Victory in Denver!

What a weekend. Well, the good news is that Loric and I have brought the “Wilson/AVPNext Rocky Mountain Zone Championship” home to New Mexico. Although we're not entirely sure what the title of the event entails, we did manage to walk away from the Colorado Professional Volleyball Association's 4th event victorios. It was probably the biggest win for us as a team in the little more than a year that we have been playing together, and we were both excited and elated by the result. Denver has some very strong and talented teams, and we got to play a number of them. It was surprisingly hot on Saturday. After winning our first match, we faced the top seeded team of Tony and Curtis. They are both excellent players and play very well together. They beat us that match in three games. We regrouped and focused in for the rest of our games. We battled our way back through the losers bracket, improving as the day went on and widening the margin of victory in every game until we faced Tony and Curtis again in the crossover match. For most of the match, we played some of our best volleyball and were able to win in two games. This rolled us over to the finals agains Paige and Ryan T. By 7:00 when the match started, we had seen it all, heat and intense sun, wind, calm, sprinklers shooting off all over, and we were about to face the twilight. Paige and Ryan played great, and the majority of the match was very cleanly played with only a few natural points scored. After winning the first game, we dropped the second and in virtual darkness managed to pull out a 15-13 victory. The match had taken almost two hours! So, after 13 1/2 hours and 13 games we felt like we had done something awesome. It is very satisfying to see the results of all our off season training and conditioning and practice pay off. We heard this might be the first time a team from outside of CO has won one of these events, and I think we're probably the shortest team to win. Anyhow, we're kind of soaking it in for now before turning to focus on what's coming up for the rest of the season.

Sneakerz #5

Time for another battle in sole of Sneakerz. Hopefully the volleyball community is feeling much healthier, and without many other tournies in the region, we'd expect a good turnout. So, here's who's playing so far:
1) Loric Box/ Adam Rubel
2) Matt Valencia/ Chris Hammock
3) Vince Vandermay/ Matt Gordon
4) Paul Sanchez/ Brett
5) Steve/ Steve
6) Tavake/ Steve
7) Ricardo Sanchez/ Tony Perrera
8) Jeff Poole/ ?

V-Ball in D-Town

So, we're gearing up to play in the “Wilson/AVPNext Rocky Mountain Zone Championships” in Denver. It's our first trip of the year up there and we're excited to have the chance to play against the tough competition the region has to offer. For some reason, Denver likes to grow big players that jump well. Coupled with some real hard pack sand, and we're definately going to be on our game to find success. We've had the good fortune to have a lot of practice time together the last few weeks, as I've been working one day a week in Albuquerque, allowing us to get out to Lucky 66 and play and train. Speaking of which, we're also excited about running some beach volleyball clinics. Word is we've got some sign ups already, and hope to see a solid turnout. We'll be drawing up the program for each of the clinics this weekend.

Beach Volleyball Clinics

Beach Volleyball - In the Desert?

Lucky 66 Oasis Volleyball is Proud to Present:

Sand Volleyball skills clinics taught by New Mexico's finest semi-pro volleyball players Adam Rubel and Loric Box. Being one of the southwest region's top teams allows Adam and Loric to travel competing in the some of the highest-level beach volleyball tournaments. With a combined volleyball experience of 35+ years, Adam and Loric seek to share their expertise and training techniques to help build the volleyball community in New Mexico! The clinics will be in the following format:

Level I - Introductory Clinic

two-day clinic held on August 19th & August 20th from 3:00 PM

to 7:00 PM Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 AM till the end of the tournament.

This clinic will provide you with the basic knowledge of the skills and game of outdoor volleyball.

Want to get in shape? Really good shape? Want to have fun? Lots and lots of fun? This clinic is for you!

Prerequisites: A desire to have fun playing a new sport. Some experience playing volleyball in a competitive or non-competitive environment is helpful, but not required.

Individual attention will be given during the clinic in a group setting. Drills will focus on developing individual skills and abilities as well as functioning within a team context. Some of the areas covered:

• Warming up and getting loose.
  
• Moving in the sand.
  
• Learning the skills and developing good technique: Passing, Setting, Serving and Hitting.
  
• Game situations - good strategies, dealing with difficult positions.
  

The Clinic will conclude on the second day with a mini tournament.

You will walk away from this clinic with a deeper knowledge of the game, more developed skills and with the capacity to carry the lessons and training you receive into your own practice sessions and game situations.

LEVEL II - Advanced Clinic

two-day clinic held on August 5th &, August 13th from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 AM

This clinic will help you to develop and refine your skills and game as a volleyball player.

Are you looking to transition your indoor game to an outdoor one? Looking to be more effective in your outdoor leagues? Interested in placing higher in tournaments and bringing your game to the next level? Weather you are interested

in becoming a star player in your league, competing at the national level, or just improving your skills and having fun playing volleyball, this clinic is for you.

Prerequisites: Should have several years minimum of playing volleyball, a good knowledge of the game and capable of performing basic skills well.

Individual attention will be given during the clinic in a group setting. Drills will focus on developing individual skills and strategies primarily as well as functioning within a team context. Some of the areas covered:

• Appropriate warm-up - movement preparation.
  
• Developing quick, stable and explosive movement in the sand.
  
• Mental Approach - Staying focused, visualization and preparing for success.
  
• Skills Refinement - Passing, Setting, Serving and Hitting Techniques.
  
• Situation Training - How to best handle common and difficult situations during play.
  
• Conditioning and Recovery - Stay healthy and in shape.
  

The Clinic will conclude on the second day with a mini tournament.

You will walk away from this clinic with a deeper knowledge of the game, more developed skills and with the capacity to carry the lessons and training you receive into your own practice sessions and game situations.

Cost: per clinic is $40.00 per person.

Where: Lucky 66 Volleyball
6132 4th ST NW
next to Sadie's Restaurant

Contact: Robert Oselio at robertoselio@yahoo.com or 345-2506 to reserve your spot.

Clinics are open to both men and women of all ages. Please bring a beach towel and sunscreen.

Space is limited, 10 player minimum so sign up today!

Sneakerz #4 Results

Well, it was another hot day at Sneakerz. Small turnout as lots of guys are hurt or sick. Some folks also travelled up to Durango and Denver to play. Still, we had six solid teams and a good day of volley, with matches all around. Here's the results:
1) Loric Box/ Adam Rubel
2) Thierry Thelliez/ Matt Gordon
3) Colin Vito/ Matt Valencia
4) Jeff Poole/ Larry Cromwell
The tourney on the sixth should have a real solid showing and the end of the month is the big championship event, with holdover cash being paid out.

Sneakerz #4

Time again for another tourney in the desert. This should be a good one, 7/15 at Sneakerz on San Mateo in Albuquerque - the finest doubles beach volleyball tournaments New Mexico has to offer! Here's the entry list so far:
1) Jeff Poole/ Larry Cromwell
2) Matt Valencia/ Colin Vito
3) Loric Box/ Adam Rubel
4) Thierry Thelliez/ Matt Gordon
5) Tavake/ Pat White
6) Matt Jensen/ ? (needs partner)

Loric Strikes Gold in AZ

Loric had some great success at the Shark Open in Prescott, Arizona last weekend. He teamed with Eric Burness to defeat Rico Becker and Vince Zanzucchi in the final. It sounds like this was a great tournament, with about a twelve team draw in the open division. Pictures are up currently and full results will be listed soon on the volleyball Arizona website. Congrats to Loric and Eric on an awesome win!