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.

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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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Reffing Responsibilities

        I know when you read the title of this you probably want to skip it but if you play volleyball at any level you are going to have to learn how to ref sometime. Reffing is not that bad you just have to pay attention and know what signs go with what calls. In this blog I will just briefly go over what each official is in charge of during the game. I will go over what signs and actions need to be done for each in a different blog.

            In volleyball there is an up ref, a down ref, 2 line judges, a score keeper, a libero tracker, and a person that does the score sheet. If you are an up ref you are responsible for whistling when a play can begin and when the play ends. You also look for any net violations, double contacts, and lifts. If you are the down ref you are responsible for watching for overlapping in both team’s line-ups, any center line violations, and both teams substitution requests. If you are a line judge you are responsible for foot faults during a serve, signaling if a ball is in or out, determining if there was a touch on the ball from the block and if the ball is on the correct side of the antenna.

            Scorekeepers, libero trackers and the person that is going to do the score sheet all sit at a table usually behind the down ref. If you are a score keeper your job is pretty self-explanatory, you just flip the points to the correct side. But be aware if you are even a point off you will hear it from all of the parents but just ignore them and check with the score sheet. If you are libero tracking you are responsible for writing down when the libero comes in and out and who they go in or out for. You also write down the other subs that come in and go out for both teams. If you are doing the score sheet you are responsible for writing down the line up, scores, subs, timeouts, and any penalties that occur during the match.

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Serving

            Serving is a big part of volleyball because it is the first contact of every rally. If you serve tough you can get the other team out of system for a better chance to succeed in your offense. On the other hand if you miss your serve, in the net or out of bounds you give the other team a free point. So while serving you have to be smart and aggressive.

            There are many different types of serves you can use in volleyball. The majority of girls serve a jump float. When executed correctly a jump float, the ball should move back and forth in the air when it goes over the net. You can make the ball do this by keeping your wrist and hand firm and contacting the ball directly in the back. You also want to stop your hand, not following through, once you contact the ball. This will make it so there is little to no spin. Your foot work should be the same as your approach. If you are right handed, left, right, left. If you are left handed, right, left, right. Everyone’s timing will be different most people toss the ball right after their first step. This serve is very tough to serve receive especially if it is served at a high speed.

            Another serve you can do is a jump top spin. This is a popular serve in the men’s game because men can typically jump higher and are stronger so they can get more speed and better trajectory on the ball. The foot work for a jump top is the same as your approach. Again, the timing will differ but you should toss the ball before your first step and move forward to attack the ball. Make sure to keep the ball in front of you so you can use your strength to put some speed behind the ball. Also make sure you open up and use your core to get more power. Unlike the float you should snap your wrist and follow through with your arm to give the ball spin. Some girls have pretty good top spin serves and they can be really effective, but unless you are Micha Hancock sometimes they can be easier to pass because the passers can read where the ball will end up and can get under it more often than a jump float. A jump top often tends to be more inconsistent. It consists of a higher toss, higher jump and bigger swing which make mistakes more prominent.

            If you get your timing down and you are aggressive but also consistent with either of these serves you will be successful with your serving.

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