VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Two different paths have led Lennox Hamilton and Macy Fand to volleyball.
“One day I just had this blow-up beach ball and I just started hitting it against my wall and I just fell in love with it,” said Lennox.
“I kind of started it because I fell out of love with another sport,” said Macy. “I swam my whole life, and I wanted a change. I got kind of burnt out with swimming, so I picked up volleyball.”
Recently, their love for the sport has led them to a new destination. The Beach Elite teammates are also part of the U16 USA volleyball team which competed in the Maccabi Games in December in Argentina. As the third largest sports event in the world, the Maccabi Games are the Jewish version of the Olympics.
“It's just a great place for Jewish people to come together and experience their culture,” explained Lennox. But still, it was an intimidating experience.
“I’m a 16-year-old going to Argentina to play volleyball and I’ve never been there, and I didn’t know what to expect. It was a 10-day trip. We had two practices once we got there and immediately started playing.”
The U16 team draws players from all over the world, but this Virginia Beach duo couldn’t have done it without each other.
“I’m so grateful Lennox was there with me,” said Macy. “We were the only two on the team that knew each other. We roomed together and bonded and got a lot closer on that trip.”
But even a new continent, new culture, and new people didn’t distract them from the task at hand.
“It's crazy because we were all there for the same reason, because we love volleyball, we love playing the sport and it was just fun because we all had one goal which was a gold medal.”
Macy and Lennox helped lead the USA to wins over Argentina and Mexico winning the games and receiving those highly coveted medals.
“Just having that medal put around your neck I just have never felt anything like that,” Lennox recalled.
The pair can say they’ve shared an invaluable experience and the same hardware.
“Argentina really sparked a new love for volleyball for me. I was surprised at how much fun I had and how great of an experience it was, and it was so surreal when we actually won gold. It was all just so surreal.”
