Alexandra Perrault shares how reluctantly switching to a new sport became a blessing in disguise.
“You’re too short to keep playing volleyball.” Those are the words that I’ve heard ever since I first placed my hands on a volleyball in middle school. It didn’t matter how passionate I was or how much I played — those words kept creeping back into my head. My dad encouraged me, and would always say that if volleyball didn’t work out then track was an option. But to me, it meant giving up.
Volleyball in the Bay Area is extremely competitive and I barely made it onto the high school Junior Varsity team. Every practice and rare chance that I got to play in games was like a fight to prove to the team and my family that I was good enough to stand on the court. When the school volleyball season ended, the club season started up. I made it onto a team, and as it branched into the spring, my mom told me that I needed to find a school sport to keep myself busy as well. I was against this since I already was taking seven classes and felt overwhelmed. But my mom was persistent. I reluctantly agreed to do a spring sport, giving track and field a try.
To me, it felt like I was admitting defeat. Like I was confirming everyone’s doubts: that I wasn’t tall enough, that I wasn’t good enough. That volleyball had been a mistake. But track and field changed everything. I found teammates that felt like home, a coach that believed in me and a version of myself that I didn’t know I was. For the first time, I wasn’t trying to prove that I belonged — I already did.
I became stronger, not just physically, and I discovered that even when I had nothing left, there was still something inside me. I had energy to push further and to go faster. Now knowing this, I continue playing volleyball with passion. I’m not chasing someone else’s idea of who I should be. I’m chasing the best version of myself. With a Perspective, I’m Alexandra Perrault.