Column | Voboril: Peak Vegas vibes

As our plane taxis towards takeoff from Harry Reid International, the flashes of the past four days flicker in my mind’s eye. The Vail Peak Volleyball Club cadre had descended upon Las Vegas for a major tournament, flying or caravaning en masse in a mélange of teenage joy and parental anticipation. The infamous desert playground provided a surreal backdrop for spirited volleyball competition, hosting teams from across the West and even farther afield, a veritable hive of hormones and athletic prowess. It was an opportune place to test everyone’s mettle and their resistance to temptation, an ideal location to create lifelong memories for the girls and their families. 

A common cause and new environs bonded teammates and friends old and new. Arriving in that land of fantasy, we together navigated the Brobdignagian scale of hotels and casinos and convention centers, reveled in the infinite sights and sounds, chuckled heartily at the people-watching as if viewing chimpanzees in a zoo. With limited exception, this was the girls’ first meaningful foray into the singular world that is Vegas and that, combined with the normal disorientation of mountain folk descending into the city, left their mouths and minds agape. 

The games were the organizing principle, the reason for our journey, the focus, but the Vail Peak founders and coaches also well understood that this trip was more holistic than normal sports travel. Dedicated to the task of forming well-rounded humans, the club’s leaders champion the ethos that the foundation of the players’ volleyball life is not their serving or spiking skills, but their minds and their hearts. These twin pillars were nourished by the formal and informal hangouts, the shared new experiences, the goofing off, the delicious food, the freedom to explore, the poolside flirting, the collective ecstasy at escaping the routine for something altogether different. 

After a team brunch and a couple of giggle-filled rides on the New York, New York roller coaster, we traipsed the mile between our neighboring hotel and the Mandalay Bay Convention Center as we approached that first afternoon game, the flashing lights and boisterous sounds providing an incongruous backdrop to the usual pregame arrival. We were soon in a cavalcade, borderline stampede, of volleyball folk. With more than 120 courts going at the same time, in a morning and afternoon wave, the cavernous venue was at first disorienting, all whistles and bounces and cheers and colorful uniforms of every shade. It was a volleyball carnival the likes of which our team had never seen.

Vail Peak 14U Navy — Violet’s team — performed admirably against extremely talented opponents, the usual peaks and valleys of emotion accompanying the shifting fortunes of each game. Proud of the ladies, and also full of gratitude, I reveled in their camaraderie and the united spirit of both teammates and their backers, girls and family and friends joined in their pursuit of that most stupendous satisfaction. 

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In these trying teenage years, volleyball has been a lifeline for Violet and Vail Peak the source of outsized support, from the organization itself down to her particular crew. To witness the hugs and laughter, to see the radiance in her eyes when she gets to be with her people, it is truly magnificent to behold. I am beyond thankful to Vail Peak and all of those under its umbrella who have provided a safe, comfortable space in which Violet can grow — pushing her to her potential without going over the limit. Youth sports in this era have become a dangerous, potentially overwhelming cauldron and I am so glad that Vail Peak understands that forging healthy young women means striking the precarious balance between development and destruction. 

Everyone returned from Vegas unscathed, which is no small feat, with the parents also perfectly toeing the line between responsibility and enjoying the escape into that massive den of vices. We are already looking forward to our return to the Red Rock Rave.

T.J. Voboril is a founding partner at Alpenglow Law, LLC, a local law firm, and the Owner/Mediator at Voice Of Reason Dispute Resolution.  For more information, please contact Mr. Voboril at (970) 306-6456, tj@alpenglowlaw.com, or visit http://www.alpenglowlaw.com.