Pan Am Cup Wrap up.

Yes I just fell off the face of the earth. I had a hard time trying to put into words the last couple of days of the Pan Am Cup.  We finished sixth place out of eleven teams. This is a respectable finish but everyone is leaving with a sense that we could have been much higher.

We played some very good volleyball through the tournament. There was definitely more good than bad. The way it ended left a bit of a sour taste with most of us. We came out pretty flat against Puerto Rico in the 1/4 final.  It wasn't for lack of willow effort, we just couldn't find our game. This group of athletes are extremely proud and take losing hard. After the match we waited for Lupo and Britt to finish their press conference. Then Britt asked if the team could meet on their own. They held a no coaches meeting to talk about preparedness and playing through adversity.

Lupo decided we would watch the match together back at hotels hat night, which meant a late night for everyone involved. Plus an early morning for practice. We did have a day off so there was time for naps.

 I likedthey way we watched video. Instead of focussing on errors Lupo contrasted our best match against our worst. We watched the first set against Cuba! Then watched the first set against PR.  There was close to the same amount of errors made in both sets, but we could really notice the difference in body language and adrenaline.  We seemed to just look more confident during the Cuba match.

With just dropping in for 5 weeks with the team I really feel that I don't have the right to judge or comment and tried really hard to stay out of the conversation. Some of these players have invested 7 to 10 years with the program. I can only go off my own mind. I feel that sometimes as athletes and coaches we forget who we are.  We remember who we were. When a pressure situation occurs I sometimes suddenly feel like the hockey guy from Killam who is just starting out. Rather than the guy who has won coaching awards. I second guess decisions and then are late reacting to it. I think the players do the same sometimes. They might think I am the middle hitter who was converted to left side instead of the pro and allstar. Focussing on the wrong things instead of building confidence we break down our own. Affirmations are so important we sometimes forget.  If we can find away to maintain our confidence we will be fine.

We ended up watching 5 sets, the 3 Cuban and the first two of PR. The message was definitely retrieved.  I think this was way more beneficial than Lupo coming in and breaking things,calling out people and truly venting.  The only person that feels a little better is the coach.  But using it as a teaching moment is, smarter in the long run.

Another interesting discussion brought out was use of subs and also being a starter.  8 matches in 9 days is tough mentally and physically. Everyone we brought off the bench played well and made a difference immediately.

Overall, this tournament was to give some players experience and to evaluate them in different roles. I think the information Lupo was looking for was confirmed.  I leave with a ton of respect to the commitment and passion that these athletes and coaches have for the game. I am an extremely proud Canadian. I hope I was able to help in the development process and to make Lupo's job a little easier.  I enjoyed working with Joey, Maren, Byron and Adam. They all are committed and are a lot of fun. 

I hope I get an opportunity to do this again.  I am extremely energized to get our Bobcats going again and begin our run.

Two for One

Again no time to proof this posting please forgive spelling and grammar. This is just free thought as we watch Germany beat up Portugal.

We had such a fast turn around from our Mexico match to the Dominican Republic match I didn't have time to update. Therefore I am writing about both matches in this blog.

The Mexico team, we have played a couple times at the world qualifier and had some idea about them. Everyone who plays sports knows how hard it is to beat a host country in their gym.  

We started Kelci French at setting, Lisa Barclay at right side, Britt Page and Kyla Richey at left side. In the middle we started Marissa Field and Becky Pavan. Becky played well in her last start, plus she was great in the final of the qualifier against Mexico.

We wanted to try and use our height and strength against them. The match started out exactly as we planned. We sided out first ball, then had three stuff block by Marissa to show the Mexicans our plan. The difference between this match and the matches in Canada was the Mexican fans started to get involved.

We continued to play well but the Mexican players were digging everything. At the beginning Lupo talked about patience and to expect some long rallies. It is hard to not try to over swing in this situation. It felt like we were in charge of the set, but every time I checked the score it was tied.  We were having some trouble scoring on the left side.  But Lisa was scoring well on the right side and on the pipe. Normally after 20 we have been really crisp, but today we seemed to be second guessing our selves. This led to a 25-27 first set loss.

I believe we were surprised by the level of compete the Mexicans brought and it caught us off guard. The second set we started the same way we finished, second guessing ourselves . This set started off bad, we fell down 8-4 at the first technical. Lupo decided to make a change. He subbed Marie-Pierre for Kyla. MP made an instant impact. She brought a ton of energy and really started to hit the ball well. We had evened the match at 18.  We traded points for the rest of the set. Mexico was up 24-23 and Lisa made a huge kill to even it up. MP went back and hit a tough spin serve we were able to transition a dig to go up 25-24. Unfortunately her set point serve hit the tape and stayed on our side. Match tied at 25. The Mexican then served tough and played strong block defence and won 25-27. 

The crowd here was incredible every time any of our Canadian players were serving there was a ton of noise, whistling screaming clapping. Every missed served that we made the fans took credit and rewarded themselves with an even louder cheer. When they have a chance to win the set the whole building is up chanting. I believe they are saying "one more" but I am just guessing.

Set 3 we started Lucy in place of Becky and left MP in.  We dominated this set all the way through. Finally playing and imposing our strength ans size on them. Lisa was unstoppable, one attack she hit over the setter was straight down. It actually silence the crowd for a couple of seconds. We won this set 25-15.

The fourth was much of the same everything went great. The Mexican coach flooded his bench at 12 to rest his players for the fifth. We won 25-14.

The fifth set is a sprint and teams need to stay focused and play each ball. It is hard not to scoreboard watch but it can be the biggest distractor in this situation. We battled hard but came up short. It was a real shock, especially after the way we played them in Canada A month before. 15-9 

Lisa had 21 points in the effort Britt and MP had 14 each. Up next the Dominican. MP was awarded the Canadian hat in. Strong speech from Dani Smith.

After the Mexican match we arrived back at the hotel at midnight. The team ate and went to bed. We went to Lupo's room to begin video. By 2 am we had the scout sheet ready for the next morning. We will meet again at 9am. to go over the rest and create the video to show the team

We are scheduled to play the Dominican at 4pm. This meant no training before and video at 11.  This is going to be the fifth match in 5 days. Players need to know its going to hurt and be tough so be prepared mentally. This explains why for two weeks the athletes were really fatigued in practice. Lupo and Scott were trying to teach them that they can still perform in this situation.

The Dominican are ranked 8th in the world. They have 3 world class spin servers. Our game plan was sound it played to our strengths and exploited their weaknesses. The struggle would be the mental capacity to maintain the systems.

We started with the line up we did against the Cubans. Kelci setting, Lisa at right, Kyla, Britt at left, Lucy and Marissa in middle. The two Libero system.  The two libs system has been working really well for us. Janine is tremendous on defence and can focus on different assignments and constantly remind the rest of their responsibility. Tesca has been passing really well and along with Britt and Kyla have really controlled the matches.

The Dominicans jumped out to a quick lead on their serving. It took us half the first set to catch up to their speed but once we did we settled in.  We were able to show a passing position trying to force a secondary serve. Then on their toss we would adjust towards this position. This slowed their serving down a bit.

We weren't playing reall crisp actually felt like we were playing in sand. Our block defence was working so the Dominicans started tipping.

We were just a second late to reacting to this.  We ended up losing 25-22.  

The second set did not go well for us. It is really hard not to let mistakes in one part of your game creep into others. An example struggling to score, so during the rally your still problem solving the attack and then miss a dig. Then this piles on to the attack you can get lost in your head. This is why I really respect Britt Page. I feel that she has figured out how to focus on the necessary skill on hand. Bouncing back and forth between left side and right side can't be easy. She kept battling the whole set digging and passing. At 19-12 Lupo pulled her to rest for the third.

Let's give Marie Sophie a chance to spark us.  We also subbed Dani in for Kelci. Dani has a tremendous amount of fight in her and plays with passion. We lost the set 25 -14.

The third set we started MP and Kyla with Britt at right side. We also started Dani. The thought was we would go with more of a ball control line up. Hopefully Britt could give us some back row presence. Dani was decided to create energy and to hopefully create some fight.  You cannot question this teams work ethic, but again it was like playing in sand.  We kept he the match close. One four point run in the middle of the set cost us. Dominican won 25-22. I think we should realize how close we are to this team. I believe it is time for this group to quit trying to play with the Dominicans and time to play better than them. We have the talent to do this. Britt page led us with 14 points and Marissa had 8. MP passed the Canadian hat to Tesca. She has led our passing group well. The two libs system really highlites her strength on serve reception.

Day off tomorrow the Puerto Rico in quart finals.

Game Day Cuba

All photos are off Norceca Website. www.norceca.org

One of the biggest things I noticed here is how hard these players hit and serve the ball. We have now players on the A team that are starting to catch up in velocity. I think the testing we do with the radar gun and the team commitment to fitness has definitely helped.  Cuba is team that serves tough spin and attack with pace.

Our day was scheduled basically the same as yesterday. In practice we started with the butterfly to get moving then Adam ran them through warmup. Our serve and pass section we had Joey Martins up on a box hitting tight spins at the passers. Working on defending the serve mostly. In this practice Kelsey French figured out her spin serve which was going to be important.

When we returned we watched video. In the video we went over each player and wha attacking tendencies they have. Of course at this level most players have many shots but we want to block and defend their more powerful  shot.  We also went over each rotation explaining our serving tactics as well as their setters tendencies. Who is the primary responsibility for each blocker. Most of the time it is our normal systems. Against Cuba they have a right side who gets a lot of back row balls so we had to adjust for her.  The fact she is 14 is incredible.

A side note here; this is a great argument for playing players at developmental levels rather than chronological. The. Challenge this athlete is getting is incredible. Do we often hold players back in our club so they can play at their age?

We also showed how other team scored against them. Cuba plays a very traditional slide defence, attack from left side the block cross, player in back right covers tips, back middle goes to line, back left digs off block and front left tries to get to the 3 meter line.  Our main goal was to establish the A ball or middle quick, then run shoots to the outside who then attacked seam. This should score in the middle back hole.  If we had to tip we would tip deeper pot.

We then went over how the Cubans serve. Most tough spin servers have a tendency and we wanted to adjust based on that tendency.  We also track this during the match. We would need to pass well to keep them honest in blocking.

Game time.

At the start of the match we chose serve and the Cubans chose sides. We had to pack up all the clothing and switch. A little gamesmanship off the start. We started with the same line up as Peru. Kelci French setting, Marissa Field and Lucy Charuk in middle, Kyla Richey and Britt Page left side, Lisa Barclay Rightside and the two Liberos.

 We started the match well with two big stuff block in a row. Showing the Cubans we were here to play. Kelci did a good job of establishing the quick middle. Lucy hit some balls before the Cuban blocker even got off the floor.  But it was A true back and forth match. Late in the match we doubled subbed again. Dani Smith and Marie Sophie came in the match. Dani first ball set Lucy for a big score.

Then Dani made a huge dig off Vargas from Cuba, Janie our libs made a great set to Marie Sophie at right side. MSN tip it deep pot and scored. We just took off after that. Marie Sophie scored another big out of system ball and we were in control of the set. We won 26 to 24

The second set the Cubans came out aggressively but we held fast. Kyla Richey and Lisa Barclay were big time players for us in this set. The Cuban served ver aggressive and we were out of system but our outsides found away to score. Lisa hit one cut shot that was about 1 meter off the net cross court. Kyla hit a couple of big shots off hands in tough situations forcing the ball out the sideline or out our end line. We doubled subbed earlier in the set and had the same effect again. It made the Cubans change their serving just a bit. As the match progressed the Cuban team got safer with their serves and we were back in system. Won the second set 25- 23.

The third set was really all Canada. It was Britt Pages turn to take control of the match with some big back row pipes and some large line kills.

Our confidence was growing as the set progressed and the Cubans started to make more errors. Our 3 passers had got in a groove and we were in system constantly. Both Kelci and Dani had lots of options. Our middles seemed to score often. We won the set on a Cuban missed serve. 25-21

The team celebrated the victory and were excited. Then the headed to the weight room to work out. It was scheduled for after the match. They know if they want to maintain their fitness this was important. After the work out Becky Pavan passed the Canada Hat to Dani Smith as impact player of the match.

Trinidad Match 3 Pan Am Cup

We started the day with a training session in the practice gyms. It was mostly ball control and serve and pass. Just an opportunity to get moving and a good feeling before the match. After practice Lupo met with the setters to go over some situation from the night before. He asked a lot of questions to guide them to the answer he was looking for. I was really impressed with the honest answers from the setters. You can tell there is a strong connection between Lupo and his athletes.

The rest of the afternoon was again used for treatment and a quick nap.

We started the match with Kelci French at setter, Lisa Barclay at right side, Becky Pavan and Marissa Field in the middle, Kyla Richey and Britt Page at left side. We used the two Libero system again. This was a little in doubt in the morning as Tesca wasn't feeling well, but was way better by game time. The first set were found our stride on offence. It felt like we were scoring at will, but when ever I checked the score Trindad was close. We were able to find some rhythm in blocking late in the set and create some spread in score then cruised to a 25-23 win. Trinidad chipped away but set never felt in jeopardy.

The second set we started out where we left off jumping out to a big lead. Our block and defence transition created a lot of points in this set. The Lisa Barclay started to dominate the match. Britt,Kyla and Tesca are passing really well allowing many options freeing Lisa up. We knew everything was falling into place when Marie Sophie scored on a free ball deep to 5. Lupo noticed the Libero was started to cheat in as most of our free balls were going 1 or 2. Marie fried a ball deep 5 and caught their lib flat footed.We won that set 25-14

The third set Lupo started Dani as setter. Dani has a great connection with the middles and we wanted to establish that again at the first technical time out we were up 8-4. Lupo decides to rest Kyla and replaced her with MP. Mp played so well last night in relief of Britt we expected the same. We were playing really well then we lost our sense of urgency and relaxed. Trinidad battled back to tie the match up at 23. We then found our discipline again and used our block defence to win 26-24.  It is good we can win those kind of matches but need to stay more disciplined in the middle of the match. But we have been really good after 20.

Lisa Barclay led the team with 15 points. Next was Becky Pavin with 10 and Marissa Field with 9. Becky also received the Canada Hat for impact player of the match. Janie said she won it for her attitude on and off the court as well as her fine play as both a right side and middle. I will try to get a photo of the hat on the next winner.

Up next is Cuba and their 6'3" 14 year old player.

Peru...Pan Am Cup day 3

I want to apologize up front for spelling and grammar, this blog are is basically being written in one draft on the bus.

Today was a pretty good day. Started out with breakfast, then Adam Toffan, our strength and conditioning coach, worked the team through a activation session.  They found a grassy spot and did some body weight and tubing excercises. 

After the session the team met for video and watched Peru from last years Pan Am Cup. We focused on two of there top players showing some tendencies. The reality is we will have to adjust during the match as we learn information about each player.  The basic serving scheme was pressure then location. If we serve too easy they will side out well. We need our serve to create an out of system opportunity.

We had a couple hours before lunch then heading to the gym. Once we arrived at the gym we warmed up in the practice facility. Teams only get 22 mins on the competition court for hitting and anthems.

We started Kelci French setting, Kyla Richey and Britt Page at left side, Lisa Barclay at Rightside, Lucy Charuk and Marissa Field in mids.  Tesca Andrews-Wasylik as libs. The first set went fairly well for us. Peru came out serving short,our middles did a great job passing and being available for an attack. The first set we scored a lot in first tempo. We won the first set 25-18  

The second set error flu hit us.  We started making errors all over the place. One person would make an error then another person would make an error. It felt contagious.   In the first technical timeout Lupo noticed Britt Page was looking tired, he asked her how she felt.  Her answer was I feel really tired but I am good to go. A great honest answer and also a good example of wanting to fight through it. Britt had been sick for the first two days and finally ate more than soup at lunch. Considering that and the altitude of Mexico City she should feel exhausted. Lupo subbed Marie Pierre Methot into the match for Britt. Marie did a great job passing ans blocking as soon as she got in. 

At one point we were down by 7. A double sub really changed momentum of the match. Dani Smith setting and Becky Pavan at Right side.  (Marie Sophie Nadeau is at the hotel with the flu. Couldn't make it out of her room without being sick.)

Becky matched up really well with one of Peru's top attackers. A couple of slow downs and one monster block with Lucy  made Peru  go to another attacker and we were able to dig her then score transition points.

Kelci and Lisa came back in and finished what that group started. As we came back to win 26 -24. A great lesson to know this group is never out of it, plus was a good example of being in the moment and not allowing the score to dictate mental state.

The third set started off much of the same as second. We missed a lot of serves and hit some shots out of bounds or into the net. Peru continued to serve short to our left side bUt now they also served some deep to one. Trying to put us on a bit of a yo yo situation but our passers held fast.  We dug a little to big of a whole, we battled back again on the arm of Kyla Ritchie and MP. The Peru team started releasing out to left side any time our middles went behind setter,trying to put more pressure on the two players. Our middles were effective in front late in the set but we came up just short. Losing 23-25. 

The players ran the break in between the two sets encouraging each other to bring more of a push in the fourth.  Kelci started out again running our middles. We jumped out to commanding lead at the first technical time out.  The middles had scored enough that Peru had to honour them again and that opened the three outsides again.  Another effective double sub and another huge stuff block just to show everyone our depth. We then cruise to a 25-20 victory. 

Marissa Field had a huge day with 22 points and she passed 7 balls for a 3.3 average. Kyla Ritchie had 14 points and passed a 2.9, Lucy Charuk had 13 pts. 

At the end of the match Bryon Bahniuk introduced the impact player of the game hat. Most NHL hockey teams have the same tradition, our Winnipeg Jets have a fighter pilot helmet. Our first recipient was Janie Gumond for her defence and poise on the court.  The remaining time Joey and Byron will select the winner but the previous winner has to present it to the next winner. I think this is a great team building idea.

After the match the team stayed and watch 1 set of Trinidad and Dominican play before heading home for supper. The coaches stayed with Shane Smith (ours scout) for the remaining of match and 1 set of the Cuba vs Mexico match.

Pan Am CUP Day 2

Today was our first chance to see and practice in the venue. Again transportation is a problem. We planned on the 45 minutes that it took yesterday,but because of construction it took a little over an hour.  

Practice started this time with 1 v1 tennis with 2 balls. Just a continuous drill switching sides. Good chance to get moving also to see sight lines and learn the court. After Adam again did dynamic warmup with. Foot speed and core.  

This practice involved a lot of serve reception and setting. As mentioned in an earlier blog depth perception varies in each gym so this is important to do tons of reps and from both sides of the court. I get the feeling the team is very focused and confident. I really like the feedback and communication they give each other.  At the end of practice Lupo gives 10 minutes to work on what ever they want. The athletes discuss with each other and head out in groups. One group of spin servers work with libs, a few attackers work with setters. The two groups fall into rhythm alternating each time so they can get the most out of their ten minutes.  The rest change and get ready for weights

In order to maintain power and strength over a 10 day tournament they need to continue their strength and conditioning. The girls worked hard for the 45 minutes. Adam worked and help modify the workout for each player.   After the workout waiting happened again.

 Lupo, Byron (athletic therapist) and Maren had to go back for the preliminary inquiry. In this meeting they show passports and jerseys to make sure they fit code.  Since the three of them had to take our bus back we had arranged to travel back with Team Mexico on their bus. This meant waiting an hour after we finished weights. The group found a spot in the sun and relaxed.  The bus ride back to hotel took 75 minutes because of construction, making our lunch quite late.

Tomorrow we were scheduled for an 8am practice. With the time between travel it wouldn't allow for much rest before our 3pm Match with Peru. Lupo decided that we would be better off sleeping in and doing an activity with Adam. Just too tight of timelines and the Peru match will be a fun one.

We then had a team meeting at 5:30pm. In this meeting Lupo laid out our roles. He explained to each player what their strength were and what we expected of them. A great example of this is Captain Britt Page.  In the World Qualifier Britt was asked to be a passing right side player , this tournament she is switched to left side. She accepts what ever comes her way. This is a great lead by example captain. We are going with the two Libero system again. Tesca Andrew-Wasylik will be in on serve reception and Janie Guimond will be in on our defence. This will be the first time I am part of the two Libero system will be interesting to watch.

Lupo went through roles in coming off the bench, what to expect and mindset to have. It was very clear that this will be about the team and living in the moment. Playing what is happening now. If your not starting and are subbed in expect to play for awhile. It might be one point, it might be a remainder of set or it could be rest of tournament. We can't waste energy worrying about the coaches thoughts. Lupo also reminded everyone that the team also consist of the athletes back training in Winnipeg. They are very important to our overall success. He explained to the team each role that the coaches will fulfil and how it will affect them. Joey Martins From Niagra will be working with middles and keeping track of opponents trends and shots. I will be working with passers and outsides as well as making sure the substitution paddles are ready to go for the team. He explained how timeouts will work. Basically Lupo talks and coaches stay out of the way.  If he takes the setters then we can give some feedback if necessary.  Basically using the do no harm theory and don't try to over coach.  There was a study done in Canada involving hockey, they found that poor coaching decision affected the outcome of the match more than good decisions. Don't make change just for the sake of change.

At 8pm Lupo, Maren and Bryon had a technical meeting. This meeting they go over all the rules and protocols and answer any remaining questions. This meeting finished around 10 pm. We then had every teams roster and we proceeded to I put it into our data volley program. It also gave us a chance to compare who was new on each team.

Tomorrow will be a fun day to be a part of.

PanAm Cup Day 1 Resiliency

Our day started at 5:30am in Toronto. We arrived the night before at 12:30 am from Winnipeg. Had a few hours of sleep and we were back on the road.  The Brandon Wheatkings Hockey team coaches believe 1 hour sleep in a bed is better than 2 hours of sleep on a bus or plane. Even though the team might have got 5 hours of sleep it would still be more beneficial than just staying up, or sleeping in an airport.

I am always impressed with the resiliency of these athletes. They just roll with the punches. By the time we got through security and to our gate it was 8:15am. 2 hours and fifteen minutes from when our hotel shuttle left. We were constantly waiting in line. We Waited to check in, waited through security and waited in line for Tim Hortons or Starbucks. 

The athletes use this wait time very productively. Some use it to get some last second contact with family and friends. A couple of athletes used this time for treatment. One was hook up to a battery pack and was stimulating her back muscles. Others use it to catch up on reading. One athlete has online classes she is doing as we travel. 

 Once we boarded the plane we had a 4.5 hr flight to Mexico City. I slept for most of the way. I had the luck of sitting beside Lucy Charuk and got to know her better. She has a tremendous sense of humour and laughs lots. Most of the athletes got some shut eye as well, but they also took turns heading to the back of the plane to do some stretching. Trying to minimize the effect of the flight. 

On arrival in Mexico City we waited once again to clear customs and grab our luggage. Some of the girls were stopped by passers by and asked to pose for pictures. We were then shuttled to our hotel. Once we arrived, we were told we didn't have enough rooms and the ones we did have weren't ready. The team just found couches and chairs and made themselves as comfortable as possible. Flex for success seems to be the model. Be as flexible as you can and worry about what you can control. They could do nothing about the rooms so they tried to make the best of a situation. Maren Hansen our team leader showed great patience as she had to deal with the front desk and try to get what we requested. Her role is to handle all the outside administration allowing Lupo and the rest of the team a chance to focus on the matches themselves.

We had a chance to practice in the warm up gym. The trip there was an adventure, what was advertised as a 30 minute trip turned into an hour. We actually had to drive around the facility twice until the organizers could clear enough room for the bus.

The practice after a long trip isn't very intense. Adam worked the team through a longer than normal dynamic warm up. This warmup included some core and foot speed training. We then played 3's 2 ball tennis. This is a Queen of the Court style drill. 3v3 two balls served at once,one to each side. One contact per side which ever ball ends first determines winner. Lupo thinks this is a fun active drill, but also acquaints the team to the court. 

We then did a quick dig and set style drill. 3 players in back court coach hit ball at one of them. They then dig it high to middle a player sets it to a coach hitting out of the front row wing positions. The coach hits the set ball back at a defender. The player who dug the ball must be the next setter.  After the set they are replaced by one coming off the court. Next was a hitting warmup and then a little 5 v 5 drill. 

Over all it was a good day, the team showed incredible resiliency and patience. It will only get better from here.

National Team Week 2

We are fast approaching our end of week 2.  Lupo and Scott have split the groups up. A group preparing for Pan Am Cup, and a group preparing for World Grand Prix.   We now have some A players training with the B team.  This is an interesting summer as there are lots of playing opportunities for the team.

Lupo has been very conscious of making sure all the players are going to be fully prepared for this summer. After the World Championship Qualifier, Lupo let Shanice Marcelle, Dana Cranston and Jaime Thibault have an extended break. Those three returned quickly from their pro teams for the qualifier. A rest was well earned and appreciated.

Playing in the Pan Am Cup, World Grande Prix and the World Championships is quite different then what a lot of these athletes are used to. Most of them come from situations where you train all week, controlling energy levels so you can be your best for 2 or 3 matches max on a weekend.  In contrast to 7 matches in 11 days, or travelling from Peru to Belgium and back to Argentina in 3 weeks.  The big difference is fatigue. The athletes have to learn how to generate their own energy, play when they are tired. Find away to stay fresh. 

The trick is to try to mimic this in practice and still have the athletes healthy and fresh for the actual competition. The ability to have a ice bath on the road is difficult. There is a study out of Australia using net ball teams and the use of cold showers as therapy. The premiss of an ice bath is that the blood flow slows down to the extremities and protects the core. When the athlete leaves the icebath blood flow returns and helps clear our waste. The study in Australia suggests and cold shower on the core of the body will achieve the same thing. The benefit is more when the body is still warmed up from playing. It could possibly help with volleyball who are playing many matches over a short term.

 Every athlete here is extremely competitive and want to contribute when they get a chance. There is a fine line between learning and performing in the matches. Every 6 vs 6 drill has had stats taken. This goes back to the point of trusting our eyes or the stats.  Lupo will be announcing the travelling 12 later this week. This also adds more stress to the week.

Also this week the University of Central Floirida is up here training and playing matches against the B team and scrimmaging with the A girls.  It is a chance for the B girls to wear the Maple Leaf in a competition for the first time.  It is a feeling they will never forget.  A fun side note to this competition is that Central Florida is playing NCAA rules and the B Team is playing FIVB rules.  This is definitely a contrast in styles. I am pretty sure this is the first time a Libero has served in an official match in this gym.