Editor's note: The Abbotsford News is launching a new blog, Students of the Game, which features local high school athletes sharing their experiences and unique perspectives. It debuts with Tessa Ratzlaff, a basketball/volleyball star at Mennonite Educational Institute, delving into how her passion for sports developed.
Growing up, sports has been one of the main focuses in my life.
I have always enjoyed being active and using my competitive attitude, therefore I have grown to love playing sports. At age four I started skating, and by five years old I was playing on a boys hockey team. In Grade 6, volleyball and basketball entered my life, and hasn't stopped till this day.
In Grade 10 I decided that being committed to three main sports was quite the time commitment, so I made the tough decision to quit hockey and focus more on volleyball and basketball. As I continued playing both school and club volleyball and basketball throughout high school, I decided that I would love to play one of these sports post-secondary. I can honestly say “Time flies when you're having fun!”, because I am now in my Grade 12 year at MEI Secondary School.
This year I have made the decision to go to focus on playing post-secondary basketball. However, I am currently playing on the senior girls volleyball team, which started in early September and will go to the end on November.
Our team consists of four Grade 12s and seven Grade 11s. Since we are in the AA division this year, the competition will be more challenging than last year. On the other hand, we have more offensive options this year, so I believe that we will be able to compete with the top teams.
This year will be busy, but I am so excited to see what it has in store for both my volleyball and basketball team.