12-1 wins gold at Centerville!

TVC 11-1 won First in Gold at LCRC (12's) tournament

Vball Bros Take it to the Hoop!  

Super job taking 2nd in Gold this weekend!

Congratulations to our 10-1 Elephants! The girls did a fantastic job for their very first tournament. Super job Coach McCabe and team!

I hope everyone had a great Valentine’s Day.  My weekend was special because Maggie came home on Thursday and stayed till yesterday morning and Kelsey came home yesterday afternoon.  I miss my girls!  And I am hitting the kiddie trifecta-as Jack is coming home this weekend.  Would like to have all 3 at once, but I will take what I can get!

The Volleyball season is off and running.  This past weekend was the third weekend of tournament play.  For those of you who are new to the club, it is my goal to see every team play at least one time.  So far, I have seen 11-1, 11-2, 12-1, 12-2, 13-3, 13-4, 15-1, 15-M, 16-1, 16-M, 16-3, and 17-3.   I am about 33% though the teams.  I will be able to add several this weekend as the 17’s and 18’s play in the Power League at Premier on Sunday.  I thought I was going to have to coach 17-M, but was able to talk Rachel Spitulski out of her temporary retirement into coaching the team will Melissa Lovell while Barb Kohn is on her annual trek to someplace warm!

We have had some tournament winners’ already- with 12-2 winning their first tournament of the year, and 12-1 won yesterday at the Premier Youth Showcase.  It was awesome to see the 11 and 12-year-old teams cheering for each other at Premier this weekend.  That really warms my heart and I believe helps create a supportive and family environment with TVC. 

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Two TVC Players Receive Recognition from Prepvolleyball.com.  Congratulations to Veronica Zimmerman (17-1) who was named to the Academic All American List and Alyssa Beach (15-1) who was named to the Frosh 59 List of Top High School Freshman who made an impact on the varsity level. 

Academic All American
Honorable Mention
Veronica Zimmerman, 5-9 Jr. S, St. Ursula (Toledo, Ohio)

Frosh 59 
Honorable Mention
Alyssa Beach, 6-1 MB, Notre Dame (Toledo, Ohio) – A rare freshman starter at TNDA, Beach’s biggest contribution in 2009 was on the blocking side, where she had 41 block assists and 17 single shingles. A hard worker who improved greatly over the course of the season, look for Beach, who recorded 31 kills, to realize her huge potential over the next three years.

It has been quite some time since I sat down and wrote any weekly notes.  Now seems like a good time since the official JO tournament season kicks off this weekend.  Speaking of JO-which stands for Junior Olympic-we need to get that term out of our lexicon.  It turns out the US Olympic Committee owns the word “Olympic” and it cannot be used without paying a significant amount of money to the USOC.  That is why you will now see the year-end tournament called the Junior National Championships and not the Junior Olympics.   I know the first time my oldest daughter’s team qualified for JO’s (oops I did it again) we thought it was so cool telling everyone that she was playing in the Junior Olympics.  Her grandparents were quite impressed as I recall.

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Ellen Herman(TVC 2006) capped off her fabulous collegiate career by being named an Honorable Mention All American for the second year.  Ellen broke numerous records during her four years as an OH for Ohio University-including the MAC Kill record.  She was named MAC Player of the year twice and leads OU in several statistical categories.  This past summer, she was invited out to California to train with the USA Women's National Team.  Ellen is a graduate of Central Catholic and played for TVC her freshman through senior years. 

Jordan Goad (TVC 2008) followed up her record setting freshman season with a stellar sophomore season at Cleveland State University.  She was named first team All Horizon League, First Team All Midwest and most recently Honorable Mention All American.  Jordan guided the Viking offense to a league-best and school record .247 attack percentage. She led the Horizon League in assists (10.92), while also ranking second in service aces (0.33).  Jordan is a graduate of Notre Dame Academy and played for TVC her senior season.

TVC Alum, Ellen Herman (Ohio University)  is named MAC Player of the Year for the 2nd consecutive year.  Ellen, a member of the TVC class of 2006, played her prep career at Toledo Central Catholic.  This year, she became the kill leader in OU history.  Her accolades are numerous- most recently she trained with the USA Women's National Team this past summer.  She has been a great supporter of TVC and we congratulate her on her latest accomplishment.

Come and see Ellen and the OU Bobcats today in Toledo at the SeaGate Center.  They will take on Central Michigan at 4:30 p.m. in the MAC Championship Semi Finals.   The Finals are set for Sunday at 3:00 p.m. 

TVC Alums Make a Splash on the National Volleyball Scene.

In the recent issue of USAV’s Volleyball Magazine, 3 former TVC players and (1 current coach) were recognized.

Nikki Pierzchala (TVC 2004) and current 18’s coach for TVC and her partner won the USA Women’s Beach Volleyball Event in the B Division.  They won a qualifier in Michigan over the summer and earned the right to compete in the US Women’s Open.  It is pretty cool that a couple of beach players from Ohio went to California and won the whole event.  All other divisions were won by California players.  Congrats to Nikki!

In the article about the new coach of the US Olympic coach and the post Olympic training team, TVC’s Lauren Paolini (TVC 2005) from the University of Texas and Ellen Herman (TVC 2006) from Ohio University were recognized.  Both ladies had the opportunity to train this past summer with the US Olympic Team.  This is the first step in a possible spot on the US Olympic Team.

Congratulations Nikki, Lauren and Ellen!

TVC Alum Chelsea Campbell notches a season high 12 kills is Xavier's win over Dayton this weekend.  

Chelsea (TVC 2007) is a junior OH from Perrysburg, Ohio.  And in case anyone has seen the Blade ads announcing our tryouts, you might see a resemblance!  Congrats to Chelsea!  This win for Xavier snapped a 10 game A-10 win streak for Dayton.

Congratulations to Jess Nagy (TVC 17-1) who has made a verbal commitment to play volleyball next year at the University of Central Arkansas.  The UCA Sugar Bears are a Division 1 program that plays in the Southland Conference.  Jess is a 6'2" Senior OH/MH for Carleton Airport.  Congratulations Jess!

In 2010 TVC will offer several levels of teams from the new player who is just learning the game to the elite level player who is looking to take her game to the collegiate level.  Please follow the links to the Team Levels and Anticipated # of Teams.  We have also indicated the head coach of our National Teams for 12-17.

The entire coaching roster will be announced at our Information Meeting on October 25th.

Two TVC Seniors Make College Choices!
Congratulations to Jordan Erz (TVC 17-1) who has recently made a verbal committment to attend the University of Arkansas-Little Rock on a volleyball scholarship.  Jordan is a senior at Carleton Airport.  Jordan's goal is to study wildlife management and animal science and she was thrilled that UALR had her program AND a great volleyball team.  Jordan is a Middle Hitter. Congratulations to Jordan! 

Congratulations to Haylee Strause (TVC 18-1) who has recently made a verbal committment to attend West Liberty University in West Liberty, West Virginia.  Haylee will join TVC alums, Mo Pierzchala and last year's teammate, Kelsey Arnold at West Liberty.  Haylee is a senior at Margaretta High School and is a defensive specialist and libero.  Congratulations to Haylee!

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.

TVC Alum Ellen Herman  (2006) notches another accolade in her outstanding collegiate career.

Ellen Herman became Ohio's all-time kills leader Saturday night as Ohio topped Buffalo.

TVC Player, Jess Nagy (TVC 17-1)  Named Finalist in the Michigan "Miss Volleyball" Competition!  Jess is one of 10 players selected and the winner will be announced in November before the quarter final state matches.   Congrats Jess! 

Jessica Nagy, 6-2, middle hitter, Carleton Airport
A three-sport athlete for the last three years, she earned all-state honors as a sophomore, but was injured most of last season. Led Airport to the Class B semifinals as a freshman and sophomore. She has a 3.407 grade-point average and will play Division I volleyball in college.

Age Classifications for 2009/2010

Please follow the following link to USAV's age classification sheet for the upcoming season.  There are always tons of questions about what age group players should be playing on and USAV has developed an easy chart to follow.  Find your month of birth and year and bingo!  Takes the guess work out of it.  For some reason people have trouble figuring out that it is your age as of September, 2010 that determines your age group for this coming season.

http://assets.teamusa.org/assets/documents/attached_file/filename/15999/2010_Age_Classification.pdf

Congrats to Megan Schatzle (TVC 2007) a junior at MSU.  She was named to the All Tournament Team this past weekend in Lansing.  Megan had 19 kills and hit .484 in the MSU's win over North Carolina!

Witnessing Perfection

No. 19 volleyball sweeps Ball State 3-0 as Arthurs posts perfect 1.000 hitting percentage.
Congrats to Kristen Arthurs (TVC 2007) 

Ellen Herman, (TVC 2006) was named MVP of the University of Wisconsin tournament this past weekend. 

Herman (Toledo, Ohio) capped off the tournament with a season-high 19 kills, moving past both Laura Hageman and Stephanie Blackburn into fourth place on the program's career list with 1,471 kills. The performance also propelled Herman past Blackburn into second on Ohio's rally scoring career kills chart.

TVC Alum Named MVP!  Congrats Hillary Fountain (TVC 2007) Samford University

Junior Hillary Fountain was tabbed the tournament's most valuable player as she grabbed 78 assists over the weekend, 29 against the Lady Tigers for a season high. She also grabbed 14 kills, 14 digs and three block assists during the tournament, five kills and nine digs against Tennessee State.

Purdue Junior, Kristen Arthurs (TVC 2007) is named to the Pre-Season All Big-10 team.

Congrats Kristen and best of luck this season.

Last night 44 boys and girls arrived at UT to begin the OVR HP Training Camp.  On Tuesday, I will accompany 33 of the players to the USAV High Performance Championships in Ft. Lauderdale.     

TVC is well represented on the Youth Team with Veronica Zimmerman, Maggie Burnham and Meghan Smyth from 16-1 on the 12-person roster.   Coach Brie Hagerty is the assistant coach for the Select Team. 

I am excited that I was able to schedule the training at UT and we are able to show off the wonderful renovations to Savage Hall.  After checking out The Crossings Dorm, I am ready to move in!!! 

I will get back in town on Sunday, July 26th and from that point on, we will be focused on implementing the plans for the 2010 season. 

I will be updating the HP progress on the Toledo Volleyball Club twitter page.  If you are interested in getting updates; sign up for a free twitter account and follow TVC. www.twitter.com/toledovbc 

TVC 12-1 Team getting psyched up before their cross-over match!

I realized this morning that those of you who are not connected to TVC’s twitter page are probably not getting any updates of our team’s progress here at Nationals in Florida.  I will give you a recap of the day to day events.

Day 1, Friday, June 25th
The 16’s started play today at 8 am.  I missed the first match because our flight in the night before was delayed and it was past 3 when we got to the hotel.  The hotel is in Coconut Grove-which is a nice area about 20 minutes from the playing site.

When I arrived at the Miami Beach Convention Center, the 16’s were getting ready to play match #2.  They lost their first match and lost it badly.  Their second match was against Dinamo out of Texas-and they played marginally better, but lost again.  Nationals are set up so that the first two days you are playing in a 6 team pool.  In order to advance, you have to finish in the top 3.  Down 0-2, it was looking bleak, but not impossible for the Girls of Sparta (their nickname for themselves)  Coach Sonny Lewis and Coach Dana Chapman were filling in for Brie Hagerty who was back in Toledo attending her brother’s wedding reception.  They made a slight tweak to the line-up and the girls won their third match easily.  They were finished playing for the day and headed back to the hotel.

Friday, the 12’s and 13’s started arriving-as their play started on Saturday afternoon.  The 16’s graciously invited me to their team dinner, but I was still tired from the travel the night before.  So, I spent a quiet evening watching TV-following the Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett news specials.  Michael and I are the same age, and I certainly grew up in the Charlie’s Angel’s era-never could get that hair.

Day 2, Saturday, June 26
16’s started on fire in their first match of the day.  They demolished Nebraska Elite in 2 and were now 2-2.  The pool was a very evenly matched pool, with only one undefeated team (our final opponent)  the rest of the teams were 2-2 and the pool finish would come down to the last match.  We figured out all of the different scenarios.  We knew a win over the undefeated team would get us in the top 3.  If we lost, we would have to hope we got a game off them and that Club Red would beat Nebraska.  Bottom line, we needed a win to assure ourselves of advancing.

The girls were focused and determined and played great.  They came out and worked hard and won game 1 against a very scrappy Fox Cities team.  The first rally of the match went back and forth several times.  We knew we were in for a battle.  We lost game 2 in a close one and it was down to game 3.  Meanwhile I am pacing back and forth between our court and the court where Club Red and Nebraska were playing just to keep on top of all scenarios.  I was somewhat relieved when Club Red won game 1 of their match.  But, I was even more relieved when we won the match against Fox Cities.  This win tied us with Dinamo with a 3-2 record.  Since Dinamo had beaten us on Day 1, they finished 2nd and we finished 3rd.  Good enough to advance for a chance at Gold.

I had a few hours to kill before the 12’s and 13’s started and I headed over to South Beach with the coaches and some of our former coaches who are now coaching college.  We had lunch at NEXT-which is a kind of funky, cool spot.  The waitress with the white jeans gave new meaning to the term “painted on” jeans.” Wheeew!  It took forever to get our checks, so I had just a few minutes to get back to catch round 1 of the 12’s and 13’s.

12’s and 13’s were on the same exact play schedule, so I started watching the 12’s, who were absolutely demolishing their opponent.  I raced over to the 13’s court and they too, had won easily in 2.  Both teams played at 5 pm, and I stuck around to watch the 13’s play and win again.  So far, so good.  Both teams were 2-0.  I left to head back to the hotel, as I had reached my limit of volleyball watching.  (Yes, even I have a limit!)

I arrived in time to partake in the 16’s barbeque.  The hotel has a really nice grilling area and the staff here has been awesome, letting us pretty much take over the breakfast room for our team dinners and activities.  The 16’s put on their team video-which was fun to see.  Jana Smyth and Deb Zimmerman did an awesome job of chronicling the year in pictures and Jana set it to music.  That was fun.

Day 3, Sunday, June 28th
16’s are  now in a 3 team pool.  Top two teams advance to the gold play-offs.  As the #3 seed, we were scheduled to play at 8 and 9.  We came out of the box quickly and played well in game one, after getting behind to City Beach from California, we came back and won game 1, 25-23.   Game 2 was all City Beach.  On to the dreaded Game 3.  It was a back and forth match-we were up 8-7 at the switch and 11-10 at one point.  Unfortunately, they finished strong and we ended up losing 15-13.  It was a demoralizing loss-and the girls had to turn around and play again right away against a very formidable Orlando Volleyball team.  I know I am not telling tales out of school when I say the girls from Sparta played probably their worst volleyball of the season in that match.  It was a disappointment to everyone-themselves included.  Dreams of gold were gone and they had to refocus on winning the bronze cross-over match later that day.

I left right after the match to head to the airport to pick up my husband John, and Brie.  I had to give Brie the sad news that the team was no longer in contention for gold.  She arrived at the playing site and the girls rebounded and played very well to win their cross over match and would be playing for bronze the next day.

Meanwhile, the 12’s continued their winning ways, finishing their pool undefeated.  They had some testy matches, but found a way to win.  The 13’s had some testy matches and unfortunately did not win, however, their 2 victories at the beginning of the tournament put them in a 3 way tie that they won, so they advanced to the top half.  They had to stick around forever on Sunday night until the pool was over to make sure there were not going to be any play-offs.  There weren’t and they were still alive for Day 3.

Day 4, Monday, June 29th
John and I arrived at the playing site as the 16’s first match was already underway.  They had a 5 point lead and looked to be in command of the first game.  As those who follow volleyball know, momentum can change in an instant-and it did.  They ended up losing game 1 25-23.  This team has made tremendous strides this year-they qualified for the first time for Nationals, they came in 2nd in the Big South Qualifier-they did a lot of good things.  Yesterday, they could not find a way to win their first round of bronze match.  I know they will learn from the experience and work even harder next year-now that they have had a taste of success.  It was a fun year and I am very proud of each of the girls and appreciate the great job that Brie and her assistant, Gwen Hazlett did with the team.  We are going to miss Gwen, as her husband got a new job in late May and she moved the Southern Indiana and was not able to continue with the team.

12’s and 13’s were now in their 3rd day, 3 team pool.  Finish top two and have a chance at Gold.  12’s first match was against their OVR friends, Cincy Classics-you hate to come all the way to Miami and play a team you have played several times.  But, that is the way the schedule ended up.  12’s won easily and were now on a 6-0 match record roll.

Next up for 12’s was St. Louis CYC.  CYC teams always seem to get the better of TVC-and today it was no different.  All the things the 12’s had done right seemed to go wrong in this match.  Because they finished 2nd in the pool, they now had to play the #1 seed for a chance to advance to gold.  But, over on the court where that pool was being played, it was total chaos.  1 beat 3, 3 beat 2, 2 beat 1.  All tied-all matches went to 3.  So, the 12’s had to sit around and wait until that pool got sorted out to find out who they would play.

Finally, it was time to play and their opponent was Extreme.  The team played an incredibly good match-and won game 1 fairly easily.  They had a 2 point lead for most of game 2, until Extreme came back and their big hitter rotated to the front row.  She made some key plays at the end of game 2 to seal their 25-23 victory.  On to game 3.  Our girls continued to play well and had a 10-6 lead at one point.  Again, their big middle rotated to the front and she was the difference.  The girls lost 16-14 in a very hard fought contest.  They and their coaches, Melissa Mugler and Tammy Cox were crushed, but they knew they had a chance to come out today and win the silver division and finish 5th overall, so they are hoping to do that.

13’s were in a Pool of Death.  Their two opponents were clearly more developed and stronger.  Our girls hung with them in both matches and played very well, but they were unsuccessful.  The bad news is they had to come back at 9:00 p.m. to play their bronze crossover match.

John and I decided to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary a day early, so we headed out to Key Biscayne and had a lovely dinner on the water overlooking downtown Miami.  It was a great meal, and a nice opportunity for us to spend some time together.  We only talked about volleyball for a few minutes of the dinner.

I received word from Coach Wes Hortstman of 13-1 that their 9 p.m. crossover match would probably not get played until 11 pm, as the court was running behind.  Coach Buck kept me updated with text messages.  They finally played after 10 pm.  They lost game 1 and had a good lead in game 2, but ran out of gas at the end, losing 25-23.  Today they will play for Flight 1.  I know they are disappointed right now-but again, I try to remind them-you made it here and there are a lot of teams back in Ohio who just wish they had the chance to be where they are today.  I hope they finish on a positive note!

Well, that is my update.  I have to get ready and head down to the convention center and see how the 13’s are doing and catch the 12’s in silver.  Maybe we will take a walk on the beach before we get ready to watch the 15-1 and 15-Mizuno teams who start at 3 and 4 today.

Happy 25th Anniversary John!  Thanks for coming down to celebrate with me!

I will write more tomorrow.  Sign up for twitter for quick updates on how the teams are doing.  Go to www.twitter.com/toledovbc to get to our page!

Over and out from Miami.

Michelle

TVC Bringing the Heat to Miami T-shirts Available for Sale!

With 6 teams heading to Miami Beach in the next few weeks, we decided to do one shirt for the club.  If anyone is interested in a shirt and has not ordered it through your team-send me an email with your size request.  The shirts are $8.50 and come in sizes from Youth Medium to Adult XXL.

Calling all "Green Thumbs"

On Saturday, June 13th from 9 am to 12 noon and Thursday, June 18th 6:30-8:30 p.m. we are looking for volunteers to help clean up "our" area at the LCRC.  Melissa Mugler, "I'm just the gardner" is spearheading the effort to pull weeds and do some general clean-up around Hall 1 and the parking lot.

If you can spare a few hours, please contact Melissa at 419-944-6618.  She is also looking for a weed sprayer so we don't have to buy one!

Follow TVC on Twitter!

As of today, June 11, 2009 TVC is now a member of the twitter family.  Get updates on the club by going to our twitter website.  www.twitter.com/toledovbc.  After receiving updates from several college programs that have joined twitter, I thought TVC should join the party.  I will be sending "tweets" out from Nationals in Miami and other times when the volleyball spirit moves me.

Since I am a new "tweeter" I have to find someone who knows more about this than I do and can tell me what to do and how to do it.

But, it sure sounds like fun!

Tweet Tweet!

Michelle Hills

2009 OVR Championships Regional Roundup

Congratulations to the TVC teams who completed their seasons at the 2009 OVR Championships!  Below is the final placement of the teams that participated in the event in Columbus.

Post Season Events:

TVC 12-1 won the 12’s division at the KIVA  Memorial Weekend Tournament. 13-1 finished in gold and 13-M finished in silver.

TVC 16-1 and TVC 14-1 competed over Memorial Weekend in the East Coast Championship and 16-1 finished 3rd in 17’s division “Beast of the East.” 14-1 competed in the 15 Championship Division.

TVC 17-1 finished their season at the NJC in Chicago.  They were one match and two points away from making it to the gold round. 

15-1 and 15-Mizuno take off this weekend for Chicago for the Great Lakes Pre-National Tournament.  Good luck!

TVC 15-1 found a way to persevere and win the Silver Bracket of the 15's National Division at the OVR Championships even though they were the walking wounded with various ailments causing them to play shorthanded. Any and all were remedies available to keep the remaining players on the court until after 7:00pm on Sunday night, but not were not effective enough to make them all available for this lovely picture. Another reason this is an incomplete photo of the team due to Coach Rachel wishing to spend a few moments with her hubby on her 1st wedding anniversary once the tourney was done!

Thanks to the girls and coaches for finishing up the OVR season and freshman year while working through adversity and now getting ready to perform well in Chicago, and at Nationals as they blossom into high school sophomores!

13-4 girls won Gold last weekend at OVR's. Thanks Coach Kelly for being such a great coach!!

Congratulations to Coach Caitlin Long and the girls of 13-M!  Way to go!  They finished strong, coming from behind to beat Grandlake 17-15 in Set 3 of the Nickel Finals!

TVC 18-1 Players "Set" for College!

Congratulations to Abby Frame and Kelsey Arnold, setters on TVC 18-1 who have recently committed to continue playing in volleyball in college.

Abby has committed to Coker College in Hartsville, SC.  Coker is a NCAA Division II school that is a member of the Carolinas Conference.  Abby is the daughter of Mickey and Michelle Frame and will graduate shortly from Northview High School.
Kelsey has committed to play for the Hilltoppers of West Liberty State University in West Liberty, West Virginia.  The Hilltoppers are a member of the NCAA Division II  WVIAC conference.  Kelsey will join TVC alum, Melissa Pierzchala (2008) at West Liberty. Kelsey is the daughter of Rhonda and Larry Arnold. Kelsey will graduate from Central Catholic High School.

Congratulations to Kelsey and Abby and best of luck in your future academic and volleyball endeavors.

13-1 Receives Reallocation Bid!

And now there are 6 TVC teams qualified for JO Nationals in Miami, FL.  Congratulations to Coach Wes and Coach Mallory and all of the girls of 13-1 who worked hard to finish high at the recent bid tournament.  They were first in line for a reallocated bid and we received word last night that we got it!!!!

There will be a Pre-Nationals Information Meeting on Thursday, May 7th at the LCRC in the Clubhouse at 6:00 p.m. to discuss all of the details regarding nationals.  All Coaches and at least one parent and player should be in attendance.

Home Sweet Home

It is official!   Toledo Volleyball Club has signed an agreement with the Lucas County Commissioners to lease Hall 1 and the Clubhouse year round.  The lease will begin June 15th, 2009 and will continue for 5 years with an option to renew for additional years.

This new arrangement will mean that we are responsible for all of the maintenance and utility expenses associated with the facility.  We will have the opportunity to rent out Hall 1 and the Clubhouse when we are not using it-to help offset the additional expenses we expect to incur.

It has been a long process, but I am very excited about the opportunity we have and just knowing that we are set for the next five years is a big relief.  We will be asking all of our members to help us get Hall 1 in tip-top shape.  If you have a skill (electricians, plumbers, painters, landscapers, etc.) we will be looking for your help!  The good news is we will not have to take up the courts for Winter Wonderland (although we might have to take them up in the summer for the fair) we will also be able to host tryouts and use the courts year round for lessons, camps, clinics, etc.   Because this took longer than we anticipated, our schedule this summer will be limited, but I expect to have several clinics and events this fall.

As of May 31, 2009 we will no longer be renting court space at Synergy.  The past five years at Synergy have been good for TVC, but this long term opportunity at the LCRC makes more sense for the club.  Jonathan Shapiro is retiring from Synergy and the fitness portion of the business has moved with Todd Baden to the former Gold's Gym space on Holland Sylvania.    I know that those of us who live in Sylvania and Michigan will miss the convenience of Synergy.

I want to thank Colleen Dooley who has logged many hours working on the legal issues facing the club with our lease with the county.  This process started back in December and has involved numerous meetings and almost daily phone calls.  The board support has been tremendous as well.  Jim Shaw, the county engineer (and a former TVC dad) and Earl Reid, of the county facilities department have been so helpful.

I would also like to thank "Love John" (Board Member, Doug Zimmerman nicknamed my husband John that after I shared with them a extensive email where John outlined the pros and cons of the lease-of course he signed it, Love, John!)   John's  input and counsel has been invaluable to me and the entire board.

Finally, I want to say thank you to the coaches and the membership for your belief and commitment to TVC.  Without each and everyone of you (and your parents) there would be no Toledo Volleyball Club.

Sincerely,

Michelle Hills
Club Director

TVC 13-M follows up their outstanding runner up finish at the Blackswamp 13 Regional Tournament with another runner up finish this past weekend at the Best of America tournament in Michigan.  Congratulations to Coach Tina and Coach Caitlyn and the entire team!

TVC 12-2 takes 1st in GOLD at Maverick Volleyball Club in Parma, April 25th, Great Job Girls and Coach Caryn!

11-1 wins 1ST in GOLD North Ridgeville 4/25

Way to go 12-3 for taking 1st in Gold at the University of Findlay on April 19. We are so proud of you!  You worked so hard and you deserve it!  Congrats to the girls, Coach Loomis and Coach Fleck!  

TVC 14-1 are going to Miami! There was nothing stopping these ladies. They were determined to get their Bid and they did just that going 6-0 in pool play to secure their Bid! Congratulations on taking 4th in Gold.The girls worked and played hard and with the special help of coach Buck, coach Sara, and coach Margot they made their dream a reality! Get ready to practice even harder girls! We would like to congratulate all of the other teams that will be joining us in Miami. Let's go down there and show them how it is done in "Toledo"!

What was going on in NW Ohio and SE Michigan in 1993 and 1994 that hot momma's were poppin' out all kinds of future volleyball superstars that are now Freshman in high school? It is not very common to have two teams in the same club and age division qualify for J.O. Nationals and this is the second time for the TVC Class of 2012 to do so.

Congrats to all the TVC teams that qualified. Thanks to Coaches Barb Munch-Kohn, Kim Windham, Rachel Spitulski and Dana Chapman for leading the girls to a bid and we're confident the TVC Class of 2012 girls will continue to prove themselves to be one of the top classes in the OVR and in the USA!

TVC Qualifies 4 Teams at the OVR Bid tournament-bringing total to 5!

Joining the 16-1 team in Miami, Fl this summer will be the 12-1, 14-1, 15-1 and 15-Mizuno teams.  All 4 teams qualified in the American Division this past weekend in Columbus.  13-1 finished 6th and is first in line for a reallocated bid.

Congratulations to all of the young ladies and coaches (I did notice that Coach Buck of 14-1 is in the minority with all of the bids going to our female coaches) Coach Wes of 13-1 is hoping his team gets the call so he can keep Coach Buck company in Florida.  

Special congratulations to 15-M.  This is the fifth time that we have qualified two teams in the same age group.  15-M teammates, Kristen Kelly and Kelly Mossing were on 13-gold two years ago when we qualified 13- Diamond and 13-Gold!  15-Mizuno's 3 set win over Columbus Volleyball Academy 15-1 to qualify was really special!

15-1 is on target to set a new record for most consecutive years qualifying.  They did at 12's in Atlanta, 13's in Minneapolis, 14's in Dallas and now 15's in Miami.  If they are able to do this for the next three years, they will overtake the class of 2004-who qualified for 6 straight years from 13-18.  

A meeting for all teams attending Nationals will be held sometime the week of April 27th. Date and time TBD.

Congratulations!  I am looking forward to spending my 25th wedding anniversary in Miami, Fl.  Hope my hubby comes along!!!  

Michelle Hills

Notes for Easter Week

I hope everyone has had or is having a nice Spring Break.  The sun is finally shining today, so there is some hope that we might actually get some warm weather here sooner versus later.  I am not someone who does well when deprived of sunlight!

The weather outside might not be that warm, but the volleyball is sure heating up!

First of all, a big congratulations to 16-1 for their second place finish at the Big South Qualifier in Atlanta.  They finished 2nd out of over 130 teams to get their ticket punched for Nationals.  On a personal level, this was so exciting for me, as I have watched this team over the years be so close to qualifying and just miss.  Congratulations to Coach Brie Hagerty and Coach Gwen Hazlett for the great job they did getting the girls ready to play.  I look forward to watching this team continue to get better.

This weekend is the OVR Bid tournament.  We have 10 teams entered hoping to secure a bid to Nationals in Miami, Fl in July.  (Now that will be one hot spot!)  Bid weekend is always filled with anticipation, excitement, nerves and wishful thinking-and that is just on the parent’s side!  I know the girls have been working hard and will do their best.  Hopefully, their best will result in a trip to Miami, but if not, I will be proud of them.

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TVC 12-1 earned their 1st trip to Nationals by winning their pool and advancing to Gold in the OVR Bid.  The girls won a hard fought match with the Cincy Classics 12 Red to win the final match in pool play and their ticket to Miami!  They finished overall 3rd in Gold in the tournament.  These girls have worked so hard this year on their game and their toughness, all with the goal of getting to Miami!  Many, many thanks to Coach Melissa and Coach Tammy who have used both their expertise and their 'bag of tricks' to make this team successful! Miami, here we come!

2006 TVC Alum Ellen Herman Named to 2009 U.S. National A2 Program!

Rising senior to compete at USA Adult Open Championships in May

March 31, 2009

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Ohio University rising senior outside hitter Ellen Herman has been selected as one of 24 collegiate volleyball players from across the nation to lead the U.S. Women's National A2 Program in 2009, USA Volleyball announced in a statement on Tuesday.

The Women's National A2 Team is scheduled to train from May 18-22 in Minneapolis before splitting into two 12-player squads to compete in the Open Division of the 2009 USA Adult Open Championships. The Open Division Flight will take place from May 23-26 at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

Herman (Toledo, Ohio) is no stranger to the most prestigious open volleyball championship in the nation, as she totaled 11 kills in the gold-medal match of last year's tournament to lead the National A2 Team to its first title in four years and capture Most Valuable Player honors.

The first non-senior in Ohio volleyball history to claim AVCA All-America recognition when she was an honorable mention selection in 2008, Herman has established herself as one of the prolific players the program has ever seen. She set single-season rally scoring records last season with 527 kills and an average of 4.57 kills per set, ranking ninth nationally in the latter category, en route to earning the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year award and first-team All-MAC honors.

Herman elevated her game in the 2008 postseason, averaging 5.00 kills and 3.82 digs per set in Toledo to propel the Bobcats to their fifth MAC Tournament title and sixth-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Championship, garnering MVP honors along the way. She was also dominant in Ohio's five-set thriller with Yale in the first round of the NCAA Championship, reeling off a career-high and Ohio NCAA-record 32 kills on .312, while also chipping in with 13 digs.

She will enter her senior season ranked sixth on the program's career charts for both kills and attacks, and needs just 252 kills to overtake fellow Ohio All-American Melissa Griffin as the Bobcats' all-time kills leader.

Comprised of 24 players from 19 different collegiate programs, the 2009 U.S. Women's National A2 Team includes four setters, 10 outside/opposite hitters, six middle blockers and four liberos. The players were selected as part of the U.S. Women's National Team Open Tryouts, held from Feb. 20-22 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. In 2009, a record total of 160 athletes competed in the Open Tryout.

USA Volleyball has also announced that Suzie Fritz (Kansas State) and Jason Watson (Arizona State) will serve as head coaches for the program, while Aven Lee (Pacific) and Scott Swanson (Minnesota) have signed on as assistant coaches.

2009 U.S. Women's National A2 Team Roster
Sarah Ammerman - OH, Sr., Texas A&M
Johannah Bangert - MB, Jr., Illinois
Michelle Bartsch - OH, So., Illinois
Ashley Benson - MB, Jr., Indiana
Haley Carroll - L, Sr., San Francisco
Ashlie Christenson - OH, Jr., Baylor
Brittnee Cooper - MB, Sr., LSU
Laura DeBruler - OH, Jr., Illinois
Whitney Dosty - OH, Jr., Arizona
Ashley Edinger - L, Sr., Illinois
Neticia Enesi - MB, Sr., Oregon
Lindsay Fletemier - MB, Jr., Dayton
Laurie Gonzalez L, So., Albany
Ellen Herman - OH, Sr., Ohio
Kristy Jaeckel - OH, So., Florida
Carli Lloyd - S, Jr., California
Kaylee Manns - S, Sr., Iowa State
Ashleigh McCord - OH, So., Rice
Tarah Murrey - OH, So., California
Sarah Rumely - S, Sr., Kentucky
Christine Tan - L, Sr., Minnesota
Naomi Washington - MB, Sr., Long Beach State
Paige Weber - S, Jr., Arizona
Brooks Webster - OH, Sr., Alabama

TVC 16-1 Find their Way to Miami Through Atlanta!

Congratulations to Ladies of Sparta!  TVC 16-1 has qualified for USAV Nationals by finishing 2nd at the Big South Qualifier in the 16 Club Division.  They were the only team in the tournament to take a set off of Club Utah, the champion.  With this finish, they earned the right to participate in the 16 American Division in late June in Miami, Florida.  Maggie, Alexa, Brooke, Veronica, Kelsey, Lisa, Meghan, Izzy, Coach Hazlett and Coach Hagerty send good luck wishes to all of the teams playing for a bid April 18 and 19 and are hoping for several TVC teams join them on the beach!  This is the first time this group of girls have qualified for Nationals and we are very proud of the great team effort they displayed this weekend dispatching some very tough teams en route to the finals!

13-1 took 3rd place and received medals. But off court the girls have fun together at the hotel on Saturday night.

13-3 Takes 2nd in Gold at the Maverick  VBC Tournament in Parma on 4/4/09. It was a very long day - over 10 hours, but the girls never stopped working for the Gold.   They showed great determination  and team work to place 2nd
out of 16 teams.    During the seeding portion of the tournament the girls knocked off the competition one-by-one  placing them 1st in their pool. Congratulations Coach Nicole Pece and Team 13-3 you all worked very hard
for this win.   Look Out Columbus -  13-3 is Coming to Town and Ready to Play!

14-4 won 1st in Silver at the tournament in Parma, OH

Notes for April Fools!

I used to love April Fools Day.  As a youngster, I was pretty gullible-maybe I am still as an oldster! 

It has been a very busy couple of weeks around TVC.  We are deep into the qualifier season and in fact; seven teams are heading to Atlanta tomorrow for the second big qualifier.  The 12’s-15’s played last weekend in Columbus and while we did not come away with any bids, we got to the final day with four teams still in contention for a bid.  7 of 8 teams advanced to the upper half after Day 1.  12-1 and 14-1 finished 5th in the Club Division; 15-Mizuno finished 9th in the Club Division and 15-1 finished 5th in the Open Division.  A big shout out to 15-3, who is registered as a regional team competed in the Club Division against many national teams and were a breath and 2 points away from playing for Gold on Sunday.  It was great to see them do so well.

Good luck to 15-1, 15-Mizuno, 16-1, 16-Mizuno, 17-1 and 17-Mizuno and 18-1 who will be competing in Atlanta this coming weekend. 

Congratulations to 17-1 who finished 3rd in the 17 National Power Challenge last weekend.  They beat Ohio Elite in the quarterfinals, a team that has had our number the past few times they played.  Now, if they can get over the hump with CVC Black!  16-1 won the silver division (AGAIN) at the 16 National Power Challenge.  Special thanks to Brad Turski who came out of temporary retirement to help Brie coach the 16-1 team.  Now that he is registered and good to go, we will be calling on him again!

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Way to go girls! For three days these girls battled their way to the gold against a field of 68 teams! They played hard and smart only to be stopped in the quarter finals by Southern California. Super job we are very proud of you! Look out OVR Bid because they are ready!

11-2 takes 2nd in Gold in a hard fought battle against Cleveland Renaissance at the Maumee LCRC on March 28th

17-1 3rd in GOLD in the OVR Power Tournament in Mason Ohio on 3/28 & 3/29!  The girls all "brought it" and played their hearts out to beat Ohio Elite in the quarterfinals and moved up to the semi-finals.  They each worked hard and smart and 1st in gold was just a short reach away.  Atlanta, here we come!!!  We're diggin' for gold and bringing it home!!

13-4, 1st in Silver on March 29 @ LCRC

March 21, 13-4, Start High School, 2nd in Gold

TVC 12-1 celebrates finishing 3rd in Gold - Ohio Valley Power League.  The team is getting better each week and currently has a record of 20-4 and is ranked 3rd in the OVR standings.  Keep it up girls!

Questions of the weekend: Was it Libero extraordinaire Madison Hauprichts Sloppy Joe's, big cookie and potato shakes 15th birthday celebration? Was it Janelle Nagy, Erin Williams and Emily Blank switching from swishing hoops in little nets to crushing kills over big ones? Was it Jocelyn Uchic playing all out to the point of getting a nice rasberry on her thigh from diving for a save? Was it Haley DeKeyser passing the ball as fast as her dad was passing cars on the turnpike? Was it Shelly DeHenning performing her "magic" sets that the competition couldn't figure out where they were going? Was it Cassidy Croci throwing a "block" party in Parma? Was it Coach Dana Chapman switching from mild mannered, wedding planning, bride to be into Bobby Knight to motivate the girls at just the right moment? Was it Coach Rachel Spitulski clearing out the food inventory at the Hyatt Breakfast and Ohio Nets concession stand just "eating for two" to be energized to strategize and orchestrate point producing rallies? Was it the parents getting jealous of the TVC 15-3 and Mizuno teams Class of 2012 girls bringing home all the hardware?

The answer to these is probably ALL THE ABOVE which led to the TVC 15-1 bringing home the gold over 24 other National 15's teams this weekend after starting off as the 14th seed. They found a way to win against nine formidable competitors on Saturday and Sunday who threw a lot at them and took a lot of hard shots but just couldn't overcome the conditioning (Thanks Brie, Jonathan and "The House of Pain"!) and tenacity of TVC 15-1. The toughest team they faced of the weekend was TVC 15-Mizuno that was unfortunately their last hurdle before getting into the Gold bracket. Once there they worked past Eastside Cleveland Juniors 15 Ice and Dayton Juniors 15 Blue to meet up with #1 seed CVC 15-Black on their home turf in the finals. In a battle of Big Guns TVC 15-1 prevailed in two sets 25-21 and 25-23 by displaying the one true ingredient for success TEAMWORK!

Many thanks to Coach Rachel and Dana for working through a challenging start of the season with a new mix of talent, illnesses, basketball conflicts and two 16's tournaments to lead the girls to this victory by pushing them to maximize their potential as individuals and as a team. Now that they have proven they can hang with best in the OVR they are off to MEQ and Big South to see if they can hang with the best in the nation!

11-1 2nd in gold in Hudson Ohio 3-8-09

Specialized Volleyball Training with Denny Caldwell

TVC is pleased to announce that Denny Caldwell will be available to work with small groups on Sunday evenings.  Denny recently completed the setting clinic for the high school age players and there has been a request for additional sessions.  The Sunday sessions are open to  players in the 8th grade and older and are not limited to setters.  

Denny will train a minimum of 4 players and a maximum of 6 players.  

The session will last 90 minutes and the fee is $40.00 per person.  To schedule a session, please contact Melissa Mugler at 419-944-6618 or mamvball@yahoo.com .  The timing of the sessions may change from week to week based on player and Denny's availability.

News and Notes for St. Patrick’s Day!

What a glorious day it is!  Maybe winter really is behind us.  Gosh, I hope so.  I am so over winter this year.

Sorry I have taken a week or so off from writing my notes.  I had a “VFW” this past weekend.   With the “Hamfest” using Hall #1, and no volleyball at the LCRC, it was a good time for me to have a “Volleyball Free Weekend.”  I used the time to head to Detroit to watch Jack play lacrosse, then back to Toledo for the St. John’s vs. Rogers District Final and then Sunday we went down to Columbus to watch the St. John’s hockey team in the state final. So, while it was a volleyball free weekend, it was clearly not sports free one!

It was a good time to have a weekend off from hosting tournaments.  The weekend before, Zahra Collins, tournament director had her hands full.  As the weekend was winding down; the tornado siren went off and following tournament guidelines, she herded everyone into the bathrooms and concession stand and storage area.  Fortunately for Z, Tina McClain had just arrived with her team to practice and was there to help.  Z and Tina handled everything well including summoning the emergency squad for a player who had an asthma attack. .  We received a heartfelt thank you from the parents of the player; and in the small world department, the player is the sister of our own Haylee Strause (TVC 18-1).  I am pleased to report that she has recovered and is doing well.

There is a lot going on these days.  Teams are practicing hard and we are in the middle of the travel season.  I hope to get out and see everyone play at some point this season.  I am doing fairly well with the older teams, but I have a ways to go with the younger teams.

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13-3 Team takes 1st in Gold in the tournament at U.T. on Sunday 3/15/09.
Congratulations Girls Job Well Done!!!   We are so proud of you all - you played like champs!!!!!   Special thanks to Coach Nicole Pece - again, Job Well Done we couldn't have done it without you!   Keep it up 13-3 Bump, Set, Spike to the Gold!!!!!

The TVC 15-3 traveled to Wright State in Dayton on March 14, 2009. Not losing a game in this four pool tournament, the TVC 15-3 team won another FIRST IN GOLD.  This TVC 15-3 team had to play without a player who hyper extended her thumb and had other players overcoming the flu.  But that did not stop this TVC 15-3 team.  They were able to regroup and work together to bring their WINNING STREAK TO 34 STRAIGHT GAMES!  Way to go TVC 15-3; keep the winning streak going!

12-1 celebrates - 2nd in Gold@ Hiram College

Congratulations to TVC 16-1 Player, Veronica Zimmerman who was recently named to the "Elite Honorable Mention" list on Prepvolleyball's list of the Sophomore 79!  This list recognizes achievement made during the high school season.

Way to go 14-1 girls! Taking 3rd in Gold at Hiram out of 23 teams. They played 8 great matches and should be very proud of how they played!

TVC 12-2, UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO, MARCH 7TH, 2ND IN GOLD

The 16-M team took 1st place on Sunday going 3-0 on the day to take the Championship of the Platinum B Bracket in Club Division. Over all for the weekend the team went 5-3, Congrats Girls and Coaches. 

18-1 teams First Place finish in the Bronze bracket

13-4 team after they won Third Place in the gold round at Blackswamp on March 7.

The TVC 15-3 team traveled to Miami University the weekend of March 7 and 8 and captured FIRST PLACE IN GOLD at the Regional Challenge.  Playing in two back to back 10 hour days of volleyball (9:00am to 7:00pm) competing in 11 volleyball matches, having to overcoming the warm and humid 70 degrees conditions, and springing ahead in time, the TVC 15-3 did not lose a single game in route to their first Championship.  Way to go Coach Mark, Coach Katie and TVC 15-3 players!  You showed determination and desire and you are the CHAMPIONS!

16-3 1st in Gold!!! (Bluffton University March 7, 2009)

TVC 12-1,Case Western Reserve (13's), 1st in Gold

The girls (15-M) started from ending 3rd in their pool in the first round and fought back hard beating CVC Black and Maverick ending 3rd in the Power Challenge!

11-2 Places 3rd in gold at their 1st tournament in Norwalk playing all 12u teams! Congratulations girls and Coach Businger!

With basketball season behind them, the ENTIRE TVC 15-3 traveled to Cleveland’s Renaissance VBC on March 1, 2009.  Under the direction of Coach Mark Macias, the team did not lose a single game during the twelve team tournament in route to the championship match.  In the finals for Gold, the Maverick team’s defensive was able to stop the TVC 15-3 winning streak.  TVC 15-3 took second in Gold.  It was a nice way to celebrate a teammates (Haley Broadway) birthday!

16-1 & 15-1 teams in Parma on 2/22.  16-1: first in silver and 15-1 second in silver 

Notes for February 27, 2009

The tournament season is in full swing for many teams and just beginning for a few others.  I hope that everyone is having a successful season so far.  Success in club volleyball can look like many things.  For some it will be tournament wins.  For some it will be game wins.  For others it can be accomplishing something you have not accomplished before like getting your serve over.  As I have told many teams over the years and this season is no different-my goal for each of our players is that they learn the proper fundamentals, they improve individually, the team and coach works well together and they have fun.  I know that winning is fun-so I certainly hope there is plenty of that!

The folks who turned out for Scott Carter’s presentation on recruiting experienced a real treat.  Scott did an excellent job of de-mystifying the process along with offering some very down to earth advice about recruiting.   Ron Grindle and I had the chance to spend additional time with Scott following the presentation, and we both agreed he is someone we would like to come back and work with our coaching staff.  I always love to listen to two coaches discuss technique and coaching philosophy.  Which passing technique is better, how do you position your body on your approach to get the most height and power, in a 3 step approach, is it one big and two little steps or is it one little, and two big?  Ron and Scott had quite an animated conversation.  It ended with Ron paying Scott the ultimate compliment, “I could coach with him.”  Now, if Scott felt the same way about coaching with Ron remains to be seen!  (I love to tease Ron!)

There have been some exciting inter-club matches.  You hate to drive to Cleveland to play your own sister team, but 16-1 and 15-1 played each other tough last weekend in the 16 Power Challenge.  16-1 came out on top, but 15-1 did not go down without a fight.  12-1 and 11-1 had a big match at Premier with 11-1 winning game 1 convincingly.  12-1 came back and won the match in 3.   When I watch those matches, I always have to make sure I am not cheering for either team.  I sit there stoically watching.  And anyone who has ever watched me watch a volleyball match knows that sitting stoically is not in my repertoire.  12-2 won their first tournament last weekend in Dayton. They had to overcome a feisty 12-3 team in the finals to get the gold!

13-3 TEAM PLACES  2ND IN GOLD AT THE PRESIDENT DAY TOURNAMENT AT PREMIER!
GREAT JOB GIRLS!

TVC 12-3, Centerville, February 22, 2nd in Gold

TVC 12-2 went 5 matches to 1st in Gold without dropping a game!

It is always nice to hear from former players!  Sara Hughes played for Perrysburg High School and TVC 2000-2004. She was a setter for Valparaiso University, graduating this past May.  She is now the assistant coach at the University of Illinois-Chicago.  I ran into Sara while in Omaha for the Women’s Final Four.

Hi Mrs. Hills!!
It was so great to see you and Sonny last December at the final four.  I wanted to make sure that you had my email so that you could keep me updated on TVC girls and what's new back in Ohio.  I will be recruiting this weekend in Omaha for the President's Day Tourney.  
    
I must tell you though, some of my best volleyball memories where when I was playing for TVC.  I talk to so many players that I played with and against in college and also players that I'm now coaching, and it's not always characteristic to have had a great club volleyball experience.  So I feel so lucky that I was able to play for TVC.  Thank you for making that experience so special!!
Talk to you soon!!
-Sara :)

TVC 16-3, OVR Presidents' Cup, February 14-15, 2009, 1st in Flight 1

TVC 12-2, Youth Classic, Feb. 14-15, 2nd

11-1 Wins the 12 and under Youth Showcase at Premier 2/14 and 2/15.

Announcements and Notes for Thursday, February 12, 2009

• Final Fee payments were due on February 1, 2009.  If you have not made your final payment or are unsure of your balance, please contact Deborah Zimmerman at dzimmerman@toledosua.org.  Players whose fees are not paid in full or have not made alternative arrangements by Friday, February 13th will not be permitted to practice or play until their accounts are current.  We understand that there are tremendous financial pressures on families with this current economy.  We will work with you . . . but you need to work with us.
• Ads for the program book were due on January 31st.  If you still have ads, please contact Darlene McCabe at dmccabe@rlcos.com.
• Players and Parents 15 and older should mark their calendars for Monday, February 23rd at 6:30 p.m. and plan to attend Scott Carter’s presentation on recruiting.  We are hoping that the third time is a charm in our quest to get this meeting scheduled.  Please email tvc2009@bex.net and confirm your attendance.  The fee is $20 per family and can be paid that night.  The meeting will be held in the Clubhouse at the LCRC.
• Most of the coaches’ apparel has been delivered.  If you have not received your apparel, please contact Taina Romstadt.  Tainatmr@aol.com
• Congratulations to 15-3 for their third place finish at the 15 Regional Challenge in Cleveland.  It is especially impressive as they were playing with 7 players due to basketball conflicts.  Way to go, Coach Macias and Coach Westerfeld.
• We had a great turnout for the setting clinic on Sunday for the younger players.  It will continue each Sunday through March 15th.  It is at Synergy from 5:30-7:00 p.m.
• Denny Caldwell’s setting clinic for the older players will be held on Sunday, February 15th from 7-8:30 p.m.  This is a rescheduled date.
• Congratulations to Janelle Nagy(TVC 15-1) on her inclusion in the Prepvolleyball.com  honorable mention list of the Top Freshman in the country.  Erin Williams (TVC 15-1) was also listed as a player to watch. 
• This past week I was surfing the internet and came across a blog from www.cleveland.com about a tournament in Cleveland and how there were parents from Toledo who were rude to the scorekeepers.  There was some conversation about whether it was TVC or another club.  Someone posted that “My money is on TVC.”  It turns out it was not a TVC parent, but those kind of posts stick with people.  Parents, please remember that you are representing TVC as much as your daughter and the coaches are.  If you are behaving badly, I will hear about it.  One over the top parent can ruin a club’s reputation.
• Please be respectful of all playing sites and their house rules.  Sometimes food is allowed, sometimes it is not.   Coolers are never allowed inside any site.  Parent reps should be checking the www.ovr.org website for tournament information and facility rules.
• Congratulations to Sarah Brent (15M) and Brittany Osburn (17-M) who are this weeks “Athletes of the Week.”  Jonathan and Brie will select two players each week they feel exhibit maximum effort and the best attitude during conditioning.  The Athletes of the Week will be entered into a contest for prizes at the end of the season.

Have a great week! There are no tournaments at the LCRC this weekend.  Several of our younger teams are playing at Premier in their Youth Showcase over the weekend.  Our early bird teams are heading to Dayton for the President’s Cup along with 16-3.  11 Blue kicks off their season on Saturday at Blackswamp.

Good luck to all of our teams who are in action this weekend!

Have a great Valentine’s Day!

Michelle Hills

The "Few But Mighty" TVC 15-3 team traveled to Cleveland State for their first tournament of the season.  Under the direction of Coach Mark and Coach Katie these seven players went undefeated on day one winning, 5 straight matches.  One of those "sweet" victories was over their fellow classmates and friends, the Premier 15-2.  These TVC 15-3 players then came back strong on day two to win their next two matches.

In the semi-final match in the GOLD DIVISION of this 20 team tournament, the TVC 15-3 players faced a tall, hard hitting team from Wooster Elite.  TVC 15-3 may have lost that match, but they never quit trying and came within a few points a couple of times.  It was a great team effort!  This placed them 3rd out of 20 teams for their first tournament.  Great job coaches and players! 

Here is a picture of the Few But Mighty's winning smiles after victory number one on Saturday put that "winning desire" in them! 

Four TVC Alums Invited to Participate in the US Women’s National Team Open Tryout 

Congratulations and Good Luck to Lauren Paolini (TVC 2005) University of Texas; Ellen Herman (TVC 2006) Ohio University; Ashley Frazier (TVC 2008) University of Alabama and Sara Sage (TVC 2008) UCLA.  These four ladies will be at the US Olympic Training Facility in Colorado Springs February 20-22 competing for spots on the US Women’s National Team.   

Ashley and Sara will also be considered for positions for the Women’s Junior World Championship Team that will compete in Mexico this summer.

Conditioning Schedule

Notes for the New Season!

The 2009 TVC Season officially kicked off last week with the annual laying of the floors and yesterday’s Uniform Pick up and Picture Day.  Thank you to everyone who helped to make both events run smoothly.  Once again, many hands made light work of the court set-up.  I do think that these types of events-while a bit of a drag do help to reinforce the community spirit and camaraderie of the club. 

Doug Zimmerman has really figured out the best way to lay the courts and has gotten it down to a science.  My husband, who has laid his share of courts walked out Tuesday night and said, “This guy is a god!”  High praise indeed from someone who once counted every tile and put it down on a graph!

Ron Grindle kept the teams moving for Picture Day-I appreciated not having to do that job!  I was too busy checking out all of the fantastic food at the Potluck.  Next year, we need someone to take charge of the Potluck and remind people to bring their goodies in throwaway containers.  Not the most green thing, but would cut down on the dishes! continue

Important Announcement

The Future of the Lucas County Recreation Center and its impact on TVC

In today's Toledo Blade, there is an article about the possible closing of the LCRC after June of 2009, and the possible impact that would have on the organization's who rent the facility.   With TVC as the largest renter, I was contacted by the Toledo Blade to comment.

I have had many years of experience in dealing with reporter's in my former life as an executive director of a non-profit events organization in downtown Toledo.  I should have known and expected that a 15 minute initial interview and a follow-up interview would result in the equivalent of a brief "sound-bite" which did not fully reflect the tenor of the conversation.  It is true, that without a 4 (or 6) court facility it will be difficult to sustain a 30+ team club.  But TVC is the oldest club in the area and we have grown from a 1 team club to our current size-and we have managed to do it quite successfully.  That success will continue.

Here is the straight scoop.  We have been in conversations with members of the facilities staff of the LCRC and the commissioner's office about the possibility of TVC taking control of Exhibition Hall 1 beginning next year.  We have a lease for Hall 1 that goes through the 2010 season and has a 3 year renewable clause after that.  There are improvements that need to be made to the facility-and we are waiting to see what those improvements entail as well as what the bottom-line dollar figure is with regards to maintenance and up-keep and utilities before we can make an educated decision as to whether that makes sense. We are also exploring all other options.

What does all of this mean to you, our membership?  For this coming season, absolutely nothing.  We are moving into the LCRC on January 13th and it will be business as usual for TVC.  When we first moved to the LCRC several years ago, the commissioner's discussed this same possibility of closing the facility.  That was the reason we moved to Synergy in the first place.  We have been through this before.

If you have any questions, or you know of a 20,000 + square foot building with 28' ceilings, no posts and lots of parking that is available for lease, please feel free to contact me at tvc2009@bex.net.

Michelle Hills

Sad Announcement

This past summer, I posted about Shayla Holwenger, a 17 year old volleyball player from Washington who was suffering from a rare and fatal from of bone cancer. I am sad to report that Shayla lost her battle on December 11, 2008. Shayla’s story is an incredible one of grace, courage, love and faith. I would encourage you to read her story. (You will laugh and you will cry) http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/shayla-la

Most of the posts were written by her mother-an incredible woman dealing with something no mother can ever be prepared to deal with-the terminal illness of a child. But the post that was the most incredible was Shayla’s on July 31.

Here is an excerpt. . .
Ahh, it is late. It's even late for me, who used to just be starting my night around this time. A lot of things have changed over the past 18 months. Some changes have happened more recently, some have happened over time; no change I would knowingly and willingly take back though.

I think of this past year and a half of my life experience as a journey. The thing about taking a journey is, you don't always know where you'll end up, or how soon you will get there, or how many forks in the road you will come to in the meantime. I've learned that every journey has to end, and this is the beginning of the end of mine.

You never know when someone you do not even really know, might step into your life and touch you. Shayla’s journey and her strength touched me in a very profound way. I believe that she has found peace in God’s loving embrace and I wish her mom and dad and sister peace and comfort as they deal with their loss.

Michelle Hills

Important Announcement for Members of 16 Early Bird Team.
We have combined the two 16 Early Bird Teams.  Mark Davidson will be coaching the team with assistance from Zahra Collins.  The team will be practicing at the original time of 4-6 on Tuesday and Thursday at Synergy. 

Important Announcement Regarding Boys Teams
Unfortunately, we will not be fielding any boys teams this year.  We had a lot of interest, but not enough commitments to field a team in any age level.  We will continue to offer some open gym opportunities for boys over the next several months to hopefully build interest and we will try again next year.  Thank you to all who expressed interest in the boys program.

Team Posting Information and Other Info.

The team lists for the 15-18 teams are now posted.  You will note that most of the teams have "complete" next to the team number.  We are still working on filling some open slots on some of the teams.  I will be contacting alternates this week.

We are specifically looking for players to complete the following teams:
11-Blue
13-4
Youth Teams (If we have additional players, we will form two teams)
15-Club Teams
18-Early Bird

Coaching Announcements
At this time, I am also pleased to announce that Gary Freed and his wife Jamie will be coaching the 16-Mizuno team.  Gary played professionally for ten years in the Midwest Professional Volleyball Associatiion.  He has coached high school varsity and was an assistant coach at the University of Toledo.  Jamie coached for TVC several years ago after her playing career at UT.    I am very excited about Gary and Jamie joining (and rejoining) the TVC family.

With regards to other coaching changes, I am sad to announce that Ron Grindle is taking the year off from coaching. He is still giving private lessons and will be a fixture at many TVC tournaments as a parent in the stands, following his daughter, Kennedy on the 11-1 team.  Rachel Spitulski and Dana Chapman are taking his 15-1 team and will do a great job.  We are also sorry to say goodbye to Mike Taylor, who has coached for TVC for the past 5 years.  He will be coaching in Michigan where his daughter, Suzanne will be playing.

The lifeblood of TVC is the wonderful players, coaches, and parents who come in and out of the club.  I feel like I am always saying goodbye . . . and also hello-which I definitely prefer over the goodbye's.

I had the opportunity this past weekend to spend some time watching the MAC championship.  Several former TVC players are currently playing in the MAC and it always fun to see the girls who have taken their game to the next level.  Our very own Ellen Herman (TVC 2006) had a pretty awesome weekend. She was named MAC player of the year at the banquet on Thursday and led her OU Bobcats to the MAC title-where she was also named tournament MVP.

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting the end of season honors for our present players as well as the accolades for our former players.  Please email me with any updates, so I can be sure and include them.

The Meet the Team Info is posted and I am working on finalizing tournament schedules.  I hate to post them before they are complete-as many times as I will say, "Here is the TENTATIVE schedule." I will have people email or call because "the schedule changed."  

I hope everyone has a wondeful Thanksgiving week.  I will look forward to seeing you on the 7th.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me at tvc2009@bex.net.

Michelle Hills

Krista Roe Update

I am happy to report that Krista has been released from the Cleveland Clinic and is home continuing her recovery.  Her mom, Gail emailed me to say thank you for all of the prayers and good wishes.  If you would like to send Krista a card, her home address is: 656 Meadow Lane, Wauseon, OH 43567.

Today (September 30) is Krista Roe’s 19th birthday.  Krista played on our 18-Mizuno team last year and is a freshman at Mount Union College where she is a member of their varsity volleyball team. Last week Krista became quite ill and was diagnosed with an ecoli infection.  Her condition deteriorated quickly and she was life-flighted to Cleveland Clinic where she has been for several days.  The infection has affected her kidneys and she is now suffering from hemolytic uremic syndrome.  She received blood today and was also put on dialysis.  They are hopeful that she has turned the corner, but will have a long recovery ahead of her.

Club Volleyball-The Silly Season
Straight Talk from Michelle Hills (or the horse’s mouth)

We have officially entered the “silly season” of club volleyball.  I know it has started when I start fielding calls and emails about the rumors regarding the coaching staff, tryouts and team selection.  I think year, it has gotten off to a ridiculously strong start and in an attempt to head some of the calls and emails, I am going to tell everyone who reads this website what I would tell you if you called me. 

Each year we lose coaches-they move out of the area, they have babies, they retire, etc.  This year is no exception.  Yes, it is true that Scott Mattera, who has coached for TVC for several years, has decided to leave TVC.  I am disappointed, but I wish him well.  If you want more information on what Scott is planning to do, you will have to contact him. 

No, it is not true that the #1  teams have been pre-selected and that offers have been made for players for this coming season.  If someone tells you that, please have them call me immediately, so that I can get those players registered and get a leg up on the work that happens after teams are selected.  Because, I sure as heck have no clue who those players are, and I would think if anyone would know, I would.

We are still filling coaching positions, so I cannot tell you who is coaching every age level.  We have some good ideas, but other than a few age groups, nothing is set in stone.  In Ohio, high school players cannot be coached by any coach in their high school program-this includes seniors.  So, there are times when we may not know until tryouts who is coaching some of the age levels.  We do put a great deal of thought into putting the right coaches with the right age groups. 

We are interviewing new coaches and I am excited about some of the new faces we will have at TVC this year.  We are working on revamping our conditioning program for the high school age kids.  We are looking at tournament schedules, with the idea of minimizing travel to far and away places due to the ever increasing cost of gas.

Back to the pre-selection of teams.  I want to make it very clear that coaches have not pre-selected teams.  Does that mean, they do not have some idea of who the good players are at each age level?  Of course they do.  It is their responsibility to constantly be on the lookout for good players-in case those players register and show up at our tryouts.

My least favorite rumor is the one that circulates each year and that is that if you attend or are planning to attend a particular high school, (let’s just say SUA for example)  you have to play for TVC or better yet, if you aren’t going to a particular high school, you won’t get a fair shake at tryouts.  That is absolute garbage. Coaches want to win and want to put together teams that have a good shot at winning.  We are fortunate to have several outstanding high school coaches in our program.  We need to embrace the experience and coaching expertise those coaches give to all of the players at TVC instead of lamenting that “their girls get preferential treatment and it is so political.”  If you play volleyball in high school and your coach doesn’t coach club, ask them why.  Better yet, ask them to contact me about coaching.  But, don’t complain about the high school coaches who spend their free time coaching club.  Of course they want to help their school programs get better.  Tell me what is wrong with that?  The great thing about club volleyball is that you have a choice.  There are several good clubs in the Toledo area.  I happen to think TVC is the best one, but if you disagree, you do have options.

Tryouts are in imperfect science, and mistakes do happen.  Players who should be on a team are put on a lower team and there are players who make teams that might be better off on a lower team.  That is the nature of club volleyball and selecting teams after a very limited tryout.  That goes back to knowing who the players are at a given age level.  I am very aware that there are players who shine at tryouts and struggle during the season, just as there are kids who do not do well at tryouts and end up being the top players on their teams.  This is where the bias of placing kids on teams that have played in your club comes into play.  If you have two players of relatively equal ability and one of the players played for TVC last year-that player is probably going to get the nod over the newcomer. (Unless that player had an attitude problem or her parents drove the previous coaches’ nuts)

What about loyalty?  I just mentioned that returning TVC players have an advantage, and that is true.  But, everyone has to work hard to secure a spot with TVC.  There are no promised spots.  We have a responsibility on our national teams to field the most competitive and talented teams possible.  If that means a player shows up and she is better than a player who has played for TVC her whole life, the better player is going to make the #1 team.  I know all about this-as my oldest daughter was on our #1 teams from age 12 to age 16.  Low and behold, at age 17, some more talented players showed up.  Guess where Kelsey ended up?  On the #2 team.  Did I think TVC was being disloyal?  No.  I think as parents, we all want what is best for our kids.  We want them to be on the team they deserve to be on.  Kelsey ended up having two wonderful and extremely successful years on the 17-2 and 18-2 teams and would not trade those years for anything. 

I am going to go out on a limb and also tell you that in the loyalty game, if you were offered a position on a #1 team at TVC last year, and you turned it down to play at another club- it is unlikely that you will be offered a #1 spot again.  We have to be pretty darn sure that you will accept the spot this year, or we are not going to take a chance on you again.  When players turn down spots on our #1 team, it causes a domino effect, and quite frankly, I would rather offer a player who genuinely wants to play for TVC than to take a chance on a player who has turned us down in the past.  Just as you have a choice of whether to accept our offer, we have a choice as to whether to make the offer in the first place.

There you have it-straight talk from a club director.  I am looking forward to another exciting and successful club season.  I hope that you will consider TVC for your club experience this year.

Sincerely,

Michelle Hills
TVC Club Director
TVC2009@bex.net