Welcome to the National Team Blog!  Athletes from all national teams will write about their lives as Team Canada members.
 

TCVC Blog - July 1st , 2010
Written by: Larry McKay - Invited assistant coach 
Written about: Men's National Team trip to Australia - exhibition matches

Match #4 is in the history books now.   Team Canada prevailed 3-0 to square the 4 match series at 2 wins for each side.  Arm wrestling will commence at 50 paces later this evening for the bragging rights to the series.

Starters for this afternoon were Schneider setting, Soonias opposite, Duff and Mainville in the middle, Raymond at libero, Winters and van Lankvelt at outside.

I dont recall the scores.  A balanced team attack was again anchored by the serve reception of Winters, Raymond and van Lankvelt.  Transitional points were scored often beginning with effective serving, which led to few middle and pipe attack opportunities for the Australians.  Team block-defense on the right side attack of the Australians was handled better today.  Cundy and Wilcox again entered sets one and three for crucial points.

All in all, the tour began with less than wonderful performance in the first match.  Improvement was shown every day the team was here.  The Australians were an impressive team and Team Canada used their training time wisely to get their game up to the level they expected of themselves.   In the end, the level of Team Canada was sufficient to result in a close 3-2 win last night and a 3-0 win today.

Travel back to Canada tomorrow will begin at 10am local time, which is 7pm Saturday night in Winnipeg where all world time is of course best measured.  The team members head to their own destinations after we land in Los Angeles.  Those returning to Ottawa will get in sometime around midnight local time.  That makes the total trip about 28 hours.  But, thanks to that wonderful perplexing thing known mysteriously, invisibly as the International Date Line, everyone gets home Sunday night if all goes according to schedule.  What a great world.  After a two week break the team resumes training with their next competitions being right at home in Canada versus the Cuban National Team.  Every moment of training between now and those matches will be vital for the team to match up with one of the best in the world.

TCVC Blog - June 30th, 2010
Written by: Larry McKay - Invited assistant coach 
Written about: Men's National Team trip to Australia - exhibition matches

In our scrimmages with Team Australia yesterday we played 5 competitions (some wash activities, some straight scrimmages) and won 4.  Once again however neither coach was using a set lineup.  All of our players were used except Steve Brinkman who is undergoing treatment for a back problem.

Strong performances were exhibited by many on our side.  Dallas Soonias excelled attacking and serving.   Louis Pierre Mainville was a good middle attacker and blocker as was Justin Duff.  Steve Gotch was excellent on serve receive.  Gavin Schmitt, limited to back row only, provided some great attacks from behind the 3 metre line.  Benoit Raymond was an excellent defender late in the exhibitions due largely to the work assistant coach Vincent Pichette did with him in the morning practice.

This morning the team had a brief on court session followed by weights.  Shortly they will begin their third and final informal scrimmage session with the Australian Team.

Aside from the volleyball, the day has been a slightly warmer one though only just.  A few more clouds have decorated the sky but there has still been more than enough bright sunshine to please those who enjoy it.

Tomorrow the team packs up and boards another Qantas airplane to Melbourne.  An hour in duration, this flight has potential to be the most pleasant of our above-earth-in-a-shoebox-with-wings experiences.

Friday is the 3rd match of our series and Saturday is the 4th and final match, both in Melbourne.

TCVC Blog - June 29th, 2010
Written by: Larry McKay - Invited assistant coach 
Written about: Men's National Team trip to Australia - exhibition matches

It is now Tuesday here in Canberra.  Monday we practiced in the morning and scrimmaged with the Australian team in the late afternoon. 

Steve Brinkman is still unable to participate.  Steve Gotch returned, though a few kilograms lighter.  I won't get into the details of how that took place but anyone who has had a flu bug, you know the drill.  Gavin Schmitt returned in the scrimmage in the back row.  With no risk of reinjuring his hand by blocking, he was able to return to play.

Team Canada played with five different lineups in five wash drill/scrimmages.  The team was successful in winning four of the five though neither coach was trying to put together their strongest lineup at any one time.  Our side showed improved sideout play which has been an emphasis for them in their training.

In Tuesday morning's practice, the team used both available courts to work on libero/setters and blocking.  Another round of scrimmages is set for later this afternoon.

Bill Murray would like this place as it is another carbon copy day with bright sun and brisk temperature.  The end is near for us however with one more full day after this one.  We have been treated very well.  The cafeteria food has been excellent and varied.  Indeed, it was a big day here today when all discovered their was a once weekly housekeeping service.  Laundry facilities are handy and the gym is within a 3 minute walk from the residence and the cafeteria.  As this is the Australian Institute of Sport, the other inhabitants we encounter are athletes.  We do seem to be the only foreign group however.  News from home and around the world arrives at at odd times and it is easy to feel disconnected.  With internet available in every room it is convenient for keeping up with everyone though waking some up in the middle of the night is rather common.  We are 15 hours ahead of Winnipeg time and that of course as everyone knows is where all time around the world should be measured.
 

TCVC Blog - June 26th, 2010
Written by: Larry McKay - Invited assistant coach 
Written about: Match #2
 
Team Canada played their second of four official matches versus Australia last night (Saturday) here in Canberra.  The result was 3-0 for Australia, 25-18, 25-23, 25-23, or something like that.

Team Canada started Josh Howatson at setter, Dallas Soonias opposite, Louis-Pierre Mainville and Adam Kaminski in the middle, Toon van Lankvelt and Fred Winters at leftside and Ben Raymond at libero.

Australia got off to a strong start with serving and defense.  Team Canada was slower with the first starts for Howatson, van Lankvelt and Kaminski.  By the end of the first set the team was beginning to find a consistent level.  Set two was close with Team Canada having a slight edge through most of the first 20 points.  A few miscues at the end led to the Australia win.  The third set was close with a few points being scored by the Australians through their serving.  Down 24-21 Canada defended well to get to 23 but after a long rally they failed to tie the score and lost the set and the match.

Justin Duff came in to sub out Mainville, Dustin Schneider came in for a few points for Howatson.

In all there wasn't any one area the team was overly poor or strong in.  With new starters for this match the team is working towards clearly identifying jobs and then doing them well.

Today (Sunday) is an off day from training.  Bright, sunny and chilly here (maybe plus 10), the team is at the halfway point of their time here.  With 7 more days, 5 of them being either with a match, a scrimmage, a practice, a weight session or some combination of those activities, the players and staff are looking towards fixing some of the major areas of breakdown.  The return of Kaminski from injury is a positive.  Steve Brinkman is still out and Gavin Schmitt is as well for the most part.  There are two more matches to be played.  As expected the Australian team is playing well and the competition for our side is good.  We travel to Melbourne Thursday for our two matches Friday and Saturday.

TCVC Blog - June 25-26th, 2010
Written by: Larry McKay - Invited assistant coach 
Written about: Day 4 and 5 of the trip to Australia - exhibition matches

The day after our first match we spent on our own until noon.  A nice day in Brisbane, many took the opportunity to walk through the downtown market area.  The small shops are very similar to those at home. 

At noon our hosts picked us up to drive to a nice viewing area of Brisbane for a bite to eat.  Next was the airport where we boarded another Qantas flight to Canberra.  Thankfully this one was only just under 2 hours.  They gave us a cookie on this flight.  A big one.  Already they are a friendlier airline than our own domestic carrier in my book.

Canberra was rainy upon our arriving at 5 pm.  We were transported to the Australian Institute of Sport and it was now dark and the rain was steady.  For the locals this downpour was welcome as they have been in a drought for the last decade.  At the AIS we were given our dormitory room assignments and then headed over to the gym for our first practice since our loss the previous evening. 

Still smarting from our poor performance, the team was all business from the beginning.  After a brief warmup they began some tough training activities which involved attacking and digging.  The emphasis was squarely placed on avoiding needless careless errors and returning ourselves to the higher standard of execution we expect.  The practice used two courts and very little down time for any player.  Well organized, it was a good volume of higher intensity repetitions in a short amount of time.  The practice ended with serve receive.  As was to be expected after a poor performance, all the players were shouldering their share of the load in the practice and there was no absence due to injury.  Gavin's finger, Adam's thumb and Steve's knee are all about the same and they are putting in extra time with physiotherapist Kris Seguin.

After a nice supper in the cafeteria the team turned in for the night.  The cafeteria here is an interesting place where there is a real emphasis on performance.  The foods are healthy and some have caloric content per serving size.

Saturday dawned with sun and cooler temperatures.  It was somewhere around 5 Celsius.  Nice.  After breakfast the team returned to the gym at 10:30am for practice.  It was a resumption of the themes and emphasis from the night before.  Absent however was Steve Gotch who had a bad night with a lower body injury..... OK, this isn't the NHL playoffs, he had a flu bug or something with similar symptoms.  Lunch has followed and the coaches have adjourned for their video preparations.  The team will have a gameplan meeting then will transport to the game venue some 20 minutes away for match #2 this evening.  Saw kangaroos.  They were a family of 6 with one of them in the mother's pouch.  Just wanted to insert that somewhere so as awkwardly as that fit into the above masterpiece, I thought it added a nice touch.

I'll add in the details of our match this evening in the next posting.

TCVC Blog - June 24th, 2010
Written by: Larry McKay - Invited assistant coach 
Written about: Day 3 of the trip to Australia - exhibition matches

Thursday, day three of our trip here in Australia centred around our first of four matches.  After a 45 minute drive to the game venue, we practiced for 90 minutes.  We returned to rest and were back on the bus three hours before the scheduled first serve.  At 7:30pm Team Canada took the floor with Dustin Schneider setting, Dallas Soonias opposite, Nicholas Cundy and Fred Winters at left side, Justin Duff and Louis Pierre Mainville at middle and Benoit Raymond at libero.  The team struggled to find a consistent good level of play.  There were plenty of good moments but overall there were many mistakes that led to easy Australian points.  Set two saw the same lineup and the same result.  Jeremy Wilcox and Steve Brinkman subbed in at the end of the 2nd set which was within a good play of being tied.  Set three saw a few lineup changes with Josh Howatson setting, Cundy moving to opposite and Toon van Lankvelt in as a left side.  The team still could not find a consistent level of play. With the 3-0 loss, Team Canada moves on to Canberra Friday for another two practices before the 2nd match Saturday night.

TCVC Blog - June 21-23th, 2010
Written by: Larry McKay - Invited assistant coach 
Written about: Day 1 and 2 of the trip to Australia - exhibition matches

Day one was an airport and airplane filled day for Team Canada.  Picture our 6'10 Gavin Schmitt shoehorned into a seat which offers cramped quarters to a normal sized sub-6 foot person.  Now multiply that humour or displeasure by 7 hours to Los Angeles and 14 hours over the Pacific to Brisbane, Australia.  Needless to say we were all happy to emerge from our locked down status aboard the Qantas 747 at 6am local time.  As with any air travel, we were all grateful for arriving safe and sound.  All of our luggage arrived safely as well which was a bonus.

After a breakfast at the hotel, we rested up until our practice in the afternoon.  A quick walk outside our hotel revealed a downtown market area with most of the same shops one is accustomed to seeing back home.  Brisbane being located on the Australian coast, there is plenty of seafood purporting to be fresh.  We'll wait until we get confirmation of that from a local.

Team Canada stepped on the court for practice in the afternoon at the Queensland Academy.  Split into two groups half of the team went to the weight room under the watchful eye of assistant coach Vincent Pichette where they had a vigorous and activating 45 minute session.  The other half began on court with head coach Glenn Hoag.  The two groups switched places and then joined together for a full team session of about 30 minutes.  A few players are a little banged up but all participated.  Gavin Schmitt, Steve Brinkman and Adam Kaminski are working towards their full return.   Jeremy Sheppard who is a native Canadian welcomed us to where he currently works with the elite Australian athletes.

The bed looked pretty inviting after spending the previous day and night in an airplane.  Day one has been successful in that we have arrived safely and begun our preparations for playing versus a strong home team.
 

TCVC Blog - May 1st, 2010
Written by: Colette Meek - Women's Indoor Senior National Team
Written about: The second mesocycle of the Women's Full-Time Training Centre

 Well, well, well. What to add seeing as how our girl Ton has pretty much covered everything from this last month? Sorry, by month I meant "mesocycle". I may or may not be slightly uncomfortable with words I don't understand... I'm a little late on writing this but I came to the conclusion that I think rather than try to dig something new to talk about (Peg City weather? new Mizuno kicks? Japan test results? Ah who am I kidding, you know you want those too) I'll just provide my take on what Tonya already wrote. So fix yourselves a snack and saddle up for round 2.
First off, fresh from the streets of Azerbaijan - Tash came back and the party that is FTC finally officially started. Although our former little crew of 5 was somehow finding a way to get on without her before she make an appearance, there is no question the amount of hilarious/ridiculous comments was increased at least tenfold with the addition of our favourite Jamaican. Since, like Ton said, she's sadly still semi-injured, she gets to tear up setting reps and will be competing for that position come tryouts. She sets a mean pipe.
I'm just sayin'.
O'Reilly, Sam, all y'all... you better sleep with one eye open from now til May.

We also had the privilege of competing in a number of other sports besides volleyball this month - yoga, bowling, wall climbing, badminton, squash, track and field (oh wait, no. My bad. That was just monthly testing and the 4x of cardio per week. Beep/Japan test whatup). Among other things, Ton was gracious in saying we all did a good job but I'm just gonna call it like it is and say I have solidified my place as the worst Team Canada athlete to ever pick up a racket. All-time. While Julie was tearing up courts with no regard for human life (including Lupo), I lost every single set I played individually in both badminton and squash. I don't have a lot more to say about that but I just thought the record should be set straight. The other girls proved they undoubtedly have a bright future in "lifestyle" sports once the volleyball days are over... I, sadly, do not. Nichole may have shed a few single tears at how I desecrated her sport.

Moving on.

The Olympics were an integral part of making our lives worth living, ahem, FUN, this last mesocycle. If anyone would like to see proof of how to get a cardio workout via spectator sports, there is a video of us watching Team Canada men's hockey. Fists pumping, tears flowing and heart rates racing. Daryl would've been proud. Maximal effort, no doubt. (For anyone that has somehow forgotten, "maximal effort" is Daryl's call to arms. We love it). We all felt like there is no question we contributed to that gold. You're welcome Canada.
Seriously though, the Olympics being in Canada was really special and though we wished we could've gone out to Vancouver to experience a little bit of the hype in person, we definitely felt some goosebumps at imagining what it would be like to represent Canada on the world stage at that special event ourselves one day too. The daydreams became a little more real for those two weeks.

Tonya also mentioned how a few of us had the chance to get out into the community and read to some school kids. Janie and Kelci went to one school and Julie and I to another and I can honestly say it was a delight. I know I have to clarify when I'm being genuine and I swear I am when I say that. The kids were so cute and asked a million hilarious questions including "Are you two BFFLs?" (Translation? And yes, obviously) and "Are you on the curling team at U of M?" (Seriously. At least 4 times. What about us says CURLER?!). It was awesome to get out and do something to represent Team Canada and give back, even in a small way.

Other than that, life in Peg City is fabulous and we are all getting better both on the court and in the weight room every day. Adam, Adrienne, Daryl, Lupes and our guest coaches for the month all helped us improve. We are loving FTC but also getting a little antsy for all y'all to come back in May for reunion 2010. It will be called tryouts. Bring your Kleenexes. And don't forget your accreditation. Ahaha.

That's about all I've got for now and it's at this point in the message we're all thinking how grateful we are that Adrienne assigned both me AND Tonya to cover this mesocycle or otherwise this would be all you'd have to work with. Thanks Ton! Thanks Adrienne!

And don't be a stranger. You have my email address, I need more of you kids in my life.

Love,
Colette

TCVC Blog - May 1st, 2010
Written by: Tonya Mokelki -Women's Indoor Senior National Team
Written about: The second mesocycle of the Women's Full-Time Training Centre

Tonya's memories of the second meso-cycle:

Well the second meso-cycle has come and gone rather quickly. With it only lasting four short weeks and with Lupo traveling and vacationing :) for part of it, we had some new additions to our little family. U of M's very own assistant coach Dave became our guest coach along with a few sessions being run by a past men's team player Scott Koski. It was great to have them step in to help out when we needed a person to run practice. On top of that we officially became 6 FTC players!! Tasha came and joined us at the beginning of this meso-cycle which increased our number to 6.....well 5 1/2 or 5 3/4 she says, depending on how her ankle is feeling. Tasha is not doing as much in practice due to her ankle injury but she is pretty much living at the U of W to have Ben work on it and get it fixed so she'll be ready to go come tryouts. We also attended "Bowl for Kids Sake" and raised money for Big Brothers and Big Brothers which was a lot of fun and created a cheer off of Tiff's legendary "We're Canada.....clap clap".... etc. I believe Nicole put it on facebook if anyone wishes to enjoy! Some of the girls even drove out to a couple elementary schools to read to the kids for a few hours which they said they really enjoyed and received some entertaining questions.

We also got to try out some other activities as well in place of a couple practices. Our first week back we went Rock Climbing which was quite the experience, even Adam, Darryl, Adrienne and her two adorable kids joined us in the fun. Everyone made it to the very top of at least one climb!! For our second activity, it was once again a racket sport, so who once again conquered all???? Who else but the racket lefty Jules!!!!!!! Since Squash is Nicole's sport she took the time to come and teach us the basic rules and supervised us (we weren't too good at calling "let!" ooops!!). The only injury was to Julie who hit herself on the leg with her racket, and Tonya who smoked her head on the door hinge (I think the doors were made for five foot nothing people). Other than that the day was a complete success. We will have to continue to try other racket sports to see if anyone can knock Julie off her undefeated streak.

We continue to do the slings every morning and everyone is getting so much stronger it is ridiculous! Not only are we using the slings but now some days we also use physioballs with the slings! WOWZA! One day we also attempted to stand on and then squat on the ball, some of us struggled with this but Janie has already mastered this skill and can even get on the ball by herself!

On the court, our focused continued pretty similar to the first meso, but some ball control drills became more advanced (meaning more running :) ) There was also more focus on arm swings and hitting shots with more power. The hitters hit from boxes a lot to work on quick snaps while the libero's focused more on defense and passing. Kelci had some fun drills of her own which included setting the weighted ball against the wall and setting into a basket off of out digs with 3 fingers then 2 fingers until she got 10 points!!!

In the weight room, half way through the cycle we switched to 4x a week and progressed into a power phase so we were lifting more with less reps. Everyone is getting so much stronger and it is great to see the energy everyone has in the weight room and for cardio. Our heart rates are still being monitored during cardio as well as testing which happened at the end of our cycle. Everyones time on the t-test improved with is awesome, along with everyone either tying or beating their best on the japan test!

Overall it has been a great cycle and we are all excited to see what the next one brings!
 

Beach Blog - March 30th, 2010
Written by : Maverick Hatch & Ben Saxton - Beach National Team

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands - First international event of my career and I came away with fourth place. It’s always the worst losing your final game of a tournament but there are many positives I took from the game, the event, and the trip in general.

It was the first tournament that Ben Saxton and I have played in, with exception to a youth event last summer. Playing with Ben was great; we started strong in our first against Jamaica beating them two straight. The heat was almost too much and we let them back in the second set but managed to close it out 21-18. Our next match was against Guatemala and again we won in two but let them battle with us in the second set before going on a run to end the match.

That put us into the quarters against Puerto Rico1. Like the previous two matches Ben and I came out playing great with aces, and digs, siding out consistently and making few errors. Like our previous games, the second set wasn’t the same story and we allowed them to take it – going into the third and final set it was side out for side out until Puerto Rico went on a quick late set run to close it out 13-15 kicking us to the back door quarter final later that night against USA2.

The game against USA2 was probably one of our best. It was a night game and the lights were hard to deal with but the heat was gone so I was happy. We made quick work of the Americans beating them in two straight sets matching us up with Martin/Ray, Canada1, in the semi-final the following morning.

CAN1 vs CAN2 semi-final. Ben and I were playing great in the first and closed it out 21-10. There was a slight wind and both Ben and I were serving tough scoring many aces. The first set dominance was also aided by the fact that Martin and Ray came out a bit flat, weren’t serving very well, and were making error’s they don’t usually make. The second set they battle back, and once again my energy level was running low. With the humidity, the temperature was around 41 degrees.

I was now battling the other Canadian team as well as the sun and in the third set I used my medical time out to cool down and rehydrate. Unfortunately, Martin and Ray were already rolling and only getting stronger. They came back out and ended the game on two big blocks by Martin (both on me…). Just like that we had lost all momentum after the first set and found ourselves playing for bronze against USA1.

After a slow start we suffered our only first set loss of the tournament. We bounced back right away rolling over them in the second 21-12. In the third, it was a game of runs. I opened up the set with two quick aces, Ben had a block, and we switched 4-1. After that, USA went on a run of their own due to a couple errors on our side of the net. Battling all set we found ourselves locked up at 10-10, 11-11, 12-12, and so on… USA had the advantage and we got it back on a big block. Ben was back serving and put the ball to Ivan again, he tried to shoot over my block down the line but I swatted it back and just before it hit the sand John Moran dug it up and caught us off guard winning the point.

We switched sides and they were serving for the game, it was a scramble rally and we had a swing to keep the game going but it didn’t end well, USA won the game 17-19 in the third set. Ben and I walked away with 4th.

Up next, Slave Lake Alberta with my usual partner Matt LeBourdais. For more detailed updates, pictures, and video (posted in the next few weeks) check out www.maverickhatch.com.

Team Canada Full Time Training Centre January
 
We have had a great first mesocycle, and have experienced many new things. We have endured vigorous training both on and off court but we have seen great improvement. We started off as six, Falin joined us for the first ten days, which was awesome, but she had to go back to school in Texas, we are now at a great group of five.
 
Lupo has implemented a new stabilizing core routine which we do every morning called  ‘slings.’ These slings hang from the roof of the judo room and we do many different exercises with them such as planks (front, back and side) push-ups and other crazy German maneuvers. The slings continually test our limits and I feel as if I have gotten better at them, but Lupo always finds a way to make each one more difficult.
 
On court we have really been focusing on technique, everyone plays every position. We started with defense, Lupo took video of us and we watched ourselves dig and we were able to see what we needed to work on, we have done this twice since we have been here and it has been very helpful.  Setting has been a key focus as well, we are constantly working on our setting skills and are seeing great improvement with that as well. We have also been working on our arm swings, most importantly our ‘snaps.’  We progressed from using tennis balls (insert pic), to throwing the ball down against the wall, to eventually hitting the ball over the net; again we were videotaped and were able to see how our snap was. Ball control has been our main focus this past mesocycle, we have done many drills that incorporate this concept. We have worked on hitting to targets (line, deep cross, and sharp cross) so that we may put our opponent into trouble even if it’s just a placement shot. The main ball control drill that we have been working on is a literal ‘bump, set, spike’ drill where we pass a ball get set by the target then attack the ball to six, where there is another passer waiting. The goal for this mesocycle is to go 30 balls over the net in 3 attempts, we have been able to do this, and in fact the other day we made a record of 64! Whoop Whoop!
 
In the weight room we have seen improvements as well. We lift 3 times a week and alternate between arms and legs. We are in the building stage, so we have between 2-3 sets with 8-15 repetitions. We also do cardio at the end of every weight session where we must stay within a certain heart rate range. Adam continues to push us hard, and we are seeing great improvements to our strength. Daryl has also been doing a lot of testing on us, every Monday we do our platform test and when we do cardio we all have heart monitors strapped to us, and are expected to stay within a certain heart rate range.  Daryl has also monitored our every move as well, the first week we were all given a heart monitor that was literally stuck on us 24/7. There were two probes that stuck to our skin just above our hearts and we attached the small heart monitor. This tracked our every movement, it could tell how well we slept, our caloric output, and our heart rate, I’m sure it had a fun-o-meter in there as well, why wouldn’t there be? We have also been doing hot yoga once a week; I really enjoy this, although we do yoga after a long day of practice in the morning and weights in the afternoon. Nonetheless I find it is good for clearing the mind and forcing myself to push through some of the poses, which in turn can only make me better on the court. Lupo also mixed it up on Friday and we had a badminton tournament, it was a fun change up! Lupo and Tonya won the doubles tournament, and I managed to win the singles part, Lupo was not impressed!
 
We have learned a lot about each other as well. We have sessions once a week with Adrienne and we have heard each other talk about what we want to get out of the centre, it’s good because we can hold each other accountable to our goals. We have also heard each others volleyball stories, and how we have gotten to where we are today, for myself telling this story gave me goosebumps and it just reminded me of how privileged I am playing for Team Canada. Looking back to where I started my volleyball career gives me motivation to keep working hard and stay very focused so that I may help Team Canada in the future!
 
This has been a very great experience for myself thus far and I’m looking forward to the next mesocycle!

TCVC BLOG - November, 2009
Written by: Steve Brinkman - Men's Indoor Senior National Team

I am playing in Tokyo this year, it is just a small town in central Japan. You might have heard of it. We have not yet started our season as our first league match is Dec 5th. Since my arrival here, I have been going through some intense pre season Japanese style samurai training sessions. Some lasting up to 6 hours!!! The ol "Hoagie Grind" has nothing on this!! haha. I am pretty excited to get the season started! In the meantime I have been enjoying the amazing and plentiful things to see and do in such a crazy metropolis. I am living in the "Beverly Hills" area of Japan, so I get alot of looks while walking around in my sweat pants and hoodie.. or maybe its just because I am blond and 3 feet taller then everyone else. The people are extremely friendly and accomodating here. Some will actually go out of their way to help you out. I think that in Japan we (my wife and I) have felt the most "at home" of all the places and countries that we have lived. A combination of friendly people, familiar shops (we shopped at Costco the other week!) there is so much to do and see, and I have a slingbox this year so I can watch canadian tv!! I catch alot of hockey games as with the time difference they are on in the mornings when I roll out of bed! However the current funk that the leafs are experiencing sometimes I am close to "losing my breakfast" haha. Thats all I got for now!

BEACH - Training to Compete Camp - July 28th, 2009

Written by : Ben Saxton

Two days after the camp is over and I know I'm going to miss it.  Not matter how much we got worked, how sore I got, or how many times I couldn't wait for the camp to be over for those reasons, I'm still going to look back on it with fond memories.  I came into the camp worried about whether I could handle it and whether it would help me, I leave the camp as a better athlete, a better player and, hopefully, a better person.  Even before the camp ended results have already started to come with a first place finish for Jessi and I at the Corona Open in Vancouver. Hopefully we can keep that up leading into Kelowna, Nationals, and our overseas tournaments, though the competition is always fierce for all of those, so we will need to continue to "Work Hard", "Fully Jump", hit "Extreme Diagonal", and any other Lennardism you can think of. (Sorry if that doesn't make sense to anyone who wasn't part of the camp). Jessi and I leave for Kelowna tomorrow morning, for anyone who's interested in volleyfest, the website is www.centerofgravity.ca.  Many of the camps athletes are competing there, so it should be a solid event, which will be covered by The Score. That’s all I've got for now. Hope the summer is treating everyone well.
Ben

Training to Compete Camp - July 15th, 2009

Written by : Steven Kung - Beach National Team

These past two weeks have been jam packed with training and more training. The days are long and gruelling at times,  it is hard to stay mentally focused during our " 2 a day" trainings sessions. However, seeing my teammates encourage one another and perform at such high levels inspires me to demand more from myself. All the players here are extremely talented and athletic; nonetheless, everyone is very down to earth and easy to get along with.  We are like a family here; everyone looks out for each other on and off the sand. Beach volleyball is still relatively new for me, but with great coaching and talented athletes surrounding me, I hope to keep learning and improving.

Training to Compete Camp – July 9, 2009

Written by:  Kacie MacTavish - Beach National Team
 
It is great to have everyone here from all across the country playing and training together. Training with teams from different areas and experience levels introduces different styles of play and competition to everyone and is a great way to improve and prepare for international competition. It’s a lot of fun and having a camp format is a great way to get used to being away from home while playing. The way the camp is organized and how we are supposed to approach camp is as though it is an FIVB event and prepare for practice and training as we would prepare for matches at an FIVB event, which is new to a few people and therefore a great learning experience. So far I have learned a lot about myself as a player and what I need to do in order to be prepared for high level competition and having these girls here pushing me to improve is exactly what I need.

Training to Compete Camp – July 9, 2009

Written by: Garrett May - Beach National Team

So this is my first blog entry, ever, we’ll see how it goes. Will and I qualified for worlds last week. It was a big win for us. Chow/Del Bianco had beaten us in pool play the previous day, so I was happy that we could rally back to win the final. We also had a tough semi-final match against Fontaine/White from New Brunswick, we ended up winning 15-13 in the third. I was scared, it could have all been over right there. But we pulled through and now we get to go to Turkey!
We are currently staying in residence at U of T while we attend the national team training camp. The first week has been quite interesting, and I’ve had a lot of new experiences. This is the first time I’ve been completely responsible for myself; it’s been fun, but also challenging. I’m looking forward to travelling to Turkey this year. We’re going expecting to win, but we know it’s going to take a lot of work to get there. Bring it on.