Pastor Ron's Deep Thoughts and Shallow Entries: Redeemer CHS Sr. Girls Volleyball Tournament

As many of you know from reading my blog I'm a Youth Pastor by trade. I thoroughly enjoy my work, as you can also tell from the blog entries I have done. However, everyone should also have a hobby to keep them grounded and help to not make work the only think in one's life. For some that hobby is sailing (Pastor Ken). For others it's woodworking, or chess, etc. For me it's coaching volleyball. I played volleyball in high school, and in college (I was an average player). After college I always wanted to go back to volleyball, but never found the time. One day while doing Youth Ministry in Sarnia, I was asked if I'd consider coaching the Sr. Girls VB team of the Christian High School. Since my job allows me to flex my hours, I took up the challenge. I've not looked back. Three years in Sarnia, and now 3 years here in Ottawa. I like Volleyball because it's such a team sport. It's hard to stand out as a player. You truly need to play as a team in order to win any games. Volleyball is also a very mental game. Being a coach allows me to watch the ups and downs of the team as they move through the game. Trying to motivate them has always been the toughest, but most rewarding, part of the game for me. The rest of this blog will describe Redeemer Christian High School's Senior Girls Christian School Volleyball Tournament, which was held this past weekend in Belleville. I've placed it in this blog for several reasons: 1. This is pseudo youth ministry. 2. To help me remember this weekend several years from now. : ) 3. To allow parents of the team to truly know what went on : ) 4. To honor a great team that played a great season and tournament. Pictures are at the end. It's a bit long, but that's me, and I think it will give you a good idea of just what happened at this tournament. Enjoy. We left on Thursday after school. Kathy (Driver) and Melanie came along as female chaperones. Two of our players were unable to come, so we decided to take a Jr. player with us. Brianna's sister Jillian. She ended up becoming our secret weapon (more on that later). Our drive to Belleville was uneventful. We arrived at Maranatha CRC around 8:30 pm. They graciously allowed us to billet there. They just built a new church. Very big. Very Nice. The girls stayed in their chapel, using chairs as bedding. We settled in and I gave a short coaches talk using a video clip from "Facing the Giants." The girls then watched a movie (partially) and fell asleep by 11 pm. Saturday morning it was off to Tim's for breakfast and then to Quinte Christian High School for our first game at 9:30 am. A nice 1/2 court gym. We played UMEI. Now, there's something you need to know about this Redeemer VB team. They have a habit of starting off shaky in the first game of a 5 game match. They've done it all season long. They can be very slow in finding their feet and revving up. In regular season play you can afford to do that. In a tournament with best 2 out of 3, well, you can't! True to form, the girls started out shaky. They lost their first game. However, they stepped it up and won the 2 nd and 3 rd games handily. At 10:45 am we played our second set against Woodland. I don't know what happened (though I'd LIKE to think their coach had SOMETHING to do with it) but Redeemer came alive. They fought hard against a very good team. We were winning points and blocking very hard spikes and it was frustrating Woodland a great deal. We stuck with them, went point for point for a while, but Woodland pulled it out and won 26 - 24. The girls had no reason to be disheartened though. They played amazing. In the second game we didn't fare as well. We lost 25 - 9 ish. We moved to a Catholic School in Belleville to play the next 3 sets. At 12:30 pm we played Toronto. A bit of history is necessary here to understand the rest of the tournament. In our second game against Woodland it became apparent to me that Sara (one of our setters) was having a bit of a difficult time setting. Jillian, our Jr. player, was having a difficult time jumping, and I'd heard from Brianna that she played setter in Grade 9. Well, sometimes as a coach you have to shake things up a bit, so I decided to make Jillian our setter and place Sara as middle. This turned out to be a very good decision (though I was very nervous about making it at the time). Jillian fell into her role with ease, and with nerves of steel. If she was nervous, she didn't show it. It was truly amazing to watch her play for the rest of the tournament. A solid player with a wonderful setting touch, good movement on the court, and consistent serves - a coaches dream : ) . Sara settled into her new role quite well too. I have always appreciated how each year the teams I've coached have trusted their coach when changes have been made in the lineup. This year, we made allot of changes to the lineup for this tournament. Each player adjusted as was needed. Again, a coaches dream come true. : ) Back to the game against Toronto. We lost the first game (I forget the score), but we gave Toronto a run for their money in the 2nd. Back and forth went the score. We ended up loosing 27 - 25. Heart breaking, but again, this team had no reason to feel bad. They played amazingly (is that a word?) LUNCH TIME - it was off to eat and then back for our next game. I took some time to re arrange my lineup based on how each player was playing. Game four was at 3:30 pm against Kings. These games were great to watch too. We lost the first game 25 - 20. We then won the second game 25 - 13. The girls were hitting hard, moving great and blocking well. We couldn't seem to pull it out for the third game, however, and lost 15 - 10. Then something happened that coaches absolutely hate in tournaments. A two hour wait until our final game, and it was at 6:30 pm. This wait proved to be fatal for our team's first game of the next set. They stiffened up, were not mentally ready to play, and well, were just plain tired. Game #5 was against Quinte, who hadn't lost a set yet. I could tell our team wasn't ready to play, and the 25 - 9 loss showed that. However, I've learned never to write off any team you coach. They ended up waking up for the second game and caused Quinte lots of grief. We ended up loosing 26 - 24. I just loved seeing Quinte squirm and watch in shock as our team kept coming at them, over and over again. We didn't quit, and that's what makes me so proud of them. After a well deserved shower, it was off to Swiss Chalet for supper. Here's a good time for an aside! As I mentioned at the beginning of this entry, Melanie , Bethany's sister, came along as a chaperone. She loves VB too, and ended up becoming our assistant coach for the tournament. She did an awesome job. We seemed to work well as a team of coaches. She would warm them up, while I would agonize over who to play in the lineup (well, I didn't actually agonize that much, but my decisions also play a role in the final outcome of a set). Mel was great at giving pointers to the girls and that helped them improve their game too. Thanks Mel for all your help in the tournament, and for remember who was the coach, and who wasn't : ). Oh, and if you know Mel, you might want to ask her about her waiter at Swiss Chalet. I heard some rumors that he was very nice (tee, hee). We arrived back at Maranatha at about 9:40 pm. I phoned the convenor's voice mail and found out our placing for the day's play. Here were the standings: 1. Quinte 2. Heritage 3. Hamilton 4. Chatham 5. Durham 6. Woodland 7. Toronto 8. Beacon 9. Guido 10. Smithville 11. Providence 12. Kings 13. Brampton 14. Redeemer 15. London 16. Great Lakes 17. Emmanuel 18. UMEI Respectable knowing that we came so close in several of our games. I went straight to bed, while the girls watched another movie. We were up at 6:30 am (yes, for me that's WAY to early) and packed and at Loyalist College for our 8:00 am game. We played Brampton, ranked 13th. It wasn't easy playing so early, and Bethany wasn't feeling very well, but we pulled it off. We won both games 25 - 15 and 25 -15. Brianna had lots of power hitting that morning. We then had a one hour wait and played Hamilton - ranked 3rd. If we won against Hamilton we'd move into the A pool. If we lost, we'd move into the Consolation pool. I talked with our captains (Brianna and Bethany) and we decided we would continue to play hard and if we lost early in the A pool, so be it. Our first game went well. We lost, but the score was 25 - 21. The second game, well, didn't. We lost 25 - 9. So, it was into the consolation round. Now, another aside is needed here to mention something about Sara. She's a player I can't figure out. She'll make great plays for long periods of time, and then she seems to shut down for a while. Then she comes back again. In this game (I think it was anyway), Sara did something none of us on the team expected. We were in a rally and the ball came over the net. The bump was made and Jillian was about to take the 2nd hit to set the ball up for a spike. As I'm watching Jillian put her hands up to get ready for the set, I see this body leap into the air out of the corner of my eye. Her left arm is raised in spiking position and she hit that ball like a lion pouncing on its prey. To my amazement (and I think everyone else's shock) it was Sara. She had come out of now where and was going to kill that ball. She did. It was like watching a movie in slow motion. None of us on the team knew what to do, say, or think for a few seconds after that hit. I was amazed, and the rest of the team seemed shocked. : ) But I digress! At noon we played EUMI once again. I've learned to never take any game for granted, nor to let a team's standing influence the way my team plays a VB game. My common theme is that we concentrate on our game first and foremost, and let the other team react to it. It has proven to be a good way to play because teams can sometimes loose mentally even before they get on the court if they think about who they are playing. We won both games against EUMI, though it wasn't always easy. It was fun to watch Jodie play. She hasn't played much this season because of her wrist, but in this game (and others on Friday) she was playing very well. Her serves were in, and her volleys were good. She gets so excited when she doesn't something right on the court. She's also our valued cheerer on the bench. I have appreciated her sports(person) like conduct all season long. Next, we played Kings. A rematch from the day before as well. I enjoyed this set the most of all of our sets played so far. I knew we could win against Kings, even though we had lost to them on Friday. Our girls play from the heart, and that trumps all the skill in the world in my books. Having said that, there are times that if I had more hair, I'd have pulled it out a long time ago watching our girls play. Once again I think they were nervous or something, because we ended up in a 9 -1 losing hole before I knew what was going on. After a time out, and a pep talk, something changed. The lights went on, and this team sprang to life. Everyone began moving on the court, trusting each other, and talking to each other. Natalya had 5 of what I could call, bump spikes, or bump aces. She would bump the ball over the net and it would spin like crazy. The other team would just stand there and watch the ball fall to the floor. I can't explain why, it just happened over and over again. Carolyn worked very hard in this game. She was moving, bumping well and things seemed to come together for her. Fun to watch. Jillian continued setting with nerves of steel. You'd think she'd been playing at Sr. level for a couple of years already. She was poised and played well. I was told she has no emotion, but we began to see some on the court during that game, let me tell you !! :) We recovered from that 9 - 1 deficit and ended up winning that first game 25 - 23. Mel was having stress attacks, but I was loving it. I love watching our team come alive and play the way I know they can play. They did that in this game! Our next game was tougher because Kings came back hard. I expected that. We lost 22 - 25. A respectable game though. The final game was great. We racked up points right away, and that carried us through to a 15 - 9 win. We were now in the Semi Finals of the Consolation round. Cool! After a 10 minute break, at 3:30 pm, we played London in the semi final round. Our team was tired. Bethany was coughing, and not feeling well, and others were pretty much spent. We gave it our best in the first game. We lost that first game 25 - 18. Rachel ended up really hurting her thumb in the last couple of points, and she was finished for the day. She was NOT happy about that. So, time for the coach to rearrange the lineup one more time. (I was down to 7 able bodied players, but with Bethany feeling sick it was more like 6.5). We went out on the court and from the time of the first serve to the last point, all I can say is that this team played with every ounce of energy, strength, heart, and determination they could muster (I don't often get emotional but I was getting misty eyed watching them play). They gave London the scare of their life. Even though we were missing Rachel, the rest of the team stepped up and played extra hard. We ended up sitting at 23 - 14 and I was hopeful that we would be able to go to a third game. I was also very aware that there wasn't much left in the tank for our team. London proved that they had more in their reserves than we did. We ended up loosing 25 - 23. A heart breaker of a game, but I was so proud of this team. I think they were proud of themselves too. London's coach commented on how much fun it was to watch us play, and the referee's told me that our team was the most fun to watch play that day. They knew we didn't have the same talent pool that some of the other teams did, but they also saw the grit and determination of play from our girls and they enjoyed that a whole lot more than watching the skill of the other teams. That was very nice to hear, and I just wanted you all to know that. So, we ended our tournament in the semi-final round of the consolation championship. A roller coaster ride, but one I will not soon forget, and wish I could repeat again. Here are the results of the A and B pools. Durham beat Quinte in the A Championship Pool. Went to three games and the last one was 21 - 19. I would have loved to have watched that one! Guido won over London in the B Championship Pool. Go to www.qchs.ca in a couple of days to get all the scores and standings. They aren't posted yet. It has truly been an honor to coach this team this year. Thank you girls for the privilege of having some great memories to keep and for showing how to play with character and honor. After another deserved shower it was off to Dairy Queen for some supper and an ice cream thank you treat for the team. They deserved it. Then the trip home, which was pretty quiet for a while. Near the end the girls in my van perked up a bit as they bugged Mel about all the males that took notice of her during the tournament. You should ask her about it sometime (sorry Mel, I just couldn't resist). : ) I've got some final comments to make about each of the team players, so you may read them if you like, or skip down to some pictures that I took over the course of the tournament. #2 Jillian (Setter) - Nerves of steel, but expressive as well. Thanks for stepping up to the plate and playing so well, so solid. I hope to see you next year. You'll be a setter, just so you know : ) #3 Brianna (Power & Middle - co-captain) - I constantly have to chuckle at your antics on the court. Your expressions, little dances, and the way you react to making a mistake. Thanks for your versatility on the court. Your serves are AMAZING. You love the game and it shows. You will be missed next year. #4 Jodie (Middle) - Jodie you are the best bench cheerer I've ever had on any team. You are positive, encouraging, cheerful and understanding. THANKS for your support of the team, and thanks for continuing to work hard to improve yourself as a player. #5 Sara - (Setter & Middle) I never seem to be able to figure out what's going on in your mind on the court, but you always come through when needed. Thanks for your versatility and positive spirit on the court. You will be missed next year. #11 Carolyn (Power & Middle) - Hey Carolyn, you have continued to improve over the season. That last game in the tournament was a joy to watch. You put it all together and played hard, fast, and well. Thanks for your dedication to this team. It has always been fun to watch your underhand serves. Almost straight and VERY hard to return. Just proves that overhand is not the only way to get points, eh! #13 Rachel - (Power) - I call Rachel our "fire-ball." A passionate player who loves the game and wants to do her best. Keep working on that timing in your jump. Your serving is awesome. It continues to get better and better. I hope your thumb heals quickly. #15 Bethany - (Power & co-captain) - Bethany, though I bug you ALLOT, I have the utmost respect for you as a player and person. Over the years you have proven yourself to be a solid friend to your classmates and great leader to your teammates. Your consistent and hard serves have helped us win many a game. The blocking you did has always been excellent and very intimidating for other teams. Your setting was always fun to watch and your trust in my calling things "OUT" was constantly shaken (sorry about that !! : ) ) You are truly a versatile player who loves the game. You too will be missed next year. #16 Natalya (Middle & Power) - Natalya you have improved so much over this season. We still need to get you to work on setting, but it seems other teams are intimidated by your power bumping, so I'm at a loss as to what to do : ) Thanks for being willing to learn, to grow, and trust your coach. #1 Holly - (Middle). Even though you couldn't make it to the tournament, it was an honor to have you as part of the team for our regular season. Your blocking was amazing. You will be missed next year. #6 Gioia (Middle) - Even though you couldn't make it to the tournament, it too was an honor to have you as part of the team for our regular season. You came in as a last minute player and you proved yourself worthy. Thanks for your consistent play and your positive attitude. You will be missed next year too. Kathy - Our chaperone / Driver. Thanks for coming along Kathy. You were treated to a GREAT tournament. I know you enjoyed watching. It was nice to get to know you. Mel - Our other Chaperone/Assistant coach. What can I say Mel, or should that be, what can you say? (tee, hee). Hey, you did a GREAT job as Assistant Coach. The tournament wouldn't have been the same without you. Just remember, you coach soccer, I coach Sr. Girls VB !! : )

Here is the chapel of Maranatha the girls stayed in. It's the size of our church's fellowship hall, no even bigger I think.

This is how the girls slept. The chairs were angled, so it must not have been that comfortable?

Here is their fellowship hall. Very Nice.

Their foyer.

Sanctuary.

Beginning our warm up with some running and jumping. Just to get the muscles moving.

Here the girls begin their warm ups. You can see assistant coach Mel giving her plethora of advice. : )

Here Mel warms up the girls with some hitting. I wasn't able to do that due to my arm still healing. It was good to have Mel along to be able to do this. Thanks Mel.

More Hitting.