A Field of His Own

This post was submitted by Elbert Ortiz, a native of Austin, Texas living in DC since December 2006.

Image from The Iron Ladies, a movie that tells the true story of a Thai male volleyball team that won the national championships in 1996 with a team consisting mostly of gay men, drag queens, transsexuals and one straight guy.

Growing up gay, there weren’t many role models that I could idolize and identify with in the realm of sports. My involvement in sports was never to be in question as my father declared upon my birth “it’s a quarterback!” as opposed to “it’s a boy.” He was the quintessential little league and Pop Warner dad. At age 8, he replaced the teddy bears on my bed with a football encouraging me to become intimate with it and learn every nook and cranny. Yes, my father wanted me to have sex with a pigskin before I had even hit puberty. To compound matters, volleyball, the one sport I really took to, is predominantly played by women. While all the other boys wanted to be like Michael Jordan, I wanted to be like Misty May.

I was fortunately blessed with athletic and physical talent combined with above average coordination. That enabled me to decently play all the youth sports and escape fairly unscathed, unlike many other young male homosexuals in the face of exclusionary and macho practices perpetuated by players and parents alike. I remember the kid who “threw like a girl” or was too dainty for contact sports. More importantly, I remember the locker room talk and the ostracizing that followed. I subsequently learned to keep quiet in the midst of this bigotry and I developed an irrational fear of exposing myself as homosexual amongst my teammates.

My experiences weren’t enough to taint me from sports altogether. To the contrary, I find myself most at ease on a volleyball court, playing my sport of choice. It’s my meditation, it’s a source of pride, it gives me confidence and helps me to stay centered and in the moment. It can also serve as a social bridge for meeting other like minded individuals.

It was with this latent passion that I was able to compete for my university on the volleyball squad as an undergrad. However, I was shaped by my youthful locker room experiences. To my knowledge, I was the only gay player on the roster and deathly afraid of being exposed. My first year on the team, despite performing well enough to earn significant playing time, I always felt isolated from my teammates and the team spirit. This self-imprisonment affected me in many ways, including my performance on the court at times, and perhaps most sad, it affected my overall self-esteem. My inability to bond with my teammates and to break free of my self-imposed shell lead me to ponder quitting a sport I so loved, and competing for the school for which I had dreamed of playing throughout a good part of my childhood.

However, after the conclusion of my first season and during the subsequent off-season, something very special and empowering took place. My coach was competing on an adult volleyball team in a big amateur national championship tournament in a nearby city. His team needed one more player to complete their roster and he asked me to play. Not only was I thrilled to receive the invitation from my coach, but I soon learned that he was gay as well and the tournament was sanctioned by an organization by the name of NAGVA (North American Gay Volleyball Association) that promotes gay participation in sports, specifically volleyball. While many might begin to think (or fantasize) that the story gets racy here between my coach and I, nothing of the sort ever happened. This beginning of a relationship outside of our team lead only to a father/son type mentorship and we keep in touch to this day.

I remember the anxiety of playing with my coach and what kind of impression I’d leave on him as well as the excitement of being surrounded by other gay athletes all under one humongous hall. When I walked into the convention center serving as the venue, I was blown away. They must have had over 40 courts set up to foster competition in four different tiers of level/experience. They had the top tier courts for players that were out-of-this-world awesome, the second tier for players that were accomplished but not quite at the top of their game or possibly on the slow trek down from their prime, the third tier for players that seemed fresh to the sport or limited by their physical shape, and the final tier for those just beginning the sport or possibly for those at an age where their bodies could handle only so much wear and tear.

What stands out the most in my memories of this exciting experience was watching the competition on the top tier courts. It wasn’t just that I saw trannies and men playing volleyball in spandex without a single hair out of place, but that they were uber physical and competitive. I could see the fire in their eyes that they were in it to win it all the while carrying on without any facades or manufactured court behavior as I had been feeling forced to do on my own college team. I was impressed, inspired, and most of all determined to live up to my newfound gay sports role models.

The next fall, I returned to my team with a new attitude about me. I was no longer withdrawn or holding back who I was from my teammates for fear of any backlash or repercussion. Over the summer, I came out to a teammate who was known for his inability to keep secrets, and during two-a-days in our pre-season, I made sure to disclose my sexuality to anyone else who had not yet heard. Once the initial awkwardness subsided, I went on to forge some of the best friendships in my life and memories that will forever cast my college experience in such positive light.

For those that have ever been in these shoes or behind-the-scenes curious to get involved in team sports but afraid to try, I offer the same empowerment. NAGVA still exists and is very active in this area. This weekend, the Baltimore region of NAGVA is hosting a two day volleyball tournament with pool play on Saturday, a mini-banquet complete with hot jocks and drag queen performances Saturday night at the Hippo, and the conclusion/playoff portion of the play on Sunday. There will be three levels of competition (all but the top tier) with six courts at the Volleyball House in Elkridge, MD. I invite all to come check out the scene, make friends, find a possible team for future tournaments, or fulfill any locker room fantasies you’ve been harboring.

Likewise, DC offers gay volleyball opportunities to the masses and an annual NAGVA tourney as well hosted over the Thanksgiving weekend. Every Tuesday night, there is Gay Social Volleyball at Old Mackin Gym (2200 California Street, NW) from 7:00-9:30pm. There is an $8 fee to cover the organizer’s operating expenses. If you are new to the sport, this is the perfect opportunity to get started as the competition is designed to balance out good players with less experienced ones and promote new friendships. I can’t promise you won’t come across a few impatient or cliquish folk, but the vast majority of attendees are laid back and nurturing. Come find me to say “Hi” and I’ll be more than happy to aide in introductions or give pointers on how to improve. See you there!