The Off Season
Thank goodness the national teams are active, otherwise this would be a very slow season for men's volleyball. I don't mind watching some AVP action but I have a strong preference for the 6 man indoor version of volleyball. Maybe it is because my age has caught up with me and covering the sand court with two people is totally exhausting for me (after only 3 or 4 rallies), :)
The Men's National Team had a great World League tournament. It is good to see the USA back into the medals for an international tournament. Their "older" roster of players performed well against many of their competitors who were using younger, less-experienced players intentionally or due to injury. I think the momentum will boost their confidence as they enter the 2008 Olympic qualifying tournament rounds. It does worry me some that they still have to play some teams who will bring their experienced rosters to these tournaments and the Olympics. Only time will tell.
A couple of months ago, I noticed that the Canadian National Team website listed Anaheim as the playing location for a September tournament. I looked at the USAV and NORCECA websites and could not find any tournament listed for Anaheim. I suspected the NORCECA tournament would be the one listed on the Canadian website. This was confirmed last weeek when USAV announced the tournament will be played in Anaheim September 16th through the 21st. I know the California fans were complaining when World League didn't schedule one of the three weekends in California. It looks like USAV already knew that California was getting the NORCECA. The NORCECA tournament will provide locals to see a lot more than one team and a lot more matches than a World League event. So congratulations.
I am starting a list of "things to do" for the Middle Hitter website this upcoming collegiate season. I will share some of them on another post.
Let's see if I can keep my resolutions to post more frequently this year, at least during the off-season.
The Men's National Team had a great World League tournament. It is good to see the USA back into the medals for an international tournament. Their "older" roster of players performed well against many of their competitors who were using younger, less-experienced players intentionally or due to injury. I think the momentum will boost their confidence as they enter the 2008 Olympic qualifying tournament rounds. It does worry me some that they still have to play some teams who will bring their experienced rosters to these tournaments and the Olympics. Only time will tell.
A couple of months ago, I noticed that the Canadian National Team website listed Anaheim as the playing location for a September tournament. I looked at the USAV and NORCECA websites and could not find any tournament listed for Anaheim. I suspected the NORCECA tournament would be the one listed on the Canadian website. This was confirmed last weeek when USAV announced the tournament will be played in Anaheim September 16th through the 21st. I know the California fans were complaining when World League didn't schedule one of the three weekends in California. It looks like USAV already knew that California was getting the NORCECA. The NORCECA tournament will provide locals to see a lot more than one team and a lot more matches than a World League event. So congratulations.
I am starting a list of "things to do" for the Middle Hitter website this upcoming collegiate season. I will share some of them on another post.
Let's see if I can keep my resolutions to post more frequently this year, at least during the off-season.
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