Ball is life.

But I figured I could at least try something else. Keyword is “try.” Turns out, I was not successful at all.

On a recent Sunday, I went to try to play volleyball with a few of my friends, most of them more experienced than I am, thinking that it would not be too bad because it uses some of the similar skills to basketball, which I have plenty of experience in. I was wrong. So wrong.

We split into teams of three and started a game of one set to 25 points. I was excited and expected to play well.

But before I knew it, the game had started, and it all went downhill from there.

First, I learned that volleyballs hurt a lot. No one ever tells you that; players on professional courts majestically hit the ball with perfect form and not even the slightest sign of a wince. So you can imagine my surprise when I tried to hit the ball over the net on the first play: My wrists were sore, and I had to take some time on the side of the court to recover.

None of my friends seemed to notice, though, and we continued to play. I think it is some sort of silent agreement among volleyball players to act like hitting a volleyball is the most painless feat out there, so when we amateurs try it, we play even worse.

The rest of the game was not much better. I may have hit my face with the ball. Twice. On consecutive plays. I really did try to hit the ball forward, but it would just not obey. But let’s pretend like that never happened.

My team ended up losing 25-9. And, I must solemnly admit, I did not contribute much to that losing score of 9. It’s sad to say, but my team probably would have done better playing two against three.

After this rather humiliating defeat, junior Gautham Arunkumar, my only friend there who actually plays volleyball, decided to teach me how to spike a volleyball properly. I learned to jump up and time my hits better. Or at least tried to.

Finally, it was my time to shine. Spiking involves jumping, and so does basketball. I should be good at this.

WRONG.

Slapping a ball is very different from shooting a ball.

To be fair, though, I was actually relatively consistent with my spikes. I hit them into the net almost every time. Being consistently bad is the first step to being consistently good, right? Just let me save some face and agree.

I went home soon after the aforementioned shenanigans,  contemplating how atrocious I was at volleyball. Good thing I chose basketball as my sport instead.

I guess this whole experience has taught me a couple of things. For one, a volleyball will always go in the opposite direction that I want it to go. And two, I should stick to basketball.