2^nd Round Regional Match Part 1

            On Thursday of last week we faced Linn-Mar in our 2^nd round of regionals. We had the same record (27-11) as them and were tied, 1-1 in overall matches this season. They beat us in our first conference match, in 5 sets so we were really seeking revenge from that particular game. We prepared all week by watching film, reviewing their rotations and lineups, and improving our skills. We knew it was going to be a tough battle and we were going to have to stay strong as a team to get that win. We went into that game feeling confident because we had each other’s backs and knew we could do it.

            6 p.m. Thursday night we walked in the Linn-Mar gym and mentally and physically prepared ourselves for the match ahead. We did our usual locker room warm up and jammed out to music to get pumped up. We warmed up and before we knew it it was 6:45 and time for the national anthem and starting lineups to be announced. When the national anthem was playing and I was surrounded by my teammates and I looked up and said in my head please let us win this game, my teammates deserve this win. From that point on I knew I had to play for my team and leave everything on the court.

          When 7 o’clock came it was time for first serve. We started off strong with a 3-0 start but Linn-Mar came right back to tie it at 3-3. The score was really close throughout the first set but we let them get a few runs in the middle, and could never close that gap until the last few points. We ended up losing by 2, with the score being 25-23. The second match was very similar to the first. We had to work for every point, and every point mattered. The score was 27-26 Linn-Mar and what was clearly a carry on their side, counted as a point for them and they then lead the match 2-0. What happened next? Read my next blog to find out if Kennedy had the capability to come back and win.

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Our Road to State

          STATE… Probably every athlete on a high school athletics team has a goal to make it to state. It is a huge accomplishment and something to be proud of if you make it. I have never played in the State Volleyball tournament in Iowa but that is definitely one of my dreams. I can’t imagine the feeling of holding the state qualifying banner in your hands, surrounded by your teammates, and everyone is just enjoying the moment. I hope to someday have that feeling.

          This season our first regional matchup is against Washington tomorrow night at Kennedy. We played Wash last Tuesday and we dominated and won in 3 straight sets so we should beat them pretty easily. Our second matchup is against Linn-Mar on Thursday at Linn-Mar. We lost to them in regular season in 5 games, but we beat them in 2 straight sets to advance to the championship game in the Mississippi Valley Conference Tournament. I think we can definitely beat them if we are playing at the top of our game. If we beat Linn-Mar we will advance to play Dowling Catholic in the third and final round of regionals. We played Dowling once in a tournament and lost in 2 sets but the scores were close, and we had already had a long day, defeating undefeated West Delaware in pool play. I think we can beat Dowling if everyone is playing at the top of their game and everyone fights for every point.

          I know we can do it we just have to believe in ourselves and our teammates. I am confident we can make it to state and I am so excited for the journey ahead. 

Word Count: 300

Example of a Recruiting Profile to send to College Coaches

After you have sent an introduction letter to a college coach they might want to know a little bit more about you, and learn what experiences you have had with volleyball in your past and any cool awards you have been given. It is very helpful to make a "Profile" of yourself just to keep all of your successes organized and so you can get back to the coaches that are interested quickly. 

Anna Fluent

Height: 5’10

Approach: 9’6

Standing reach: 7’6

Setter

Kennedy High School class of 2016

Hudl Link: (Insert link to Hudl)

YouTube Link: (Insert link to YouTube)

Junior Year

Metro Sports Highlight Player of the Week

Summer before junior year

Selected to play in the High Performance Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma with the Iowa Girls Youth National team

Selected through USAV HP to go to the A3 training camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado

Earned a bid in the Great Plains Open in Omaha to the USAV Junior Beach Tour Championships in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Earned a silver medal in the High Performance in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Sophomore Year

Selected to play in the High Performance Championships in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida with the Iowa Girls Youth National team

5-1 setter for Club Iowa (CIA) 16 Black

5-1 setter on varsity for Kennedy high school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa

1^st team all Mississippi Valley conference

1^st team all-metro

Varsity lettered

High Honorable Mention - Soph 79

Anna Fluent, 5-10 S, Kennedy (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) – Fluent finished the season with 773 assists, 167 digs, 126 kills, 48 blocks and 19 aces. She earned all-metro and All-Conference First Team honors. “Anna is a remarkable athlete and student of the game,” Coach Michelle Goodall said. “Anna has fine footwork/setting skills and defending abilities. She’s a heady and crafty attacker as well, wreaking havoc for defending teams. Anna is highly motivated to succeed and pairs this attitude perfectly with her strong whatever-it-takes work ethic.”

Freshman Year

Selected to play in the High performance Championships in Des Moines, Iowa with the Iowa Girls Select National team

Named offensive player of the year on Kennedy’s sophomore team

Competed in the GJNC in Dallas, Texas with Iowa Rockets 15-1

(Include here your contact info., your coaches contact info, and a current picture of yourself) 

Word Count: 390

An Example of a Recruiting Letter That Could be sent to College Coaches

If you are looking to play volleyball in college and don't know where to start, an introduction letter is a good thing to begin with. You should introduce yourself as not only an athlete but a student as well. Another good thing to do is congratulate them on any recent successes they might have had, at recent games or tournaments they were competing in. You should also provide all of your contact information as well as your club and high school coach's names and contact info. Here is a sample of mine from this season that I used to send to schools I was interested in.

Dear Coach (Insert coaches last name),

               My name is Anna Fluent and I am interested in your volleyball program. I will be a 2016 graduate and I play volleyball for Club Iowa Juniors 16 Black. 16 Black is a national team who travels throughout the Midwest at various non-qualifying and qualifying tournaments. I run a 5-1 system on this team. My coach is (insert coaches name and any info you know about them and their past relations with the sport of volleyball, like where they have coached in the past and where they played if they played in college.) He/she can be reached at the information provided below.

               I play high school volleyball at John F. Kennedy High School, which is located in Cedar Rapids Iowa. This volleyball program has had great success in the past, by making 12 state appearances and developing many college athletes. I was selected for 1^st team all Mississippi Valley Conference and 1^st team all-Metro awards this past season which was my sophomore year. I have also had the privilege of competing on Iowa High Performance teams the last two summers. Education is also very important to me and currently I have a (insert cumulative GPA and the scale in which your school bases you grade point average off of) GPA. I am taking a college level Biology course because I am interested in but not limited to a health related field.

You can find updated volleyball information on me at universityathlete.com and video at www.hudl.com and on my YouTube page. Please include me on any camps and/or recruiting information about your volleyball program. Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing more information about your outstanding volleyball program.

Best Regards,

Anna Fluent

(Include here any links to your film, your contact information, and your coaches' contact information.)

Word Count: 424

My Favorite Volleyball Drills

          Coming up with drills to do in practices is sometimes hard because they have to involve all positions, be productive, and be fun at the same time. Some of my favorite drills are Pra-ja, Columbia, George, Baseball, WIN, and Split Court. All of these drills are fun, productive, and everyone gets a lot of touches.

          Pra-ja is a game I learned at HP this year. It is definitely my favorite drill because it involves a lot of quick thinking and communication between you and your partner. Pra-ja is a 2 on 2 game with 2 balls being played at the same time. You and your partner are allowed 3 touches on each ball like normal but you can let the ball bounce in between each contact. In order to get each ball in play one partner from each side will serve one ball to the player on the other side who is not serving. After each ball is in play you play normally but you can let the ball bounce once in between each contact. If one team wins both points they stay and the other team waves through, but if both teams win one point they are both off and two new teams come on. I like this drill because it tests how well you can communicate with your teammate and it trains you to look across the net to tell your partner where he/she should attack the ball to. A hint for this drill is to never tip short. Tipping in the drill is an easy pass for the other team because the short tip will bounce up directly to a player on the other side.

          Columbia is another awesome drill. Columbia is run with 4-6 players on each side of the net. The scoring and rules of a normal game apply, the only thing that is different is that every player rotates when your team attacks the ball over the net. I like this drill because you get to experience playing every position. George is similar to Columbia with 4-6 players and regular rules/scoring applies, but if you make a mistake you are out and the next person in line on your team replaces you. I like this drill because it puts pressure on you to not make a mistake. Volleyball is a game of mistakes, every point is caused by a mistake. So everyone is going to make mistakes at some point in a game but it is the team who makes the least mistakes that will come out on top. When you are playing the game George it really makes you focus on the position you are playing because if you want to stay on the court you can’t make a mistake.

          These are just some of my favorite drills I have played. I hope this helps if you are looking for fun drills for a practice :) 

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Favorite Volleyball Related Quotes

1.    “My attitude is that if you push me towards a weakness, I will turn that weakness into a strength” -Michael Jordan

2.    “All things are difficult before they are easy”

3.    “Courage is taking those first steps to your dream even if you can’t see the path ahead”

4.    “Somewhere behind the athlete you've become and the hours of practice and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back... play for her.” –Mia Hamm

I like number 1 because in volleyball everyone has a skill that they can improve on and if an athlete can take the time and get the reps to improve their weakness it will eventually turn into a strength.

Number 2 I think really relates to volleyball in the sense that it takes thousands of reps to perfect a skill until it become easy. If you want to become great at a certain position you have to work hard every time you are in the gym and get as many reps as possible.

I love number 3 because I can relate to it. My biggest dream is to play D1 college volleyball and I have been working hard on improving my skills and contacting college coaches. Even though I don’t know where I am going yet and I can’t see the path ahead I know that if I keep working extra hard I can get there.

Number 4 is probably my favorite because it makes me realize that when I was younger I had the same dreams as I do now and I still love playing volleyball as much as I did when I was little.

Link to the quotes: http://www.fantasyhelp.com/offbeat/ultimate-collection-motivational-sports-quotes/

Word Count: 295

Mississippi Valley Conference Volleyball Tournament

          Yesterday Linn Mar held the MVC Conference tournament. It lasted from 8 am until 7 pm, and we (Kennedy) played the whole day. It was a great tournament for us. We were all playing at the top of our game and we were having fun. We didn’t let 3 or 4 point runs from the other team get to our heads and I think that was a big difference from tournaments in the past. We stayed focused throughout the entire day.

          We started off strong by defeating Waterloo East and Dubuque Senior in straight sets. Our last game of pool play was against Iowa City High (ranked 8^th in class 5A). We beat them in 3 sets and came out first in our pool. In the quarter finals we faced Iowa City West, who we lost to in regular season. We really wanted revenge so we came out strong and fought hard until the end. We ended up playing a third set, one of the most intense and exciting games I’ve ever played in. At one point the score was 13-12 West and they were serving, when the down ref blew his whistle and beckoned a wrong server. While the refs figured out if West was in the wrong rotation, my team came together in the middle of the court and I told them to think about what it feels like to lose a 5^th set. I said we are not losing this game.  We battled hard and came out winning with a final score of 16-14. When the game was over I was so excited and proud of my teammates for not giving up. We had earned a spot in the semi finals.

          In the semis we played Linn Mar, who we had lost to in regular season so we were back for more revenge. We defeated Linn Mar in straight sets and earned a spot in the championship match! We played City High in the championship match, which made it the third tough match in a row we had to play. City High came out strong and we just couldn't put points together. We lost in 2 sets, it wasn't how we wanted the tournament to end but Conference runner ups isn't to bad. Overall, we had an awesome tournament and I am so proud of us for making it to the championship match.

Word Count: 400