The Longest Wait

The wait was killing us. Jake specially. It was as stressful as waiting for the acceptance call from Bellarmine back in May. We just had to relive it all over again.

Sunday night passed, and no call. We tried recalling the specific instructions given by Bay to Bay after tryouts regarding the results. We interpreted it to mean that they would begin making calls Monday and Tuesday, and not Sunday, which explained why we never got a call. I guess it was one way of alleviating our stress a little bit and making us feel a little better.

Monday came. Mid morning, noon, mid afternoon, afternoon -- no call. On BART clutching my cellphone, anticipating a call any minute -- nada. Dinner time. After dinner. Still nothing. I figured that there was no point in waiting any further since it was already past 9, and I didn't think they would be making calls past dinner time. There was always the next day anyway.

The wife was at a meeting that evening when suddenly I got a call from her at around 9:30pm. She said the Bay to Bay coach was on the line and that she wanted to conference me in. I was excited to hear this, but I had to calm myself down so I could clearly understand whatever the coach had to say.

The connection was OK, but not crystal clear compared to a landline. Nevertheless, I heard what I wanted to hear. The coach was offering Jake a spot to play in the 16-white team, the third 16s team of Bay to Bay. He apologized that it took longer than usual for them to call because it took them awhile to finalize the roster for each of the teams, particularly the 15s and 16s, because of the great talent that was out there. Since James was actually being offered a spot, the coach wanted to talk to him and make the offer personally. Of course, he wanted to hear a verbal commitment as well, not just from us. Jake got on the phone and received the good news.

As announced at the start of the 16s tryout on Sunday, there will only be one 15s team (15-black). On the otherhand, there will be three 16s team (16-black, 16-blue, and 16-white), with Ian Wright and Jamil Semaan coaching 16-white. From the number of players I saw trying out for both 15s and 16s, it looks like they've cut more than half of them. That's how tough it was to get in.

The next step was to complete the Letter of Commitment from the Northern California Volleyball Association (NCVA), to be signed by Jake, stating that he will be playing for Bay to Bay Volleyball Club 16-white team for the 2013-14 season. This letter cannot be submitted sooner than Tuesday, 12:15pm, or 48 hours from the end of the tryout.

That evening after we got the call, I immediately downloaded the Letter of Commitment, completed it, and signed off. So did Jake. I then scanned it and emailed it to Bay to Bay the next day at 12:30pm, as instructed. I requested a reply once they've successfully received the letter, which they did. It was all good. Time to relax. Sigh. Later that day, James sent an email to Endline declining their offer to play for them this season.

Now, we wait for the next instruction.