One of Green Bay Volleyball's longest standing traditions has been Secret Pals. Sophomore Lyndsay Zabkowicz writes about the annual activity:
By Lyndsay Zabkowicz
Our Secret Pal activity is something that each player looks forward to every year. It gives us the opportunity to give and receive some pretty interesting gifts throughout the season. Each year during preseason we get together at someone's apartment to pick a name out of a hat. Whoever's name you receive is your Secret Pal for the year. The picking process sometimes gets pretty long because someone always seems to pick their own name! Once we get our Secret Pals, we write out a list of things we like and dislike and put them in one long Facebook message, which gives each player some ideas what to get their secret pal. Once all the details are worked out, the fun begins!
The hardest part, and maybe the most fun, is finding secretive ways to get the presents to your Secret Pals. There are so many different ways that have been used. Sometimes, people go to the locker room throughout the day when no one is around and place the gift in their pal's locker. Other times players like Haley Oelke casually walk up to their secret pal's chair when other teammates are in the locker room and leave the gift there. But then that raises the question of whether that is really her secret pal or if she is just trying to fool us! The last way to get the gift to your secret pal is to hand it to them. This usually involves many different handoffs to other players before it actually reaches your secret pal in order to keep your identity a secret!
The best part of Secret Pals is seeing the different gifts that everyone receives. Common gifts are Gatorade, candy, and chips, all of which make great snacks for long bus rides! Players also receive things like nail polish, magazines and coloring books; things that keep us busy in hotel rooms or any day when we aren't busy with practice, matches or homework! Then there are the most "unique" gifts: capes, swords, colorful sunglasses, and other fun gifts seem to find their way into people's lockers throughout the course of the year. So far this year the best gift has probably been Leah Poel's fake teeth. We tried to get her to wear them out on the court and smile at the opponent, but for some reason she wouldn't do it...
At the end of the season, around Christmas we have a big party and reveal Secret Pals. Each player has to guess who their Secret Pal is, and if they are right they get the big gift! This big gift is usually clothes, DVDs, or something from Bath and Body Works. If you guess wrong, you have to wait until your turn comes around again to make another guess until you finally get it right!
Secret Pals is a fun way to get to know your teammates better off the court and it always puts a smile on people's faces!
