My daughter, Ruby is 13 years old, in the eighth grade and has had a very tough year. Without going into too much detail, she was physically assaulted about a year ago and fell into a deep depression that resulted in hospitalization. We have been able to get her help and have even changed her school to a much smaller, more individualized setting. She is seeing a regular therapist and little by little seems to be crawling out of this dark hole.

One of Ruby’s passions has been Volleyball. She is tall (5’9”) and very athletic. She tried out for the middle school team and made the cut, only to find out that because of a league rule, she can’t play because of the recent school change. We then found out about the regional volleyball league for girls and made it just in time to try out. Out of many girls she was picked to be on the 14 year old “power team” - a super competitive traveling team. The coaches said that with some minor fine tuning that volleyball could be Ruby’s sport for life! This was very exciting for all of us, especially Ruby. It was about time that Ruby got a win - a confidence boost like no other.

But in the midst of our excitement, we discovered there is nearly $3000 in fees to play on the league and that doesn’t include travel costs. To say we felt deflated is an understatement. The fees cover her registration, coaching, league fees and uniforms for the season which runs from January through June. For each travel tournament (as a power team, she is committed to several tournaments from San Jose to Reno), we are responsible for our own hotel/housing and our share of the coaches' costs.

This last year has seen so many more expenses in getting the help Ruby needs and moving to give us a fresh start. As a self-employed, single mom, I’ve been carrying the lion’s share of parenting and expenses with help from extended family whenever possible. We now need to reach out to ask for help from our community so that Ruby has the opportunity to play volleyball and rebuild her life from a place of confidence. This is an invite to be on Team Ruby!!

We’ve already committed to the league and Ruby is participating in clinics and extra practices until the season officially begins in January when the entire registration is due. This means we have just a few weeks to make this happen. Anything you can contribute to help make this goal is so much appreciated. No amount is too small. Who wants to be on Team Ruby?

Updates, pictures and videos are promised along the way - and hopefully a winning season!