Answering the Call

A man’s love for his wife and his tribute to her life is the basis for “Answering The Call: Teaching Life Lessons Through Volleyball.” The Vicki Samarin story is one about living life to the fullest.

Tim and Vicki Samarin met when they were very young, though a three-year difference in age prevented anything more than a casual friendship. But when Tim was in college, and he enlisted the help of Vicki’s family to find an apartment near the campus, he reconnected with this lovely young lady and a life-long love affair began.

It wasn’t always a smooth road. In fact, there were more curves in that road than on fabled Lombard Street in the nearby city of San Francisco. But their love for each other, fueled by their love for the Lord, allowed them to travel that road together.

Vicki was a notable success in the coaching ranks of California high school volleyball. Often taking lesser-talented teams beyond her more-talented opposition, she led by example. She didn’t preach as much as she demonstrated. She lived out her faith and brought her teams along with her.

She succumbed to a very rare form of cancer in spring 2017, but cancer didn’t win. Her impact in the communities of volleyball, coaching and several small towns of northern California, will live on for years. This book looks at her life, her impact and the sport she loved. It looks at how life is like a volleyball match and teaches us that there are many aspects to every point in every match.

When you read “Answering The Call,” you will be inspired to become a better person and to live out your beliefs in a more tangible way. You will be entertained by a love story that seems like a corny movie script, except it’s real. And you will be challenged to make sure your story is one of answering the call to which you were chosen.