Key team member leaves volleyball as she graduates

By Meagan Pecjak

Leighann Bishop is a second year Paralegal student at Loyalist College. Bishop is the graduating player, and co-captain for the Loyalist Lancers women's volleyball team. “I think come September it is going to hit me that I am not in school anymore, and I am not in volleyball." Photo by Meagan Pecjak.

The sound of sneakers on a freshly waxed floor fills the gymnasium. The smell of sweat hangs in the air, like a gym bag that has been left open for far too long.

There are blurs of blue and white racing around half of the court players use to warm up on.

The blurs stop, and begin to form shapes of familiar faces. Leighann Bishop is one of them.

The announcements begin, starting with the national anthem. Moments after, the speaker starts up again, and the voice is crisp and clear.

Women’s volleyball coach, Tony Clarke walks up to the microphone to take over, his red shirt making him stand out among the blue jump-suits.

Clarke is describing a player who was a big part of the team, who always pushes herself to the limit, and will be missed, because this year she is graduating from Loyalist College, which means she is leaving the team.

She will be leaving these years behind to make her way through the rest of her life. Clarke is speaking of Bishop.

As she makes her way to her coach, she smiles at the family and friends who have come to support her. Clarke hands her a frame with a photo of herself during one of her many games as co-captain of the women’s volleyball team.

Assistant coach Amy Hoskin says that the team will miss Bishop, and that she has a major impact on the team.

“She has this way about her on the court you can’t teach. It just has to be found in athletes.”

Bishop has been playing volleyball since she was in sixth grade, and said that there are a lot of different rules between those days and high school.

“They have different volleyballs then, so the rules are different, but I got into club volleyball during high school.”

She is the only player from the women’s team graduating this year.

“I think come September it is going to hit me that I am not in school anymore, and I am not in volleyball and that is when it is going to be sad to have left Loyalist College.”

Bishop stands in the empty gym, volleyball in hand, describing how she feels about leaving the team.

“I don’t ever want to give up volleyball, especially here at Loyalist.”

“She has a really big personality,” says Hoskin. “We are sad to see her go. She has been a great leader for our team.”

Bishop is co-captain with Kirsten Talsma.

“We lead the team, we get motivation, we encourage them. They can come talk to us if they can’t come and talk to the coach’s about some thing. We are just there when they need us,” says Bishop.

The team did not only benefit from Bishop being co-captain. “They just changed my whole attitude on the game, and they made me a better volleyball player,” says Bishop.

The women’s team has many successes, and Bishop admits that one of her favourite memories looking back would have to be “beating Trent twice,” she says, with a smile working its way across her face.

“It’s a great feeling to beat them considering how ‘cocky’ they’ve been the past couple of years.”

Bishop said that managing volleyball, and schoolwork has been difficult, but she learned to manage her time well.

“I may not be dean’s list but I am always 1 per cent off or something. I am really proud of myself and that I have been able to priorities and organize myself appropriately.”

Graduating is exciting, she says, but also emotional in many aspects. For Bishop, she will not only be leaving behind a team, but a family as well.

She may be stepping off of the Loyalist College court, but she will be stepping into a much bigger game, life.