Covering a sport is one thing, but playing it at the level that Point Park student-athletics do on a daily basis is a completely different animal.

I guess I should start from the beginning when I met with volleyball coach Mike Bruno and men’s soccer coach Jeroen Walstra in the Bank Tower.

“Are you ready to get back on the court,” Bruno asked.

In 2012, I unsuccessfully tried to get a dig hit by Bruno, but since then I have been waiting for my opportunity to try again.

Finally this would become a reality and then Walstra intervened.

“Do you want to come to practice tomorrow morning,” said Walstra. “We’ll put you in goal and you’ll face some shots.”

This was the beginning of what I call the #ZacWeissOlympics.

Let me preface what follows by saying that by no means am I the most athletic person, but I agreed to this for a variety of reasons.

This is exactly what being a beat reporter is all about, getting inside the head of those you are covering. What better way than to take both the pitch and court and find out first hand?

 It is rare that a beat reporter or columnist is willing to completely humiliate themselves, but I have an athletic mindset and figured it was worth trying.

Thursday, I stepped foot inside Highmark Stadium for men’s soccer practice where I was greeted by Walstra and assistant coach Edward Child. They told me I would face one shot, then two in which I would have to save one and then the entire team would shoot on goal.

I would get the first save and saved one of the next two balls. All I can remember after that is 28 soccer balls flying in my direction at the same time. I took one off my stomach for save number three, which meant I exceeded my expectations.

Shortly after, I served as a side referee for a women’s soccer practice and after performing the world’s worst coin toss, proceeded to struggle with blowing a whistle. The 50 minutes of running was not that hard since I have been a ball boy for the team on several occasions and sprinting for 90 minutes on the sideline is pretty common for me.

The day ended with potential redemption on the volleyball court. Freshman defensive specialist Tabea Dalliard gave me a quick crash course on my defensive stance. Shortly after, I defended kill attempts by outside hitters Shiloh Simonson and Kristi Chenarides. Did I get either over? No, but I made solid contact with both. Then, in similar fashion to earlier in the morning, I had 12 volleyballs come flying at me simultaneously. This is where I was fortunate enough to have a softball helmet on to protect myself.

Now, I also have a much better appreciation for the consistency the players exhibit despite endless bumps, bruises and uncomfortable bus trips.

Overall, I deem the day’s events to be a success and hopefully this will happen again in the near future.