January 01, 2004Volleyball Blog Archives |
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Is Stretching Bad?I am not debating what anyone has said here, but playing all day in a tournament gets the muscles worn out. Does anybody think (or know) that not stretching these muscles after such an event can cause muscles to get tight and leave chance for injury in the long run. Not sretching after a long day over and over causes you to lose flexibility right? Therefore making it easier to pull a muscle?? Overstretching bad I agree, warming muscles up is very important yes. But after a hard work out on the court I think stretching is still important. Being only 19 and tryign out for a team we had 3 a day practices and thought I did not need to stretch that much. By the end of the 2nd day my muscles were so tight I could not even walk right. I spent the rest of the tryouts trying to stretch them out so I could get some kind fo vertical and movement. I wasn't in my best shape but I was still in very good shape because I knew tryouts were going to be hard. So it can't be blamed on that. It was from not stretching afterwards!09:36 PM # The International 4-2Where to start??? A “4-2” is an offensive system. In an offensive systems, the first number referes to the number of hitters and the second number referes to the number of setters. In a “4-2” or “4-2 I” you have two setters and they will set when they are in the front row and will have two front row hitters to set. In the “4-2” the setter sets from the middle front position with a hitter on either side. In a “4-2 I” the setter sets from the right front position and has two front row hitters, a middle and a left side (outside). As for the specialization that your book spoke about, it might have been in this context. The simplest way to play volleyball is with the “center set”, where each person has to do each job when they are in that position and when they are in the middle front, they are the setter. So that if we started playing and you were in the left front position, you would do the job of the outside hitter, when we rotated, you would now be in the middle front and you would do the job of setter while you were there, when we rotated again you would now be in right front and you would do the job of the right side (opposite) while you were there. The same would be true for the back row. As you move into offensive systems, starting with the “4-2” you begin to introduce the concept of specialized positions. In this case, two players are setters, and no matter where they are in the front row, they will be the setter and will do it from the middle in a “4-2” or the right side in the “4-2 I”. In these systems, hitters are also made either a left side, middle or right side and that is where they hit from when they are in the front row. This means that players have to “switch” after the ball is served to get to the right spots. When you are serving the switching is easy. When you serve receive, your hitters usually hit the first ball from where they are lined up in serve receive or “rotational base”, then switch to their “offernsive/defensive base” after the ball goes to the other side. In this way, players become specialized and can focus on one specific job in the front row. The same is true for the back row. Players often play backrow defense in a specific position and switch to that spot in the backrow no matter where they are in “rotational base” once the ball is on the other side of the net. Setters usually play right back because that is where they would play in more advanced systems. Left side hitters usually play left side defense and middles, middle back. This is by no means a hard and fast rule but it is very common. Although we all want well rounded players, volleyball is a very complex, cooperative sport and specialization allows players to focus on one offensive and one defensive position and hopefully get good at it. Would you make a kid be a shortstop on one play then first baseman on the next, then catcher, then pitcher? Would you want to have you kid asked to be the guard then the forward then the center, then power forward? Just as with any other sport, there are physical, mental, experiential, attitude, personality and personnel consideration that go into determining what position a player will play in any given situation. I hope this helps Coach Gayle Yankee08:25 AM # Stretch or Not?So, do junior-high kids (10-14 years) need to stretch before practice and games? Normally, we only get 1.5 hours a week to practice. When 10 or 15 minutes of that time (15%) is spent stretching, it had better be darn important. Not to mention, none of them do it right anyway and, as a 36 year old male, I don't feel like I have the knowledge to tell 13 year-old girls about their bodies. Plus, stretch-time is usually just a gossip-fest. Can I just tell them to do it on their own before practice? Am I terrible?09:07 AM # "No one likes to play & lose when your teammates could have possibly won the match. "This is exactly why I say that subs SHOULD be made when the starters aren't getting the job done. Your sub just might be the one to make the difference and your starter should be constantly be challenged to prove themselves in the position. I believe our starters became complacent, believing that no matter how sloppy they played, they "owned" the position and would start again in the next match. Sadly our coach perpetuated this behavior by never giving anyone else a chance.05:26 AM # Help a New CoachFrom the forums, "I am a new coach to the world of volleyball. I have coach track for 4 yrs and x-country 2yrs and have been in vb for less than 2 months now. I took the job because no one else applied and a coach was needed. I want to thank Scott for this website and anyone else that that has taken the time to put information out for the world to see. I didn't know much about the sport of vb except for the old pe days 25 yrs ago. Things have changed since than. Just get the ball over the net doesn't work anymore. I have enjoyed the ride so far, but things are going to get interesting in the next few days. Jan 13 is out first match. I guess the real object of all the practices and studing will come to life. The critisism (good or bad) of the home town fans and players will come to light. I had never wanted to coach a team sport where opinions of one player is better than another mattered. Wish me luck. Have a good day. "10:11 PM # Stanley Keeps USA Men Perfect at NORCECA Olympic QualifierFor Immediate Release Jan. 8, 2004 CAGUAS, Puerto Rico – On Tuesday night it was feared that Clay Stanley fractured the pinky finger on his left hand. On Thursday night Stanley broke Puerto Rico’s defense. Stanley (Honolulu, Hawaii), who “only” dislocated his finger, scored a match-high 18 points as the USA men's national volleyball team finished the round-robin portion of the NORCECA Olympic Qualifying Tournament with a 3-0 win over Puerto Rico. With the 25-18, 25-17, 25-17 victory, Team USA improved its record to 4-0 at the tournament and tuned up for Friday night’s semifinals, in which it will be the No. 1 seed. In Thursday night’s first match, Cuba defeated Mexico, 3-1, to clinch the second seed for the semifinals. Puerto Rico will be the No. 3 seed while Canada, which had the night off, secured the fourth and final seed with Mexico’s loss. The United States will play Canada and Cuba will take on Puerto Rico in Friday night’s semifinals. The gold-medal match is Saturday, Jan. 10. The tournament champion qualifies for the 2004 Olympic Games later this summer in Athens, Greece. The Americans’ semifinal against Canada will be a rematch of the 2003 NORCECA Championship gold-medal match, won by the USA, 3-1, on Sept. 30. By finishing first and second at that tournament, both teams represented the NORCECA zone at the first Olympic qualifier of the quadrennial, the World Cup in Japan. The United States finished in fourth place with an 8-3 record, while Canada placed seventh with a record of 5-6. The top three teams (Brazil, Italy and Serbia and Montenegro) earned the first three tickets to Athens. After injuring the pinky finger on his non-hitting left hand in the first set of Team USA’s 3-1 win over Cuba on Tuesday night, Stanley—the Most Valuable Player of the NORCECA Championship—entered Wednesday’s 3-0 win over Canada for one serve. He returned to the court full-time on Thursday night and did not miss a beat, posting 12 kills, five aces and one block. Reid Priddy (Richmond, Va.) scored six points while Ryan Millar (Palmdale, Calif.), Riley Salmon (League City, Texas) and Mac Wilson (Palmdale, Calif.) posted five points apiece for the United States. USA libero Erik Sullivan (Encinitas, Calif.) added a match-high 13 digs. Setter Lloy Ball (Woodburn, Ind.) and opposite Brook Billings (Santa Barbara, Calif.) were given the night off while middle blocker Tom Hoff (Park Ridge, Ill.) and outside hitter Gabe Gardner (San Clemente, Calif.) played just one set each. Hector Soto scored a team-high nine points on seven kills, one block and one service ace to lead Puerto Rico. NORCECA OLYMPIC QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT Standings 1-USA (4-0) 2-Cuba (3-1) 3-Puerto Rico (1-3) 4-Canada (1-3) 5-Mexico (1-3) Note: Top four teams advance to semifinals USA Schedule/Results Monday, Jan. 5, 2004 USA def. Mexico, 3-0 (28-26, 25-14, 25-16) Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2004 USA def. Cuba, 3-1 (25-16, 25-21, 23-25, 25-22) Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2004 USA def. Canada, 3-0 (27-25, 30-28, 25-21) Thursday, Jan. 8, 2004 USA def. Puerto Rico, 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-17) Friday, Jan. 9, 2004 Semifinals No. 1 USA vs. No. 4 Canada No. 2 Cuba vs. No. 3 Puerto Rico Saturday, Jan. 10, 2004 Bronze Medal Match Gold Medal Match ________________________________________ Paul Soriano Manager, Media Relations & Publications USA Volleyball 715 South Circle Drive Colorado Springs, CO 80910 Tel: (719) 228-6800 Fax: (719) 228-6899 paul.soriano@usav.org www.usavolleyball.org Get in the Rotation! Subscribe to the free USA Volleyball e-newsletter at: http://www.usavolleyball.org/news/email.asp05:21 AM # USA Men Clinch No. 1 Seed for NORCECA Olympic Qualifier SemifinalsFor Immediate Release Jan. 8, 2004 CAGUAS, Puerto Rico – The USA men's national volleyball team clinched the No. 1 seed for the NORCECA Olympic Qualifying Tournament semifinals after sweeping Canada Wednesday night. Brook Billings scored a match-high 15 points to lead four players in double figures in the 27-25, 30-28, 25-21 victory that improved Team USA to 3-0 in the five-team tournament. The top four teams at the end of the round-robin portion of the tournament advance to the semifinals on Friday, Jan. 9. The gold-medal match is Saturday, Jan. 10. The tournament champion qualifies for the 2004 Olympic Games later this summer in Athens, Greece. Billings (Santa Barbara, Calif.) blasted 14 kills with one block and 11 digs as the United States moved a step closer to reserving a spot in the 12-team Olympic field. Team USA narrowly missed out on qualifying back in November 2003 when it finished fourth at the first Olympic qualifier, the World Cup in Japan. The top three World Cup finishers—Brazil, Italy and Serbia and Montenegro—all qualified. Reid Priddy scored 13 points, Gabe Gardner tallied 12 points and Tom Hoff added 10 points for the United States, which plays Puerto Rico in the final match of round-robin play Thursday night. Priddy (Richmond, Va.) had 10 kills, three blocks and eight digs, Gardner (San Clemente, Calif.) added 10 kills, one block, one service ace and eight digs and Hoff (Park Ridge, Ill.) chipped in with seven kills, three blocks and a perfect hitting percentage of 1.000. Regardless of the result of Thursday’s match, Team USA has clinched the top spot for the semifinals based on its perfect record and the tiebreakers in place. In addition to the win and the No. 1 seed, the team received more good news Wednesday when it was announced that opposite Clay Stanley (Honolulu, Hawaii) suffered only a dislocation of the pinky finger on his left (non-hitting) hand in Tuesday night’s win over Cuba. It was initially feared that Stanley sustained a fracture of the finger. “He warmed up (Wednesday) and felt good,” said Team USA head coach Doug Beal. “Clay only came in to serve against Canada; he did fine and hit one ball. We will see if he can do more (Thursday). The real test will be if he can block. We are hopeful he will be able to play before the tournament is over. We are surely a better team with both Clay and Brook available.” Paul Duerden scored a team-high 13 points on 12 kills and one service ace to lead Canada, which finished round-robin action with a record of 1-3. In other action Wednesday night, Cuba defeated Puerto Rico, 3-1 (25-18, 17-25, 25-19, 25-23) to improve to 2-1. NORCECA OLYMPIC QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT Standings USA (3-0) Cuba (2-1) Puerto Rico (1-2) Mexico (1-2) Canada (1-3) USA Schedule/Results Monday, Jan. 5, 2004 USA def. Mexico, 3-0 (28-26, 25-14, 25-16) Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2004 USA def. Cuba, 3-1 (25-16, 25-21, 23-25, 25-22) Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2004 USA def. Canada, 3-0 (27-25, 30-28, 25-21) Thursday, Jan. 8, 2004 Puerto Rico vs. USA Friday, Jan. 9, 2004 Semifinals No. 1 Seed vs. No. 4 Seed No. 2 Seed vs. No. 3 Seed Saturday, Jan. 10, 2004 Bronze Medal Match Gold Medal Match ________________________________________ Paul Soriano Manager, Media Relations & Publications USA Volleyball 715 South Circle Drive Colorado Springs, CO 80910 Tel: (719) 228-6800 Fax: (719) 228-6899 paul.soriano@usav.org www.usavolleyball.org Get in the Rotation! Subscribe to the free USA Volleyball e-newsletter at http://www.usavolleyball.org/freenewsletter/default.asp10:19 PM # USA Men Improve to 2-0 at NORCECA Olympic QualifierFor Immediate Release Jan. 6, 2004 CAGUAS, Puerto Rico – Brook Billings scored a team-high 17 points to lead four players in double figures as the USA men’s national volleyball team defeated Cuba, 3-1, in a battle of unbeaten teams at the NORCECA Olympic Qualifying Tournament Tuesday night. Billings (Santa Barbara, Calif.) had 16 kills and one block in the 25-16, 25-21, 23-25, 25-22 victory for Team USA, which improved to 2-0 in the five-team tournament. Cuba dropped to 1-1. The top four teams at the end of the round-robin portion of the tournament advance to the semifinals on Friday, Jan. 9. The gold-medal match is Saturday, Jan. 10. The tournament champion qualifies for the 2004 Olympic Games later this summer in Athens, Greece. Riley Salmon (League City, Texas) and Ryan Millar (Palmdale, Calif.) each scored 12 points in the win for the United States, while Tom Hoff (Park Ridge, Ill.) added 11 points. Salmon had 12 kills, Millar had eight kills and four blocks and Hoff posted seven kills and four blocks in the win for the Americans. Dave McKienzie (Littleton, Colo.) chipped in with seven points on five kills and two blocks while Lloy Ball (Woodburn, Ind.) and Gabe Gardner (San Clemente, Calif.) tallied four points apiece to cap the scoring for Team USA. Tomas Aldazabal scored a match-high 20 points on 19 kills and one block to lead Cuba. In other action Tuesday night, Canada defeated Mexico, 3-1. NORCECA OLYMPIC QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT Standings USA (2-0) Cuba (1-1) Puerto Rico (1-1) Mexico (1-2) Canada (1-2) USA Schedule/Results Monday, Jan. 5, 2004 USA def. Mexico, 3-0 (28-26, 25-14, 25-16) Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2004 USA def. Cuba, 3-1 (25-16, 25-21, 23-25, 25-22) Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2004 Canada vs. USA Thursday, Jan. 8, 2004 Puerto Rico vs. USA Friday, Jan. 9, 2004 Semifinals No. 1 Seed vs. No. 4 Seed No. 2 Seed vs. No. 3 Seed Saturday, Jan. 10, 2004 Bronze Medal Match Gold Medal Match ________________________________________ Paul Soriano Manager, Media Relations & Publications USA Volleyball 715 South Circle Drive Colorado Springs, CO 80910 Tel: (719) 228-6800 Fax: (719) 228-6899 paul.soriano@usav.org www.usavolleyball.org Get in the Rotation! Subscribe to the free USA Volleyball e-newsletter at: http://www.usavolleyball.org/news/email.asp09:57 PM # Too Short to Play at College?A 5'4" setter/defensive specialists wonders if she has any chance of gettng recruited. Tom Houser answers with some great advice.01:28 PM # |
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