Somewhere between organizing insurance certificates and mediating player drama, I realized I wasn’t just running a volleyball group — I was running a distributed system with deeply human uptime risks.
I started helping manage a Charlotte-based pickup volleyball group. What began as “Hey, can you help schedule games?” turned into a lesson in people, policies, payments, and pain points.
My goal was simple: keep things inclusive, smooth, and fun. But here’s what I learned fast — even in friendly games, tension simmers when skill levels clash. Advanced players wanted competitive games. Beginners just wanted to hit the ball over the net (eventually). My job was to make sure no one got benched by bad vibes.
I designed a system: count-off teams to distribute beginners, tiered payment models for flexibility, and a Venmo-only policy to cut cash chaos. But not everyone had Venmo. Or Discord. Or patience for policies.
So we iterated. Paired payers with Venmo users. Allowed flexibility. Took feedback. And when one of the admins unilaterally declared “Advanced-Only Wednesdays” — I took the blame (even though it wasn’t my idea) to protect team morale and preserve admin trust.
We’re now a rotating admin group with shared responsibilities, inclusive gameplay, transparent costs, and — yes — insurance coverage. (Thanks, county policies.)
Everything.
Tech or volleyball, the principles don’t change: Good systems serve people. Great ones flex with them.
Even if you're just trying to play a decent game on a Sunday afternoon.