Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Sr. Girl Christian School Volleyball Tournament - Bowmanville 2011

Everyone needs a hobby.  I like downhill skiing, skating, working with wood and/or light construction, and coaching Volleyball.  I've had the privilege over the past years to be able to coach the Sr. Girls Volleyball team at Redeemer Christian High School.  It's a nice diversion from the work of Youth Pastoring, yet still in the realm of Youth Ministry.  Kind of like pseudo youth ministry.  : )   

Over the years we've had good teams and average teams.  This year's team is a good one, probably even one of the better ones I've coached.  Lots of depth in our players and a willingness to want to learn and grow and win.  

Our season has gone well.  7 wins and 3 losses.  We've placed 3rd in our Eastern division and are set for playoff play next week.  

This past weekend the team travelled to Bowmanville for the annual Christian School Tournament.  I've documented our games, with some comments, and have a bunch of pictures at the end for you to browse through.  There are a couple of short videos as well, just so you get a flavour of what happened during the weekend.  Enjoy.  

Thursday Afternoon:
I arrived at Redeemer, ready to get going.  It took a bit of time, however, because we couldn't seem to agree on whether it was better to take 2 or 3 vehicles.  After a looonnnggg time of deliberation, the team decided on 3 vehicles.  Probably a good thing in the end. 

I drove Esther's dads pick up truck with all the luggage.  Esther and Kelsey were my passengers.   They read through their chic magazines, and I listened to Satellite Christian radio, that is until Esther had had enough and plugged in her ipod.  Seems she likes country.....yuck!  Thankfully Kelsey agreed with me that country isn't really music at all.  Seems that Esther also has an issue with keeping her ipod plugged into the radio all the time.  I laughed.....

We stopped in Kingston to eat.  I gave them 30 minutes.  Everyone honored that time, except Esther and Kelsey.  Seems they needed to stop at Bulk Barn for some snack food.  I couldn't be mad at them since they ended up sharing that food with me.   

At 8:30 pm we arrived in Bowmanville, and our place of residence for the next two days.  We were able to sleep in the youth house of Rehoboth CRC.  Thanks a bunch for letting us stay in the house.  

Once everyone was settled in, I drove on to Whitby (a 20 minute drive via HWY #2) to my parents home to stay and visit.  

Friday:
Our first game was at 10 am at St. Stephen's Catholic School.  I got up and was out my parent's door by 8:15 am.  After a breakfast stop at McDonald's I drove to the house. I'd asked the adult chaperones to have the team ready to go by 9:00 am.  I expected to have to wait for them, but was VERY surprised to find them coming out of the house as I drove in.  Nice. 

It was literally a 2 minute drive to the school.  We got there and people were still setting things up.  Since we hadn't touched a vball in over 2 weeks, I decided to take advantage of the court time with some spiking and serving.  The girls were so chipper in the morning (ha, ha).  However, they came around. 

Our first game was against United Mennonite.  We won the sets handily, but you could tell the girls hadn't played in a while.  Janelle decided to try overhand serving, and she gave the other team a clinic in service receive.  Must have had 11 straight points in serves.  Way to go Janelle!  Esther didn't like the Referee and decided to let him and me know about it.  Ah, Esther.  

We played our next game at noon against Unity.  This was not the greatest team, and we won these sets handily as well.  Apparently the Friday round robin was best 2 sets out of 3.  Something I was not aware of, but my team sure made me aware of it.  I must apologize to them for not believing them.  : ) 

Our third Match was against Hamilton. They were a very good team and I knew we were going to have our work cut out for us, since we hadn't had much competition so far.  It truly was a wake up call for the girls.  

Janelle was feeling sick  (apparently Gator Aid and her don't get along very well), but worked through it.  They lost both sets and it wasn't fun to watch from a coaches standpoint.  It's never nice when a team plays with losing already in their heads.  I've seen it at every tournament we've done and it's always painful to watch. 

After the Match was over, it was time to go into the hall and give them a brief talk about what I was seeing, and then let them figure it out.  I felt bad for them, but the truth of the matter is it's easy to win, but it's how you handle losing that shows your true character!  

Our last match was against Chatham.  They too were a good team, but I was confident that our girls were going to take the earlier loss and learn from it.  They did. We won in 2 sets and the team was back to its normal self again.  Some points to note about this match:

1.  Esther seemed very confused during one set.  Not sure what about, but she would just stand there on the court with that deer in the headlight look and rub her stomach.  I just laughed.....

  
3.  I needed to change things up a bit because I knew we were going to be playing better teams on Saturday, so I decided to try putting Esther in as a power hitter, and leave Julianna, Kelsey, and Leanna in as middles.  That seemed to work well.  Esther adjusted quite quickly, but it seemed that I really confused Leanna during that game.  She was still thinking that Esther was middle and the team kept putting her in her place "so to speak".  I found it comical, but apparently I find everything comical when you talk to this team.   

Well, we were done for the day.  It was time to shower and relax for the rest of the evening.  Apparently the showers in this school are the pits.  Didn't work.  Bummer.  Then there was the issue of what to do.  We couldn't go back to the house, as it was being used until 10:30 ish.  

Not much in the way of malls and shopping in Bowmanville, so I suggested going to Oshawa and the mall there.  We decided to do that.  I took HWY #2, just so the team could see where I grew up  (Sorry Rose and Adrie, but it was a nice trip don't you think?)  We ate at East Side Mario's - see pictures below.  Our waiter was amazing and I got along well with him...as was also duly noted by the team and adult chaperones.  Hey, he was a nice guy!   : ) 

I'm lactose intolerant, and it sure was nice to have another on the team with the same ailment, for two reasons;  first, I had someone else with which to commiserate about not being able to have milk products; and second, because she brought lactose pills along and I always forget mine.  I was able to order a pasta dish with cheese thanks to you.  Whew. 

After the meal, they crew wanted to hit the mall to shop.  Not exactly my idea of a good time, so I left the adult chaperones in charge and drove to  my  brother's  home for a short visit.

When I got there, I was able to find out how we had placed overall for Friday's round robin.  We ended up 5th out of 17 teams.  Our best showing yet when it comes to my coaching this team.  I was very proud of the girls, and I hoped they felt good about their day's play as well.  

Soon it was off to my parents for a short sleep.  

Saturday: 
A new day, and new opportunities to play volleyball.  Our first game was at 9 am against London.  They placed 6th overall.  I was hoping the girls had gotten enough sleep and were ready to play some volleyball.  They were ready to play!  

They were a bit shaky the first set, and we ended up losing that one, but not by much at all.  Right to the wire if I recall.   I knew that if we lost this match we'd have an easier time moving forward, but I really wanted this team to show its talent and tenacity and a hunger to win, so I positioned us to want to stay in the "A" division and just keep on winning.  

Based on that thinking I then put Esther back into the power position to see what we could do. During this set I discovered that Julianna had hurt her arm, in the wrist area.  I didn't think it was broken, as there was no swelling and she could move her fingers and bend her wrist.  St. John's Ambulance attendants were there for the day, and it was a good thing.  I almost took an injury time out near the end of the set, but decided to let it run out.  We ended up winning that set 25 - 23.  Whew, close, but we had the momentum.  

I got Julianna tended to and got her some aspirin for the pain and we were off for the third set.  This was one fun game to watch.  Julianna wasn't letting anything by her.  She was all over that court.  Janessa's serves were spot on and Kelsey wasn't going to let anything by her either.  Esther did great in her new power position, and our setters were amazing.  The girls also managed to work through fixing a positional issue of the middle of the court by filling the hole we were always having issues with, and FINALLY they were talking to each other alot on the court as play was happening.   

They were amazing to watch and we ended up winning that 3rd set, but not by much.  A great confidence booster.    They were working hard and deserved that win.   

That placed us in the harder side of the "A" pool, but we were up for it. 

Our next Match was at 11 am against Beacon.  They were a lower placed team, and it showed as we played.  I kept Julianna off the court to rest her arm.  I also got the St. John's Ambulance people working again as Esther jammed her thumb.  She had it taped under protest, but when you tell a player that they won't play unless they tape up, things happen  : ).  

Janelle hurt her thumb too, so it was off to the St. John's Ambulance people AGAIN for another taping.  They were finding this comical.....I wasn't!

We won this Match in 2 sets and then it was time to wait to see who we would play in the quarter finals.  

We ended up being matched with Woodland.  They were ranked 4th after Friday's round robin and I knew this wasn't going to be an easy match. 

I put Esther in Power and we began our set.  This has been the best Volleyball I've seen our girls play yet.  They were into the game, moving, reacting to plays, and man, were the sets every close.  I think we ended up losing the first set 28 -26.  The score was never more than 3 points apart, we were just on the losing side of that point spread more often than I wanted us to be.  Some silly mistakes didn't help us, nor did having balls enter the court during play and forcing re-serves.  We gave Woodland a run for their money in that first set. 

Knowing what they were up against, the girls were determined to do their best to win the next set.  Julianna was in pain, but she didn't want to go off the court.   

The second set was just as intense as the first one, and even closer.  We lost 25-23 I think (someone else can correct me on that).  During the game I almost took Julianna out because I could tell she was in a great deal of discomfort.  She kind of wanted out, and kind of wanted to stay in.  The comical thing was that neither player on the bench wanted in.  They were trying to convince me that Julianna was just fine.  Ah, the confidence they had in their teammates.  : ) 

I loved the close competition in those two sets, but it just wasn't our time to win.  I wanted to go further, and maybe we would have if Julianna was playing to her full potential, but I also was relieved in a way b/c now I could rest Julianna, and the other injured ones, for our upcoming Ottawa league play.  

The girls were disappointed, but they were also VERY tired.  They worked so hard.   I think Jillian said she was going to puke during the game.....no pizza between matches any more!  : ) 

We held our heads up as we left Bowmanville.  This has been the best we've done in this tournament that I can recall.  I just found out today that we placed 5th overall.  A great job by the entire team. I'm very proud of you.   

Enjoy the pictures and I have some closing comments about those who were at the tournament after that.  





Warming up on the Friday.


Kelsey getting her spike practice time in.  




One of the many time outs we had during the game.



Getting ready to receive a serve.  



You may not be able to see it, but Kelsey is returning a serve here.  Some of the other teams could serve very well. That caused us some grief (or at least it did me).  


Kelsey and I deep in thought..... : ) 


This is just a nice picture of Julianna.  She loves playing the sport, and yes, Julianna, you are very good at it.  Believe me, would ya!  


Janelle and Jillian.  Our setters.  They will be missed next year for sure.  They click well on the court, though I think here they may be having some sort of tiff or something.  I can just imagine what Jillian is saying to Janelle, "Hey, Janelle, stop stepping on my toes as we switch will ya..."



Janessa getting ready to receive a serve.  Another great player whose serves were GREAT this tournament.  



Kelsey smiling after winning a match.  Yes, I know Kelsey, it isn't the best picture of you, but hey, I didn't take it ok! 


I'm not a coach that sits down as the play is going on.  I'm a pacer, and advice giver (as the girls well know).  However, I must have felt pretty good about the set that was going on here to be sitting on the bench with my players.  


Mercedes making one of the many switches needed to get into position.  


Hmmmm,  Leanna seams awestruck by something on the court.  Maybe it was one of Kelsey's amazing blocks, or our setters amazing sets, or an awesome hit by Janessa or Esther or Mercedes......Julianna, well, she looks like she's happy in some other land far far away.....(tee, hee).  


Mercedes getting ready to serve.  



After our loss to Hamilton on Friday, Kelsey seemed pretty upset, maybe more with herself than anything else.  She was determined to focus more on the game, and she's doing that here.  You played amazingly Kelsey, FYI.  


We couldn't go on these tournaments without female adult chaperones.  Thanks Rose and Brenda and Adrie for coming along.  Here Adrie is getting Rose hooked on Sudoku.  I hate that game.  :)  


Hey Janelle, what's with the look.  It's just a picture.  Thanks for stopping the Gator Aid intake, eh!  



Leanna is one of those players that is graceful on the court. She plays gently, but well.  She has the quietest serves I've ever heard, but she is effective with them.  Here she is serving.  Can you hear it?  (tee, hee).  


Here is a picture of Julianna's leg that smacked into the bench on her point.  I've gotten that moment on video, and it's below.  Sorry you can't see much in the video, as I was holding the camera and was also assisting her getting back up from the face implant she left on the back of another player.  



Here are the 3 ladies and I (taking the picture) waiting for the girls after Friday's play.  I think they talked to each other non stop during the matches.  :  )  



Here we are at East Side Mario's in the Oshawa mall.  I hadn't been in that mall in 20 years.  Apparently they don't have movie theaters in the mall any longer. 
 What's with that!  


If you look really close, on the left there, you'll see Jillian being her mature self again.  And to think she's a captain on the team.....hmmmmm.  


The food was amazing.  Mercedes ordered the ribs and I'm pretty sure she ate the bones as well.  Not one for pictures though, are you Mercedes.  




We had a great time having supper there.  Well, I did at least.  The waiter was very polite and talkative, and I really enjoyed interacting with him.  The team really enjoyed laughing at me.  Here though, it looks like Kelsey is having one of her contemplative moments.  Penny for your thoughts  : ) .  

Well, that brings us to the end of my tournament narration. I have some comments for each team member below, and then there are some video clips for you to see.  I'll label them so you  know what they are about.  

Jillian / Setter - "Short!"  No, I don't mean your height, but that's certainly your favourite saying on the court.  Oh, and then there's, "Team on Team on 2" Clap and stamp your feet and the team answers "Team." 

Awesome tournament.  You worked hard, are a great setter, and you can spike too.  Thanks for your leadership on the team and being able to joke around as well.  

Janelle / Setter - Calm, cool, yet sometimes frustrated on the court.  You want to win, love to play volleyball, and are a great setter.  You are a versatile player, which I appreciate as well.  Your serves are improving, and you worked really hard this tournament. You should be proud of your accomplishments on the court.  I certainly am.  


Esther / Setter/Power - You too are versatile on the court.  I didn't think you could play the Power position, but you've handled that switch very well.  Thanks for your antics on and off the court.  It lightens the mood, though at times I'm not sure what hemisphere you are in.   : )  


Kelsey / Middle -  Our cheer leader when it comes to starting games and ending time outs.  "Royals on 2!"  I am sure going to miss you playing middle on the court. You anticipate the plays that are coming, and you continue to improve in your blocking and placing of the ball at the net.  You are quiet, yet have a great sense of humour.  It has been an honour to coach you, and as our season draws to a close may you continue to feel good about your contribution to this team.     

Julianna / Middle - A natural athlete.  An amazing Volleyball player.  You have improved so much over this year.  Your competitive spirit is a joy to watch on the court.  Your snarky nature is also a joy to me, as you are fun to bug.  Just remember this....you ARE a good volleyball player, and no, I'm NOT going to let you play setter.....ever!  : ) 


Leanna / Middle -  Quiet, graceful, and able to handle any hard service receive.  You've contributed well to this team during the tournament and the season.  Thanks for supporting others when you were on the bench, but you should really want to play when I ask you if you want to play - you know.  : ) 


Mercedes /  Power - Ah, Mercedes.  The only player who after she makes a good play, doesn't believe it.  You played amazing during this tournament, and you have improved a great deal over the course of this season.  Continue to work on that serve and working at the net, and you will continue to be a great volleyball player.  Really, no REALLY!!!! I MEAN IT!  : )  You better try out again next year.....  

Janessa / Power -  Last, but definitely not least.  You've continued to work on your overhand serve, and they were on during this tournament.  You are getting better each game we play.  Thanks for your hard work this season and during the tournament.  Keep working hard, trying to improve in those areas you know you need to.  You better come back next year.  : )  

Video Clips:




Mercedes  underhand Serving.  Underhand serves are sometimes frowned upon because they are viewed as less effective.  I couldn't disagree more.  A good floater underhand serve is just as effective as a powerful overhand, as Mercedes demonstrates here.    




Julianna trusts her coach way too much.  When I said get the volleyball, boy did she ever.  Not even looking down to see the bench right in front of her.  She hurt herself, but thankfully broke no bones.  Whew.  







Mercedes is still working on her overhand serves.  When they work, they are powerful, as you will see in the first serve.  When they don't, well, don't get in her way....as you can see in the second serve.   Keep working at those serves Mercedes.  The rest of the team needs to turn their heads to see what's coming.  : ) 





This video clip is general play as we were playing London on Saturday morning.  It seemed that every time I began to video tape, we started to lose.  Now, I'm not sure of that, but Leanna certainly thought so, so she stole the video camera from me and would not let me record..... : (   






This final clip shows the last couple of points where we win against London in the 3rd set.  I managed to get the video camera from Leanna.  So, Leanna, my taping didn't affect the outcome in a bad way, did it!  : )  

p.s  There were 3 players who couldn't make it to the tournament. 
Rachel
Emmalin and
Damaris.  
You are no less valued, FYI, and it was too bad you couldn't make it.  


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ron:
A couple of mistakes..
We lost the first set against Woodland 28-26 since they had to win by 2 points.
And we lost the second set 25-21 I believe..
Also, you spelt my name with a 'G'.. don't know if you did this on purpose or not but if you did, you owe me dairy queen for that :P

your blog was fun to read :)
thanks for sharing!

Jill.

Artpolo07 said...

The girls played superbly and represented the school well.
By the way Coach Ron, it's Adrie...Ardie is a chef boy that makes low budget canned pasta that makes us fat.
and "...it may not be hip to sing about tractors, trucks, small towns and mama's, but this is country music and we do." Brad Paisley from one of his great country songs

chris B said...

for the canal im pretty sure it was tori you tried to take a pic of judging by the coat and it is steffi not Stephanie, just saying