Thanksgiving never ceases to please me. I think of all the holidays out there, Thanksgiving is the one I can always depend on to be exactly what I hope for it to be. I have celebrated it in four different locations in each of the last four years, but the atmosphere almost never changes. Good food, couple drinks, a strong family environment, and sports on the TV. The perfect way to get a break from the normal grind. Especially with what is going on overseas with the terrorist attacks, it is a time to truly be thankful that although we do have to keep our eyes open, we are lucky to not have to worry about that from day to day.
I haven't touched a volleyball in three days, which slowly but surely gets my mind moving in a thousand different directions. At the moment, I find myself thinking about a couple things specifically.
The first is relief that I'm finally starting to adjust to the new physique I'm working with. The first couple weeks I struggled keeping the ball in the court, dealing with a bit more of a pop on the ball than I normally have. Lately, things have started to get more consistent, I've adjusted my snap to compensate, and although I'm still getting comfortable with my shots, I'm confident that I'll be good to go for the tournament at Boston University next weekend.
I had thrown 10 pounds on before preseason due to a pretty strenuous workout regimen. Although the power has stuck around, the weight has not, toning back down to 170 in the last two weeks. It never fails, no matter what I do in the off-season, the weight is coming off once I'm on that court daily. Still haven't figured out whether or not I want to adjust my eating habits to try and counter this, as I know less weight equals less strain on the knees, which I want to preserve as long as possible. Perhaps I'll hit up my physical therapist for a diet after the season.
I can't help but wonder what my role will be on the team this year. Although I've been playing on the outside so far, coach isn't against the idea of me hitting opposite. I want to do what's best for the team, and there are so many pros/cons to both moves, it is difficult to tell she'll settle on. So many players can play multiple positions this season, I suppose it's a good problem to be dealing with when versatility gives a team almost too many options.
I can't wait for the starting line-up to get some reps in together this week. We've been split the entire pre-season, but we're going as one full squad to the BU tournament. That being said, I'm sure we'll be finally putting the starters together to get some chemistry going, and I really think it's gonna go well. We didn't play in the tournament last year, and Rivier ended up winning it, but I look forward to the opportunity to bring the title back to Brookline this year!
Individually I feel this will be a strong season for me. I don't like to put goals on quantity of numbers, so as for kills/blocks/digs, I don't worry about it. However, hitting percentage and errors per attempt are two categories I do keep my eyes on, and I hope to continue the increase on my efficiency. Freshman year I hit .232 at opposite, and after a strong off-season re-habbing a weak arm I boosted that to .288 last season. I feel that I worked harder this off-season that I've ever worked before, and hope that the team's results end up showing that.
I talked with someone high up at the school about a scholarship fund in Coach Dave's name a week ago, and preliminary talks about it went well. Still needs a lot of research/work, but I want to do whatever it takes to make this happen. This is the last team Newbury will have with all his recruits, and I know I'll be using it as fuel to keep moving forward no matter what obstacles we hit all season.
I think that's enough rambling for now. Have a good Black Friday, more updates to come in the next few days.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Being Thankful.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
I am writing from Wilbraham, MA, as I have been welcomed in to my teammate's family for the weekend, and so far it has been the rest I desperately needed. Although I'm homesick and miss family/friends back in Chicago, I have felt at home here. His parents are funny (his dad is an AMAZING cook - it's going to be hard to go back to cafeteria food upon my return), his siblings are polite, and the 4 year-old twins are just adorable - shy the first day, always laughing and playful ever since. It makes me miss my little brother that much more, but I know I'll get to see him in a couple of weeks!
Our last two practices were a bit unorthodox - due to people's tests, as well as out-of-state players traveling home early to beat the rush, we only had 4 players both days! Both coaches hopped in, and we played some backrow triples both days. Funny thing is, I felt the level of intensity was higher these practices than the previous one where we were full force!
A couple thoughts have crossed my mind regarding pre-season so far. I will start with as a team. We are definitely searching for an identity at the moment, and I had a good talk with coach Tuesday that confirmed my initial feelings regarding the first couple weeks of practice. She admitted that she isn't coaching now how she will coach in January, and supposively a couple of guys were not happy with how difficult the first week of practices were. Looking at it from an outside perspective, I believe we need something in the middle.
The first week of practices were high-intensity, hard conditioning, and relentless. I had worked out 5-6 days a week for a good 2 months before pre-season to prepare, and it was taking its toll on me as well. However, I didn't mind any of it. What I think wore people down was the fact that we had 4 days of practice, a day off, then the toughest tournament we've played during my time at Newbury, as well as the fact that we did it with split-squads.
It is easy to get discouraged going a combined 2-10 your first pre-season tournament, especially coming in on your high horse after finishing last season ranked 6th in the nation. I think the frustration for some was that practices were being conducted in a manner that dealt with the big picture, which didn't necessarily prepare us for the upcoming tournament. Since then, practices have not had the conditioning, and when we're in a scrimmage-type drill, if one team starts pulling away, it seems that the other side mails in the remainder of the drill, instead of pushing back as they did the first week of practice.
I hope that the second half of pre-season finds a happy medium. I do feel that more emphasis can be on volleyball than conditioning, but not at the risk of the crispness of the drill, if that makes sense. I'm very optimistic for this, I feel like this semester has been heavy on many of us, and the break will recharge the batteries so we can hit the ground running come Monday.
Yesterday Mark and I hit the YMCA, did some exercises/stretching in the heat pool, hit the sauna, showered and headed back. We talked about the team and this season more than we have previously, and it was a pretty good conversation. He's got a great head on his shoulders, and match that with his physical ability, he has a great shot of getting All-American this year.
Time to shower up, call family back at home, then enjoy the festivities of the day. I hope everyone has a good holiday, and will update in the next couple of days!
I am writing from Wilbraham, MA, as I have been welcomed in to my teammate's family for the weekend, and so far it has been the rest I desperately needed. Although I'm homesick and miss family/friends back in Chicago, I have felt at home here. His parents are funny (his dad is an AMAZING cook - it's going to be hard to go back to cafeteria food upon my return), his siblings are polite, and the 4 year-old twins are just adorable - shy the first day, always laughing and playful ever since. It makes me miss my little brother that much more, but I know I'll get to see him in a couple of weeks!
Our last two practices were a bit unorthodox - due to people's tests, as well as out-of-state players traveling home early to beat the rush, we only had 4 players both days! Both coaches hopped in, and we played some backrow triples both days. Funny thing is, I felt the level of intensity was higher these practices than the previous one where we were full force!
A couple thoughts have crossed my mind regarding pre-season so far. I will start with as a team. We are definitely searching for an identity at the moment, and I had a good talk with coach Tuesday that confirmed my initial feelings regarding the first couple weeks of practice. She admitted that she isn't coaching now how she will coach in January, and supposively a couple of guys were not happy with how difficult the first week of practices were. Looking at it from an outside perspective, I believe we need something in the middle.
The first week of practices were high-intensity, hard conditioning, and relentless. I had worked out 5-6 days a week for a good 2 months before pre-season to prepare, and it was taking its toll on me as well. However, I didn't mind any of it. What I think wore people down was the fact that we had 4 days of practice, a day off, then the toughest tournament we've played during my time at Newbury, as well as the fact that we did it with split-squads.
It is easy to get discouraged going a combined 2-10 your first pre-season tournament, especially coming in on your high horse after finishing last season ranked 6th in the nation. I think the frustration for some was that practices were being conducted in a manner that dealt with the big picture, which didn't necessarily prepare us for the upcoming tournament. Since then, practices have not had the conditioning, and when we're in a scrimmage-type drill, if one team starts pulling away, it seems that the other side mails in the remainder of the drill, instead of pushing back as they did the first week of practice.
I hope that the second half of pre-season finds a happy medium. I do feel that more emphasis can be on volleyball than conditioning, but not at the risk of the crispness of the drill, if that makes sense. I'm very optimistic for this, I feel like this semester has been heavy on many of us, and the break will recharge the batteries so we can hit the ground running come Monday.
Yesterday Mark and I hit the YMCA, did some exercises/stretching in the heat pool, hit the sauna, showered and headed back. We talked about the team and this season more than we have previously, and it was a pretty good conversation. He's got a great head on his shoulders, and match that with his physical ability, he has a great shot of getting All-American this year.
Time to shower up, call family back at home, then enjoy the festivities of the day. I hope everyone has a good holiday, and will update in the next couple of days!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Patience is a Virtue.
Laundry on a Monday morning... time for a blog!
I find myself hesitating to write daily due to the difference it makes waiting a few days to let things clarify themselves. It is easy to get caught up in the emotion of events as soon as they happen, but it's amazing how quickly one's perspective can change after letting things calm down for a day or two. That being said...
Thanksgiving break is a day away, and personally, I cannot WAIT. This semester has been the most difficult one I've encountered by far on so many levels, and a week to recharge the batteries sounds pretty good to me! Shout out to my teammate Mark Thomas and his family for taking in this homeless kid for the holidays - plane tickets were absolutely ridiculous to go home, so this is a nice Plan B.
Practices have been... different to say the least. I think I'm coming to grips with the concept of this being a "transition period". When I knew Dave would no longer be coaching us, I continued to tell myself that it was important not to make that the case this season, but I realize how unfair that would be to expect the new coach to pick up right where he left off. That being the case, I've been just observing things in practice, getting used to the new situation just as she has.
Still, I can't help but find myself wishing things were a bit more competitive. The first week, everyone was firing on all cylinders, happy to be back on the court, looking to show coach what they could do. Now? It's more for fun, goofing around, lots of laughing, but also quite a bit of sloppy play. I think that part of the reason is because a couple players are already home for Thanksgiving, but its still well below the level that the remaining players can hang at. We were supposed to go three hours yesterday, and practiced was called before the 2 hour mark, because it was just getting worse and worse.
For now, I guess I'll continue to do my best the next couple days, enjoy a nice break, and see how things go when we all get back.
I find myself hesitating to write daily due to the difference it makes waiting a few days to let things clarify themselves. It is easy to get caught up in the emotion of events as soon as they happen, but it's amazing how quickly one's perspective can change after letting things calm down for a day or two. That being said...
Thanksgiving break is a day away, and personally, I cannot WAIT. This semester has been the most difficult one I've encountered by far on so many levels, and a week to recharge the batteries sounds pretty good to me! Shout out to my teammate Mark Thomas and his family for taking in this homeless kid for the holidays - plane tickets were absolutely ridiculous to go home, so this is a nice Plan B.
Practices have been... different to say the least. I think I'm coming to grips with the concept of this being a "transition period". When I knew Dave would no longer be coaching us, I continued to tell myself that it was important not to make that the case this season, but I realize how unfair that would be to expect the new coach to pick up right where he left off. That being the case, I've been just observing things in practice, getting used to the new situation just as she has.
Still, I can't help but find myself wishing things were a bit more competitive. The first week, everyone was firing on all cylinders, happy to be back on the court, looking to show coach what they could do. Now? It's more for fun, goofing around, lots of laughing, but also quite a bit of sloppy play. I think that part of the reason is because a couple players are already home for Thanksgiving, but its still well below the level that the remaining players can hang at. We were supposed to go three hours yesterday, and practiced was called before the 2 hour mark, because it was just getting worse and worse.
For now, I guess I'll continue to do my best the next couple days, enjoy a nice break, and see how things go when we all get back.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Battling the Inner-Demons.
It's been 3 days since my last post, and believe me, there have been plenty of things to write about. However, one of the difficulties of writing a public daily blog is making sure to avoid letting emotional thoughts overcome the logical and reasonable ones. Had I written the last two days, it probably wouldn't have been pretty, and I most likely would have had to edit it as it was all simply the initial reaction of events that occurred.
I will say this: It has been a battle coming off of this weekend. As noted in the previous blog, despite the rough results of the first tournament, I was in high spirits and ready to work out all the kinks in our system. However, when the first two days back in the gym were mostly goofing around and sloppy play, I found myself in a mental funk about it.
I have been on many teams with many types of different coaches. This is the first time I've been on the same team with a coaching switch though, and that being the case, I find myself battling thoughts that I've never had to deal with before. You find yourself comparing drills/methods of instruction to the previous coach, and the worst part is in the end you realize how unfair that is.
So far, coach has done a great job with us, and I realize that it will take her awhile to get used to us, just as it will take us awhile to get used to her. So far I'm a bit impatient, but I do see the light at the end of the tunnel. She sees things that haven't been addressed before, like our offensive plays mostly shifting to the leftside of the court, instead of mixing it up to keep the defense honest. We've never had someone with the ability to see things like that before, and I'm excited for her to start implementing a system that addresses things like that.
Although I was disappointed with the caliber of the last two practices, she admitted that she had been mostly observing up to this point, but will start being more vocal on things she wants to fix because frankly some things have been pissing her off. She also made a comment referring to how she wanted us to have fun and thats why she had been easy on us up to this point, but things need to change. I think both sides will be fine with that, because most of us have fun anyways with harder practices that are more competitive.
We have today and tomorrow off, and Friday we go back to work. I look forward to getting down to business, working on getting things fine-tuned so that we can show people at the BU tournament that the Springfield results were a fluke. Individually, I've struggled a bit physically as my lower back is bothering me from the strain I put on it this weekend, and the result is a lack of snap to my jumpserve/swing. As the core is where you get most of your power from, I haven't been able to really generate the normal force I get when attacking the ball. More importantly though, I find it affecting my movement when serve receiving, which is what concerns me the most. However, I've been stretching every morning and evening, and icing after practice, so perhaps the two days off are all I need to get back to where I want to be.
Off to dinner, then writing a paper and finishing a take-home midterm. I may not write until Friday, but perhaps something will pop in my head tomorrow and I'll throw it on here.
I will say this: It has been a battle coming off of this weekend. As noted in the previous blog, despite the rough results of the first tournament, I was in high spirits and ready to work out all the kinks in our system. However, when the first two days back in the gym were mostly goofing around and sloppy play, I found myself in a mental funk about it.
I have been on many teams with many types of different coaches. This is the first time I've been on the same team with a coaching switch though, and that being the case, I find myself battling thoughts that I've never had to deal with before. You find yourself comparing drills/methods of instruction to the previous coach, and the worst part is in the end you realize how unfair that is.
So far, coach has done a great job with us, and I realize that it will take her awhile to get used to us, just as it will take us awhile to get used to her. So far I'm a bit impatient, but I do see the light at the end of the tunnel. She sees things that haven't been addressed before, like our offensive plays mostly shifting to the leftside of the court, instead of mixing it up to keep the defense honest. We've never had someone with the ability to see things like that before, and I'm excited for her to start implementing a system that addresses things like that.
Although I was disappointed with the caliber of the last two practices, she admitted that she had been mostly observing up to this point, but will start being more vocal on things she wants to fix because frankly some things have been pissing her off. She also made a comment referring to how she wanted us to have fun and thats why she had been easy on us up to this point, but things need to change. I think both sides will be fine with that, because most of us have fun anyways with harder practices that are more competitive.
We have today and tomorrow off, and Friday we go back to work. I look forward to getting down to business, working on getting things fine-tuned so that we can show people at the BU tournament that the Springfield results were a fluke. Individually, I've struggled a bit physically as my lower back is bothering me from the strain I put on it this weekend, and the result is a lack of snap to my jumpserve/swing. As the core is where you get most of your power from, I haven't been able to really generate the normal force I get when attacking the ball. More importantly though, I find it affecting my movement when serve receiving, which is what concerns me the most. However, I've been stretching every morning and evening, and icing after practice, so perhaps the two days off are all I need to get back to where I want to be.
Off to dinner, then writing a paper and finishing a take-home midterm. I may not write until Friday, but perhaps something will pop in my head tomorrow and I'll throw it on here.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Losses on Paper, Gains Regarding Intangibles.
I was hoping to put up a post earlier, but frankly I've been too busy to do so. After the tournament yesterday, I uploaded the video and watched it a bit, took hitting stats, and made some assessments that I couldn't really focus on while playing.
Although the other team split with Elms and Springfield B, they finished 3rd in their pool. Still, that was better than our 0-2 losses to Set Me Boston (Strong, tall, great blocking AA USAV team), Springfield A (Filled with most of their starters from last year's national championship team), and Boston College (A decent club team, but had we not ran out of gas we should have won the match).
I feel like as a player I'm growing. I probably haven't gone 0-6 on the day for a good 4 years. Even the last 2 years, I feel like I'd be focused on what everyone else wasn't doing right, or the overall results at the end. However, I find myself focusing on the things we did well, the improvements I can make individually, and the things I learned as a whole for the day. I found myself hanging with teammates last night, goofing around and laughing it up. Last year after losses? Forget about it. Sit by myself, listen to music, reflect on my own. I'm really doing everything I can this season to not do that, and so far, so good!
As a team, we did have some strong points. Our coverage was EXTREMELY strong, which hasn't always been the case during my time at Newbury. Although our defensive coverage was a bit off as we haven't really had time to work on it in practice yet, I felt the block was closing, and although we weren't getting a TON of stuff blocks, we did force the hitters to go where we set the defense up. Although we didn't end up winning any of the games, we kept the majority of them close, and had a few strong 4-5 point runs. I look forward to building on all of these things, as well as fine tune the rest.
Individually, it was a tough one. I'll nit-pick to start: WAY too many hitting errors. However, watching the film, my arm swing is MUCH stronger after an off-season in the weight room. I always have swung deep as it was, and now I'm finding myself hitting out of bounds a lot more. Of all my hitting errors (19 to be exact), only two were in the net, the rest were sailed out of bounds and being blocked. Also, my jump serve was TERRIBLE, I felt myself getting "conservative" by not following through with my arm swing, which resulted on sailing the ball out of bounds about 5-10 feet each time. The few times I went full-tilt, they stayed in bounds. Lesson learned: Go hard or go home. Defensively, I felt like my positioning was a bit shaky as well, but hopefully once we start going over our system again, I'll avoid making those mistakes again.
My hitting line was 34-19-90, which is a .167 percentage. I hit .288 last season, so it's a far cry from where I'd like to be. The good news is, my shoulder feels like I didn't even play, and of those 90 swings, AT MOST 10 of them were off-speed. For 6 games, a 5.67 kill per game ratio is well above what I'll be doing this season, when the starters are together. Frankly, I'm relieved, because I'll take a 3 kill per game average with wins over 5.5 with the loss anyday.
Springfield looked strong, but if that's the national champions, I'm optimistic that we can give them a run with our starters. They beat us 30-18 each game, but both of them we were neck and neck til about the 20 point mark, and with our big guns in the game, I have a feel we could have even swept them. Actions speak louder than words though, perhaps we'll get our chance in the Final Four come April!
Anyways, enough rambling about the weekend. It was rough losing all day, but I feel it was a good learning experience for the team, and I'm excited to get to practice tomorrow!
Although the other team split with Elms and Springfield B, they finished 3rd in their pool. Still, that was better than our 0-2 losses to Set Me Boston (Strong, tall, great blocking AA USAV team), Springfield A (Filled with most of their starters from last year's national championship team), and Boston College (A decent club team, but had we not ran out of gas we should have won the match).
I feel like as a player I'm growing. I probably haven't gone 0-6 on the day for a good 4 years. Even the last 2 years, I feel like I'd be focused on what everyone else wasn't doing right, or the overall results at the end. However, I find myself focusing on the things we did well, the improvements I can make individually, and the things I learned as a whole for the day. I found myself hanging with teammates last night, goofing around and laughing it up. Last year after losses? Forget about it. Sit by myself, listen to music, reflect on my own. I'm really doing everything I can this season to not do that, and so far, so good!
As a team, we did have some strong points. Our coverage was EXTREMELY strong, which hasn't always been the case during my time at Newbury. Although our defensive coverage was a bit off as we haven't really had time to work on it in practice yet, I felt the block was closing, and although we weren't getting a TON of stuff blocks, we did force the hitters to go where we set the defense up. Although we didn't end up winning any of the games, we kept the majority of them close, and had a few strong 4-5 point runs. I look forward to building on all of these things, as well as fine tune the rest.
Individually, it was a tough one. I'll nit-pick to start: WAY too many hitting errors. However, watching the film, my arm swing is MUCH stronger after an off-season in the weight room. I always have swung deep as it was, and now I'm finding myself hitting out of bounds a lot more. Of all my hitting errors (19 to be exact), only two were in the net, the rest were sailed out of bounds and being blocked. Also, my jump serve was TERRIBLE, I felt myself getting "conservative" by not following through with my arm swing, which resulted on sailing the ball out of bounds about 5-10 feet each time. The few times I went full-tilt, they stayed in bounds. Lesson learned: Go hard or go home. Defensively, I felt like my positioning was a bit shaky as well, but hopefully once we start going over our system again, I'll avoid making those mistakes again.
My hitting line was 34-19-90, which is a .167 percentage. I hit .288 last season, so it's a far cry from where I'd like to be. The good news is, my shoulder feels like I didn't even play, and of those 90 swings, AT MOST 10 of them were off-speed. For 6 games, a 5.67 kill per game ratio is well above what I'll be doing this season, when the starters are together. Frankly, I'm relieved, because I'll take a 3 kill per game average with wins over 5.5 with the loss anyday.
Springfield looked strong, but if that's the national champions, I'm optimistic that we can give them a run with our starters. They beat us 30-18 each game, but both of them we were neck and neck til about the 20 point mark, and with our big guns in the game, I have a feel we could have even swept them. Actions speak louder than words though, perhaps we'll get our chance in the Final Four come April!
Anyways, enough rambling about the weekend. It was rough losing all day, but I feel it was a good learning experience for the team, and I'm excited to get to practice tomorrow!
Friday, November 14, 2008
Waiting...
Very brief update, because I need to get to bed. Day went well overall, met the guys at Roggie's for some team bonding, and when we got to the Stadium for the Celtics game one of the guys couldn't find his ticket. I was a bit tired anyways, and so I gave him mine and headed back home. They ended up losing, I watched on TV, I'm sure I'll get other opportunities in the future to see them play.
So once I got back, I did a little film, watching some clips from last season, as well as some footage I had of strong outsides (Gustavo Meyer, Victor Batista), as well as my favorite libero playing left back (Ryan Stuntz). Heated the back/calves, stretched, then took a shower and organized my bag/clothes for the morning.
Looking forward to tomorrow. Mentally I'm where I need to be, and feel like tomorrow will be a good day regardless of the outcome. Just excited to get on the court with the boys and begin playing! Update tomorrow night if I'm not dead with the results. Wish us luck!
So once I got back, I did a little film, watching some clips from last season, as well as some footage I had of strong outsides (Gustavo Meyer, Victor Batista), as well as my favorite libero playing left back (Ryan Stuntz). Heated the back/calves, stretched, then took a shower and organized my bag/clothes for the morning.
Looking forward to tomorrow. Mentally I'm where I need to be, and feel like tomorrow will be a good day regardless of the outcome. Just excited to get on the court with the boys and begin playing! Update tomorrow night if I'm not dead with the results. Wish us luck!
Last Practice Before Springfield, Celtics, Overall Thoughts.
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.
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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