Extract Heart From Throat

Nothing like starting a Saturday morning with a call from DD: "I hurt my wrist in practice yesterday and the trainer thinks I should go to the doctor." At this point, a million things are zig zagging around my brain; how does a HS trainer know she should go to the doctor? What if she tore a ligament? What kind of doctor do we see on a Saturday? So, profoundly, I say "WHAT?" Thankfully, Maddie's total hatred of anything medical causes her to decide to wait a day and by Sunday, things appear OK. She had it wrapped for today's game and was able to play; starting game 2 in a Kangs 3-1 victory over winless Sammamish....so that's 2 wins over 2 winless teams and all of a sudden we're 2-4 and it feels great to taste victory. For a rebuilding program, a win is a win and the girls know what it feels like to close a match out and go home winners. Pretty good crowd at LW tonight. Because I take lots of pictures and cannot sit still during matches, I usually hang out on the empty side of the gym and my new best friend at the games is the janitor, who I have to admit is pretty enthusiastic about the team. The AD was there too tonight and we're fist bumping and yelling like kids from the sideline with each kill. I hope the program continues to build and we start filling up seats because the girls are gamers and I'm proud of them. Feel good moment of the day was in game 3 where we were down 20-24 and coach subbed Maddie in to serve because she's by far the most consistent server on the team. She got the serve in, and even though they lost that game, she came through under pressure. Good job, #11! Some pics after Wednesday's game; let's keep it going!

In Sickness and in Health

Maddie has been feeling crummy for a couple of weeks now, so the day after a tough loss at Liberty, it was off to the doctor where they confirmed she had strep throat. The good news is that because we waited so long, she is on the way to recovery. (Bad mom and dad for waiting so long) Coach sent her home in a panic from practice yesterday, but I explained that she was no longer communicable and indeed, after 24 hours of antibiotics, she felt better today and suited up against another 0-4 team tonight, Bellevue High. The Kangs took the first 2 and Maddie started game 3 and the gals came from behind to win 25-23 and take their first match. Maddie played with more energy than I've seen this year and there were smiles all around as they got that monkey off their backs. I blew off a team dinner with the CEO at work (funny how your priorities change when you are a club volleyball parent) and I'm glad I did. First match win by LW in 2 years and it was great that the girls tasted victory. This is a good team and I really think they just don't know hOW to win sometimes, so this was step in the right direction. I was especially happy for the seniors who have been losing since they made the team. Good job girls; lets build on this!

Slaughter at the Falls

For those of you who are out of state, I can tell you that the drive from Seattle to the town of Snoqualmie winds through a beautiful rural valley before passing Snoqualmie Falls ( Twin Peaks country) and arriving at the base of Mt. Si, home of the 5th ranked Wildcats. This was the first match where we were just overwhelmed by a bigger, stronger and taller team. They have been to State 3 years running and look like they're on their way again. Maddie started and played OK, but it's tough going up against Juniors and Seniors of that level...but I think it's great for her to see that kind of competition; it will make the U16's in Club look a lot less intimidating.  Four days until the next match so the girls can catch their breaths and get some practice in (they have had one practice in 8 days and 5 matches). Even Club Volleyball Dad can take it easy for a few days and gear up for Monday. Hope all of you have a great weekend, and if you get the chance, go visit Snoqualmie; it's a pretty town. And they have a solid team.

Early Season Ups and Downs

I can't believe how quickly the games are going by! The Kangs made their home debut on Friday and dad was so excited! I wore my #11 Edgar Martinez number, but alas, Maddie was feeling yucky all day and by game time, she had nothing in the tank. Poor girl. She tried to play, but after a couple of points, coach yanked her. We lost a good match to Skyline but the girls won their first game of the year and got that monkey off their backs. Monday rolled around and even though Maddie was pumped full of cold meds, she came off the bench to start the 3rd game and contributed to a solid win against Interlake. She played all of game 4 too, but the Kangs lost another match, 3-1. This team is right on the edge. Two of their middles are hurt, so there has not been much height in front, so everyone is looking forward to their return.

I'm having a good time being the team photographer and have set up a website so all the girls can access the pictures and Maddie says they are all loving the fact they can post their images on Facebook. Good bunch of girls and solid parents. After tomorrow's game at Mt. Si, they will have played 5 matches in 7 days, so there may be a little burnout going on. I think they are all looking forward to catching their collective breaths!

@ Mercer Island

Proud day for Club Volleyball Dad as Maddie was the starting RS Hitter for the Kangs @ Mercer Island in the first game of her high school career. Maddie said her hands were shaking every moment she was in there, but I thought she played really well for her first game and I thought the team played well too, even though we lost 3 straight to a solid MI team. TALL front line blocked the heck out of us! I think it was 20-25, 18-25 and 21-25 so they really stayed in the games the whole time. This is a team that did not win a single match during 2009, so I came away impressed with how well the coach has the team playing. I spent the match as I always do; away from everyone and living and dying with each serve, but I kept busy taking pictures and not fretting too much that I was missing the NFL opener. And how cool that another blog fan was nice enough to introduce herself! I feel like the guy that ratted out Nixon, just substitute "Are you deepthroat?" with "Are you Club Volleyball Dad?" That will be me: the guy in the purple hat taking pictures and popping blood pressure pills every time a serve goes into the net or over the back line. Right back at it tomorrow at our new gym vs. Skyline!

High School Volleyball: Jamboree

The official start to High School Volleyball kicked off yesterday afternoon with the 3A and 4A Jamboree which was held this year at Juanita High. I love Juanita High for 2 reasons: 5 minutes from the house and it's enormous. Four courts with plenty of room so you get no stray balls flying into the court. While the games were fun, the big story of the night was Club Volleyball Dad making his LINE JUDGE debut, flags and all. Maddie had a teammate tell her "Wow, your dad is really into it!" I'm pretty sure I looked darn competent out there and there were no controversial calls that left me looking like an idiot. The most difficult part was tempering my enthusiasm when the Kangs scored.

OK, back to the games! Maddie started on the right side and dad was very proud to see her out there with all the 16 and 17 year olds and she completely held her own. Lost the first match to a strong Mercer Island team but rebounded nicely against Bellevue with a solid win. Lost tough matches to Juanita and Redmond (4A) but then had a solid win against Roosevelt (4A). Finished up with a loss against Woodinville (4A) where we fell behind early, tied it up at 18 but then wilted under a strong service run. So, 2-4 with a couple of the losses against 4A teams. We need some work on passing and strongside hitting, but I thought the girls played with spirit. It may be an up and down year, but this has been a downtrodden program that a new coach is trying to build and I think she's doing a good job.

Opening day at Mercer Island tomorrow, Skyline at home in the new gym on Friday, helping out at the JV Jamboree on Saturday, and games Monday and Wednesday next week. I'm exhausted already. Special thanks to Woodinville Volleyball Mom who came up and introduced herself at the Jamboree. So glad you enjoy following the blog; I wish we could have spoken a bit longer! Go Woodinville!

Happy Labor Day, Club Volleyball Family!

As we head into Labor Day weekend, the first week of school and practices are about done. Maddie is absolutely loving it, practices are going great, and the big Jamboree is on Tuesday afternoon at Juanita HS. Is was supposed to be at Kangaroo High in our nice new gym, but I think the rain this week put things behind schedule because there is still limited parking and just GETTING to the gym is like going through a maze. I was signed up to be a line judge and everything! I guess we will host next year, and heck, JHS is 2 minutes from the house. Here are the schools in our 3A league:

Lake Washington
Bellevue
Liberty
Sammamish
Mt. Si
Mercer Island
Juanita
Interlake

Good group! I'd really be worried if this was football. If you have a DD participating in Jamboree, come find me and hello. I'll be the Kangaroo fan taking pictures and wearing a purple ball cap. Have a great Labor Day weekend!

College Volleyball Marathon

When your DD has the fever, feed it. Begging me to skip the Mariners game and eat $40 worth of tickets (ultimately a good request as the Mariners crawled weakly to a 1-0 defeat) Maddie asked if we could PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE drive the 90 minutes up I-5 to see Western Washington University scrimmage against Fresno Pacific. And when your DD just made varsity, walks around the house holding a volleyball, practices her approach in the parking lot at Safeway, and regularly chats via Facebook with members of both the Vikings and the Huskies, what do you say? You say LET'S GO! WWU does indeed have a beautiful campus, and even though the gym was built about 60 years ago, there's a good vibe there. We enjoyed the scrimmage, Maddie got to spend a couple of minutes with her friend on the team, and she showed dad around the campus (she was there for a camp this summer).

Of course, by this time, dad was famished, so off we went to Skagit Brewing for some wings and a nice IPA on the deck. Maddie had neither wings OR IPA in case you were wondering. And it was there, basking in the glow of fresh hops that Maddie suggested we head straight to UW to catch the 7 pm match against Eastern. My response: LETS GO! So there we were in Section 10 watching the Huskies and Maddie's pal Jenna Haglund dismantle the Eagles in 3 straight. Back across the bridge and home watching preseason games on the DVR by 9. What a day. Good call, DD. Feed the fever.

Reaching Her Goal

Maddie. Starting Right Side Hitter for the Varsity at Kangaroo High. Sounds good! She was all smiles when we showed up for the HS Parents and Sports night. Coach had not named the team until the end of practice tonight. 15 person squad and DD is one of only 3 sophomores to make Varsity. So, all is happy tonight. I think it's a great opportunity for her to work every day with girls older than she is and get some good competition on game days. Really like what our new coach is bringing to the program; lots of parents are going to be involved with different things...I wanted to be the Hair Ribbon Coordinator, but finally offered to help take and coordinate pictures (which I love doing anyway) and even signed up to be a line judge at the big all conference Jamboree on the 7th. She really worked hard all summer to improve her volleyball skills and I'm very gratified that she has learned that hard work often pays off. She says her new goal is to keep that starting position. Looking forward to competition! My Mondays and Wednesdays are booked for the next 2 months. :)

High School Tryouts 2

Thanks to all who post comments! I love reading about what other folks have to say. Keep sharing! Day 2 of tryouts and Maddie is having a great time getting into the whole volleyball thing again. Kangaroo High has a beautiful brand new gym and I'm looking forward to that first real match. Mads is basically switching from setter to opposite so it will be fun to watch her grow in that position. Squads named on Thursday so next post then! Interesting comment about the politics of HS...I can see where being a senior and not making varsity might take the wind out of some girls. Only about 30 girls trying out split evenly among the 3 grades...will be interesting to see if what the coach said at the parents meeting (that the squads will be picked based on tryouts, not grades) will remain true or whether the pressure of making sure lots of seniors make varsity will win out. I don't envy her. They wanted to run 3 teams so no one gets cut, but not sure how that will work without 40 girls trying out, Maybe 15 person teams? Of course, that means lots of girls would sit on game day. Tough choices in the next 48 hours!

High School Volleyball Dad

Boy...the summer flew by! For the next couple of months it's club tryouts practice aka High School Volleyball! I enjoy watching Maddie compete at all levels and have to admit I'm looking forward to watching her as she begins her sophomore year. New coach, new gym and new energy at Kangaroo HS this year and tryouts start Monday! I DO find it amusing that Club teams choose their squads based on on a 2 hour tryout and HS takes 3 DAYS (10+ hours!). I will give it to Maddie; she worked hard this summer and is ready to compete, so to her and all of your DD's getting ready to go through the same thing, I say "go get 'em!"

UW Camp II

Just wrapped up the last day of the camp....well worth the money and time. Kate...oh to heck with Kate, her name is Maddie. Maddie had a wonderful time. They had a great turnout and Jim Mclaughlin (he is the coach of the Huskies) and the staff spent alot of time talking about competing and practicing and making good choices, both on and off the court.

Maddie also enjoyed the week because she was paired up all week with Jenna Hagglund, the All PAC-10 setter from the Huskies and one of Maddie's role models. Maddie got lots of one on one setting time with Jenna:

Today was a half day round robin tourney at Hec Ed so I ditched work to watch. Maddie and Jenna's team won their pool and Maddie was the only setter so she played every point. Every DD, every staff member and every parent I saw there seemed to be having a great time. They gave each girl a new Husky volleyball at the end and Maddie had all the Huskies and Jim sign it...what a cool keepsake for her volleyball shelf!

So now a bit of a break...she mainly set this week but the plan is still to make Varsity at LW as an Opposite this year....next post will probably be around HS tryouts, so everyone have a great summer!

Maddie and Jenna:

UW Camp

Day One of the UW Camp left Kate with lots of smiles. She said she recognized quite a few DD's and that they are showing girls the fundamentals of the Jim Mclaughlin way and that she is loving every second of it. Each group is assigned a Husky player and Kate is in Jenna Hagglund's group. Jenna is the UW setter and Kate has chatted with her via Facebook before and when Kate mentioned her last name she said "You're Katie!" and much happiness ensued. Dad is looking forward to the Thursday afternoon scrimmages.

Change of Position?

Kate traveled up to Bellingham with 14 other girls who will be trying out for her HS team and spent 4 days up there living and breathing volleyball. Except for Kate and another girl, they were all juniors and seniors along with the coach. She had a GREAT time and came back ready to sign up for WWU on the spot! Several of the WWU players were part of the camp and Kate has already started chatting with them via email. I've been really impressed that those young ladies will take the time to offer advice etc.; kind of refreshing that they are so accessible. Kate's HS team has several returning setters and her coach asked her to begin working out as the right side hitter and backup setter...she even played a little middle. Kate is very excited about this new challenge and she seems to have a renewed sense of desire to make varsity as a sophomore. I'm happy too; she's a good athlete and being able to play multiple positions seems like it couldn't hurt moving forward. She has a very good relationship with the coach, who was also her Jr. High coach and accepted the position to coach the new HS team.

This week she will be attending the UW camp and getting in a few optional HS practices before the 'dead' time prior to tryouts....then a tune up with a local club coach and some of her Moxie teammates and then summer will be wrapping up Seemed alot longer when I was a kid! Would love to hear comments about DD's that switched positions; how did it work out?

Club Volleyball: A Busy Summer

It appears summer will finally come to the Northwest this week and Kate is busy busy busy with volleyball.  A new coach at the high school this year has vowed to bring the program up to par with others, so that, coupled with a move to 3A should help us be more competitive. She let the girls know that everyone is starting from scratch so I hope she goes out and competes like mad. There is a reluctance to compete with her friends and even though I've explained that her friends will have no problem competing with her, she seems hesitant to be anything but deferential to the older setters. Only a sophomore next year, but this is a team that failed to win one match last year, so I believe Coach when she says its an open competition. Go earn a starter spot, Kate. From weekly open gym sessions to a week being coached by a local club coach at the house of one of her Moxie friends, she's staying busy. I love that she is now meeting up with girls on the HS team to go play sand volleyball on Lake Washington. This week she also heads to WWU for a team camp, and the UW camp is coming up fast. I'll have to admit that I'm already looking forward to the school season and moving into Club come December...though I'm not in any hurry for the nice weather to disappear. What are YOUR DD's up to this summer?

A Day at the Beach

Lovely day out at Alki Beach yesterday where Northwest Juniors put on a nice clinic for girls wanting to experience beach volleyball. As it rained all day Friday, we were a little nervous, but Saturday dawned bright and blue with huge white clouds piled up at the Olympics. One forgets how beautiful it is over on Alki on a sunny day; the view east to the skyline was great! There were about 50 girls of all ages and they broke them out into groups of 8; Kate got to play with a couple of her club volleyball friends that had signed up too. Alki was bustling and the girls spent the whole day learning the ins and outs of playing on sand while I had some scallops and fries and caught up with some of the moms. I will say that the whole thing was very well run and everyone seemed to have a great day. Kate woke up this morning and said "I'm sore AND sunburned...but if feels good."

Club Volleyball Camp Tryouts

I have to admit that I'm still coming to grips with the end of the Club season. That first Thursday after the last match found Kate and I realizing that we didn't have anyplace to be. Nice. Sad.

We went down to Fife HS on Saturday to try out for a camp. Now, never in my life did I think I would ever be involved in a process where you had to try out to go to a summer camp, but there we were. We didn't go so much because we thought we had a shot to be one of six of the 20+ setters that tried out, we went because for $35 it was a solid 3 hours of volleyball and competition. Kate hadn't played for 3 weeks and half the girls were a year older than she was and it showed, but the coaches must have better minds because it sure didn't look to me like anyone there stood out above anyone else. A little disappointment of not being at that level, but I'm starting to think that Kate is going to be pretty happy just playing, not giving up everything to be the best. And that is very OK.

Next up: a beach VB clinic over at Alki. Pray for sun and dry sand.

Club Volleyball: Wrapping Up Year One

Year one is in the books and it was quite a journey. It literally seems like yesterday that Kate was attending tryouts and deciding what position she wanted to play. In a way, we were lucky to get an offer from our club but even luckier that we had some parents and a coach who was willing to join Power League and sign up for some additional tournaments that they had not historically signed up for. It was a team a bit short on talent but long on enthusiasm and heart. That made for some frustrating matches, and after not winning a single match during day one of the Regionals, things looked bleak. But just like they have done several times this year, they stepped it up, won their Sunday rematch with High Velocity and played Bainbridge to win the Sunday pool. They lost that one but ended up 32nd in Regionals which I'd say was something to be proud of for this club. Some ups and downs from our first year in club volleyball:

Downs: The club does not have strong management. It seemed to be a struggle all year to get us registered for tournaments and there seemed to be a lack of communication on a club level throughout. The website is rarely updated (maybe the same folks that manage our website manage the Puget Sound Region site!) and there was never any news we could follow about the other age groups, etc. There was never a time when the U16 coaches payed attention to the U15 club nor did they come over and say they hoped the girls tried out next year, etc. I really felt like our U15's were on an island within the club. They won't ever be an elite club until they get their act together.

The Club scene: As much as I want Kate to be on a great team and play in college, I'm starting to wonder if the costs outweigh the benefits. We live on the East Side and so our choice of clubs is limited. As good as Kate is, she's not a 6'2" hitter or a left handed setter that puts everything on the hitter's hands. As both of us parents work, we're not going to run her to Kent or Seattle or Everett 3 times a week just to be on a better team. Unless you are on Capital Ice or SI and routinely compete at national tournaments, will your child really stand out to coaches? If Kate wants to play college locally, what is the benefit for spending thousands of dollars to go with a team that plays in Phoenix or Anaheim in June? (These are rhetorical questions; chime in with opinions!) I guess I want Kate to just enjoy her club volleyball experience without the pressure of having to maneuver and scheme and sacrifice everything to get a chance to play at some place like Fresno State. If your DD is elite, she will be recruited. 

Ups: What a great bunch of girls this region has produced. For the most part, I saw happy girls and parents at all the tournaments. There will always be some idiot parents, but for the most part, people were polite, the girls and teams exhibited good sportsmanship and everyone seemed to have a good time.

Our club: Like I said, a little short on talent, but a nicer group of girls and parents you will never find. The tourneys were well attended, the food plentiful, communication was solid...now if we only had some hitters and defense!

Kate's summer is filled with camps (UW, Western HP- if she makes it, High School, Beach and some skills tuneup prior to high school tryouts.) Add in some camping, a week in LA with dad, Oregon with grandma... and the calendar is full!

It's been fun writing in the blog this season and I'll add to it periodically throughout the summer. I hope all your DD's had a fulfilling season.

Club Volleyball: Horror and Pride

It's  just another game in a long day of action and breaks. Some emotions are beginning to percolate as the team has struggled and she's missed some balls. Kate's in the back row and goes low to dig out a serve.  But her knee crumples and she goes down like a rock. I know something's wrong and I begin to move towards her. But the play is still going on and I can only watch from the sideline as she struggles to get up then collapses again in tears. As a parent, you've probably all been there. Time slows down and this focus to comfort your kid takes over. I got to her in seconds and just told her to takes some breaths and sit there for a moment with me. As someone who has seen a lot of athletes go down with a knee injury I see the rest of the season and the summer flash before my eyes for her sake. She is still crying but I know these tears and they're more tears of frustration than pain. I tell her we're going to get up and get over to the sideline, but she pushes me aside and says she's fine. I help her up and she limps to base and growls an "I'm fine" through the tears which continued to flow for the next several minutes. Her teammates were considerate and supportive and she went through the rest of the game in a kind of fog, but soon enough things began to feel normal and by the afternoon pool she was her regular self.

The whole incident lasted less that 10 minutes and I went from the numb horror of seeing my little girl hurt, to the pride of seeing her bounce back. I've always been the dad who says "shake it off" when she gets dinged up. I wanted her to know that athletes have to fight through things when they don't feel well. Today's collapse wasn't something I thought she'd be able to shake off, but she did. In a big way. Something clicked in her today; a tenaciousness and spirit that fully emerged. She started today as a 14 year old who plays volleyball. She left that gym today a warrior.

So Long, Power League, Hello Tulips

The final Power League event was Sunday and will always be remembered fondly for being held at Juanita HS, which isn't the BEST venue for watching, but is only minutes away and therefore my favorite place of all time. :) The girls, minus both the other setter and the number 3 setter, PLUS one of our outside hitters, struggled with serve receive but played gamely. Just too many holes on this squad.

This Sunday will find us up among the tulips in Mt. Vernon in a U16 tournament which will be a real test, to say the least. However, I will take Skagit Brewing over The Ram in Tacoma any day. All tournaments should be judged on the quality of the brewpubs nearby. Just don't tell the DDs!