Beach Volleyball

Since beach is starting soon, I thought I might as well go over some of the main concepts and rules of playing in the sand. Beach volleyball is totally different than indoor. Different rules, different strategies, and different skills to learn. Although there are different rules you have to have the same mindset to compete in either sport. In order to be successful in beach volleyball you need to know the important rules and learn some of the strategies.

The rules involved in beach are very different from indoor. The main difference is the rule about setting. In beach you are not allowed to set the ball unless it has absolutely no spin (which is pretty much impossible). So when you are setting your partner your best option is to forearm pass it. It takes some time to get used to controlling the ball that way but you will get the hang of it after a while. You also can not open hand tip the ball like you can in indoor. The other main rule is that if you are blocking and you touch the ball you and your partner only have 2 contacts to get it back over the net, where in indoor you would have 3 contacts.

Obviously in beach volleyball you are playing in the sand and usually you are playing doubles with a partner. This leads to some strategies that can help you succeed in this awesome sport. The first tip is to either serve/ hit to the player that can’t pass or the player that is the least offensive threat. This will give you a better opportunity to score on that rally. Serving and attacking to the person who is not as good at passing will most likely make their side become out of system, giving you a free ball. Serving and hitting to the person who is the least offensive threat will give you a better chance at digging their attack. If you are playing a team where both players can attack and pass decently then you can try serving in between them and that will usually get them out of system. Other strategies include blocking, going over on the second ball, and using smart shots. In beach blocking can be a little tricky and it takes a lot of practice to get used to it, but it is really fun when you stuff block someone in beach. If you and your partner decide to block, the person blocking tells the defender what part of the court he/ she is going to be blocking. The defender is then responsible for the other part of the court. For example if I was blocking the cross court shots for both hitters I would hold up 2 fingers on each hand (1 finger on each hand means I am blocking the line shots) and my partner would defend the line shots. Some smart shots in beach are a short pokey (tipping it with your knuckles) or a high roll shot to the deep corners. These shots will cause the other team to scramble for the ball and give you an easy ball back over.

Beach is such a fun sport, I can’t wait for practices to start so we can get back out in the sand!

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Iowa High Performance 2015

It’s almost summer and you know what that means… High Performance time! Tryouts are over and results are going to be posted this week. Every year it amazes me how much volleyball talent we have in Iowa, both girls and guys. I think a little over 400 athletes tried out for HP camp this year. It was really cool to see a lot of guys at the tryouts I went to, men's volleyball is growing as a sport and that is exciting! The next step is to get it at the high school level. I’m getting off topic but it is always awesome to see that more guys are trying this awesome sport. Anyway HP this year is going to be a blast, we are hosting the tournament for the second time in 4 years in Des Moines, Iowa. Last year it was in Tulsa, Oklahoma and the year before that Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

The first year I made an HP team the HPC’s (High Performance Championships) were in Des Moines. It was an incredible experience. Teams from all over the world, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Brazil, and Hawaii came and competed in both women's and men's. Being surrounded with people from all over that share the same love for volleyball as you is an indescribable feeling. My favorite part about that year was a picnic we held that all of the teams came to and we got to talk to each team, learning some things about where they came from and if they had liked there stay in Iowa so far. We learned a dance from some girls in Hawaii and got a group picture with all of us in front of the Old Capital.

                

This year if I make a team and get the privilege to play in Des Moines again I will be pumped. Last year my team won a silver medal in Oklahoma, so I really want to win gold this year. It will also be a chance to meet new people and since it is only 2 hours away from home my family and friends can come watch. 

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Kennedy Volleyball Senior Year

Senior year is a big deal, especially senior volleyball season. I am super excited and I have already been coming up with ideas for the poster, jerseys, warm ups, shoes, etc. Jerseys are probably the most important thing because that is what we wear while competing. This year for club season we have Nike jerseys and they are really comfortable. 

For our warm ups we want to all look the same and be comfy at the same time so sweats and a sweatshirt or zip up jacket is what we usually do. This year since it is my senior year I thought we could have some cool long sleeve spirit jerseys, which a lot of teams seem to be getting right now. We could wear these to school, over our jerseys or just whenever. I think they look pretty sweet if everyone on a team is wearing them. 

Finally the poster and the fun shirt are other important factors in vball season. Last year the saying on the poster was “Rise as One” and that saying was on the fun shirt too. This year I have thought of a couple of ideas that I think would be cool for the poster and our shirt. My first idea was saying “Bring out the best in each other” and have “Bring em out” on the shirt. Every year in the locker room before games we warm up to the song Bring Em Out. So if our shirt said this I think that would be sweet. The color of the shirt is a hard decision too, last year it was light green. This year I think if we did a magenta color that would look good if we got green or black jerseys.

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Committing to Loyola

My biggest dream has come true. A goal that I have had since I started playing. A dream that has been looked over by many people. A goal that I have never gave up on. Playing Division 1 volleyball. About a month ago I committed to play the sport I love at Loyola University in Chicago. After going there on a visit a little over 3 months ago I knew that Loyola was the right fit for me. 

It is an awesome school, with a great biology program. I want to be a pre-med major so picking a school with good academic opportunities was important in my decision. Loyola also has a brand new campus and it is right on the lake. They have the coolest library I have ever seen, it is all glass and 1 of the floors is all computers. The best view of the lake is out the library window and it is amazing. I got to see where they play and it is the perfect size. It is so sweet and I can’t wait to play there. I met some of the team and they were all extremely nice and seemed to really like it at Loyola. I watched them practice and I could see myself practicing with them. I just got an awesome feeling watching it and being in that environment. The coaching was very 1 on 1 and I liked all of the positive feedback the players were getting. The coaches are awesome and I love their coaching style. That was really important in my decision too. I think this is really something that only you can know if it is the right fit for you.

Loyola also has the #1 men's volleyball team in the Nation. Men's volleyball is so much different than Women’s and if you have never watched guys play, you should. It is so fun to watch and the coaches at Loyola said that the men's and women's teams are very supportive of each other and sometimes will even practice with each other. So I am looking forward to that, having a men's team that is representing the same school as me will be sweet. Another plus about going to LU is that Michigan Ave. is 20 minutes from campus, so whenever I have time outside of volleyball I can shop at all of my favorite stores. Beach volleyball is something I wanted to be able to continue in college, and at LU some of the girls either play in beach leagues or coach club teams which would both be awesome opportunities. I am so pumped to go to Loyola I can’t even contain my excitement.

The recruiting process for me was fun because I met a lot of awesome people but it was a great feeling when I committed, I still can’t believe I accomplished that dream that I have had for so long. Hard work really does pay off. The biggest thing I would say to younger athletes is never give up on your dreams. If you truly believe that you can reach your goals and you don’t have any doubts in your abilities, you will get there. Just know that you will have to work really hard until you get there.

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Regionals Part 3

            The championship game. It all happened really fast, we won the semis and right away we were playing in the finals. That was our 3^rd game in a row and I think the game against CIS took a lot of energy away from us. In the finals we were playing IPVA, they came in ranked 5^th and they already had proved a lot of people wrong. They beat the #1 ranked team, Adrenaline in the semis. In the first set of our match against IPVA you could tell we were a little worn out. We let them get to many runs and put ourselves in a hole. We picked it up a lot at the end and fought back to tie it at 25. The score went back and forth until IPVA ended up winning 33-31. It sucked losing that game especially with the score being that close. In the second set we didn’t have our best game, and there were just a few big points for IPVA that I think took the momentum away from us. I don’t think we gave up but I think IPVA played consistently solid throughout the whole match. Not sure what the score was but we lost the second set. Props to them for going in ranked 5^th and winning it all. It was an awesome game, and overall awesome weekend.

            I think one thing I learned from that weekend was that if you truly believe that you can accomplish something, you will, but you can’t have the slightest doubt in your mind. I also think it is important for young players to know that making a goal and working hard everyday to achieve it and accomplishing that is the greatest feeling. But once you achieve 1 goal don’t just be satisfied with that. Make another one and go work for it.

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Regionals Part 2

            First set. Very tough battle, points were pretty much back and forth the whole time. In the middle of the set I remember thinking to myself we got this. The score was very close and I think we might have been losing, but we were playing so well and I could tell everyone wanted this so bad. Despite the pressure we were putting on ourselves we stayed calm and pushed for 1 point at a time, which I think was huge for us. I think CIS went into that game expecting to win and when we started to push ahead they played more uptight, afraid to make mistakes. We won the first set 26-24. I don’t really remember any certain plays or points I just remember feeling like we were playing the best we ever had.

            Second set. It was similar to the first game, in which the score was very close the whole time. The only things I remember in this set was when I stuff blocked probably their best hitter and just the atmosphere in the gym. I can’t even explain what it felt like. There were so many people watching us and it was such a fun and intense game to be apart of. I don’t even know what the final score was but I remember winning the last point and I immediately started crying. The next 5 minutes after that was so emotional for all of us because we had finally done it. We had accomplished our team goal of making it to nationals and it was the first time I had ever qualified. I was so excited, I will never forget that feeling. After that it was time for the championship game. At Iowa regionals there are 2 bids, 1^st place gets a USA bid and 2^nd place gets an American bid. After winning in the semis we had landed a spot in the finals at regionals with a chance to get a USA bid.

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Regionals Part 1

            Regionals. A bid to nationals is on the line and you are playing close to home. A lot of tough competition and only 2 teams get their ticket to nationals. Playing in your home state means playing in front of family and friends, which might be added pressure for some girls. Regionals can be fun and stressful at the same time. My experience at regionals this year was awesome.

            This year regionals was in Cedar Falls, which is about an hour away from my house and it is also where my team practices. So it felt kind of weird waking up in my own bed on the day of a national qualifier. Usually we are 5-15 hours away. Driving to Cedar Falls on that Saturday morning I had all kinds of emotions running through me. I was more nervous than usual and I think was because I knew that that was our best bet at qualifying. In the back of my head I was thinking about last season and what went down at regionals then. Last year we were put in a tough pool the first day and ended up getting 3rd in our pool and playing in the bronze bracket on Sunday. It just wasn't a good weekend for my team, but we are a whole different team this year and I knew we could do it. I just had this feeling. I wanted that bid so bad for so long I was going to do whatever it took to get it.

            On Saturday we were put in a pretty easy pool and won all 3 of our games in 2 sets. Sunday was going to be the real test of what my team could accomplish. I was pumped and I couldn't wait to go get that bid. On Sunday our first game wasn't until 10:00 so we got to sleep in a little but and that is always good. We played Rockets 17 Black in the quarterfinals, which was our first game. In the first set we started off kind of shaky but we fought back and didn't look back from there. We won in 2 sets and now faced CIS (Central Iowa Select) in the semi-finals, and the game to get a bid. The time was finally here, playing for the bid. We were so close I could taste it. We knew this game was going to be a battle, but we were up for it and we wanted revenge because we lost to them in pool play last year. I knew a couple girls from their team from High Performance and playing them in school season and they were a very talented team. We were going to have to play our best and not let up if we wanted to beat them.

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