local CBVA tournament has come and gone and I’ll be damned if I’ll miss the next one on account of not having a partner. What I want is a partnership, and even if the girl I’m trying to woo ends up not being a great fit right now, at least I’ll be able to move on and scoop up somebody else. We players still have a full month of preparation before the two premiere volleyball tours hold their kick-off events: the NVL (National Volleyball League) Preakness on May 17-19 in Baltimore, MD, and the Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Series tournament in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, the following weekend. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see if the stars align.