The Fine Line between Good and Mediocre

Had a solid if uninspired 3-0 vs. Samammish to put us nicely in contention to take sole possession of 4th place in KingCo with a win against a struggling Juanita team. They are a team that has lost their coach and although they have a superstar setter and a solid OH, they are not surrounded by much. Sadly, we came out and made the same mistakes that have plagued us for years (and plague many a team, I'm sure). Bad serve receive. Most serves were greeted with a shank or a poor pass to the setter. Our hitters were OK if not a bit inconsistent, but poor passing often resulted in sets that had our gals simply pushing balls over the net, and once JF set to DM it was all over. We came back to win Game 2 in an absolutely awesome OT game where the Kangs finally looked HUNGRY...but it all fell apart in the next 2 games with those unforced errors and weak offense. We really should have won this match and it's probably the most disappointed I've been with the team this season. We beat the Bellevue's and Liberty's and are beat in turn by the MI's and Mt. Si's, which is probably right...and that leaves Interlake and Juanita where we need to win. And we just don't. This team has never won a match we shouldn't have won and that is really frustrating. Oh, Club Volleyball Dad has lots of ideas, but is not one to get involved with coaching suggestions. It seems our philosophy is to play everyone. Juanita runs a 5-1. Just sayin. Doesn't get any easier next week with MI and Interlake...sigh...we just really needed that match last night. I gave up a trip to see a bunch of friends in Denver because of the KingCo playoffs...now I'm not so sure I should have. But as much as I rant in this blog, I don't put it in Maddie's face; I made a conscious effort to not even mention the match to her this morning on the way to school and I could tell from her mood that she would have exploded had I brought it up...so tip to Club Volleyball Parents: sliiiide into game critique conversations. :) Have a nice weekend, everyone.

Bellevue Blowout

I guess tonight I experienced what it's like to be a parent at Mercer Island....blowing out the other team is not really THAT satisfying. This match was so lopsided, it was over before any of the girls even broke a sweat...still, it wraps up a good week for the Kangs and a tough and impressive week for Maddie, who played sick both nights. Dad is proud the way she sucked it up. Had a nice time visiting with a few more Club dads who have DD's on the Bellevue team. I feel for them. Anyway, off to Sammamish on Monday where a win puts us at 3-3 in league...but then away games at Mercer Island and Juanita may bring us back to reality. Good job Kangs; it is important to beat the teams you SHOULD beat and set yourself up to steal one you shouldn't.

Bizzare Doings at Juanita HS

Juanita volleyball coach abruptly fired

Posted by Sandy Ringer

Teena Bambolo was fired as Juanita's head volleyball coach Monday, hours before the Rebels played a KingCo 3A/2A match against Mount Si.
"It was sort of an administrative decision," athletic director Steve Juzeler said Tuesday. "We're not going to give any more information than that. We wish Teena well."
Emily Price, the varsity assistant coach, is serving as interim head coach, according to Juzeler.
Bambolo, who was in her 10th season as head coach, said she was surprised by the abrupt meeting Monday with Juzeler and two other Juanita administrators. She was told her contract was terminated, given a final check (for the entire season) and asked to turn over her facility keys.
"It took all of five minutes," she said. "Ten years, and it took five minutes. They said their decision was final and I didn't get to explain myself. . . . I don't believe I've done anything in my 10 years at Juanita that would warrent termination. What I care about is my name and reputation which right now has been tarnished."
Bambolo is proud of the progress she made with the program, pointing out the team went 0-16 her second year as head coach and last season finished 11-3 in conference play to place second behind unbeaten Mount Si.
Juanita was 2-2 in league play under Bambolo, then Monday lost 3-0 to Mount Si to fall to 2-3. She said she sent a text to players that afternoon wishing them luck in the match and for the rest of the season.
Bambolo didn't want to go into details about the possible reasons for her termination, but did speculate "disgruntled parents" played a role. Plus, a starting player had quit the team last Thursday for what Bambolo described as a "difference in coaching philosophy."
That player returned Monday after Bambolo's termination and played in the final two sets against Mount Si after sitting out the opening set.

Hmmm....

Ups and Downs

Where did the week go? After Wednesday's day of recovery for Maddie and a loss to Mt. Si, the girls played a team from Alaska in a 'friendly' on Thursday. Of course, CVD was waiting for game time over at the Black Raven when the ex calls and says "Oh, the game started at 5:30." So I had another Wisdom Seeker and sulked...but not for long because Saturday was the Jamboree over at Juanita with 16 or so teams from all over competing to see who would be standing at the end of the longest tournament ever! It was like being in Spokane with an hour off then play, then ref, then play, then off for two hours....sadly, Devo was playing at Redhook and I was called away to what turned out to be a great night of 80's new wave in a complete downpour. But in a way, it was more special.

On to last night where we all reconvened at LWHS to welcome Liberty in to the house and catch up with IT teammate Jessica and her cool parents. I sat on the Liberty side, much to the chagrin of the Liberty parents and with Jess' dad watched a very close match that saw each game decided by just a couple of points. Jessica played a nice middle and Liberty won the first game, but in the second and third games, Maddie ran off 10 and 5 serves in a row to help the Kangs win their first league match of the season, 3-1. Maddie had 17 assists in a 6-2, again making me wish for the old 5-1 and a power OH, but it was nice to see a win. Great hustle by the girls after coming out a bit flat. On to Bellevue tomorrow and a hope that we go to 2-3 in league.

Another scare from Maddie yesterday as she woke up with a very sore throat. Some zinc and a pep talk from dad got her through last night, but she digressed over night. Of course, we were worried about strep because she had it last year, but it's just a little inflammation and the doc said she would be good to go tomorrow!

With pal Jessica from Island Thunder and Liberty HS post game:

Getting ready to serve at the 2011 Jamboree:

Be Careful What You Wish For....

Well, they will be running a 5-1 tonight....but only because Maddie has a lateral ligament sprain (knee). Probably not serious but had to miss practice yesterday and therefore the game tonight. The concern is will she be ready for a game on Thursday (non league) and the tournament on Saturday. She tweaked it in PE. PE? Why does someone who practices or plays 5 nights a week on the volleyball team get dumped into PE by the randomness of high school class scheduling? And how does a girl who plays every single point of the entire club season without as much as a headache sprain her knee in gym? So the star OH (ankle) and the star setter have yet to play a point together this year but will get to spend some quality time sitting on the bench catching up. The VB Gods have not been kind in the early part of the season.

Bad Feeling

It's not a good thing to be this bummed out so early in the season, is it? We're 3 matches in and I have seen nothing that leads me to believe we are going to contend in 3A this year at all. We continue to run a 6-2 offense which means Maddie and the other setter are each only setting from the back row. In effect, the best setter is only on the court half the time. You don't see a 6-2 in Club very often because the club wants to put the best product on the court and win games. A 6-2 does not allow the setters to make any lasting in-game connections with the hitters, and it does not allow for a setter to be subbed out if they are struggling. I read the papers and see setters from various schools with 22 assists, 19 assists, 17 assists....these are teams that play the best setter in each game and let her develop that relationship with her hitters. You will never see one of our setters names in the paper. 

Thanks. I feel better. We lost handily to Interlake last night in a match I think we really needed if we were going to compete this year. I'm in a bad mood because it's plain we're NOT ready at all.  Maddie did not have her best game. There are some team chemistry issues developing. I know how I would resolve them. More action tomorrow vs. Mt. Si, then a "friendly" against a team from Alaska, then the 3A Jamboree at Juanita this weekend.

I will either be more hopeful by Saturday night, or my hair will be gone.

Home Opener vs. Mercer Island

A big crowd at LW tonight to see the home opener vs. 9th ranked Mercer Island. I think this group had 7 or 8 girls that played Club this year; we have 4...but don't get me started on how to grow a strong high school program. Played a spirited first game but lost 17-25 but game 2 was a whole different story. Some MI errors and steady play from the Kangs and it was 21-21 late in the game. One rally in particular went on forever with super defensive play and some great setting by Maddie to her OH who went up time and time again only to have it returned....but then, one last perfect set, a well placed spike and it was POINT Kangs who used that momentum to close things out to win Game 2. Of course, games 3 and 4 saw MI back in form and saw us struggle with defense and serving to ultimately lose the match 1-3 and go 0-1 in league play. The outcome was not unexpected; we just don't have elite talent like some of these schools seem to have, but they played well (with again, 2 starters out). I'm a little frustrated with the 6-2 offense which means the best setter is only playing half the time, but I guess our program is more about the experience than trying to win at all costs....which, OK, I get it. Club this is not. We HAVE started a new 'tradition' where our girls give little gifts to the opposing players during the introductions and frankly, it has the parents in a bit of an uproar. I guess it just doesn't strike fear into the hearts of the enemy when you give them a little bag of chocolate kisses. On the other hand, perhaps it's a brilliant strategy to get the girls out of whack and sugared up during the match. 

Big week next week: Away at Interlake and home against Mt. Si...that Interlake game is the one we need to take. Mt. Si is tough and we do not want to start the season 0-3. Maddie and I are pumped about seeing 'Contagion' this weekend and of course it's NFL Kickoff Sunday. Hooray!


Maddie directs traffic vs. Mercer Island

Talking strategy with coach between rotations:

Keep 'em guessing with a back set!:

2011 High School Begins!

Before the season even began, the Kangs suffered a big loss when our number 1 hitter ( and one of Maddie's best friends) crumpled to the floor in practice yesterday; prognosis: sprained ankle-out for a month...half the season. A very bad break. That, coupled with our starting senior Libero out with mono (who catches MONO any more?) had the team emotionally challenged even before the trip to 4A powerhouse Skyline for an opening night non-league match up. As expected, the Kangs were never a threat, but I thought they held their own and lost by about 6-8 points every match. High School seems so 'luck of the draw' sometimes; how does a school like Skyline have 4 girls at 6 feet plus and LW has no one over 5'10"? Height is what killed us tonight...that and mediocre serve receive and serving. But like I said, they hung in there and with the 2 starters out, had an OK match to get the jitters out. Of course, things don't get any easier with the home opener tomorrow night against (3A 9th ranked in the state) Mercer Island, but no one said it would be easy! Some good competition to begin the season and it's not over until the game gets played. Just not a lot of height on this team, but they had moments tonight that were encouraging. Good to reconnect with some of the parents and see Maddie playing in a real game...her first since Club ended in May. Great to be back! Update and pictures post game tomorrow.