Miss-Delectable
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Q-C man finds home with U.S. national deaf volleyball team
It would have been easy for Danny Senatra to accept being cut after a 2008 tryout with the United States National Deaf Volleyball team.
After all, he never was motivated to play the sport before. He simply picked it up in high school and played for fun with friends in the Quad-Cities.
But his tryout with the team went well enough that Senatra realized making the team was a realistic goal. Instead of returning to old habits, he dedicated himself to training for another chance.
When it came, he made the most of it.
Senatra tried out again last year and impressed coach Roger Worsley enough that he was invited to join the team. He'll begin training this month and will play with the team for the first time at a tournament in August in Washington, where the team will face Russia, Ukraine and Venezuela.
"I'm sure it'll give me goosebumps, and I can kind of feel it already," Senatra said. "I'll be proud to wear the colors of the USA team."
Senatra, a 33-year-old who lives in East Moline and became deaf after getting German measles as an infant, originally got into volleyball as a way to stay active and have fun.
Even though he'd played for most of his life, he hadn't been serious about it. His passion was soccer, which he played through high school.
It wasn't until some friends asked him to join their sand volleyball league in 2005 that he took a real interest in the sport. He started playing more often and realized that he was truly enjoying the sport for the first time.
"From that point on, I became more motivated," Senatra said. "Now I just love this sport. I found it interesting and it was more fun for me. I was a good player to begin with, and it was more enjoyable after soccer."
Senatra, who is 5-foot-9 and plays libero, started joining more leagues and entering tournaments. While playing with a variety of teams, he discovered just how different the sport is when playing with a hearing team.
Volleyball is a sport that requires a great deal of communication, much of it taking place during the point so players can get in position. That's something Senatra and his deaf teammates cannot do, forcing them to put a greater reliance on their skills and sight.
"During practice, if we make a mistake, we'll communicate (after the point)," Senatra said. "Once we start playing, we know what we're supposed to do and help out each other. Of course, there's no talking during play, and it is a challenge. I use my visual senses more so than others."
He struggled with that initially, but showed enough potential that Worsley told him after his first tryout that making the team was a possibility if he got more experience playing high-level volleyball in a six-man format.
Senatra did, focusing on his passing, the most critical part of a libero's game. Progress soon followed.
When he first played competitively, the ball was as likely to find a teammate
as it was to find the net. As Senatra kept playing, his control rapidly improved and he became able to consistently set up his teammates for attacks.
"The coach noticed that I had improved," Senatra said. "I noticed that I had improved (as well), because I did really want to make the team and gained the experience."
Since his tryout, Senatra has tried to prepare himself by playing frequently, working out on his own and studying what other international teams do by watching them online.
Senatra expects his learning process to continue when he begins international competition this year. If the United States qualifies and he keeps up his progress, he'll be playing in the 2013 Deaflympics in Athens.
As that possibility has gone from a fantasy to a reality, the sport's importance in Senatra's life has only increased.
"Right now, I have to give my 100 percent commitment, no matter what," Senatra said. "That's the most important event in my life right now.
"I never thought that I would make it this far, so it would be very surprising to me. I would love to meet the international players (on other teams) and have
the opportunity to play against them."
It would have been easy for Danny Senatra to accept being cut after a 2008 tryout with the United States National Deaf Volleyball team.
After all, he never was motivated to play the sport before. He simply picked it up in high school and played for fun with friends in the Quad-Cities.
But his tryout with the team went well enough that Senatra realized making the team was a realistic goal. Instead of returning to old habits, he dedicated himself to training for another chance.
When it came, he made the most of it.
Senatra tried out again last year and impressed coach Roger Worsley enough that he was invited to join the team. He'll begin training this month and will play with the team for the first time at a tournament in August in Washington, where the team will face Russia, Ukraine and Venezuela.
"I'm sure it'll give me goosebumps, and I can kind of feel it already," Senatra said. "I'll be proud to wear the colors of the USA team."
Senatra, a 33-year-old who lives in East Moline and became deaf after getting German measles as an infant, originally got into volleyball as a way to stay active and have fun.
Even though he'd played for most of his life, he hadn't been serious about it. His passion was soccer, which he played through high school.
It wasn't until some friends asked him to join their sand volleyball league in 2005 that he took a real interest in the sport. He started playing more often and realized that he was truly enjoying the sport for the first time.
"From that point on, I became more motivated," Senatra said. "Now I just love this sport. I found it interesting and it was more fun for me. I was a good player to begin with, and it was more enjoyable after soccer."
Senatra, who is 5-foot-9 and plays libero, started joining more leagues and entering tournaments. While playing with a variety of teams, he discovered just how different the sport is when playing with a hearing team.
Volleyball is a sport that requires a great deal of communication, much of it taking place during the point so players can get in position. That's something Senatra and his deaf teammates cannot do, forcing them to put a greater reliance on their skills and sight.
"During practice, if we make a mistake, we'll communicate (after the point)," Senatra said. "Once we start playing, we know what we're supposed to do and help out each other. Of course, there's no talking during play, and it is a challenge. I use my visual senses more so than others."
He struggled with that initially, but showed enough potential that Worsley told him after his first tryout that making the team was a possibility if he got more experience playing high-level volleyball in a six-man format.
Senatra did, focusing on his passing, the most critical part of a libero's game. Progress soon followed.
When he first played competitively, the ball was as likely to find a teammate
as it was to find the net. As Senatra kept playing, his control rapidly improved and he became able to consistently set up his teammates for attacks.
"The coach noticed that I had improved," Senatra said. "I noticed that I had improved (as well), because I did really want to make the team and gained the experience."
Since his tryout, Senatra has tried to prepare himself by playing frequently, working out on his own and studying what other international teams do by watching them online.
Senatra expects his learning process to continue when he begins international competition this year. If the United States qualifies and he keeps up his progress, he'll be playing in the 2013 Deaflympics in Athens.
As that possibility has gone from a fantasy to a reality, the sport's importance in Senatra's life has only increased.
"Right now, I have to give my 100 percent commitment, no matter what," Senatra said. "That's the most important event in my life right now.
"I never thought that I would make it this far, so it would be very surprising to me. I would love to meet the international players (on other teams) and have
the opportunity to play against them."