The last set

No point in burying the lede — I’m stepping down as TNS managing editor.

That, by the way, is nothing more than a title I made up for myself once upon a time, but I always liked the sound of it. It, as much as anything, sums up the position of running the show around here. I’ve arranged with Bill for him to take over that responsibility now.

You may have noticed that I’ve already shirked the responsibility of providing the majority of the content, like I once did. The truth of this matter is that when I started The Net Set, I was unemployed. And even the most vigourous job hunt leaves a lot of free time. So I decided to combine two things I love, volleyball and writing, as a leisure activity. And for the longest time, even after I did find work, it continued to be as such.

It hasn’t been for a while now. It’s been an unpaid job, which is nothing more than a burden. I guess you could call it burnout, but I really don’t think it’s that simple. I just can’t devote the time to blogging that I once could, and it’s dishonest to pretend anything else is the case.

I’m not fading away forever. I’ll keep my login credentials and may pop in from time to time to post something. It’s not like I’m ever gonna stop loving volleyball, or writing. But to be clear — I’m drastically scaling back (I already have).

Bill will take over the @thenetset twitter account (hope he’s a good follow like over 400 of you have apparently thought I was — so appreciative!). If you’d like to follow me specifically in the future, I’ve got a personal account under my own name (@alyedge). I had it locked for the longest time, but I recently unlocked it. Do keep in mind if you want to track me down on twitter again, it is a personal account — I’m a bit more unhinged tweeting from there than I ever was on the TNS account. I generally haven’t tweeted about volley, but if enough of you look me up, I just might. I’ve come to love twitter too.

But it’s time to just get back to enjoying things for enjoyment’s sake. I can’t wait till I can watch a match without having to have another tab open for an ongoing write-up. To just be caught in the moments like what feel like old times now. I can’t wait to watch a match like the one that arguably inspired me to start The Net Set, the subject of one of my first posts, and just savour it. Just take it in. Just love it.

Please forgive me for promises not kept, and projects left unfinished. I did my best, and for the most part I’m proud of my work. I’ve a few regrets, but not many.

More than anything, I’m so thankful to all of you that have read the blog, interacted with me on twitter, on VolleyTalk, on whatever, and have been part of such a fine fandom of the wonderful sport of volleyball. And in that, we remain kindred.

See you in the bleachers.