Joseph, the Jumper

11 Joseph, the Jumper Lots of kids tried out for our school volleyball team. Most were very tall. Some were over six feet tall. At one point during the tryouts, the gym door opened and in walked a small boy named Joseph. He was barely five feet tall. There was a giggle when he asked, " Is this the volleyball tryout?" We did some drills. He wasn't bad at bumping the ball and passing it, but not good enough to make the team. The coach took him aside and told him so. Then, this small boy said, " I'm not the best at bumping the ball. I'm a hitter. " A hitter or spiker in volleyball is the person who jumps way up towards the net and hits the ball down on the other side. They are always tall. The coach looked skeptically at the short kid standing right in front of him. The rest of us were trying to keep from laughing.

“ No, I'm serious! " the kid said. So the coach took a ball and said, " Okay, come here. " The coach stood by the net and set the ball into the air. Joseph came running in, and what we saw next was incredible. He seemed to be able to fly! He jumped so high that even with his small size, he was able to hit the ball down. Everyone was amazed. Of course, he made the team. When we played our first game, the other team was laughing at Joseph. That made us mad, so on the very first play I set to Joseph and he smashed the ball down on the other side. They didn't laugh anymore. Joseph is the star of our team, and he's a great guy. One time, I said to Joseph, " Imagine how high you could jump if you were really tall! " Joseph said, “ If I were really tall I would have never learned to jump. " That made me think. . . Sometimes, something we believe is a problem is actually an advantage.