04/27/2026
Over the last few days, our family has walked through something we didn’t see coming. It's getting to be a trend for us! 🫣😆
On Friday, during the U17 national club volleyball tournament here in Colombia, we learned that Reagan was being challenged by a coach from another team, not because of her play, but because she’s American.
To give a little context, Reagan was approved over a year ago by the Colombian volleyball federation to participate in national events. All of her paperwork was in order. She has been playing the entire season without issue. And not just playing, thriving. Her team was undefeated going into that match, and Reagan was playing some of the best volleyball we’ve ever seen from her. Confident, focused, leading well, and contributing in a big way to her team’s success.
But after her team beat this coach’s team, the defending 2nd place team (last year's tournament), he went looking for a rule to stop her from playing! And he found one that, apparently, had been overlooked.
He formally petitioned against her.
What followed was a full day of conversations, arguments, and waiting with a lot of people involved, unfortunately. By the end of the day, the decision came down. We had been praying for a good outcome... But it was ruled that Reagan was no longer eligible to play. Not just for this tournament, but for any national events moving forward.
In one moment, she lost the opportunity to finish the tournament, to continue with her team in Bolívar, and even the chance to be considered for the national team.
That night, we sat down as a family to talk about it. It was one of the hardest conversations we’ve ever had. There were a lot of tears. Not just from Reagan, but from all of us. As parents, you want to protect your kids, to fight for them, to fix things. And sometimes you can’t. And even harder was the fact that she had worked so hard for this, and her dreams were getting closer to being realized.
Trying to explain to your daughter that someone made a decision that affects her future, and did it with the wrong intentions, is something I wouldn’t wish for again, that is for sure. We’re hurting. And if we’re honest, we’re angry too.
But we’re also proud.
Proud of how Reagan has played. Proud of how she’s carried herself in such a tough time. Proud of the way she’s handled something that no young athlete should have to go through.
And here’s what says the most about her...
She stayed with her team until the very end. She supported them, encouraged them, and never checked out, even after everything that happened. Her coaches and team gave her the "out clause" to leave due to how hard it would be to sit and watch.
The cool part... her team went on to win the national championship!
That doesn’t take away the pain of what happened. But it says everything about her character.
We don’t know exactly what comes next yet. But we do know this moment won’t define her.
And we trust that God is still writing her story, even when we don’t understand the chapter we’re in.
