Well, we finally were all able to get together and start the trip to Florida. We had tried to put together a couple of practices prior to the pre-tournament camp, but it is amazing how busy everyone is and how impossible it was to have a practice that would accommodate the majority of athletes. From the Reno festival to vacations to simple geographical differences, we opted to wait and get the entire group together rather than work out only parts of the team.

We met at LaSalle High School (thanks again Richard) on Friday the 14^th and held our first of three days of practice. It was obvious from the beginning this group of athletes was good. They stepped in and started working up a good sweat quickly. Patty and I were impressed with their efforts and abilities. The girls started getting to know each other and you could see the group dynamics would be good. That is what I have always loved about the younger age groups, the egos and other intangibles have not quite developed and the kids just act and work like kids. I had to continually remind myself how young this group is (13-14) as they as a whole are taller than my last 18 year old team.

 Practice went well as we worked on basic fundamentals and introduced the offensive and defensive systems we would be using. The girls were quick to grasp the systems and we were able to put them to work doing drills we had planned for the next day. That in of itself was promising.

The second day found us at the Courts in Beaverton (thanks to Steve) where we were the only athletic group in the building, but shared the facility with the set up crew for a concert that evening. The constant work did not distract the girls (well, not very much until the annoying microphone checker started up) and they worked hard. We doubled up that day for a total of 5 hours of hard practice. We watched the team come together more and more as the day went by. The tempo and execution continually improved as the girls learned to work together.

 The last day of practice would tell what we were made of as I arranged for a team of former club and college players to come and scrimmage the HP kids. A couple of my former players wanted to see birth certificates of the team as they could not believe they were only 13/14 year olds. After about an hour of work on our systems, we started the scrimmage. The team responded remarkably. They were not intimidated by the older girls and played virtually head to head with them for a couple of 30 minute sessions. After a water break, we played one game to 25 for the championship of the world (well, maybe not quite that important). We see-sawed back and forth throughout the game and were up 22-18 but could not quite pull out the victory and lost 23-25. We lost by 2 to a group of very good 18 and above athletes, not too bad by my book. The kids cooled off and then we departed the gym for greener pastures.

 Well, greener backyards anyway. We went to the Moritz household (John, Beth and Gabby) to have a barbeque and social to help with the bonding of the team. It also allowed the parents and coaches to become better acquainted. A special thank you to John and Beth for opening your house to the group. We reaffirmed basic travel information with the kids and parents, and left looking forward to the trip on Monday.  Patty and I both felt good about how the team had quickly come together as a group.

 A special thank you to the alternate athletes, Haley and Caitlin. They worked as hard as anyone and would have been valuable contributors to the team had we suffered an injury. Keep working hard girls as you both have unlimited potential as athletes. I hope to see both of you at tryouts next year (HP and Club!)

 Monday!! Travel day!! We all met at the airport and got checked in and through security without a hitch (well, except for me as they couldn’t figure out what my belt buckle was without 4 screenings and going through my bag) We went to the gate and made our way to Denver on time. Denver required moving terminals (of course) and that went surprisingly well. Any time you move a group of teenagers though the airport it is similar to herding cats. Constant surveillance and team uniforms (wearing the HP warm-ups) really helped, along with the extra set of parental eyes. The plane to Ft. Lauderdale was on time and off we went.

 We didn’t land a moment too early (3.5 hours from Denver) as these airplanes are not built for oversized humans. The kids and Patty seemed to be pretty comfortable, but my knees can only stand being pushed into the next seat back for so long. The rental cars were ready for us after a little wait (one person behind the counter for a line that grew as we were checking in) and we had a 5 minute drive to our hotel. Frank, the night manager was an absolute 10. He had everything ready for us and was extremely helpful. We sent the girls off to bed. Our rooms were exactly what we needed for a week stay. AmeriSuites is just that; suites. Fridge, sink, microwave and wireless internet access that actually works are just some of the amenities.

 I sit here at 2 am Florida time and sign off for the night, looking forward to the week. 
Mike and Patty

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

The late night arrival took its toll as the motivation to get out and about was almost non-existent in the morning. We had the girls get up at 830 and eat breakfast at the hotel�s continental breakfast bar. The food was pretty good and only in the south does the basket with the instant oatmeal packets also have the instant grits packages. The girls all came down begrudgingly and ate food, with one thing in mind and that was to go back to the room and take a nap. Patty and I had no problem with that and took our cue from them as we were just as tired.

We reassembled at noon and got ready to go to the convention center. It was located about a half mile from us and took about two minutes to drive there. The convention center shared an access gate with the port and we had to go through security checkpoints run by the Broward County Sheriff's Department. You can never have too much security these days and I guess that is just a sign of the times.

We had a spirited practice and the girls got a chance to become acclimated to the environment. The convention center was nice and air-conditioned so the heat and humidity will not be a factor during the play. After the practice was over, we stopped at the local Publix grocery and stocked up as each room contained the fridge and microwave. Ever taken ten 14  year olds into a grocery store and had them do their own shopping? And then told them to limit the junk, no pop and such? Well, it was quite entertaining to say the least. But, we survived and went back to the hotel to relax for a bit before heading out to dinner.

The front desk told us of an Italian place within walking distance to the hotel. And it was every bit as good as we were told. Small, but the people were nice and quick. The portions were truly Italian as each kid took a box of food back to their room. After putting them into the room, Patty and I had to go to the coach's meeting back at the convention center. We parked across the main street and walked in instead of paying the extortion money they wanted to park in their lot. The meeting was quick (by international standards anyway) and we were out of there.

Tomorrow starts the competition, our first match at 130 pm against the Ohio Valley team. We  follow that up at 830 pm against one of the South Florida teams and finish our pool the next day at 1030 am against a Southern California team. Our playing schedule after that will be determined how we fare in our pool. I have every bit of confidence in these girls and feel they will do just fine here. They seem to be very comfortable with each other and bonding just fine. Well, that's it for now and I look forward to updating you all with the results of tomorrow's matches.

 Live from Florida, Mike and Patty

Wednesday, July 19, 2006 

With no volleyball commitments until 130 this afternoon, we let the ladies sleep in for a bit and met at 9 in the lobby for the continental breakfast. There were many more people this morning as there are several other teams staying in the hotel. Our first match competition was there, a nice group of people from the Ohio Valley Region. We chit-chatted over coffee and waited for the girls to get ready for our first excursion to the beach. The other team was fairly jealous as they had no transportation and were going to and from the convention center via the hotel shuttle. I suppose we could have done this also, but more than a couple of days cooped up with a pack of 13/14 year old girls would surely send me over the edge. So, with my sanity in mind, we all headed to the beach.

 The girls from the west coast were in for a huge surprise as they saw the water; calm seas and bathwater warm. They were somewhat apprehensive about getting in right away after Patty spotted about a 2 foot skate or ray of some kind only a few feet from the shore. We watched it slowly move away, seemingly oblivious to anything else. The girls continued to huddle at the edge and stayed there until I went in and walked about 75 feet out, through 3 foot water to a six-inch deep sand bar and then back to about 3 foot water. They all became brave at that point and left the shore for the tepid water. But, they still stayed huddled together as I guess there is safety in numbers. I didn't have the heart to tell them that they just represented a bigger target for any large predator that passed by.

Pretty soon the girls all started screaming as they were attracting small (3-6 inch) fish that swam around ankles and would "taste" your ankles and shins. No pain or anything like that, but definitely enough to get the girls to provide some good entertainment for me, as I got a kick out of watching them dance around as the fish continued to dart around them. The waves were less than a foot and the remainder of the ocean looked calmer than the Columbia River. No swells, no waves, just lots of flat water. The temperature was quickly rising and the sun was taking a quick toll, so I limited them to an hour today, and we took off (without any whining?) and headed back to the hotel.

We reassembled at 1230 and went to the venue for our first match. We arrived in plenty of time and got warm and were seemingly ready. The Ohio Valley team was fairly impressive during their warm-ups and we settled in for the first of seven matches. (the number 7 is deceptive as the matches are all 3/5 games, which equals out to 10+ matches under our usual 2/3 format) We seemed to be a step slow during the match, and never really got opened up like we did on Sunday against the college girls. The other side executed well and we lost the match in 3 games straight. But, there were many glimpses of how good the team will be, as they got better throughout the match. Learning new players, new coaches, new offensive and defensive systems is a lot, and I still have to constantly remind myself how young these ladies are and how far they have actually come in just 6 days. Club teams have the luxury of months to bond and learn each others traits and tendencies, we only have 10 days. So, the bottom line is: they played well and improved each game, and that is fantastic.

After the game, we went out into the lobby and discussed the match and each player talked about what they had learned about either themselves or about the system. There was good, positive talk and again, 13 and 14 year olds rebound extremely quickly as they were soon talking about the next match and what they could do in the 4 hour period between matches. I just smiled and thought about how carefree kids actually still are. We returned to the hotel and the girls went off in groups to the immediate area to eat and look around. We are lucky in that respect, there are a lot of shops in a new shopping complex that allows the kids to not be completely bored during the down time when we don't really have the time to go on an excursion.

We reassembled at 715 pm for the 830 match. The girls have all been punctual and have usually brought all their gear. We went back to the convention center, walked through the security gate and found our court. We had a few minutes so we went to a different court and watched two of the USA volleyball teams play (16 year olds) to help the team understand where to be and how to get there and be better prepared to pass, set or attack the ball. The teams were very good and held the girls attention until we had to go get warmed up.

The team played much better than this morning, making corrections in positioning and aggressiveness. We scored more points and worked much harder, but were still outgunned a little and once again we lost in three. But, Patty and I both felt much better about the level of play. The girls were not down on themselves as the effort was much better. The parents also commented about the energy level being higher. We will continue to focus on the basics, and have challenged them to cut down on the unforced errors. They have accepted all of our challenges thus far and I don't expect any different response from this one. We have one more match to play in the initial pool play and will hit that in the morning. The remainder of the schedule will be totally dependant upon our finish tomorrow.

Due to the late hour, the girls got to go back to their rooms and hit the hay. There is still a LOT of volleyball left and by the time we are done, they should be clicking really well. I am proud of their play and want all of you who could not be here to know they are working hard and having a good time.

More tomorrow!  Mike and Patty