Places

There are many places on this planet that I can't get enough of.  Many great vacations spent on the Outer Banks of North Carolina make me eager to get back to Duck every summer for at least a week.  Consol Energy Center, where my beloved Pittsburgh Penguins now play and across the street where the old Civic Arena stood are special places.  PNC Park and Heinz Field, the Field House at Pitt and Rec Hall on the campus at Penn State also have that exciting comfortable feel.  There are other place we avoid.  Places where we are reminded of awful memories and dark times.  The diffculty of the next few chapters makes me think of these places.
     For me, one of those places used to be West Penn Hospital, where Ellen and I spent 3 days after Maggie's birth. To say it was hectic would be the understatement of the year.  The pressure and tension was constant.  In the three days we were there, we were down, then hopeful, then down again.
After Maggie passed I never wanted to be near that place again.
At the time I was delivering office supplies all over the city, and was around West Penn almost daily.
I routed myself around that hospital so that I never passed in front of it.
    It wasn't until I signed up for the Pittsburgh Marathon that I realized I would have to deal with this once and for all.  The marathon passed right through Bloomfield and right by the hospital.  It was the 20 mile mark.  A place where even the best runners will tell you is a testy part of the race.  Bloomfield was also one of the most popular spots on the marathon route for spectators.  It's largely Italian population came out on the street, cooked food, drank beer, and cheered on the passing runners.  It was a Red, White, and Kelly street party.
   That first year I found myself struggling, knowing what was coming up.  As I made my way up Liberty Ave. I started to cry, I couldn't breathe, and wouldn't you know it, the sweeps bus(the bus that took people who"stepped off" the course to the finish line) was with me stride for stride.  I hated that bus!  Lots of people recognized me struggling without knowing why and shouted encouragement.  Just before reaching "the place" I pulled it together by telling the sweeps bus to F' off, picking up the pace and rolling past the hospital.  I sprinted through the happiest part of the marathon and down the hill towards the Point and the finish line off in the distance.  With the hardest part of the marathon behind me, I had no trouble with the flats in Lawrenceville or the streets of downtown Pittsburgh.
I ran passed that hospital in a few subsequent marathons, but none were as hard as that first time.
Demon exercised, in a few senses of the word.
    In the chapters ahead there are new "places".  One such place is Applebee's at the Pittsburgh Mills.
On one awful evening, a few days after Christmas in 2012, I spent 15 minutes screaming my complaints to God.  "How could You?  Your plan sucks.  Do You hate us?"  There were no answers, just another place I can't stand...

#summerofUS What's in a hashtag?

     I started using the hashtag, #SummerofUS about two months ago.  For those of you who don't use twitter, a hashtag is used to keep track of a story or the progression of information on twitter.  Type in the hashtag and you can see the most recent or most popular "tweets" with said hashtag.  Usually it's something catchy or funny about the subject, and in it's best use, draws further attention to the story.  That isn't at all what the #SummerofUS was meant to do.  It was just an expression of my emotion about the upcoming summer.

Winners of the Jaime Vick Moran Scholarship announced!

     What have we done with our story?  How do champions react to adversity and personal tragedy?
Driven by the Jam the Gym movement, and the ongoing efforts of the Vick family, Jaime's memory continues to be honored by the Jaime Vick Moran Scholarship.  Two scholarships are given to Kiski Area senior female athletes every year.  This year, three young ladies will receive recognition and be awarded Scholarship funds.  Gracie McDermott won first prize, and a $1,000 scholarship and Rachel Frye and Morgan Kiebler tied for second prize and will each receive $500.
     It is with great pride that I share Gracie's award winning essay here. I hope you find it as moving and inspiring as I did.  All three of these young ladies will represent Jaime's scholarship well!!!

I was a Kiski Area volleyball player during the era of, well, everything.  In the six years I spent on the team, I lived through every defining moment that makes KAVB so special.  As a seventh grader, I began my journey by learning the ropes of the sport and getting a feel for the first real team I’ve ever really been a part of.  Little did I know, this team would go on to change the outcome of the rest of my life.

When I was in eighth grade, Jaime’s leukemia came back. Jodie took over the role of coach as her treatment went on, but I remember how she’d smile when she visited matches every once in a while.  Ninth grade was the year of what Ellen calls the “Y-factor.”  I watched as Thad Paunovich took to the court despite bleachers full of furious spectators across the WPIAL.  In September, we jammed the gym for the very first time.  The stands flooded with orange that year, and when I was in tenth grade, they were purple for Jam the Gym 2.  When I was just about to enter eleventh grade, we were gathered into a “team meeting” in Pitt’s locker room.  I didn’t know it yet, but these gatherings would become all too familiar over the next year.

Jaime was really sick, Ellen told us, and we weren’t sure of how much longer she had left.  In August, I got the phone call.  Dressed in our purple, my team leaned on each other and mourned the loss of one of the most beautiful women in our lives.  A few months later, KAVB rallied the community for the third Jam the Gym.  This one was by far the most emotional.  I will never forget how we stood hand in hand as we listened to a moving cover of ‘Hallelujah.’

When December came, we lost Jenna.  For me, it felt like my entire world was crashing down.  Nothing made sense to any of us at that point, but we clung to each other as we tried to understand.  As we healed, another bomb was dropped: Ellen’s cancer was back.  To no one’s surprise, my team overcame.

Trials of adversity and tragedy have led me here: my very last year as a volleyball player.  I was blessed to be chosen as captain of my girls for my senior year and watch them grow over the season.  I guess what I’m trying to show with this time line is that, looking back, I was directly affected by everything that has ever happened to our program.  To future players, it’ll surely be a story of the past.  But for me, it was my present.  It was our present.

While I could write a book about everything that I’ve learned through the Kiski Area Volleyball program, I thought I’d save you all some time by zeroing in on only one topic: strength.  Being strong, as you know as well as I do, is so much more than a physical quality.  After my six years, it is safe to say that I have learned the true meaning of the word.

As an Iron Woman of Maggie Jones’ summer conditioning program, I watched myself grow physically stronger.  I pushed myself in practice, building endurance and power for our games.  I have never been the most muscular or the fastest girl on the court, but it was incredible to see how my performance was enhanced after a summer of dedication.

 The lessons I learned about emotional strength will also always be with me.  As you probably know, I am not afraid to express my emotions.  I will admit that I spent many days out of the last six years crying because that’s just my way of coping.  Through the tears, I have grown stronger in my ability to realize how both beautiful and fragile life is.  I understand that nothing should ever be taken for granted.  Learning to rise above adversity has given me the strength to overcome absolutely anything that I will encounter in the future.

I feel that the social aspect of strength ties together my whole idea of the word.  Being a Kiski Area volleyball player opened my eyes to the overwhelming power a group can possess.  I saw how a bunch of teenage girls (and one boy) were able to unify when faced with more turbulence than any team should ever have to go through.  Parents, players, and coaches alike rallied for awareness and support.  Together, we proved to the community that strength really is in numbers.

As I start this new and exciting chapter of my life, I am able to reflect upon the undeniable strength this program has taught me.  Physical power is important to the definition of ‘strong.’  However, taking emotional and social aspects into consideration has brought me to the most accurate interpretation of the six letter word.  The true meaning of strength can be found behind every single member of the Kiski Area volleyball program, including myself.  I know that my strength will shine through no matter where I am in life.  I can attribute how strong I’ve become to the remarkable story of hope and courage that will be told for generations to come.

Wherever I go, I will always carry our story with me.

Tee shirt art for Jam the Gym 5...
What do you think???

Check out the "trailer" to our blog!
Great music, touching photographs, and our story.

The Journey, Our Volleyball Story

Our story in the media

As we approach this part of the story, I wanted to share this video with you all.  Up until this point I had seen Jaime being so courageous, helping Ellen deal with her treatments, sharing tips and stories about what she was going through.  I'm not sure I had ever seen her down.  In this video she did with Andrew Stockey she let her guard down a bit.  I'm not sure many of us outside her family saw her this vulnerable, and I remember that it shook me up. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG8SB_12z_E

Later as Thanksgiving approached Jory Rand came out to the school to do a special story on both Ellen and Jaime.  By this time both were doing so well, and the mood was much more positive.
http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=5327929

We are so thankful for the media and their professionalism and kindness. 

Video from the first gathering of Fluorescent Angels

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1144405267097&set=vb.1736484072&type=2&theater


Thanks to my Flyer fans in Philly!  Ricky C., You da man!