Article May 30, 2011 Issue

Keeping it real on the volleyball court

By Kerstyn Battenberg

When the opportunity arose a few years ago to be the assistant to my college volleyball coach for a season, I was reminded of a question this coach had posed to our college team during my senior year: What if nobody else on the planet knew what you were doing? If nobody was watching you or keeping score, what would you do? I was excited at the idea of being an assistant coach but also felt pressure to be an inspiration to these young adults. The coach’s query challenged my own understanding of authenticity in life and made me wonder about my personal decision-making process.

As someone who wanted both to inspire and be inspired,  I felt at times that I was wearing different hats for different people, and switching them in order to keep everyone happy. It was tempting to wonder how I would be able to inspire this group of already amazing women. But I also saw coaching as an opportunity to examine my life through a spiritual lens.

As it turned out, my role was different than I had outlined it to be. Rather than being the one who had to inspire, I was inspired by these individuals—daily. One of the biggest lessons I learned from these women was authenticity. The women all had a spiritual focus that showed forth in the naturalness, purity, and ease with which they carried themselves. The personality that they brought to the court was the same when they were with their friends, with family members, talking to their professors, etc. This ability to be consistent in all avenues of life was inspiring to me, and I saw how a commitment to authentic, spiritually driven living led to quality friendships and deep bonds among the teammates. Rather than making decisions based on how others might view their actions, these women just lived—they just enjoyed the moments at hand.

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