Well, I sit here early Friday morning with no interest in going to bed. After a good day Thursday, and two more coming up, my mind is racing a mile a minute. Let's begin with a recap of our final practice before the big tournament!
I had been a bit sore earlier in the day, and my calves were a bit tighter than normal. I felt like I wasn't getting too good of a jump on Wednesday, so I came in early to heat and have the trainer stretch out my hamstrings and calves. I could tell before I even got out of the trainer's room that it was going to be a big improvement from the day before, and luckily that turned out to be the case.
No conditioning today, which was nice, because I was tired of playing after 100+ pushups! We did a couple "hitter's challenge" drills, then moved on to a straight-up scrimmage between the two squads that are playing in Springfield's tournament.
It's an interesting split. On one team, you've got three of the top hitters. The team I'm on seems to have stronger serve-recieve, as well as the starting setter. We end up playing very evenly, using two completely different styles. However, both sides are extremely competitive. We won the game 32-30, but it could have gone either way. I think it'll be a tough tournament, but both teams should get some great practice out of it.
I enjoy it, because it pits me against arguably the two best blockers on the team, both who touch higher than 11 feet. The first couple days I was getting roofed pretty badly as I struggled to find my timing, and today I did get blocked a fair share of times, but overall I found myself being much more effective. I realize that Springfield are the defending National Champs, but I honestly think my two blockers can't possibly be stronger than what I practice against. I look forward to sparring with them all season!
Serve receive felt MUCH better today. Maybe they cleaned the floor, or perhaps I was just anticipating better, but I felt my movement was much better today. The outside on the other team ripped a couple jump serves I didn't pass all that clean, but overall it went well. Defense felt good too, although it's going to take me awhile to get used to blocking the middle from the outside again. Practicing against a monster doesn't help, but to be the best you have to beat the best. Hitting timing was on for the most part, although on freeballs I found myself getting a bit too aggressive and over-running the set. Still, there's definite progress, and I should be good to go Saturday!
Tomorrow we're going to dinner as a team, then going to the Celtics game! I can't wait for a couple reasons. Not only have I never been to a professional sports event in Boston, but I get to finally see one of my favorite athletes, Kevin Garnett. Although his stats don't always show it, his intensity and ability to boost his teammates is virtually unmatched in sports. I'll probably end up watching him the entire time! He's one of those athletes you hear about where Television doesn't do justice for what they bring to the table. Hopefully I'm not setting the bar too high, I'm optimistic about it.
So a good practice today, Celtics tomorrow, and the tournament Saturday! Time to get some sleep, but I'll have an update Saturday on how things went.
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