Last modified on 05-12-2007.
Adults: 2000 USAV Nationals -- From Our Teams' Perspective
The following articles were submitted by various GEVA teams that participated at the 2000 Open National Volleyball Championships in Columbus, OH.
The Beach Bums were ready for Ohio. All season long we had a strong team and were preparing for Nationals, with two things in mind - win and have fun.
This was to be our best year ever. We went out there with high hopes and expectations. We had practiced and played hard with the goal of winning the gold in the Women's BB Division. With sponsor in tow (Bio-Form USA, who supplied us with uniforms and nutritional supplements that really seemed to build stamina and energy for us) we were off to Ohio. Columbus was a pleasant surprise- a beautiful town with plenty of good restaurants and bars.
We started our tournament on Wednesday and finished pool play on Thursday. Although we did not play our best in pool play we went undefeated and were seeded #1 in the Gold division- what a great feeling!
The first day of pool play in the Gold division we had a bye for our first match. All we had to do was win 4 more matches and we'd be in the finals. Our first 3 matches were tougher than we were used to in pool play, but we picked up our game and did our jobs. We felt like that was the best volleyball we had played all season. Everything seemed to click. One more match and we'd be in the finals. By the time our 4th match came around, we were exhausted and it just so happens that we have to play a team similar to Synchronicity. If you don't know who that is, let me help you out - NOTHING HITS THE FLOOR. This team, Coaches Club from Chicago, (who eventually won the Gold division) was digging everything. They were a wise and experienced team. After playing several younger, more athletic teams earlier in the day we felt good about going into the match. Maybe a little too good because they dug everything we had to give and gave it back even though we were all feeling the wear and tear of playing all day, three days in a row. Unfortunately, we couldn't pull it out and lost the match. But we still had hopes; even though we were in the loser's bracket, we only had to win one more match to make it back to the finals.
Unfortunately, we couldn't win that last match. Mentally we did not have it anymore. We lost our next match and finished 3rd overall. This is the best finish yet for the Beach Bums.
Unfortunately we didn't get to watch Synchronicity win the Silver division (Yea Synchronicity!!!) but we did get to cheer East Shore I on as they fought their way (they played some great matches) to second place in the Men's BB Gold Division. Even though we didn't reach our ultimate goal, we feel good about how hard we played and are proud to be a part of the extremely strong showing GEVA teams made at Nationals this year!!!
In the past year, the 16-1 team from Creole Big Apple, coached by Steve
Henry, won the Regional Championships, granting them a spot in the 2000
Junior Olympics. This year, the monumental event took place in Louisville,
Kentucky. We played many matches and had a beneficial experience, for we
learned a lot. For Katie Lux and Jocelyn Greenwald, this was their first
year there. Nicole Hill, Tiffany Wos, Dara Pallato, and Kerri Weinstein have
each been there twice, while this was the third year for Jacquie Wicks, Allie
Sedlik, and me, Emily Paul. However, no matter how many times one goes, it
is a different experience each time and that experience will stay with you
forever. Whether it be the chance to travel the country, play the sport we
love, and face some of the fiercest competition we've scene, it was truly
memorable. Another perk was seeing the United States and Australia Women's
Olympic Teams play. Watching accomplished women living our dream, is
something we will never forget.
This concludes our 2000 Junior Olympic summary. Thank you for granting us
the chance to have been there.
Once again, Nationals was all it was hyped up to be - watching world class volleyball players at the Open level and also playing all day long. Besides the new rally scoring system, the tournament format this year differed from last year's. The format last year provided that a team only had a shot at the gold division if it was the top 2 finishers after pool play. This year, regardless of how a team finished in pool play, every team had a chance at the gold division. This new format greatly benefited our team since we were able to pull a first round upset against Parsippany from our region despite the fact that we were seeded 26th against Parsippany who was seeded 7th. Our team certainly benefited from playing against an opponent we had played against throughout the regular season. However, against teams we had not encountered before, we did not fare so well. We lost many matches in three sets, with the third set often a close finish. Our losses were due to our lack of experience as a team to mentally and physically sustain a high and aggressive level of play at crunch time to pull out the wins we needed. Despite our results, many of the girls, being their first time at Nationals, had fun playing and watching volleyball which is one of the reasons for attending Nationals in the first place.
Our team has had tremendous success at Nationals and we try to go every year.
This year, our setter couldn't go, our back-up setter couldn't go, one of our
middles couldn't go, it seemed desperate. Anne Sitar, Vikki Zorilla, Lori
Morton, and I really wanted to go. We tried to make it happen. We picked up
Marietta Veglia and Alvera Pollard from our other BB team when that team
folded mid-season. Then, we did a GEVA search for players and luckily
Rochelle Abalos, the AWESOME setter from Kapow joined us right after
regionals. When two other players from Kapow who we thought would be able to
join us couldn't, Mayra Caceres from Calloway Golf stepped up to join us the
last week. Can you imagine going half way across country to play with a
team who you've never met before? When we were all getting excited and
practicing at Horace Greeley in Chappaqua (yes, the Clinton town is our
practice site), Karen Valko decided to join us and we went to Nationals with
nine players.
When Downstate had all of it's success early in the season this past year, we
were surprised and attributed it to our playing together a long time against
teams with several new players. Well, the opposite happened at Nationals.
We were a new team playing against teams that had played together all season.
We had moments where we were outstanding; we had moments where we stunk.
The best part was that we were all positive, working toward a team goal,
didn't let our frustrations take over on the court, and we had a great time
off the court as well. I can't wait to go again.
I've written before about the special feelings at Nationals. You cheer for
and get cheered for by other teams from the region. You get to watch
outstanding play from future and former Olympians. You see a college athlete
make the most unbelievable play you've ever seen. You fly or drive half way
across the country with some of your best friends. You play on a sport-court
covered cement floor and for four days push your body to its limit. You
cheer for people competing that are intense at 65 years old and over.
If you haven't gone yet, you must go, whatever your age, whatever your level.
This year, there were some even more special things that happened for me.
When I first started playing about 11 years ago, I used to play with a group
of people at Ocean County Park. One of them was a young woman named Monica
who was just learning the game but was an outstanding athlete and we were
friends. I hadn't seen her in 11 years, but I ran into her playing at
Nationals. Also, around the same time, I used to watch all sorts of people
at the beach. Bobby Jackson and Eric Pavels were two of the people I
used to worship. Well, I got to hang out with them at Nationals, and, I'm
even going to get to play with Bobby on the beach this summer. Also, when I
was watching the GEVA Mens 45 and over team, I was sitting next to a woman
who I thought I recognized as a women's pro beach player. It turned out
that Linda Chilsohm was cheering for a guy on the team GEVA was playing
against and she was there playing herself on a 35 and older team. She let me
be star-struck and I think she enjoyed my recognizing her. We talked for
probably half an hour. Also, over the years, I've gotten to know Patti
Bright who is a former setter on our National-Olympic team who a few years
ago was nominated into the Volleyball Hall of Fame. That year, Marina Ciotti
and I went up to her and thanked her for helping making volleyball accessible
to people like us. Since then, I've always chatted with Patti at Nationals,
been introduced to her sister, mother, and daughter AND we cheer for each
other. She came up to me this year and said, "I watched your last game.You
have a nice bump." I was on cloud nine for a week. I cheered and watch her
lead her team in several grueling matches to the gold medal championship of
the Women's 45 Division. She hugged me good-bye. Finally, I was sad that I
couldn't talk to Uvaldo Acosta like I use to do. I miss him.
If you're thinking about going and are not sure, talk to someone who has. If
you haven't gone yet, you must go, whatever your age, whatever your level.
Greetings from the team, formerly known as Eastern Athletic Club, now proudly called "GOT GYM".
The 99/00 season for us was a series of peaks and valleys. Between injuries, recoveries, and professional conflicts; we faced out biggest dilemma only 2 weeks before regionals --- THE LOSS OF OUR GYM SPACE! In a time when gym space is almost non-existent in the NYC area, due the exorbitant fees, we felt our season come to a screeching halt. How could we possibly prepare in time for regionals; let alone Nationals, which we had already committed ourselves to participate in?
It was at this time that an unlikely hero would come to our rescue. None other than the coach of one of our biggest rivals opened the doors to his gym for us to utilize in preparation for regionals and then nationals. We would like to take this public forum to openly express our sincere thanks and appreciation to Merlin Thompson, coach of Creole. Merlin is the epitome of "good sportsmanship" and without Merlin's generosity our entire season would have been a total washout.
As it turned out, GEVA's Women A teams definitely pumped up the volume on the competition this year. Teams from other regions now know that GEVA is definitely a force to be reckoned with. For the new "GOT GYM" team, we started off real slow by losing every match the first day. After almost losing one of our top players to an injury we decided we weren't going to go out without a fight. We kicked and clawed our way into the Bronze Division and from that moment on we didn't drop a game. We were determined to come home with "jewelry" from the Bronze Division and we did.
Congratulations to all the teams that participated especially Bud Light, Creole and Livingston, who also brought home "jewelry" from the Gold and Silver Divisions. We should all keep in mind that if we are looking for intense competition in the Women's A Division, we shouldn't look any further than our own backyard, because our region definitely has the power to crush the opposition.
Where should I start? I had so many gratifying experiences. The title of this article best depicts who we are as a team. I quoted it from a player of mine while out at Columbus, Ohio. His exact words were, "we always find a way to win". No matter the circumstances we pulled together as a team and got the job done. We went out to Columbus, Ohio with high expectations and an energetic attitude. This would be the first time all season that we had our entire team playing at the same time. We had the opportunity to pick up two outstanding volleyball players that molded perfectly to our system. We strongly believe that if it were not for them we would not have gotten as far as we did. There were countless times that we should have lost, but we never gave up.
If someone were to ask me to recall one particular moment that stood out more than any other, one moment that I will never forget. It would have to be the second day of the tournament, first round of playoffs. We were down 14-9 in the third game to a team called "The Storm". We came back to win 16-14! We were a single point away from being eliminated from the gold division. The shock and surprise on the faces of the opposing players was an image that I will never forget. I guess the saying, "what goes around comes around" is true. The Storm eliminated us out of the gold division last year in San Jose, CA. This year we had the opportunity to return the favor. From then on out we played our hearts out. At one point, I over heard some players commenting about East Shore VBC. Comments and questions like "Did you guy's beat them?" The other person retorted "what team are you talking about, East Shore I or East Shore II? They have two good teams". It was gratifying to hear that, but it wasn't enough for us. We wanted to win it all. Each year we have gradually improved at Nationals. This year was no different. I was disappointed to hear that we were playing the championship game on a side court. I thought that we deserved a little better that. Especially, when the men's BB division brought in over sixty-nine teams. If I'm not mistaken that was the largest number of team's in one particular division in that tournament. Anyway, what is done is done. Overall, I enjoyed myself tremendously.
I would like to take a chance to thank all my players for allowing us to experience the opportunity to so well at nationals. The experience was well deserved and also appreciated. I appreciated every moment out at Columbus, Ohio. I wanted to thank all the players from East Shore VBC II and Beach Bums. We enjoyed the camaraderie and support that we developed with you while out at nationals.
Congratulations to all the players and coaches on Resistencia. Also, congratulations to all the GEVA teams that participated in this year's US Open National Volleyball Tournament. We had a not only a tremendous turnout but also a tremendous showing.
This was only the second year I attended nationals and last year I
was an outside hitter on East Shore I, I returned this year as a setter on a
new team. Last year was a great time an I really didn't get a good feel for
what it was like to be there. With only three guys being there before we had
a young team that just didn't know what to expect and you really can't
describe it in words what it's like. We had found great success for a young
first year team and I was looking forward to see what we could do in a venue
such as this. We had a great run at regionals and even showed we could play
well with injures and are star hitter Brain Stahly going down in the semis. I
did go to nationals with everyone I hoped could come with us but I was
confident we could still do well. I traveled out early to watch some of the
other Geva teams playing in the first part of the week and see what Columbus
was like. This convention center was very nice and we even got to see a
sci-fi conventions the first two days we were there.
When we being are tournament I thought we started off slow but got
things together by the end of the first day, only playing two matches the
first day I new the second day of pool would be the key for us. We had a
great second day not losing until I made a rookie coaching mistake and tried
to rest Brian and myself against a weaker team. Needless to say we lost that
match in three and it put us in a bad spot in the gold round for the first
match. We had to play the first seeded team in the gold and knowing this team
it would be tough for us to play as well as we needed first thing in the
morning to win and move on. Well, we got bumped to the silver division and
had the rest of the day to watch and get ready for the next day.
Unfortunately for us we had to say good-bye to one of are players Mike
Smyrychynski who got some bad news from home and played through it to get us
where we were, thanks Mike.
The next day was another early match and if we lost here we were done
for the tournament, struggling for a line up I put in the team I thought had
a chance to win and we played hard but with all the changes we made couldn't
pull out a victory. This left us to watch and cheer for the other Geva teams
still playing and especially are club team East Shore I.
They were playing some great ball and so was Resistencia and we had
some great match with both of these team all year long so seeing them there
felt good because we weren't to far off. Resistencia finished first and East
Shore I second showing just how competitive east coast volleyball really is,
congratulations to all the teams from Geva who made the trip and did very
well. This I felt was the first year in Geva that the teams played week in
and week out to prepare and get each other ready for what we would face out
at nationals and for that I thank all the teams. A special thanks to Brian
Stahly who's leadership on the court made all of us better players and made
are team what it was, good luck in Indiana and well see you soon. Thanks to
Jayson Payman and Arvin Rada who help bring the two East Shore teams together
for a successful club and the players who pushed each other ever week at
practice and tournaments, I'll never forget that semifinal at regionals.
Nationals was a great experience and I would encourage anyone who has never
gone to go just once it's something I won't miss as long as I'm playing
volleyball. Good luck in the up coming season.
Playing with perhaps its strongest lineup ever, Branchburg-based Ensemble was
ranked sixth following pool play at B Nationals. In a bizarre turn of
events, the sixth place ranking, coupled with the 11th place seeding of
Regional Champion Limelight, set up for a showdown between the two regional
rivals. The winner would go on to the gold division; the loser would drop to
silver.
Ensemble, having never beaten Limelight during regular season play, pulled
out all the stops with pre-match bonding which included hair-styling
(including a french braid to never-before coifed Leslie Van Dorn) and face
painting (including "Slime Lime" war paint and the international symbol for
"no limes"). Tribute to Bonnie Reed and Ann Schoeb hairstylists and face
paint artists, with special tribute to Ann who donated pounds of "Big Hair"
hair spray to the effort. (However, in a spray-off between "Big Hair" and
Lucia Berry's brand, Berry's brand won the "hold" division, hands down.)
Unable to "Juice the Limes", Ensemble lost to Limelight 26-24, 16-25 and
12-15 in a hard-fought battle that included a regional referee on the stand
and regional fans on the sidelines. At the post-game dinner, Ensemble took
the Margarita lime and sword, and stuck a message on it for Limelight. "Next
time" was all the message read.
Ensemble's overall record was 11 wins and 8 losses, an admirable effort for a
team that has pulled itself ever higher in the increasingly difficult B
division.
Despite pleas from die-hard Amy Kavanaugh to have a team sky-dive (the
descent to the silver division was a big enough plunge for most team
members), Ensemble was unable to plan a post match adventure in closed-down
Columbus. Still, Ensemble managed a few unplanned exploits, including the
misadventures of Stanford-bound Sarah Elk, who arrived in Columbus without
her lunch (having succumbed to severe food poisoning) and left Columbus
without her car (it having succumbed to engine failure).
Ensemble experienced first-hand the business-savvy of Lucia Berry who
demanded at the prematurely closed-down brunch that the restaurant serve us
as much food as we wanted at the same brunch price, cuz we were hungry
volleyball players, dammit. We also saw the competitive side of Berry, who
shouted in the final match, "Set me, dammit" and then went on to crush the
ball. We also learned that Shelley Merrill had more street savvy than the
most experienced hotel employee (which isn't saying much, considering the
generally dumbfounded answers most of the front desk personnel provided).
Bonnie Reed, Ensemble's daunting middle, played a back-row role at this
event, having succumbed earlier in the season to a broken finger. Suzanne
Ivans, unwilling to be on standby for a frantic run-away call as she had last
year, pre-empted a repeat run-off by bringing her family with her. Ann, five
months pregnant but unwilling to merely stand by while the rest of the team
went to Nationals, brought her soon-to-be family with her in kangaroo-pouch
style. Captain Fran, the steadiest and most stalwart of the bunch, attended
her fourth nationals in a row, continuing her volleyball man-watch, but
bringing with her the heart-heavy burden of a father ill at home (her father
has since passed).
Things that will forever be remembered from closed-down Columbus are "Jerome"
(the hapless room-service man who bumbled orders), "Princess Di" (the name
now linked to setter Anne), and "Clueless" (the name dubbed to Amy and
Leslie after they repeatedly turned the wrong way out of their hotel room and
got lost enroute to the DoubleTree). Also remembered will be the endless
e-mails that flooded team computers during pre-nationals planning. Though
the team bonding sessions resulted in the most stylish team Ensemble has ever
presented, they were no match for the four-year old beauty queens who haunted
the hallways of the Adams Mark, posing at poolside and practicing their
prance.
Next year, if Princess Di brings her tiara, maybe we'll be able to win both
the volleyball and the beauty contest.
Our team (Livingston A) had decided early on in the season that we were going to compete at this years National Championships especially since we had such fond memories of the last time we competed in Tucson. With a roster of only 7 players, committing to tournaments during the regular season was at times a problem, but we were determined to make the journey to Ohio.
All hopes of lounging poolside after a long day of competition soon faded once we arrived in Columbus and saw that the weather did not seem to want to cooperate with us, so spending our days in the gym didn't seem to bad. As luck would have it we found ourselves competing bright and early every morning at 8:00 am- so much for sleeping late! Fortunately though the early start did not pose a problem for our group.
We completed pool play and advanced to the gold division but not before facing a tough Alaska squad - the same one we had defeated in an unforgettable match in Tucson a few years earlier. Unfortunately, this year it was Alaska's turn to taste victory and they defeated us thus also advancing into the gold division.
Our region was very well represented in the gold division and we knew that somewhere down the line we would have to face off against one of our local teams. After winning our first match in the gold division our next opponent turned out to be Creole II. Despite our efforts Creole II prevailed and we dropped down into the Silver division. Once in the Silver division we reached the semi-final round only to lose. While this eliminated us from the tournament we were still happy with our performance.
Although we may have left Columbus a bit tired and sore we still had fun cheering for the other teams from our region, running into old friends and just experiencing the thrill of competing.
Representing GEVA at the 2000 US Junior Olympics, hosted in Reno,
Nevada,
were three teams from the LONG ISLAND UNITED VOLLEYBALL PROGRAM.
Competing in the 18 Club Division were Long Island United 17, coached
by
Mr. Michael Legge. The team qualified after finishing 4th at this
years
GEVA regional, held earlier in May. "This team continued to grow in
maturity as the club season progressed," said Coach Legge. This team
finished very strong last year as a group on the 16's division and we
wanted to keep that development growing together as 17's. I feel as if
that quest was conquered and the results speak for them self.
Capturing
a silver division championship at the Nittiany Lion - Penn State
Classic,
finalist of the silver division from the Maryland Extravaganza, and
finalist at the East Coast Championships, in the silver division. The
team consisted of co-captain's Patrick Legge and Jason Karpf, Michael
La
Rocco, Brian Osipowich, Gary Stack, Kevin Calabro, Steven D'Orazio,
Peter
Amadeo, Mark Nagy, and Stuart Katz.
Representing GEVA in the 16 Open division at the 2000 JNC's were the
LONG
ISLAND UNITED 16's. This team earned the right to compete in the open
division as they were crowned GEVA's 2000 - 16 & under champions. As
this group experienced success in early tournaments with victories as
finalist at the Mizuno - Rochester Classic, champions of the Maryland
Extravaganza, and silver division champions from East Coast, a
competitive JNC's appeared to be in the making. "The competition was
an
entirely different level than we had experienced all year on the East
Coast and it clearly made an impact on our success while in Reno.
Although we can look back at that experience as a learning one, I think
it introduced the kids to a level of where we hope to be working
towards,
at the start of next year's club season," said interim coach Craig
Berko.
The team consisted of co-capains Jason Sheridan and Mike Capone, Rob
Green, Tim Stoner, Robert Sturges, Manny Lanham, Joe Vidal, Mark
Brienza,
and Chris Grunwald.
The third team representing LONG ISLAND UNITED at this year's JNC were
a
15 team comprising of Kevin Cook, Ben Zickel, Alan Cohn, Scott Stoner,
Joe Graeber, Sean Morrison, and Will Moeller. Coach Tom Glover and his
group had an impressive showing, pushing all opponents to a third game,
with an unfortunate result of being on the wrong end. "The outcome did
not dictate the efforts left on the floor from my team and it was
impressive to see how they all handled adversity. I would obviously
taken the victory, however, I feel as a result of our battle, we could
walk away from each of those matches as true champions," said Coach
Glover.
In addition to our success at the 2000 JNC's, Long Island United would
like to congratulate the following athletes in the program for their
recognition in affiliated areas of junior volleyball.
LI Silver Medalist Scholastic Empire State Games Team: Stuart Katz, Pat
Legge, Mike La Rocco, Brian Osipowich, Peter Amadeo, Jason Karpf, Matt
Robbins, Jason Sheridan, and Chris Caputo (LI Power)
...... and lastly, on behalf of Long Island United and other
affiliations I have serviced the GEVA community and development of
volleyball on Long Island, I would like to thank Bob Dingee and GEVA
for
their continued support over the years. I truly appreciate the
patiences
and guidance you have awarded me with in order to grow with a sport as
influential as volleyball has been to me. THANK YOU! I'll miss it.
- Roger Peluso
The Northport Heat Girls 14 and Under Volleyball Team was honored to represent the GEVA region at the National Junior Olympic event that was held in Louisville, Kentucky from June 24 through June 28. The tournament facility at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center was a large and exciting arena in which to be playing; Everywhere you looked there was a volleyball sport court!… with girls excitingly diving, hitting, blocking and enjoying the thrill of playing volleyball at a very high and competitive level.
Our players found the experience to be a wonderful event in their lives. Say they:
"I learned a lot watching other teams and I thought that the Women's USA volleyball team was very interesting..." Kara Sisti
"Before we arrived at the tournament we were a group of girls playing volleyball, but now we're a team that has the experience and motivation of working together..." Maura Florkowski
"I think what we learned most was the importance of teamwork, and we also learned a lot about the sport and what it means to be a National Level player." Kim Pastor
"After discovering what we were up against I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but it motivated me, and, I hope, my teammates, to improve my abilities and play harder for the game we all love."
Joanna Vardouniotis
These are the feelings the girls shared with us when asked for a brief summary of their experiences. We were thrilled with their performance, and all that they learned about the importance of camaraderie, one purpose, team spirit and unity. They learned the proper behavior and decorum when traveling as a representative of their community, their family, and of themselves. They learned how to show respect for the people that they met from other cities and parts of the USA and how well they respected, and interacted with, these people.
It was a good experience, and I believe our girls grew in many ways as a result of this wonderful trip. We thank everyone who helped support our Northport community volleyball program.
After winning the men's A in San Jose last year, it was the consensus amongst the team that we should move up to AA. After all, anything less than winning A again would be a disappointment. We went to Columbus with basically the same team as last year (with the notable exception of long-time teammate Kevin Colucci joining in this year's debauchery). That meant that since we were one of the shorter teams in A, the difference in stature amongst AA could only increase. Pool play was much tougher than last year - every match required us to put up our 'AA' game. We wound up 3-3 by the time pool play finished - the highlight being a tough three-game match against eventual champions Pace Bootlegger. Another tournament highlight was our playoff match against second-place finisher, GEVA region-mates and fellow Queens College practice buddies, Creole. Though we were eventually overcome by their size, power and (especially in Wycliffe's case) jumping ability, we felt that it was a hard-fought battle and we just came up a few points short of the gold medal round. It was these matches that made us realize that we could compete at this higher level - and our 11th place finish (out of 21 teams) proved it. We're looking forward to next year's trip to Milwaukee - another four days of roaming a cavernous convention center, eating cheese fries at the food court, popping Advil like it was Skittles and melting lots of ice with our throbbing joints!
We had first seed this year at National's because of our great finish last
year. We couldn't take advantage of this and didn't play well. The team
couldn't gel and it probably was due to the fact that a lot of us were
playing in new positions. Veteran player Jamie Drum joined us and was a nice
addition.
The level of play this year was a truer BB level which was nice to see.
The previous years the BB was looking more like A. The city of Ohio was nice
and the convention center was a great place to play in. Again the National
committee really knows how to run a championship tournament.
Parsippany off the court however did a fine job. The Marriott lounge and
hot tub were the nightly team meeting place. Dominick was our host and did a
wild job. Maybe if we drank less and didn't close up the dance clubs we could
have played better, but we're having such a good time. Oh well there is
always next year!
The highlight for the tournament was to watch the champion match between
Resistencia and East Shore. They both played well and it was great to see a
Geva team win the Gold.
Again we had a great time at Nationals. Ohio was a nice clean city, with
lots to do. When we weren't playing there was a strip of clubs to go to at
night. One bar had the dual piano sing along that was pretty cool. There were
some nice eating places we when to, Japanese Steak House, The Rib Place and a
great market during the day to go to that made many different foods.
The BB level was weaker then the past pervious years{ more truer BB}. The
weaker A teams were playing A, which turned out to be a much larger level
then the BB. We did wonderful in pool play, finished 7th out of 28 teams.
then the third day came at 8:00 in the morning against out sister team cerole
BB and we couldn't wake up and they made sure we didn't. Our next match was
in the afternoon and we played better but it was against a very scappy BB
team which type of game we have always struggled with and ended up loosing to
in rally. It was disappointing but we won and lost as a team. We had a lot of
team spirit so it was fun to play and be with each other. AND THAT'S WHAT
IT'S ALL ABOUT!!
By Anthony Rosania, S
I'd like to begin my own comments by pointing out that I had a cute
little joke planned about it being the Best of Times and the Worst of
Times,
but not really the Worst of Times. However, Dan stole it from me and
so I
won't do that. Then I said to myself, okay, that "Any Given Sunday"
movie
was kind of cool, maybe I can work that in some how. Bob stole that
one.
Then I was going to right absolutely nothing, and three of my teammates
stole that idea too! (Just kidding guys.) Then I thought, how about
some
wisdom filled comment about being at the best of your game and taking
home a
medal, you can thank Mike for grabbing that one for me...
The point of that whole bit of humor, or non-humor depending on your
point of view, is not simply to take up space so we can grab the cash
from
GEVA. The point is, my job here is easy because of my teammates. That
is
how my nationals trip was. I could tell you about how well we played
our
first two days, including Bob getting to block An Extremely Large
Middle
Hitter. Not to say that Bob is not An Extremely Large Middle Hitter in
his
own right. Just that the guy he blocked was Extremely Larger. I could
tell
you about how things didn't go so well the second two days, which were
represented by the fact that the last thing anyone remembered even
after the
second two days was how Bob blocked that Extremely Large Middle Hitter.
However, in my mind, that's not the important part. (Except for Bob
and
the... well you know.)
The point is that just like with this essay, my teammates knew what
to say, and when to say it. We all knew when nothing need be said.
Everyone was involved, and everyone was a leader, even Walter who just
joined with us for nationals seemed to fit right in. It was great to
see
what a team we had evolved into in so short a time, and that was what
stands
out to me. And so, as with the last time I had to write one of these,
it is
important for me to make sure everyone gets mentioned by name.
First, Gus Rutledge. He is just plainly put, one of the nicest guys
I have met. He played well in a variety of positions, without ever
raising
an objection. Thanks Gus. Next up I guess is Dan Botzan, I've played
with
Dan for three years now, so we always have a great time together. It
doesn't hurt that he can hit the ball pretty hard either, definitely
one of
our Go To Guys. Thanks Dan. Then there was Mike Brokes, now I just
have to
mention that I have been playing volleyball with Mike for over ten
years
now, and I was glad to have him along. He is just a solid player, and
a
real leader on the court as our defensive specialist. Thanks Mike.
Walter
Valentine was a pick up from the Lemon Heads. For some reason we
always
sort of thought that Walter would fit just right with our team, and he
did.
Another real Go to Guy, he gave us some real power in the middle. He
was
also a tremendous leader, thanks Walt. Then there is Doug Howanski, or
as I
like to call him, Crazy Doug. Doug's the kind of hitter who hits any
ball
you set him, even if he has to invent an armswing to do it. Thanks
Doug.
Last but not least there is Bob Krehely. Thanks Bob. Oh alright, Bob
also
blocked the Extremely Large Middle Hitter. He also has a great
attitude
both on and off the court. At that brings me to my last point. Not
only
did we enjoy ourselves on the court, we had a great time off the court
together. All in all, the trip was a success. Thanks guys.
I would also like to thank Limelight, Get Over It and Ensemble for
cheering us on when they could. They were all part of what made the
experience such a good one. Thanks to all of you.
By Bob Krehely, MB
By Dan Botzan, OH
We would like to thank Walter Valentine from Lemon Heads and Mike
Brokes
from Stateline for playing with us; both were very valuable additions
to the
team. We would also like to thank those who cheered us on especially
LimeLight, Ensemble and Get Over It. Next year nationals are being
held in
Milwaukee, my advice is to plan ahead go out there and have fun.
While the Nationals promised the fun and camaraderie of previous tourneys in the gleaming Columbus Convention Center and while Milson and I wondered with a certain tenderness whether we would see those Texas ladies playing 50+ with bouffant hairdos and salty language that made us blush more than a few times last year in San Jose, it was not without some trepidation that we arrived at the Holiday Inn on May 30. Less than two weeks before the tournament, our alternate setter had to bow out due to work constraints and three days later a starting middle player announced second-hand that he would not be attending, opting instead to play in a beach tournament on Long Island. That left us with 3 outside hitters, a wounded middle and a setter and weak side hitter who had not played in a 4-day tournament in over a decade. And a coach, at turns phlegmatic and irritable, a substitute if one would be needed but not a first choice off the bench.
We looked for those ladies early Thursday morning, perhaps as a good luck charm, perhaps just to see the joy and good times they would bring, which is a large part of this event and reason enough to participate, or as simple counterpoint to Darian's enthusiastic preparation of t-shirts, uniforms, sweatshirts and pumpkin colored volleyballs. It was perhaps more fitting that we didn't find them though, because distractions are a nemesis for Resistencia and besides, we really came with a goal; to finish as high as we could in the Gold Division.
Solomon agreed to play middle, which was a big help for us. I tried to convince Marcio and Wayne that a four-day tournament took a lot of energy and preparation and that the important thing to achieve in the first two days was a high enough seed to qualify for the Gold Division. We played in a very balanced pool and finished 4-2 over the first two days. We had not played very well. The belief that we could win was not unanimous. The distractions of family and Brazilian well-wishers from Columbus and Sao Paulo again and again impeded our preparation. We were seeded 17th. We were not well warmed up for the first match on Friday in the first round of the double elimination. We barely survived a 3 set victory over Richmond, winning 18-16 in the tiebreaker.
Playing in a double elimination tournament requires a lot of stamina and, it is no coincidence that Resistencia means stamina in Portuguese. However, there are elements of luck too, one being that the more matches you win, the less number of matches you have to play. In addition, the top seed was stunned in the first round and did not even make the cutoff to Gold. With six players and the aches and pains accumulating, I made sure that the team saw the importance of this. For one of the first times in recent memory, the team prepared and played with great discipline. The 40 minute warm-ups improved our passing and defense, hallmarks of Resistencia failures in the past and the attack was better than it has ever been; five powerful options hitting on all cylinders Friday and Saturday making one opponent claim after a match that we had suffocated them with our artillery and did we not in fact have some national level players on the squad.
We entered the semi-final Saturday morning against Bounce, a team from Albuquerque, NM and we won in two sets. We knew the final would be against either them or East Shore and while I was rooting for East Shore out of loyalty and friendship to Arvin and Jason etc., I wanted to play against Bounce since we matched up well against them and East Shore had always been a tough team to beat. East Shore prevailed in an emotional 3 set victory and this set up the GEVA final, certainly a tribute to the region. We lost the first set but the fatigue and emotion of having had to play 2 extra matches began to take a toll on East Shore and slowly, our attack and tough serving prevailed and we pulled away to a three set victory, jubilant, ecstatic, proud, somewhat disbelieving but all in all very, very happy.
But it was particularly satisfying to me that this team, so ribald, emotional and undisciplined, blessed with enormous talent, had finally put all of the pieces together that you need to win a championship of this stature, a far cry from the team riddled with disciplinary problems and the region's pariah that I had joined two years ago. It's true that you have to have talent to be a winner but strength of character and purpose are just as necessary and playing as a team, too, to forgive the cliche, and stamina are also needed elements. It's amazing that volleyball still promotes stars when it is probably the only game on earth that you can lose if the one player who provides 5% of the 100% that makes up a team produces less. And so, when Andre said to me, proudly holding his MVP plaque in hand that the true deserving recipient of the award was me, I felt the rush and the honor but also the truth, too, that, even though I never stepped on the court to play for a single side out over the four days that I had done my job well.
"Ladies and Gentlemen I am reporting to you directly from the 2000 USA Open National Volleyball Championships in downtown Columbus Ohio. In just a few moments I will be interviewing members of the "Get Over IT / PRO Fitness" PowerZone Team. The team consists of Sharon, Ratchanee, Brenda, Debbie, Katherine, Barbara and Joanne.
I understand that this is your first time competing in the USA Open Nationals is that true? Yes, that is true. We keep telling ourselves that this is the first game, first match at our first Nationals so lets do our best!!!!!
What was your first impression when you walked into the USA Open National competition? The first impression was "Overwhelming". We walked into the convention center which had 36 courts of volleyball in play from approximately 8 AM to as late as 11 PM. We were able to watch a lot of good matches between our games.
Did you meet any interesting people during the event? Definitely!!! We have met a lot of interesting people from far away places. We met Darth Vadar, several Star Wars crew members, Captain Kirk, Klingons etc… Oops that's the wrong convention (Ladies and Gentleman this reporter learned the convention center that held the USA Open National Tournament also held a Sci-fi expo).
At the volleyball competition we met the Jelly Bellys (one team sponsor was the Jelly Belly candies which made sure everyone had plenty of Jelly Belly treats), Santa Claus (one of the senior volleyball competitor had a knick name of Santa Claus due to his resemblance to Jolly Ole St. Nick), etc….
How would you sum up your experience at the USA Open National Competition, and do you have any final comments to our readers? Great! Awesome! Friendly! Nice People! We'll see you next year in Milwaukee next year.
Thank you for your time today, and to our readers this reporter will see you next year in Milwaukee!"
Having a strong team that worked well together, Powerzone's Limelight
team started considering a trip to Nationals, three quarters into the
season. Thanks to income tax returns and job bonuses, eventually all nine
of us were able to go, even Cheryl, who had moved cross-country a month
beforehand.
Our journey started on Friday at 3 AM with a four car, walkie-talkie
convoy carrying some of the Powerzone Redrum. Diane's gift for gab kept
our driver, Kathy, amused and alert. She even outlasted the walkie-talkie
batteries!
Once in Columbus, our team united even more in the competitive and
exciting atmosphere. We also got to know one another better off the
court. We discovered the, until then, hidden talents of our teammates;
such as pool playing, table dancing, pole dancing, and unique uses for a
blow dryer!
We played 11 matches in four days and although we were battered and
bruised, no one gave up on themselves or each other. It was fun cheering
on the teams from our region and playing very competitive matches against
Ensemble and Get Over It. Our last match was on Tuesday against Tsunami.
We put up a good effort (25-20, 20-25, & 15-9) against the team that went
on to first place and had also won last year.
Nationals was a positive experience and we are proud of our 4th place
rating.
Limelight would like to thank Dan for helping us practice. As frustrating
as his constant blocks were, it made us better players. Thanks also to
Parsippany for the scrimmages that helped prepare us for Nationals. And
thanks to Sean for gear lugging, ball shagging, game tips, and expert
beer drinking support at court side.
Finally, thanks to everyone who gave us good wishes and support, whether
in Columbus or from home.
The Synchronicity Women's BB volleyball team attended its first USA National tournament by bringing a core of 8 Synchronicity players and adding two players from the Central Connecticut team.
We had thought about going to Nationals last year in San Jose but couldn't get enough people to make the commitment. This year, when the subject of Nationals came up again, there was a lot more interest and excitement. We reserved hotel rooms and started to look into airfares. Slowly but surely we got almost every team member to agree to go and next thing we knew we had bought our plane tickets to Columbus, Ohio. There was no turning back...we were on our way to Nationals.
Having no experience with how the tournament is run, most of us took advantage of a great airfare deal that meant departing early in the morning of the first day of competition. It wasn't until we had purchased our tickets that we found out that the tournament starts at 8:00 a.m....unfortunately our flight was scheduled to land at 8:12 a.m. Uh oh! Our first trip to Nationals and we might forfeit our first match!? But alas the scheduling gods looked kindly on us. We were able to find out ahead of time that we had an 8:00 a.m. work assignment followed by 9:00 a.m. match. Luckily two of our players, Juanita and Janet, flew in the night before and were able to recruit two friends (Maria -- my sister -- and Phil from the Flora-Bama team) to help work the 8:00 a.m. match. The rest of us took off from LaGuardia at 6:30 a.m. and landed a whole 20 minutes ahead of schedule. Dressed in our uniforms and with only carry-on luggage, we jumped off the plane and hopped into two cabs. And that's when we knew we were no longer in New York City. We had THE slowest cabdriver and I could tell that the other three in my cab (Nancy, Nancy and Amy) were stressing over his driving. This guy drove at least two car lengths behind the car in front of us while we watched the cab with our other teammates and coach (Jackie, Suzanne and Paul) weave in and out of lanes, pass us by and disappear from site. But, somehow, we all arrived at the Convention Center at the same time and in one piece.
We walked through the doors and the first thing that greeted us was the "Welcome, 2000 USA Volleyball Tournament Open Championships" sign. We finally made it! We took the escalators down and ran through the doors of the playing area. It was quite a site to see...court after court after court, whistles blaring, balls bouncing. We found Janet and Juanita and they breathed a sigh of relief. But we had no time for small talk, we had to start stretching and get ready to play. I'm glad that we didn't have that much time to soak in the whole atmosphere of being at Nationals or we would've been more nervous. I know that most of us were pretty excited and psyched just to be playing. The butterflies in my stomach had already turned into Pterodactyls two days earlier.
In our first huddle, I gave my few choice words to start us off. I said, "We're here, ladies. Play your game, play strong, and give us some defense... nice and loud... (1,2,3) Aaaaaaaah, Synchronicity!" And off we went to take our first match in two games. It was a good icebreaker. Creole BB was in our pool of seven teams and when we played them later that day; it felt like an all-GEVA tournament because Parsippany was working the match. We finished the day with a 2-1 match record and I'm glad that it was a short day. Our job was to keep a strong record until Ana and Karen joined us that night. And I felt we did just that.
With two non-Synchronicity players with us, we were a little worried about how we'd do since the only time we were able to play together was at Pre-Nationals and we didn't do so well. But, Janet and Karen blended in smoothly with our "little" crew like "but-tah". They brought a lot of energy, spirit and excitement with them on this trip. They also told us a lot of jokes...we know the chicken did it but we're still not sure what died. It felt almost as though we had been friends for a long time and we simply did some catching up.
The second day of pool play was a tougher day for us. We went 1-2 in match play but succeeded in taking a game from Coaches Club, who eventually went on to win the Gold bracket. We seemed to have some problems finding a team rhythm. We knew we could do better but we just had to figure out how to get out of our slump. That night after dinner, we held a team meeting to talk about line-ups. For those of you who put in the line-ups for your teams, you know it's not that easy. And you always end up second-guessing yourself after a loss...I should've subbed her in or I should've called a time-out then. And with a talented group of ten players all bringing in a different set of cards to the table, it becomes a much bigger task. We wanted to play well and yes we wanted to win but if we were going to get knocked out, we wanted to go out swinging. This was a lot to absorb.
The next day was the first day of playoffs. From everyone's input and my own opinion, I decided to put in a core six players and only rotate one player at a time. The combination seemed to work well and we took our first match from Reno Raw. We only needed to win one more match and we would advance to the gold bracket. Unfortunately we had to go up against Net Play, who had defeated us in pool play. We knew that they were strong servers and our passing had to be on. It was a good match but they prevailed again, knocking us into the Silver bracket. And what was worse, we lost our middle hitter, Nancy, to an injury during the match.
The Silver bracket was single elimination and we knew that every single match we played from then on would be critical. Our first Silver bracket match was against Jan's Smoke Shop, a team that had defeated in three games during pool play, but this time we were very ready to play. We lost the first game 17-25 but came back to win the second 25-17. It came down to the third game and it could've gone either way. Our team started strong and proceeded to keep the momentum through the last few points to give us the win, 15-12. We were psyched to get to play on Saturday.
Saturday morning, we were all pumped to play and our energy level was pretty high. We were scheduled to play I Yams from Boston, a team everyone described as scrappy. We certainly needed to keep our mistakes to a minimum. We took the first game 25-20 but they came back and took the second game 25-20. Again it came down to a third game and again it could've gone either way. The line shot we hit from the right side was just out, tying the game at 12-12. The tension was rising and the next ball was set to the outside where we got the sideout on a line hit that came off their block. We finished off the match with a 15-13 victory.
In the Silver bracket semifinals, we faced CDI from the Ohio Valley Region, who had knocked out both Parsippany and Creole, so we had to avenge those losses. They weren't as "big" as the other teams we had faced; it's rare that we face teams that are only slightly taller than we are. So, our tall chicks took advantage of that and we took the match in two games.
Our last match would be the finals of the Silver bracket and was against the University of West Florida of the Gulf Coast Region. My sister, coming from the same region, gave us the lowdown. They had one big middle hitter and we needed to shut her down. We had the first serve and sure enough they set her and we responded with a huge block to give us the first point. We came out like women possessed and tore threw the first game 25-9. But, in typical Synchronicity style, our passing fell apart and we couldn't get our act together quickly enough. We could hear Creole and Downstate (especially Lisa) behind us, urging us on. Our passing sucked and we couldn't get the ball to our setter to do anything. We lost the second game 20-25. But, having come all this way, we didn't want to lose without a fight. We had battled through a few "oh no, this is it" moments but we hadn't lost a match that went to three games in the past two days. The cheering from our GEVA comrades was inspirational in helping to push us and we wanted the deciding game badly. I believe that every member of our team contributed in their own way to help give us the win. Game 3 was ours.
Before we got to Nationals, everyone wished us well and told us that we would have a great time. That surely wasn't a lie. We met so many people and I even got on a first name basis with a few of the referees who gave me a hug each new day. The whole award ceremony was awesome and we had all our friends and family taking pictures. We must have 20 copies of the same picture. I think the funniest part of the whole picture-taking thing was when we bumped into Barbara from Parsippany at the North Market and she asked if we were going to take team pictures there too. I guess it got a little out of hand.
But, the most memorable event, for those of us who can remember, was dancing the night away at Jillian's on Saturday night. We saw Karen, Lisa and Anne from Downstate as we walked in and they congratulated us. Lisa and Dee from Beach Bums and Marietta from Downstate all danced with our group, and we saw most of Creole and some Parsippany players too. It was a lot of fun and we truly enjoyed ourselves.
We want to thank all the GEVA teams and coaches that supported us throughout the tournament. We especially want to thank Downstate, our sister team, who has been there for us every step of the way...even getting up at 8 o'clock in the morning to cheer us on. You're the best!
Nationals turned out to be quite a blast for our team in many ways,
unfortunately volleyball was not at the top of our list.
Whether it was the substantial layoff with only one tournament between
regionals or the fact that everyone was already thinking about nice sandy
beaches and two man volleyball, we didn't play or place as well as we could
have.
Volleyball wise we still managed to play into the gold division despite not
clicking as a team for most of the early part of the tournament. There were
quite a few good teams in the A level pools, but when all was said and done
we finished short of placing in the top three, which was our goal going into
the tournament.
What was even more disappointing was the fact that there were teams from
our
region and the Keystone region that we consistently beat throughout the
course of the year in tournaments in our region and in Pennsylvania, that
finished higher than we did. These "true" indoor teams played well and you
could tell that they had practiced and been playing indoor right up until
Nationals.
In order to be successful at Nationals, it is clear that you need to be
playing indoor right up until then, not just going out and playing without
having touched an indoor ball for weeks.
Our team showed flashes of our form we displayed at regionals where with
six
players we won our region, defeating the reigning mens A national champs,
North Shore, who played up to AA at nationals and played very well and
placed
in the top 10.
The highlights of our trip were certainly the Columbus Zoo, Barleys
Smokehouse Brew Pub, and the nightlife around Ohio State University. On
our
last day in town we went to the zoo which was absolutely amazing,
especially
the anteaters, which we all enjoyed immensely. We also spent hours
watching
the monkeys play and swing around and we also liked the manatee exhibit.
By
far the zoo was the most enjoyable highpoint of our trip.
Socially we dominated the scene, from Russ and his friend driving out from a
wedding to come to play and party, to us drinking every other team under
the
table at that Mexican bar by our hotel. The disappointment of our final loss
only fortified our reslove to drink our sorrows away, so we waited 45 minutes
outside Barleys Smokehouse, a brew pub, until it opened at 1100 AM. We
then
proceeded to inebriate ourselves the entire rest of the day, with Tommy K.
putting on one of the most impressive displays of drinking anyone had seen.
Of course, by the end of the night I was pretty much carrying him out of the
bar where the post national party was held at. Eric W. had an interesting
time chatting with some of the local law enforcement officials, who were
making him do some very funny "human tricks" which BJ and the girls they
were
driving with found very amusing. We watched from across the street at
White
Castle while we were waiting in the drive through, where Russ' friend was
hanging out the door by his seatbelt throwing up.
Suffice it to say we enjoyed ourselves completely, even though we didn't
play
as well as we could have. I'm glad we went out because as everyone knows
the
most important thing is the experience, and we had the best experience.
All the memories we shared as teammates stem from us having fun and
enjoying
ourselves. Whether it was AJ and Janet and BJ and Gary driving out through
terrible weather, the stupid heated car seats, Nick M. throwing pizza out
onto the airport runway, or any of the other countless memories we made at
Nationals, I can definitely say we will be looking forward to Milwaukee.
The Warren Volleyball Association/Sixpak Volleygear 18-under team completed
its successful
year with a 29th-place finish (out of 75 teams entered) at the 2000 USA Boys
Junior National
Championships in Reno, Nevada.
Warren's junior program sent four teams to the tournament, also entering
17-under,
16-under, and 14-under teams.
The 18-under team went 4-5 in matches and 13-12 in games at the
tournament, held from
July 13-18. It completed the 1999/2000 season with a 62-21 record in junior
event games. The
team won a 10-team tournament in Connecticut in December, was fifth at the
48-team Nittany
Lion Invitational in February, finished third at the 24-team Maryland
Invitational in March,
won the GEVA regional title in May, and finished second in the 24-team East
Coast
Championships in Virginia over Memorial Day weekend.
Playing for Warren at the nationals were: Brad Kniewel, Dan Lattanzi,
C.J. Pinckney, and
Gerald Reiner, all from Ringwood; Alex Stein, Mike Ressler and Taras
Borysyuk, all from East
Brunswick; Brian Cafferty, Neptune; and Jeff Mooney, Cherry Hill.
All of Warren's 18-under players were high school seniors and plan to
continue playing in
college either on NCAA or club-level teams. Kniewel, who was selected MVP of
the East Coast
Tournament, will play at George Mason. Pinckney will be at Sacred Heart in
Connecticut, while
Cafferty will play at Mount St. Vincents in New York.
Lattanzi, Borysyuk and Mooney will all attend Rutgers in New Brunswick
and intend to play
for the club team there. Stein will play at Rhode Island, while Ressler will
be at Carnegie
Mellon.
Warren had to play at the nationals without Andrew Elken, Latham, N.Y.,
who suffered a
season-ending knee injury during the semifinals at the East Coast
Championships. Elken, who
plans to continue his career at Princeton University, probably will miss his
entire freshman
year of play because of the injury.
Warren's 17-under team finished 37th in the 17 Club Division, compiling
3-6 record in
matches and 9-14 record in games. The 17-under team was able to beat some of
the better teams
it faced in the pool play portion of the tournament, but erratic play each
day cost it when
advancement from each pool was determined. The team had wins in nearly every
three or
four-team pool, but frequently finished in last place in each via the
tournament's
tie-breaking formula.
Playing for the 17-under team were: George Chen, Jeff Lee and Derek
Morales, all from East
Brunswick; Chris Rose, South Amboy; Mike Fenton and Paul Lyons, both from
Edison; Kevin
Mastropietro, Bridgewater; Bart Zyta, West Windsor; and Tom White,
Clifton.
Zyta and White were both seniors and concluded their junior careers, but
the rest of the
17-under team will play another USA Volleyball season.
Warren's 16-under team went 2-7 in matches and 7-15 in games to finish in
27th place in the
16 Club Division.
The 16-under team, which finished second at the GEVA regional and was
seventh at the East
Coast Championships, was able to force three of their losing matches at the
nationals into a
third and deciding game. They lost 15-13 to South Bay of California which
finished 17th, 15-6
to Club Performance of California (10th), and 15-7 to Marauders of
California (25th). The
16-under team also beat Reniassance, a Pennsylvania team, 15-11 in a third
game. It's two-game
victory was over Foothill of Colorado, which finished 17th.
Playing for Warren's 16-under team were: Scott Fischer, Whitehouse
Station (54 kills and 28
digs at nationals); Mark Cangemi (40 kills, 14 digs) and Pat Fenton (34
kills, 12 digs), both
from Edison; Pavel Pregowski, Bridgewater (23 kills, 10 digs); Brian Toti
(11 kills, 6
blocks), setter Bobby Criss, and Chris Moskal (6 kills), all from East
Brunswick; and setter
Dave Ross, Perth Amboy (8 kills, 7 digs).
Warren's 14-under team finished 27th in the 14 Club Division, compiling a
2-6 record in
matches and 5-13 record in games.
Playing for the 14-under team were: Josh Coffing, Bayonne; Frank Livelli,
Belle Mead; Cyril
Naduparambil, Rahway; Doug Thorn II, Farmingdale; Sean Rose, South Amboy;
Michael Bertucci,
Gibbsboro; and Doug Staudemier, Montauk, N.Y.
Warren has plans to field 14-under, 15-under, 16-under, 17-under and
18-under teams this
year, and may establish more than one team in each age group if enough
players are interested.
For information, contact coaches Mario Caruso (908) 755-4556 or Fred Siegle
(732) 513-0917 or
Lori Fischer (908) 534-2525.
We took advantage of our time in Columbus to cheer for our fellow GEVA teams,
some of whom did very well!! We renewed friendships with those we only see
once
a year and made some new friends. I think what impressed me most about the
Championships was the strength of each division: the level of play continues
to
improve in all divisions and shows how enthusiastic teams are about wanting to
do well, not just show up.
We arrived in Columbus with 9 players and finished with 6: Roman Adrianowycz,
Bob Dingee, Steve Eaton, Bob Jackson, Will Lapp, Chip Lynch, Gregory Solovey,
Doug Staudenmaier and Charley Young Despite not playing up to our potential
(except against the division champions), we did alright, finishing 3-3 in pool
play. We received a bye into the single elim portion of the tournament and
lost
a chance to get into the gold bracket when each of the games of that first
match
were marred by injured players and the resulting loss of healthy leads. We
managed to win two matches in the silver bracket, before our lack of players
caught up with us. But we all enjoyed watching the finals of the remaining
divisions and cheering for the many GEVA teams in it right up to the end.
Next year the Championships are in Milwaukee and we encourage all teams to go
and measure themselves against the best in the country. Thanks to all who
made
our trip possible, especially George Fetz, Peter Wu of Six-Pak and the entire
GEVA staff.
In 1959 I started playing US Volleyball in my 1st V-Ball Tournament. Some
of the rules were: 15 points off your server was game, screening and clean
sets on the 1st ball were legal, if the blocker touched the ball on a block
it was one of your three hits, and if the blocker reached over the net it was
a foul.
For the past 8 years I have been a member of the 6 Pak Team under George
Fetz leadership, and with the support of the Empire Region have played at the
Nationals in the 45, 50, and now 55 Division.
In 41 years I have seen many changes: 25 point rally games, illegal
screening, 1st ball over with finger action can be a double hit, blockers can
reach over the net and it doesn't count as one of the 3 hits, serves that hit
the net and fall over are OK, and little people with different uniforms
running in and out of the game, playing back court without referee permission.
Thanks again for the Empire region support, so that old guys like me can
see more changes. Is this good or not? I don't know, but as soon as the grill
is hot and my hot dogs and hamburgers are done I'll sit down and decide.
Thanks again for your support in
Columbus.
Once again, the Warren Six Pak club was well represented at the USAV Open Volleyball Championships. This year's event, held in Columbus, Ohio, was a great success with more teams than ever participating in the age group competition. It is quite gratifying to be a part of the impressive growth of age group competition and to see the overall level of play go up as the players and teams get better each year. One of the benefits of this tournament is the camaraderie that develops. After a tough day of competition, players can enjoy the company of teammates and opponents over dinner and drinks. This is a great place to make new friends and renew old acquaintances. Each year I run into players from across the country that I only get to see once a year. I also run into people I know from my coaching days, including former juniors players who are now playing on adult teams.
Every year the tournament provides at least one lasting memorable moment and this year was no different. I was playing with the 50 and over team, and we were not doing particularly well, so any win was appreciated. We had actually not won a match yet, and I was serving. After gaining a couple of points in the deciding game, the other team called the obligatory time out as I was preparing to serve for game point. I had not missed a serve all tournament, so I was not particularly concerned by this ploy, but perhaps should have been forewarned by the ominous roll of thunder outside. The teams returned to the court and I prepared to serve for the match. I made the toss and sent a Nolan Ryan-speed slow pitch in the direction of the other court. As the ball approached the net, the bench was already letting me know the obvious, but their comments were drowned by the almost direct hit lightning strike and roar of thunder through the metal roof of the convention center that coincided with the collision of my serve with the net. Boy, when I miss a serve, I really miss. Of course this would be the end of the story if the other team had come back to win the match, but remember my description of how friendly everyone is. The next server on the other team promptly deposited his serve into the net to give us the win and get me off the hook.
This is an outstanding volleyball experience and anyone who loves the game should try to work a trip to Nationals into their schedule. Hope to see you in Milwaukee in May.
On TV today runs a commercial like this: A lady in track shoes and a sports bra-obviously a "jock", rumbles around the house cleaning. BAM! Through the wall bursts a" monster called ' Jason' with the famous hockey mask "bearing a chainsaw. " Jason " rushes towards the lady " jock ". She jumps out the window, jumps over a fence, jumps over a stream of water, then runs up and over a mountain, far, far out-pacing " Jason "" Jason ", climbs over the window brandishing his chainsaw after the lady, struggles over the fence, falls over in the stream, looks at the mountain, groans, tosses away his chainsaw, turns and limps back to whence he came, holding what obviously must be a very sore back. Moral of this story: If you want to live longer, play sports!
I, Paul Winkel, a senior volleyball player of this new millennium, emphasize with this story. 13 years ago when I began playing " garbage" volleyball and met my Volleyball playing wife on the court, I weighed 170 lbs (heavy for my slim body), had a cholesterol count of over 200, and had a blood pressure reading into the 90s , and sometimes into the 100s. Not to good a beginning.
Since playing a bit , learning at a rate of 2-clinics per year (8, 3 hours sessions weekly of intensity and bone racking work ), I now manage to play Sunday mornings ( 3-times per month, the 4th reserved for " Sunday School") in an over 50s seniors group comprising of Nationals' Gold @ Silver Medalists; Monday's men BB-LOCAL VERSES 20S @ 30S AGE GROUPS; Wednesday's Coed BB-level verses the 20s @ 30s group with my wife ( a Nationals, Silver Medalists); Thursday's AT the gym serving 100 good balls to a spot on the gym wall; Friday's in open play ; and, Saturday's in the local gym's weight room.
Today my CHLO reading is 173, blood pressure in the 70s @ 80s, and weight at 160 lbs-my weight when I graduated college in 1956.
This past 4 years, I've captioned 3 age 65+ teams, won the Gold once and Bronze twice; and, came in 4th this year. Next year I'll captain a 70s team.
I've met a few competitors of note this past heavily competitive 4 years. Of note: Whitey Freeburger, age 82, who set for a gold medal 60s team in last year's Senior Olympics; John Eaton age 84, who will have a 75= team at the nationals next year; Frank Green, age 75, who last year had heart surgery to replace a valve in May so he could play in the Utah Games in October; Frank Purson, Age 76 who rides mountain bikes in , yes, the mountains; George Holt, age 70, Who plays beach ball with the 20s and 30s. I guess it's the adrenalin high these guys - me too-get by playing all the time, not to mention my lower CHOL, blood pressure, and weight readings-and, I can also now see my "ab" muscles.
Yup! If you want to live longer, play sports! So…I'm Paul Winkel of Sterling, Virginia, a 31 year military service veteran, a retired Colonel, And a former Army Ranger, Airborne Parachutist, Fixed Z rotary Wing Army Aviator, Vietnam Veteran holder of the Silver Star, once-upon-a-time Eagle Boy Scout, and now a member of the Mid-Atlantic Volleyball Club, the Fairfax County Volleyball assoc., the Northern Virginia Volleyball Assoc., in the Chesapeake Region; and, a member of the National's All American Selection Committee… and… I'm a hitter with a 17inch vertical.
Thirteen Years ago, I didn't know beans about this sport… but, I do now. Yup! If you're a senior, take a few clinics, learn a sport… longer, and enjoy living!
Creole 16-1 (Junior Girls 16's)
Co-Captain
Creole BB (Women's BB)
Downstate "It Takes Six" (Women's BB)
by Lisa Buitekant Izbicki
Eastern Athletic Club (Women's A)
East Shore Volleyball Club I (Men's BB)
East Shore Volleyball Club
By: Jason Payman
East Shore II (Men's BB)
A Great First Year
by Brett Killman
Ensemble Rock (Women's B)
Livingston A (Women's A)
Long Island United (Junior Boys)
USA High Performance Camp: Joe Graeber USA Regional Camp: Stuart Katz, Mark Nagy, Kevin Cook, Rob
Green,
Tim Stoner, Scott Stoner, and Allan Cohn
1991 - 2000 (founder of Long Island volleyball programs)
Northport (Junior Girl's 14's & Under)
by Shula Feuer
North Shore VBC (Men's AA)
Stephen Edwards, North Shore VBC
Parsippany Men's BB (Men's BB)
Parsippany Women's BB (Women's BB)
PowerZone Red Rum (Men's B)
Since Nationals was a team experience, we decided to make this a
team project. As it turns out, it is half of a team project, but you
still
get the idea. In addition to my brief dialogue, you will get to hear a
comment or two from some of my teammates, which is what I wanted.
While I
might have been the captain on our outing to nationals, it was truly a
team
effort.
The best part about nationals was the opportunity to compete against
different teams from all over the country. On any given Sunday, we
play
many of the teams we faced before. Sometimes, the finals in one of our
local tournaments may be a repeat from the week prior. At nationals we
had
the chance to play teams we never saw before. This was both good and
bad.
On the negative side, we did not know the style of the opposing team.
Which
in some games, it was obvious. On the other side of the spectrum, not
knowing the opponents strengths forced us to rise up to the occasion.
This
in the long run made it possible for us to step up and roof seven foot
tall
giants. Overall, nationals was a great experience both on and off the
court.
By Mike Brokes, DS
This was my first Nationals experience and I must say that I had a
great
time. What could be better then a full week of volleyball, good
friends, and
not having to work. Winning would have been nice, but you can't have
everything. I think we got a bit bummed when we didn't make the upper
bracket despite having a winning record. Overall, I don't think we
played
that poorly but I can't say we played our best. At nationals only being
at
the top of your game is good enough to take home the medal. I want to
thank
everyone who supported us and I'm looking forward to next year.
It was the best of time it was the worst of times; OK maybe not the
worst
but some of those losses did hurt quite a bit. At times we played very
well
and other times we lost games and matches we should have won. But
that’s
just it Nationals is more than just a yearly volleyball event, it is an
experience; how else can you describe seeing over 30 volleyball courts
being
played on simultaneously by teams of varying ages and skill levels.
You get
to play against teams from all over the country and hear people say
those
guys in Kalamazoo aren’t that good or wow that team from Ohio was
really
loaded.
Resistencia (Men's BB)
By James Demery
PowerZone - Get Over It (Women's B)
PowerZone Limelight (Women's B)
Synchronicity (Women's BB)
by Mary Jane Lupton
The Ropes (Men's A)
Team Rep.
Warren Junior Boys (18's & under, 17's & under, 16's & under, 15's & under)
Warren Six Pak 45s
Once again the Championships were a great time. Like most of the teams which
didn't win their divisions, we have a sob story to tell-if you really want to
hear the complete accounting, let me know.
Warren Six Pak 55s
Warren Six Pak 50s
Warren Six Pak 60s
by Paul Winkel JR