On February 13th, the GZAAT volleyball team had a tense and exciting match against the British International School of Tbilisi. The game was held in our school gym and students stayed to watch and cheer on their fellow players.
One of the most important things in a sports team is how the team goes into the game. A team that is filled with support for one another is way more likely to have a successful outcome during the game. The sense of unity and comfort makes it much easier for the players to communicate and collaborate. Thankfully, the members of our volleyball team had no problem with having each others backs.
Our school has two teams, one girls team and one boys team. The captain of the girls team, Masho Burchuladze, talked about her experiences with her teammates: “As the team captain I asked all of my teammates how they were feeling and all of them felt really nervous. Some of my friends called me and said that they cried and that they would play very badly, but I tried to calm all of them down.” Masho also said that she was not worried since she was experienced and that she calmed her teammates down with the fact that it was their first game and that they would have many more opportunities to win in the future.
Now onto the actual game, a teammate that chose to remain anonymous notes: “The spirit was very positive. We didn't pay attention to the mistakes we made, we didn't say things like: what are you doing? how could you miss the shot?! or anything like that. The game was fairly easy I guess. We were expecting like top league players, so we felt kind of relieved after the first few points.” Another player, Lizi Gadzadze, commented on the other team’s playing tactics and compared it to ours – “BIST played well but they lacked communication between their teammates, whereas our team had it figured out. They also couldn’t get our team’s spikes, which I don’t blame them cause they were hard to block. But overall, they played well. My team seemed to be calm. It was easy to win since we have many good players on the team.” As Lizi mentioned, the GZAAT volleyball team came back with a victory! In the first half of the game GZAAT won 25 to 17 and in the second, 25 to 19, which means that the overall score was 2-0! As for the boys, they had a great win too! Just like the girls, they won 2-0!
After the victory, which some of the players did not expect, it was time to start thinking about the next game, which has not taken place yet, but it's safe to assume that the team's spirit has been lifted! Lizi Gadzadze said: “I'm nervous and excited. I have a lot to learn to play confidently, but I can say that I will play better in the upcoming match than I did in the last game. The only worrisome thing for the next game is that the team captain’s, Masho’s hand is injured, but hopefully she’ll be able to play. Masho commented: “Right now I have an injury on my wrist and my whole shoulder and I can’t play yet but I hope I will heal and get better soon, because my team is counting on me. I hope we will win.” We all wish Masho a fast and easy recovery!
Things seem to be looking bright so far, even with the anxiety and setbacks, thanks to our lovely teams that keep pushing and supporting each other. They started off with a bright beginning and hopefully the future will be even brighter!
