USA Women’s National Team wins World Championship

          The USA Women’s National team made history today, by capturing the U.S. Women’s first gold medal in any of the three volleyball majors- The World Cup, The World Championship and the Olympic Games. U.S Head Coach Karch Kiraly also became the fourth person ever to win a World Championship gold medal both as a player and a coach. The women defeated China in 4 sets, 27-25, 25-20, 16-25, and 26-24 to claim this awesome title.

          Kim Hill- played at Pepperdine University and outside hitter from USA, was named MVP of the tournament and “Best Spiker”. She also led the team with 19 kills, and just 1 error. Alisha Glass- played at Penn State and setter for USA, was named “Best Setter”.

          I can’t imagine the feeling of winning a World Championship. Just looking at the pictures gives me chills. A huge congrats to the Women’s team.

http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Features/2014/October/12/VICTORY-US-Women-Win-First-World-Championship

Picture Link: http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Features/2014/October/12/VICTORY-US-Women-Win-First-World-Championship

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Qualities of a Good Volleyball Coach

          Having a good coach can really affect the outcome of a team. I have had so many coaches so far in my volleyball career but the best coaches have common qualities. A coach that is positive, calm, determined, and a good communicator is key to having a successful team.

          Positivity is important because if a coach doesn’t have a positive mind set and outlook on the game your team won’t improve or be able to realize the ultimate goal for your season. Also having a coach that believes in your dreams and wants to help you reach your goals is very important. If you meet a coach that sees potential in you and tells you that, don’t take that for granted and continue to work hard until you reach your full potential. Last year I told my club coaches I wanted to play D1 college volleyball and they said I definitely could and they would help me get there. They also told me what they were going to help me improve on and what I needed to work on. The biggest thing they said to me was they see potential in me and they can’t wait to continue to work with me. I think when someone hears that from their coach they are motivated to work even harder because they realize that someone other than themselves wants to see them succeed. That is an awesome feeling.

          A determined coach is important because with the determination to win anything is possible. If you have a coach that wants to succeed as much as you do, great things will happen. A coach that remains calm in tight situation is also very important. If you are in a close match and you make a mistake most players don’t want a coach to yell at them and tell them what they just did wrong. Instead a coach that stays calm and tells you how you can improve what you just did wrong on the next play would be more helpful. Volleyball is a game of mistakes, who makes the least mistakes is who wins the game. Therefore, a coach should understand that everyone is going to make a mistake some time and getting mad at a player is not going to help the situation at all.

          Having a coach that communicates well is also important. Communication can range from letting you know ahead of time when practices are cancelled or there is a change in practice times, to choosing the right words to say in a team huddle just before your team is going to face a tough opponent.

          I have been blessed to be coached by the coaches I have had. I have learned so much not just about volleyball, but life in general from them. I can’t thank them enough for helping me continue to grow as a person and an athlete. I truly believe that with a great coach and players that strive to be successful an awesome team can be formed.

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Nfinity, or Mizuno Knee pads?

        Trying to decide what brand of knee pads to buy? Well you have come to the right place. I have gone through multiple pairs of knee pads and I have worn many different brands. I would say the two most popular brands that are worn by volleyball players are Mizuno and Nfinity.

          Mizuno knee pads are thicker and cover more of your leg then Nfinity knee pads do. The downside to Mizuno knee pads are that they are harder to wash and dry. When you wash them they take forever to dry because you have to let them air dry or else they will shrink.

          Nfinity knee pads are much thinner and cover less of your leg. The main difference in Nfinity are the removable orange pieces that act as the cushion in the knee pads. This piece allows you to wash the black or white material separate from the orange piece so they will dry faster. The orange pieces are really easy to get in and out and dry right away after you wash them because they are a rubber type material.

The price difference between the two is about $10, with Nfinity costing about $35 and Mizuno’s costing around $25. I think even though they are about 10 bucks more, you will get more use out of the Nfinity knee pads. Overall, I think Nfinity are more comfortable and also look better on because they are smaller and less bulky. 

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2015 National Qualifiers

          A national qualifier is a tournament where you have the ability to receive a bid to nationals. Last year nationals were held in Minnesota, and this year they will take place in New Orleans. Nationals is also a great opportunity to be seen by college coaches, if you want to play in college. It depends what division your team is in, but usually you have to place in the top 3 to qualify. You can also qualify at your state’s regional tournament.

          What place you earn at a qualifier will determine what division you compete in at nationals. The divisions from most to least competitive are Open, National, USA, American and Patriot (you don’t have to get a bid for Patriot division). To see what you have to do to qualify for each division see the link at the bottom.

          The National Qualifiers that I have been to are the Nike Mideast Qualifier, Mizuno Northern Lights Qualifier, and the Asics ShowMe Qualifier. The Mideast qualifier is in Indianapolis, Indiana, Northern Lights is in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and ShowMe is in Kansas City, Kansas. To see the complete list of national qualifiers see the link at the bottom.

National Divisions: file:///C:/Users/Robert/Downloads/New%20Division%20Summary.pdf

National Qualifiers:

http://www.teamusa.org/usa-volleyball/events/indoor/girls/2015-girls-junior-national-qualifiers

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