t all started last spring: my husband’s excitement and interest in bringing the One Man Volleyball team of Bob Holmes to Union County. Holmes visits communities, plays volleyball with students in various schools and then talks with the students about bullying and suicide. Hubby thought Union County needed him to visit.
Hubby researched the One Man Team extensively. I have heard it all: that Bob has made the Guinness Book of World Records for having played the most athletic games of any one person in the world. Well, I would think so. When he visits Strong, Smackover and Parkers Chapel Schools Monday, he will play three games at each school. That’s nine games during the day. In the evening he will play another three games at El Dorado High School against their girl’s volleyball team and community groups such as the sheriffs, the police or fire departments. Twelve games in one day with one man playing against teams of 6 or 8.
Multiply that with Holmes having traveled around the country for thirty-five years and yes, he has easily played more than 20,000 games. That’s hard. As the only player on the team there is no substitute if he needs a break.
Of course, hubby has made sure I have seen a few videos about Bob Holmes. You, too, can see him on Youtube or at his website beatbob.com. In one game it appears he is playing 15 people, and they still can’t get it over the net to score enough points to beat Bob.
I heard that he also loses sometimes. In fact he has lost fewer than 500 games. Hmm, that means he has lost less than .03% of the games played. He plays every game with lots of on court chatter and energy.
Bob does not just play, he also speaks to the audience. From the volleyball court, Holmes finishes his visit at each school talking about bullying and suicide prevention. He does not just want to entertain, he wants to reach kids where they are hurting and show them another option, another way. That’s exactly what he will do when he plays Monday night at 7 p.m. in the El Dorado High School gym. Entrance is free and the game is fun according to what I have seen on Youtube.
All the chatter at my house began last spring when hubby remembered a magazine article about Holmes. He searched the Internet and found Beatbob.com.
Last summer hubby talked with area schools – seeking to find schools interested in having Bob Holmes visit their campuses. Some simply could not fit Holmes into the schedule this year. Others
heard that he plays as a vehicle to present a message about bullying and suicide and schedules him and immediately welcomed a visit. One community had all too recently encountered the pain of teen suicide. Bob addresses that difficult topic in a way that reaches high school students.
So I heard everything and envied the kids being able to see and hear this Guinness World Book Record setter. Then I learned I could see him play at the El Dorado High School Wildcat gym. So I am looking forward to watching him play the girls’ team and two different groups of first responders. Sounds like a challenge: play and win all 12 games in one day?! Sounds nigh onto impossible. If he does lose, he can afford to be a good loser – he knows he will win more than 99 out of the next 100 games he plays. I hope to see you there.