Tis the Season!
Last Wednesday at 9:30 p.m., club volleyball’s official silly season began! That is the moment I heard the first club rumor! This rumor had to do with new leadership at TVC. I was just disappointed that the person sharing the rumor couldn’t tell me who was taking over my job! I can think of several people who would be happy if only that rumor were true . . . namely my family and especially, my new puppy, Ace!
Anyway, it is not true, and I am up to my eyeballs in making the plans for this upcoming season. This year, we have new challenges (I like to think of them as opportunities) to deal with in addition to the annual challenge of hiring excellent coaches and determining a direction in terms of conditioning, scheduling, pricing, etc. We are now responsible for all of the upkeep and maintenance of Hall 1 and the Clubhouse at the Lucas County Recreation Center. It is a huge and massive undertaking- but one we are excited about. This summer, we patched the roof and replaced the gutters. We repaired the ceiling in the entry way and the interior painting project is nearing completion. The Winter Wonderland Mountains are gone! (But the toys in storage are still here!) We have our “must do” list and we have our wish list. As with any home improvement project-we are limited by our resources.
We are working with an organization called LineDrive Sportz at the Recreation Center. They are responsible for basically everything but our space. The folks at LineDrive are great guys and nice to work with, but it is somewhat like moving into your college dorm and taking time to figure out your new roommate-do I like to stay up late and my roommate likes to sleep? In our case, the questions are more like, “What do we do when LineDrive charges for parking and we don’t?” Bottom line, we are working out those details.
As we are being pulled in many different directions, our main focus continues to be on delivering an excellent product to the volleyball community. I am excited about our coaching staff this year. We have our core group of coaches who are returning and we have several new coaches, who are not new to volleyball, but may be new to the area or our club. Over the next few weeks, I am going to take some time on the website and introduce you to our coaching staff.
I am also pleased to announce that Brie Hagerty has taken over responsibility for developing and managing our conditioning and training program. In addition to serving as our 16-1 National Coach, Brie is also a certified personal trainer with a focus on sports conditioning. Two trainers who have experience in training collegiate athletes will assist Brie. When Brie and I met a few weeks ago to go over some plans, she made the comment, “I hope the girls are ready to work.” She also said, “I hate giggling!” (So, girls, leave your giggling behind when you are training with Brie!)
We will go into greater detail our plans for the upcoming season at our Information Meeting on Sunday, October 25th at 7:30 p.m. I am disappointed that we will not be able to open Hall 1 for tours that evening because of The Blade’s Garage Sale that is taking place in Hall 1 and Hall 2. I would encourage you to come by during the open gyms to check out the new paint job and we will have TVC staff available to answer any questions you might have.
Some have asked about whether we will continue to be involved in USA Volleyball or if we are joining the JVA (Junior Volleyball Association). TVC has been a member of the JVA since its inception and we certainly support many of their goals. We plan to support their tournaments when it makes sense. Fortunately, here in the OVR we are blessed with a multitude of competitive USAV tournament opportunities right in our own backyard. Our National teams will again participate in the Northwest Ohio Power League which is run out of Premier and held in our building as well. I am excited about the changes in the format that will allow us to have competitive play and no travel. While there are several JVA tournaments, there are not enough that are convenient for our membership to make a complete schedule for our national teams and the AAU tournaments are simply not competitive enough at this juncture. It is something that we continue to look at each year and we will continue to do so.
USAV has recently announced that the 2010 Junior National Championships will be held in Reno, Nevada this year. A few years ago, we sent a team to a qualifier in Reno and they had a fabulous time and recommended it as a good spot to return. I was somewhat hesitant when I heard the news, but I expect it will be not be much different cost wise than our recent trip to Miami. I am excited to see Lake Tahoe!
We have decided that if any of national teams (14 and older) do not qualify for the JNC, they will go to Orlando for the AAU/JVA championship. Mizuno teams will have the choice.
I want to end my notes as I started them, with a comment about rumors. Don’t believe everything you hear or read. If you have a question, drop me an email and I will be happy to respond. There are a lot of club options in our area. Each club has a distinct personality and culture. Research the clubs. Ask a lot of questions. Find the club that is best for your family. I have a great deal of respect for the area club directors and I believe that each of us is in this crazy business for the right reason-to make kids better players. My suggestion to players who are trying to find the right club is that they should aspire to play at the highest level they can during club. That level will be different for each player. The key is finding the right fit. I am conscious of the fact that although we run our tryouts to select our teams, you, too, are trying us out. We hope to earn your commitment for 2010.
Good luck to all of the players playing in league championships and the upcoming state tournament.
Michelle Hills
Club Director
Tvc2009@bex.net