Saturday's Fundraiser Schedule

Here's Saturday's tournament schedule. I hope everyone can stick around to give a hand until the tournament is over. Carole L. usually goes to the school around 4:00 on Friday to get the gym ready for Saturday. I can't go this time. Can Tina or Carole lend a hand with this since you're not too far?

Who's bringing the beer for the afterparty this time?

Stéphane

HOSTING OF VNB TOURNAMENTS - SEASON 2007-2008

Hi Gators

I sent a request to Volleyball New Brunswick for the hosting of tournaments for the upcoming season. The dates I requested are November 3, 2007 and February 9, 2008. I booked the gym, I will take care of the VNB administrative stuff, volunteers for scoring/scoresheets, etc... but the team needs 2 volunteers who could work together and take care of the prizes for these two VNB tournaments. Anyone interested ?
Thanks
Melanie

A Tip for Blocking, Defense - ANTICIPATE

Tracking your hitter is very important - to determine where they are going to hit, and to time your block jump. This way you can see and ANTICIPATE where the hitter is going to hit.

As soon as the ball is set and you realize that the ball is coming to an attacker that you are responsible for, your first step should be to the area that you are responsible for covering - in order to move to the correct area to block, take your eyes completely off of the ball (this is very difficult to get yourself to do) and watch the attacker's approach. This will help you to line up perfectly with the attacker.

If you see that your hitter's spike approach is coming toward you at an angle - then more than likely they are going to hit cross court, so you should line up in front of them to block their cross court. Line up to block the extension of their arm.
If your hitter's approach is in a straight line then they will likely hit down the line and you need to make sure that your body is squared up in front of them ready to block the extension of their arm.

For setters and off-sides, setting a good block communicates to the middle blocker where he/she has to close to. If you are going to move at the last second to your area the middle blocker will either crash into you or leave a huge seam in the block (more likely) and your block will be very unstable, leaving your defense for target practice.

Setting the block also communicates to your back row where they need to move to as the play develops. They need to cover the portion of the court that is outside the shadow of the block.

What's the shadow of the block, you say? The shadow of the block is the area behind the "perfect block" which doesn't/shouldn't need to be covered by defensive players. It's the spot where the opponent hitter can't hit because of the block. That's why, your defense should cover portion of the court that is outside the shadow.

What do YOU think about this?

Top 5 Volleyball Secrets That Make a BIG Difference With Your Serve Receive

The serve receive is the key to running your team's offense. Here are 5 volleyball tips that will make a BIG difference in your volleyball passing performance.

1) Keep a straight platform, by keeping elbows straight. (just like this picture)
One of the biggest mistakes players make when passing is bending their elbows to pass the ball. If you review this photo too you will notice that the player's "platform" aka the inside of their forearms that she presents... are so straight as a board you could use her arms as a flat table to eat on.
Bent elbows means less ball accuracy while straight arms gives more ball control and accuracy to guide the ball to the "setter" target.

2) Track the ball visually all the way into your arms.
There are alot of things to look at when the server has the ball just before the ref blows the whistle. There can be alot of things to be distracted by if you don't learn to concentrate and narrow your focus. What do you focus on? Once the server takes the volleyball in their hands and positions themselves to indicate where and how they are going to serve and then they start bouncing it in anticipation of serving it...at this point most elite athletes I know focus 125% ONLY on the ball in the server's hands. From this point on your eyes and mind should see and focus on nothing but the ball ALL THE way INTO your arms.
Track the ball all the way into your arms visually ...so that you can see your straight platform.

3) Don't break your arms apart.
No matter how hard or easy the serve...keep your arms together when you pass. Fight to maintain good passing technique. You have to fight the temptation of breaking your arms together especially when you are passing on the move. That's why it's important to pass with your feet first, get stopped then use the correct technique. Don't be lazy just because it seems like an easy pass to make.

4) Pass with both feet on the volleyball court floor.
Don't jump bump. Very easy reasoning...when you are in the air you have much less to no control of your body and/or the ball but if your feet remain on the ground you can make small adjustments (maybe an extra step forward or backward if needed) to control the outcome of the serve receive 99% better.

5) Pass with your feet (first) not with your arms.
This sounds a little tricky to understand but what this means is that you need to get into the habit of getting to the ball first by getting your feet behind the ball, first, no matter where it is.

The serve receive is the key to running your team's offense. Here are 5 volleyball tips that will make a BIG difference in your volleyball passing performance.

1) Keep a straight platform, by keeping elbows straight. (just like this picture)
One of the biggest mistakes players make when passing is bending their elbows to pass the ball. If you review the photos of elite players both indoor volleyball and sand volleyball players when they serve receive you will notice that their "platforms" aka the inside of their forearms that they present... are so straight as a board you could use their arms as a flat table to eat on.
Bent elbows means less ball accuracy while straight arms gives more ball control and accuracy to guide the ball to the "setter" target.


2) Track the ball visually all the way into your arms.
There are alot of things to look at when the server has the ball just before the ref blows the whistle. There can be alot of things to be distracted by if you don't learn to concentrate and narrow your focus. What do you focus on? Once the server takes the volleyball in their hands and positions themselves to indicate where and how they are going to serve and then they start bouncing it in anticipation of serving it...at this point most elite athletes I know focus 125% ONLY on the ball in the server's hands. From this point on your eyes and mind should see and focus on nothing but the ball ALL THE way INTO your arms.
Track the ball all the way into your arms visually ...so that you can see your straight platform.

3) Don't break your arms apart.
No matter how hard or easy the serve...keep your arms together when you pass. Fight to maintain good passing technique. You have to fight the temptation of breaking your arms together especially when you are passing on the move. That's why it's important to pass with your feet first, get stopped then use the correct technique. Don't be lazy just because it seems like an easy pass to make.

4) Pass with both feet on the volleyball court floor.
Don't jump bump. Very easy reasoning...when you are in the air you have much less to no control of your body and/or the ball but if your feet remain on the ground you can make small adjustments (maybe an extra step forward or backward if needed) to control the outcome of the serve receive 99% better.

5) Pass with your feet (first) not with your arms.
This sounds a little tricky to understand but what this means is that you need to get into the habit of getting to the ball first by getting your feet behind the ball, first, no matter where it is.

A Look at the Coach's Foot: Gross

 This is why I will wear an ankle brace from now on when I play volleyball.

Remember to use this website to post comments, and anything you want to say about the team, events, your game, what you want to work on for the next practice, etc.

Also, if you have any questions about your game, such as blocking, hitting, communication, whatever (I don't know everything) I can find online articles to answer anything you throw at me. So you should take advantage of that. I will post everything you need to know on this website.

Here's an intresting website. It showcases a young volleyball player who's using the web to promote her skills (to university or college recruiters) to attract attention to her. She has videos showing all her skills as an agressive setter.

À bientôt.

Stéphane

Fundraiser Tournament Update: 6 Teams Signed-Up

Hi Gators !

We now have 6 teams registered for our fundraiser on September 29th :
Cougars, Gators, Femmes Fatales, Oxygen, Under 18 and The Bengals. Only 2 spots left since we're accepting a maximum of 8 teams.

I am looking for prizes if any of you guys know sponsors or compagnies who would give prizes such as hats, T-Shirts, pens, mugs, note pads, gift certificates etc.... If the owner requests a letter explaining the fundraiser, please let me know and I'll bring copies on Wednesday.

See you later Alligators !
Have a nice week end

Mélanie :o)

Practice Night and Gym Costs for 2007

GATORS UPDATES

We are going to play against the Senior B team Femmes Fatales every Wednesday night.

A commitment was made with them for the period from September 12th to December 12th for every Wednesday instead of every second Wednesday like we did the previous seasons. They will pay half of the cost with us. It will cost each of the Gators $25 for the period before Christmas. Please bring this amount as soon as possible since I paid the amount in full last week.

If the Gators wish to have a practice with drills with Stephane during the season, it will have to be scheduled on another night. We can schedule a practice if we want to practice and improve specific skills and techniques.

We now have 5 teams registered for our fundraiser on September 29th : Cougars, Gators, Oxygen, Femmes Fatales, U18.

See you all on Wednesday !

Mel