Gettin' in the groove...

Well, this weekend we finally started playing some decent volleyball and had a strong showing at the King of the Mountain tournament up in Vail, CO. Loric and I had a first tough match against Lucas and Tony. We were up for most of the first game, but somehow lost it at the end, something like 22-24. I shanked game point, and wasn't happy. Fortunately we picked it up and cruised through the next two games to win a fun match against a real athletic team. Next we faced Ryan and Paige, a real solid team that we last played in the finals up in Denver last year. I got about every serve and was lousy at siding out, and not picking up many balls. We dropped the match and were sent to the loser's bracket with something to think about through the night. I calmed my frustration and went back to fundamentals and found my shooting range on Sunday. We played a number of solid teams, but were in control, winning our first three games fairly handidly. We then faced Paige and Ryan again in the semifinals. We were off to a sow start in the first game, but steadied out by the end of it. We went on to play solid volleyball, scooping balls and siding out well. We won the second game by a good margin, and battled through the third to win the match. The long day on hard backed sand at high elevation and warm weather took its toll, we were both twinging by the third game of that match and were sucking down beers and pickles trying to dig deep for the finals. We faced Neil and Jamey, last year's winners. We gutted it out and I made a serving mistake, going to Jamey at 19-20 in the first game. He sided out and took the game. We were a little too gassed and they had fresh legs, playing only their second match of the day, and they took us out in two. They are a solid team and we needed to be at the top of our game to have a chance of victory. We both felt that our best ball of the season remains ahead of us, an upcoming trip to CA should help to boost us along. My body feels kind'a wrecked from getting all the serves and playing on such fine, hard packed sand, but an off week should be plenty of recovery. This was our best finish at one of the major mountain tournaments, and we go a little write up in the Vail Daily News. I think we're both looking forward to picking up our game the rest of this season and creating some big finishes. I'll be heading to NJ in a couple of weeks and may pick up a partner for the AVP quali or local tournament depending on if a suitable one turns up. Loric may be able to get up to Steamboat to play another mountain tourney if he can connect with the right partner. We'll re-unite in Manhattan Beach, CA to play a GAV tourney and get some practice in with the big guns, hopefully. Of course, first there is the Sneakerz tourney next week...

Back in Action

OK, back from a great trip to northern California and a tourney up in Denver. It's really hard for me to be living far from the ocean, little trips here and there help out. I'm gonna rant a bit about my lousy level of play this year. Not sure what is going on, mentally feeling focused, physically feeling healthier and stronger with each tournament, but my skills seem off, at least one important skill - siding out. Last year it was such a focus of mine to be able to side out consistently against just about anyone after being served a lot the year before, and I felt like I achieved that goal. This year, I've been giving up runs of 4-5 points in a row and had a few total meltdowns up in Denver of not being able to do anything right. Well, we did play a couple of very good teams that were playing well, hopefully it will be enough to motivate me to get my game up to par. We've got a good long stretch ahead of us, and strangely, I feel we are improving in some way every time we step on the court. Loric and I should have our rhythm down by the time we hit Vail for the King of the Mountain in a couple of weeks.

OK, sorry for boring you with that tirade. I heard the Sneakerz tourney from a couple of weeks ago went real well. Loric picked up Desi to win a double final over Chris and Matt V. Kudos to Desi who has been playing great ball all year for finally getting his name etched on the plaque at Sneakerz (ok, there really isn't a plaque, but there should be!). This weekend we return to Charlie's Sandbox, sans Charlie, to play it up again. I'm late in getting notices out, but hopefully we will see a strong turnout based on the crowd that showed up to the Sandia Mountain Classic. I almost forgot that Beach Volleyball Magazine ran an article that I rushed together before leaving town on the event. The Taos Solar Spike in late July is sounding like it is going to be a great tournament. Kameron has been doing a great job getting sponsors and building some high quality sand courts. Many guys from Denver were interested in coming down for the event; hopefully a few women's teams will turn out as well. UPDATE:
Men
1) Loric Box/ Adam Rubel; 2) Chris Roosilid/ Matt Valencia; 3) Ricardo Sanchez/ Matt Jensen; 4)Fred Ader/ Larry Cornwell; 5) Bryan Klein/ Mike; 5) Shayne Murdie/ Dave Bruhner; 7) Ed/ Dave; 7) Rich/ Adam; 9) Paul/ Nate; 9) Patrick/ Partner; 9) Harris/ Daniel


Women
1) Patty Ader/ KC Raver; 2) Chandra Weaver/ Stephanie Valencia; 3) Davina Romero/ Lveryn Aodaca 4) Sarah/ Rachelle

It has begun...

Allright, the Sandia Mountain Volleyball Classic was very cool. There were over 50 teams in 5 divisions, I don't think I've seen that many outdoor volleyballers in NM at one time. There were only 11 teams in the men's open, but it was a super solid draw, all the way to the top. I was glad to be able to play, the acupuncture and bodywork I've been getting have really helped with the back and shoulder problems that had me feeling pretty crummy to start the season. We started out slow, out of rhythm, and not feeling real comfortable against a pretty strong team from New Jersey. We actually dropped a big lead in the first game, like 19-14, to lose 24-26 or something. I don't think we've blown a late game lead since our first year at Aspen, which fired us up for our tear during all of last season. We dropped the second game to them as well in a close one. Later in the day, we started to get more comfortable and our rhythm was clicking. We tore through a Texas teams and had a pretty good run at the NM Matt's. We started to get more comfortable, siding out steadily and converting in transition. Sunday we went up against the solid team of Post/ Scott from CO. While the first game started off slow for both teams, things quickly heated up and we had a great match, with some terrific plays and exchanges. Ryan was playing phenomenal is siding out super steady, crushing our strategy of wearing him out with every serve. We could have been smarter, but his partner was good too, and we like a challenge. We had a few shakey moments of siding out, not in our best rhythm yet, but we were definitely kicked into a gear we hadn't had to touch in a year. We dropped two very close, very long extra point games. We were pretty happy with our play considering we haven't been practicing or playing much due to our work schedules and funky weather. Feels like, at least for me personally, I'm finally starting to bounce back from a prolonged playing slump. Now, however, we're into the swing of season and volleyball is about to get real busy for us. I'm heading out to California tonight (yeah, real late night road trip) and will hook up to play in Santa Cruz with a Denver transplant living out there now. Should hopefully get some touches in the real sand during the week as well. Loric will be playing in the Sneakerz touorney on Sat with a partner, as far as I know, yet to be determined. The day I get back from the Cruz, I'll be meeting up with Loric, or Matt and Chris, to head up to Denver to play in the first CPVA up there. Then its back to Charlie's for a local tourney, then off to Vail, couple weeks later its New Jersey then right back to California to play a GAV in Manhattan Beach. Guess this is what all those extra hours working through the winter were for! We're planning on getting more practice time during the week, so combined with the high level of competition, we should be humming along in no time!

Should have some pics from Paul to post when I get back in a couple weeks.

If you're here looking for info on Saturday's Sneakerz tourney, contact Chris at: Vaenekene@yahoo.com; 505-363-1262 to sign up

Team Sponsors for 2007!

You've probably noticed the sponsor column at the left. These are the good folks that have stepped up to support our team and help us to travel and compete in events around the country. We owe tremendous gratitude to each of them, here is an explanation of who they are:
Volleychick - Definitely not just for chicks, they make volley clothes and goods with style, and dare say, attitude. Hats, shirts and other goods can be spotted on us at events. Check them out, some very cool stuff you will want to be wearing!
Plastic Clothing - Volleyball specialty clothes, you'll catch us wearing their board shorts, very cool board pants and sweatshirts. Great style and comfort, look them up for some great volleygear!
18 Panel Athletic - A very cool startup company out of AZ. Great designs can be seen on our hats and shirts. They should have a website happening soon!
Wayne Steen: State Farm - Talk about a good neighbor, I've had State Farm insurance since I was a kid and have always gotten great service. Wayne has stepped forward to provide generous support for our volley-adventures. If your in the market for insurance, check them out!
Target Safe Security - Top security service in the region, providing alarms and systems to keep your home and business secure. They are generously sponsoring our team, check them out to help with all your security needs!
Smith Sport Sunglasses - Very cool and effective sunglass company. Their polar brown lenses are my favorite, enhancing depth perception and protecting the eyes while providing that ever important oh-so-cool appearance!
Badger Balm - Great company that puts out suncreen and body care products. This sport has us taking a beating from the elements every time we go out, good thing we've got badger to help fix us up!
Lucky 66 Volleyball Oasis - New facility in Albuquerque, with 2 soon to be 4 sand courts. Leagues and tourneys, they've helped us out and we may be doing more clinics there this year!

Again, thanks to all our sponsors and we hope you will support them to encourage their continued involvement with our sport!

Let the Season Begin!

OK, you may think this is a pretty wacky post to be writing about the start of the season when we never really stopped playing and since we had two outdoor tourneys last month and I've already played twice in Florida tournaments. The cold, hard reality is that both Loric and I have been super busy in the non-volley world keeping up with work and life. Plus a few minor injuries. Throw in some wacky spring weather that brought more late rain and snow than usual, and it's been feeling like a slow start to the season. Last week was the first time anybody in the state had a chance to get out during the week and practice. While we've played and won the local tourneys, everybody seems real rusty and the quality of play has not been that high in my opinion. We've got a good network and guys are supportive of each other to help bring our games up to the next level collectively, so I'd expect some quick improvements. Hopefully real quick, because this weekend is the first ever Sandia Mountain Volleyball Classic. This should give everybody a jolt. We've got about 50 teams signed up in 3 divisions for mens and womens, making this the biggest sand tourney in NM in a real long time. The open has some very solid teams traveling in from various places, including a few teams hopping over from the AVP in Glendale, AZ following their elimination. No matter the outcome, it is great to have this competition come into state to push everybody to pick up our games to the next level. That's why I kind of see it as the start of the season, Denver, Vail and California are not far behind for us. You can tell we also haven't made it out to any AVP tourneys yet. Well, that's a bit of a point of frustration. We were bounced last year from Huntington for not having points as my points had expired, so we couldn't get points, have no points now, and all the quali's are limited in size so we don't know when we can get points, although all the qualis so far have had low turnouts so we could have gotten in. So do we risk making travel plans for a tourney we won't know until the day before if we can get in? We'll see. You've probably also noticed the video at the top. My first attempt, hopefully more to come during the summer. Hopefully they'll get better than this hack job, but it's a start!

King of the Beach at Sneakerz

Saturday, April 28th we return to the sands of Sneakerz for the annual early season King of the Beach tournament. What the heck is that, you may ask? This is the perfect format for guys that don't have their partners figured out for the season yet and for others to play with guys they don't normally get to side with. In this tournament, players are set in pools of four and each player gets to partner with every other player in the pool. Those with the top point differentials and records advance to a new pool of players, until the final pool, which is decided by the player with the greatest margins of victory while playing with all the remaining players. Of course, the event could adopt the AVP format of the two finalists selecting from the eliminated players, with the exception of not being able to select their normal partner. I'll list players entered for the event, you can let me know if you are interested in playing or call Tavake directly.
UPDATE:
It was a long, hot day with lots and lots of playing. We had 18 or so participants, good numbers for early in the season with a bunch of guys away and others not wanting to get sandy before their indoor matches that evening. After a double elim KoB format, the battle of attrition came down to Loric and Myself advancing with a bye to the finals. Chris and Tony fought their way out of the last pool. After a roll off, the teams were set. Chris and Loric wrecked Tony and myself who had run out of gas in the final match, played under the lights. So, for the second year, Loric wears the crown and I get the court jester shoes ;-). Here's the final 4 finish:
1) Loric Box
2) Adam Rubel
3) Chris Roosilid
4) Tony Shimkus

April 14th Charlie’s Sandbox Tourney

Looks like summer is here! The 14^th is the first full on outdoor sand tourney, and the event will have men's, women's and possibly juniors teams. With 6 outdoor sand courts, we can run some exciting formats, and word on the street is we'll have some sponsor prizes to offer as well.

UPDATE: It was a wild tournament last weekend. Most of the state was getting snowed on Friday. When I woke up on Friday, we had some real heavy frost here in Santa Fe, and playing a beach volleyball tournament that same day seemed kind of crazy. We started the day using a single indoor sand court, along side the ladies. In typical New Mexico fashion, the sun came out and the temperatures started to warm, so by ten o'clock we were outside and breaking in Charlie's 4 new sand courts. With ten men's teams and 6 women's, there was lots of ball being played. teams seemed kind of rusty at times, maybe because it is so early in the season and nobody is playing during the week and irregularly on the weekends. The finals for the men were real strange. First Loric cramped, which never happens, so I started to do a bit more like run up and block. Then My legs locked down to my ankles, which doesn't really happen, and the whole thing is real strange because even though we were playing off all day, we didn't have any extra games and it was nice and cool outside. Anyhow, the pain made us focus and we pulled out a W in two games. Steph and Meredith won on the women's side, and Paul showed up later in the day so hopefully we'll have some pics to post soon. Here are the results of the men's tourney:
1) Adam Rubel/ Loric Box 2) Rob Pierce/ Chris Roosilid 3) Jeff Poole/ Tony Shimkus 4) Desi Vigil/ Larry Cornwell 5) Steve Seel/ Fred Ader 5) Mike Bien/ Gary 7) Olli/ Ruskin 7) Brad/ Tudy 9) Rich/ Eddie 9) Rich/ Bryan
Next big event is the Sandia Mountain Classic, which is shaping up to be a real big event. I'll write a bit more on it later...