Cycle 14 – Item 257
19 (Tue) September 2023
Modeum Sashimi
3.0
-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-
with DJ
Dropped by SIS to watch the boys varsity volleyball game against SFS. DJ is on the team, though he didn’t play a single minute. A few observations.
- The game has changed a lot in 30 years. Now, whichever side wins a given play scores the point – back then, only the serving side could score a point (if the receiving team won the play, they would get “sideout” and the serve would go to them). Each set is played to 20 points – back then, 15 points (though because of the sideout rule, the sets could go on much longer). The rules on player rotation are more rigid, such that, for example, players in the back court are prohibited from attacking; also, there’s a “libero” position who is defense only and subs out every 3 rotations (liberos for SIS wear black uniforms – DJ is a libero) – back then, we rotated per change of serve, but hitters could move to the net and attack once the ball was in play; no such thing as a libero (which was invented in the late 1990s, and started going mainstream in the 2000s).
- Tiger Gym now has hardwood floors. When the school was first built, the owner (supposedly) didn’t have enough budget, so the gym was carpeted (firm, like, say, at an airport). Rug burns were always a risk, so everyone wore knee pads – now, only liberos wear them. (The budget thing is also supposedly why the school didn’t have food service in the cafeteria, just an on-site Wendy’s.)
- School spirit, at least for boys varsity volleyball, is dead. Back in my day, sporting events were the highlight of every week, especially against our arch-rival SFS; the stands would be packed with cheering students of all grades, teachers, and parents. Here, just a handful high school students, who weren’t even watching the game, just messing around or looking at their phones – just 2 teachers, not a single parent. DJ explained that more students and teachers were present for the earlier games featuring JV and girls varsity, but most of them left on the afterschool activity busses.
- The coach (who’s a science teacher with no prior experience coaching) doesn’t seem to grasp the primary objective of high school athletics, which is not to win but to encourage participation, build confidence, and have fun. With SFS up 2 sets to 0, ahead in the third and final set 10 points to 5, the coach should’ve subbed in the second stringers to give them playing time, but he left the same players in the entire game; the bench warmers, knowing they weren’t going to play anyway, were as detached as the students in the stands. This explains why DJ has a varsity letter but doesn’t care about getting a letterman jacket.
I had looked forward to being a proud parent cheerleader – recently, I got a new letterman jacket made, using the same varsity letter that was on my original jacket in high school – but now I’m not so sure. Maybe for badminton season in the spring, when DJ will be more active.
Afterwards, I took DJ out for dinner (the team eats together after a game only when they win – also very lame) – no surprise, he wanted Japanese.
(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)
(See also RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)