The Good - The team's energy/overall play. It's the third day of pre-season, and we haven't shown any letdown on intensity. Today was the first day coach unchained us, with one conditioning drill to start, followed by scrimmaging the rest of practice. The guys are really starting to come along, with blocking being strong, setters starting to mix up hitting more, and VERY strong serves. I think our serving will be a huge asset to our season, as a lot of us have strong jump serves, with some guys mixing in some tough float serves. Hitting is still a BIT shaky, but there are a few guys that have played much better than expected at the net, and I think the people that are struggling a bit will be fine with more repetition.
The Bad - Lower back/Shoes! Although I know it's gonna be fine, I did feel it was a bit tighter than normal today. Add the fact that we've been doing a ton of sit-ups, which kill my spine as it sticks out and grinds against the hardwood floor, and I find myself just a BIT conservative on my swing/jump-serve. After taking IB Profun virtually every day to fight shin splints last season, I'm really working hard not to take anything unless absolutely necessary this year, and so far I can't complain for the most part.
More importantly though, my shoes have virtually NO traction left. We've ordered new shoes, but our tracking # isn't really updating us right now, and I have no idea if we'll get them before the tournament, which worries me because I can't really change direction on defense quickly, let alone take as aggressive of an approach as I'd like. I can't wait for the new shoes so that I can move a bit better on defense.
The Ugly - Timing! At the end of last year, everything was clicking with the setter, no matter where I was taking the approach from - outside, rightside, or backrow. Although I realize that a) It's the third day of practice b) I'm making the move from rightside to outside for the first time in about two years, and c) We're still working on finding the right set, I can't help but be a bit disappointed with how slow I've come out of the gate in regards to hitting. There are a few times where the timing's just right, and I'm ripping the leather out of the ball. Overall, I find myself INCREDIBLY early, jumping straight up as a result, and almost always finding hands with my swings.
It's slowly getting better, but with the tournament coming up Saturday, I find myself struggling to be patient with the process. Although I'd love to bore readers with the technical jargon that flies through my head regarding the mechanics, I'll save that for another blog, and just say that I look forward to shaking off the rust and picking up where I left off last year.
Off to bed, last practice before the Springfield tournament tomorrow, need to get some sleep so I can make it count!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Day 2!
Second day of pre-season was today, and although I was a little sore this morning, I didn't feel as bad as I had originally feared I would. I remember last season my shin splints started about the 2nd or 3rd practice, so I made sure to do extra stretching to try to avoid the same fate this year.
Conditioning: Still a lot of push-ups/sit-ups. My abs are burning tonight! Still, everyone talks about how important the core is when playing volleyball, so I don't say that as a complaint. We had a lot of drills tonight that involved chasing down freeballs, but their purpose wasn't COMPLETELY efficient as for whatever reason it seems a lot of our pro-touch volleyballs are missing... That's as much complaining as I'll do about that. It was still nice to do some sliding across the ground, although I skinned my hip already with one sprawl. It is what it is.
Playing: Actually did some passing today, so that was a nice change of pace. Nothing in-game though. I really hope we do serve-receive tomorrow, because we're only 4 days away from the Springfield tournament! Started the scrimmaging hitting outside. Was attempting to work on the shoot, but just wasn't happening, and the block was having a field day with me. The ball was a little inside the antenna, which I was struggling to adapt to, as I take a very sharp approach when running shoots. However, I started to heat up a bit once we went back to a hut-like ball to the pin. I suppose it makes sense to start with a higher ball, then speed it up as the timing comes back. Blocking went alright, although there weren't all that many opportunities to do so. It's gonna be awhile before I get used to that, as I blocked MUCH more frequently when I played opposite.
2 more practices, then an off day, then the big tournament at Springfield! We're splitting into two even teams for it, and it seems like as coach gets to know us, she's starting to figure out how she's going to do that. I'm just excited to get on the court and see what Springfield is bringing to the table this year. Off to bed, I'll have an update tomorrow night.
Conditioning: Still a lot of push-ups/sit-ups. My abs are burning tonight! Still, everyone talks about how important the core is when playing volleyball, so I don't say that as a complaint. We had a lot of drills tonight that involved chasing down freeballs, but their purpose wasn't COMPLETELY efficient as for whatever reason it seems a lot of our pro-touch volleyballs are missing... That's as much complaining as I'll do about that. It was still nice to do some sliding across the ground, although I skinned my hip already with one sprawl. It is what it is.
Playing: Actually did some passing today, so that was a nice change of pace. Nothing in-game though. I really hope we do serve-receive tomorrow, because we're only 4 days away from the Springfield tournament! Started the scrimmaging hitting outside. Was attempting to work on the shoot, but just wasn't happening, and the block was having a field day with me. The ball was a little inside the antenna, which I was struggling to adapt to, as I take a very sharp approach when running shoots. However, I started to heat up a bit once we went back to a hut-like ball to the pin. I suppose it makes sense to start with a higher ball, then speed it up as the timing comes back. Blocking went alright, although there weren't all that many opportunities to do so. It's gonna be awhile before I get used to that, as I blocked MUCH more frequently when I played opposite.
2 more practices, then an off day, then the big tournament at Springfield! We're splitting into two even teams for it, and it seems like as coach gets to know us, she's starting to figure out how she's going to do that. I'm just excited to get on the court and see what Springfield is bringing to the table this year. Off to bed, I'll have an update tomorrow night.
First Practice - Recap
Well, I'll have to keep this one short, as conversations with people back here have already kept me up way longer than originally intended. After what seems like an eternity of waiting, we got together for our first preseason practice of the year!
Conditioning: Although we didn't do too many conditioning drills, the ones we did were pretty strenuous. One of them lasted about 10 minutes and consisted of 120 pushups and 200 sit-ups. Yikes? I could barely hit the ball for the next 10-15 minutes as my arms worked on un-flexing. A couple sprint drills here and there, as well as some jumping drills. I didn't hydrate enough, because towards the end of the 3-hour practice I could feel my left calf begging to cramp up, and about 5-6 others had the same problem.
Playing: We did a couple passing drills, hitting lines, then scrimmage-like scenarios. With this being the first time coach saw everyone, egos were in play and the competition/energy was FIERCE. I felt everyone looked very good, and the chemistry/team bonding seems better on this team than the previous two years.
Personally, I didn't get to do much backrow work. Coach wanted me hitting in every drill, which I didn't mind, but I could tell my approach was getting fatigued towards the end. This year I've transitioned from opposite to outside, and although I played outside most of my career, we run a very fast offense and it's going to take me awhile to get it down. I was VERY early on my shoots today, which led to jumping straight up and having the block get a lot of playable deflections. I'll stay patient though, it's only day 1, and overall I was pleased with how I played.
I'm off to bed for now. We practice for only two hours tomorrow, so hopefully we focus mostly on volleyball, as the tournament at Springfield is Saturday and we need all the repetition we can get. A quick stretch before hopping into bed, then hoping my body isn't broken when I wake up!
Conditioning: Although we didn't do too many conditioning drills, the ones we did were pretty strenuous. One of them lasted about 10 minutes and consisted of 120 pushups and 200 sit-ups. Yikes? I could barely hit the ball for the next 10-15 minutes as my arms worked on un-flexing. A couple sprint drills here and there, as well as some jumping drills. I didn't hydrate enough, because towards the end of the 3-hour practice I could feel my left calf begging to cramp up, and about 5-6 others had the same problem.
Playing: We did a couple passing drills, hitting lines, then scrimmage-like scenarios. With this being the first time coach saw everyone, egos were in play and the competition/energy was FIERCE. I felt everyone looked very good, and the chemistry/team bonding seems better on this team than the previous two years.
Personally, I didn't get to do much backrow work. Coach wanted me hitting in every drill, which I didn't mind, but I could tell my approach was getting fatigued towards the end. This year I've transitioned from opposite to outside, and although I played outside most of my career, we run a very fast offense and it's going to take me awhile to get it down. I was VERY early on my shoots today, which led to jumping straight up and having the block get a lot of playable deflections. I'll stay patient though, it's only day 1, and overall I was pleased with how I played.
I'm off to bed for now. We practice for only two hours tomorrow, so hopefully we focus mostly on volleyball, as the tournament at Springfield is Saturday and we need all the repetition we can get. A quick stretch before hopping into bed, then hoping my body isn't broken when I wake up!
Monday, November 10, 2008
At Last!
Only 6 hours before practice. I doubt I'll be able to focus in class.
Went to an open gym with a couple teammates Friday night. Was really pleased with how everyone played. More importantly, the team just gels better this year than the previous two. Last year, we were ridiculously deep, but we were practically split into two cliques. This served for good purposes when we would scrimmage, as neither team would be willing to take a play off to give the other team an edge. However, it saddened me to realize we went an entire season without one team get-together with everyone... that's just not healthy in my opinion. I think this year's team will be much more close-knit, and that will most likely help in our cause.
Individually, I'm very excited for this season. I feel like I'm in better shape than the previous two seasons, and not by a small margin. The things that normally concern me, my blocking and shoulder stamina, have been really strong. The irony is, my passing feels a bit shaky, and that's normally my bread and butter. I think that the time away from playing to work out had a small effect on it, but I hope that with 6 practices a week, it comes back quickly.
It'll be interesting to see how the body holds up this season. Although I haven't had an injury that's kept me out of any matches in my two years here (knock on wood), I did deal with a weak shoulder all Freshman year, and shin splints last year. I'm hoping that this off-season will keep me from dealing with anything like that, but I'm certainly not getting any younger, and although I'm only 23 I do put quite a bit of mileage on the body.
Anyways, I should start my day. I'm sure I'll have an update tonight on how it went.
Went to an open gym with a couple teammates Friday night. Was really pleased with how everyone played. More importantly, the team just gels better this year than the previous two. Last year, we were ridiculously deep, but we were practically split into two cliques. This served for good purposes when we would scrimmage, as neither team would be willing to take a play off to give the other team an edge. However, it saddened me to realize we went an entire season without one team get-together with everyone... that's just not healthy in my opinion. I think this year's team will be much more close-knit, and that will most likely help in our cause.
Individually, I'm very excited for this season. I feel like I'm in better shape than the previous two seasons, and not by a small margin. The things that normally concern me, my blocking and shoulder stamina, have been really strong. The irony is, my passing feels a bit shaky, and that's normally my bread and butter. I think that the time away from playing to work out had a small effect on it, but I hope that with 6 practices a week, it comes back quickly.
It'll be interesting to see how the body holds up this season. Although I haven't had an injury that's kept me out of any matches in my two years here (knock on wood), I did deal with a weak shoulder all Freshman year, and shin splints last year. I'm hoping that this off-season will keep me from dealing with anything like that, but I'm certainly not getting any younger, and although I'm only 23 I do put quite a bit of mileage on the body.
Anyways, I should start my day. I'm sure I'll have an update tonight on how it went.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Calm Before the Storm.
Well, we're heading into the home stretch before preseason, and I couldn't be more excited. Unfortunately, the season for the women's team I coach came to an end yesterday, which was sad to see. They worked very hard, and it was sad to see the career of the seniors come to a halt. However, with 10 returners, I know they'll be even stronger next year.
It'll be interesting to see where I fit in the equation. Being a 23-year old student, I'm pretty easily replaced from an administrative perspective. I feel that I brought some good things to the table, but ultimately it's not up to me to decide. I suppose time will tell. Regardless, I enjoyed my time with them and am happy I was able to hop on board with them halfway through the season.
That being said, time to start focusing on my own season. I put in a strong fall in the weightroom, bulked up (you'll sense the sarcasm in a second) to about 175, which is 10 pounds above my typical playing weight. Played in a couple open gyms, and it didn't seem to have any negative effect on my game, plus my shoulder felt as good as it's ever felt.
It seems as if all the drama about fundraising is coming to a halt, and the team can finally concentrate on volleyball. I find myself visualizing it more and more, getting on the floor, stretching with the team, working on drills, and building chemistry with the lineups. Coach seems to have a pretty good head on her shoulders, I'm interested to see what she has in store for us.
4 more days!
It'll be interesting to see where I fit in the equation. Being a 23-year old student, I'm pretty easily replaced from an administrative perspective. I feel that I brought some good things to the table, but ultimately it's not up to me to decide. I suppose time will tell. Regardless, I enjoyed my time with them and am happy I was able to hop on board with them halfway through the season.
That being said, time to start focusing on my own season. I put in a strong fall in the weightroom, bulked up (you'll sense the sarcasm in a second) to about 175, which is 10 pounds above my typical playing weight. Played in a couple open gyms, and it didn't seem to have any negative effect on my game, plus my shoulder felt as good as it's ever felt.
It seems as if all the drama about fundraising is coming to a halt, and the team can finally concentrate on volleyball. I find myself visualizing it more and more, getting on the floor, stretching with the team, working on drills, and building chemistry with the lineups. Coach seems to have a pretty good head on her shoulders, I'm interested to see what she has in store for us.
4 more days!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Missing Coach...
This post is a day late, but frankly I didn't have the energy to write it. Unfortunately there was a scheduling error and although my schedule said the girls' practice was from 6-8, it was from 8-10. Wasn't too pleased about it, but actually had a great talk with the trainer for about an hour and a half. We have pretty similar philosophies for sports in general, and it was nice to talk shop with him until practice.
Yesterday marked the 3-month anniversary of Coach Dave's passing, and I still find myself struggling to come to grips with it. If it wasn't for Dave, I have no idea where I'd even be. After watching a highlight video I put on myspace, Dave messaged me and asked if I was looking to play college ball. Although I was on the fence about it, he flew 1000 miles to watch me play at an open gym, and afterwards we grabbed a bite to eat, and just started to talk about the school. He clearly had a passion for the team, as well as a vision.
He had already taken them from losing 55 straight games to being nationally-ranked, but continued to bring in more talent from all over the nation. Dave may not have a ton of individual success as a player, but I'm convinced he recruited better than anyone in Division III (sorry opposing coaches, just my opinion). His energy made me beleive, and with that, I verbally committed to coming to Newbury.
Since coming to Newbury, I've found myself with more direction/motivation than ever before, and a large part of it was due to Dave. I used to sit in his office for hours talking about whatever was on our mind that day, and although we had VERY different philosophies, I probably have never had a better "agree to disagree" relationship with anyone, and it's probably why I found myself in his office so often.
Although I felt I was handling it alright this summer, I found myself wandering around campus the first few weeks of school like Ron Burgandy walked the streets with a carton of milk, disoriented and unsure where to go in my free time. I'm finally starting to cope with it, although I don't think I'll ever be the same.
Showering, heading to lunch, class, then off to the 4:30 bus for the girls' quarterfinal match of the conference tournament, then homework if I have any energy left.
R.I.P. Dave, you're never forgotten.
Yesterday marked the 3-month anniversary of Coach Dave's passing, and I still find myself struggling to come to grips with it. If it wasn't for Dave, I have no idea where I'd even be. After watching a highlight video I put on myspace, Dave messaged me and asked if I was looking to play college ball. Although I was on the fence about it, he flew 1000 miles to watch me play at an open gym, and afterwards we grabbed a bite to eat, and just started to talk about the school. He clearly had a passion for the team, as well as a vision.
He had already taken them from losing 55 straight games to being nationally-ranked, but continued to bring in more talent from all over the nation. Dave may not have a ton of individual success as a player, but I'm convinced he recruited better than anyone in Division III (sorry opposing coaches, just my opinion). His energy made me beleive, and with that, I verbally committed to coming to Newbury.
Since coming to Newbury, I've found myself with more direction/motivation than ever before, and a large part of it was due to Dave. I used to sit in his office for hours talking about whatever was on our mind that day, and although we had VERY different philosophies, I probably have never had a better "agree to disagree" relationship with anyone, and it's probably why I found myself in his office so often.
Although I felt I was handling it alright this summer, I found myself wandering around campus the first few weeks of school like Ron Burgandy walked the streets with a carton of milk, disoriented and unsure where to go in my free time. I'm finally starting to cope with it, although I don't think I'll ever be the same.
Showering, heading to lunch, class, then off to the 4:30 bus for the girls' quarterfinal match of the conference tournament, then homework if I have any energy left.
R.I.P. Dave, you're never forgotten.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Busy Week: Head Coaching Debut, Raffle Tickets, and the Upcoming Preseason.
It's already midnight here, and I feel like the minutes moved like seconds today. Sundays are usually my day of rest, which is probably why I wish they were longer. We had Open House today, so the campus was a bit more lively than usual. A recruit from Northlake, IL was in town for it and gave us a verbal commitment, so that's exciting. I look forward to hitting a couple open gyms with him this Christmas break. Pretty crazy to think that next year we'll potentially have 5 people from Illinois on the team!
Tomorrow I'll be missing the compliance meeting with our Athletic Director, and this concerns me, as supposively our trip to California is in jeopardy. Although I'm sure we'll come to an agreement to make it work, he's concerned with the effort of the guys selling raffle tickets to fund the trip. A little under half have stayed on track, while others have strayed from the plan. Part of it is because half of us are from out of state, and it simply takes time for the money to come in the mail. However, I'm sure we could be working harder, and as long as we give him some sort of proof that we're doing our best, we can make it work. I'd love to be there to say that, but I'll have to rely on the teammates to do so. Not too worried about it, they all have good heads on their shoulders, I'm sure they'll make it work.
Had my first official head coaching experience yesterday, on account of a family situation with the regular coach. It was definitely not what I expected. A complete roller-coaster of a day, with just about every situation you could imagine. Losing the first set 25-13, proceeding to win the 2nd and 3rd (the latter being 25-9), then proceeding to go up 17-10 in the fourth set only to have the other team rattle off a 15-2 run to send us to a fifth game, which they pulled off 15-12. We ended up getting swept the next match, but proceeded to play better each game.
It's a tough situation, especially when you're simply filling in. Also, there's just so many things you can take for granted as an assistant. Do I take a timeout when the other team is up 5-1 to stop the bleeding, or do I risk burning them too quickly so that I need to resort to subs late in the game? How are girls going to react to substitutions? How are the girls going to react in general to certain tones? When you don't have a second coach for them to turn to in the event that they don't agree with you, there's a risk that they'll shut down on you.
All that said, the girls worked hard and I'm pleased with the effort they showed. They made the conference tournament, and with the head coach returning for it, I have high hopes for it.
One week from preseason! I'm excited to get started... I'm still a bit concerned about my lower-back, but as long as I continue to stretch a couple times a day I think it'll keep me out of trouble. I hit an open gym Friday (I know, quite the wild Halloween for me) and everything felt great, although the serve receive was a bit rusty. The guys have been buzzing about this year, and it'll be nice to get back to work. It should be a pretty competitive season, as most of the guys I've talked to from other teams have been boasting about strong recruiting classes. Although some people would look at this as a bad thing, I think the more talented the teams we play, the better prepared we'll be for the tournament at the end of the season, so hopefully they live up to the hype!
I need to wrap up some homework, more updates later this week.
Tomorrow I'll be missing the compliance meeting with our Athletic Director, and this concerns me, as supposively our trip to California is in jeopardy. Although I'm sure we'll come to an agreement to make it work, he's concerned with the effort of the guys selling raffle tickets to fund the trip. A little under half have stayed on track, while others have strayed from the plan. Part of it is because half of us are from out of state, and it simply takes time for the money to come in the mail. However, I'm sure we could be working harder, and as long as we give him some sort of proof that we're doing our best, we can make it work. I'd love to be there to say that, but I'll have to rely on the teammates to do so. Not too worried about it, they all have good heads on their shoulders, I'm sure they'll make it work.
Had my first official head coaching experience yesterday, on account of a family situation with the regular coach. It was definitely not what I expected. A complete roller-coaster of a day, with just about every situation you could imagine. Losing the first set 25-13, proceeding to win the 2nd and 3rd (the latter being 25-9), then proceeding to go up 17-10 in the fourth set only to have the other team rattle off a 15-2 run to send us to a fifth game, which they pulled off 15-12. We ended up getting swept the next match, but proceeded to play better each game.
It's a tough situation, especially when you're simply filling in. Also, there's just so many things you can take for granted as an assistant. Do I take a timeout when the other team is up 5-1 to stop the bleeding, or do I risk burning them too quickly so that I need to resort to subs late in the game? How are girls going to react to substitutions? How are the girls going to react in general to certain tones? When you don't have a second coach for them to turn to in the event that they don't agree with you, there's a risk that they'll shut down on you.
All that said, the girls worked hard and I'm pleased with the effort they showed. They made the conference tournament, and with the head coach returning for it, I have high hopes for it.
One week from preseason! I'm excited to get started... I'm still a bit concerned about my lower-back, but as long as I continue to stretch a couple times a day I think it'll keep me out of trouble. I hit an open gym Friday (I know, quite the wild Halloween for me) and everything felt great, although the serve receive was a bit rusty. The guys have been buzzing about this year, and it'll be nice to get back to work. It should be a pretty competitive season, as most of the guys I've talked to from other teams have been boasting about strong recruiting classes. Although some people would look at this as a bad thing, I think the more talented the teams we play, the better prepared we'll be for the tournament at the end of the season, so hopefully they live up to the hype!
I need to wrap up some homework, more updates later this week.
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