As promised I will continue to consolidate similar blog posts for your viewing pleasure. Today I'm providing you with the page the posts that I had the most fun putting together. The majority of these posts are blog posts, opinion pieces, that are more or less rants about the self-destructive behavior of the AVP or the clumsy missteps of the NVL. Everyone now a days is a critic, and I could really care less what the AVP or NVL thinks because they don't have enough money in the bank to prove me wrong. #I'mjustsaying
Anyways..... CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE AVP/NVL PAGE
Oh BTW, there will also be legitimate news updates on this page too, so it isn't all bashing and critiquing.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
New Consolidated Page: Equipment...more to come
Since I have eclipsed the 100 post mark I figured it would be a good time to start consolidating some of the posts for easier browsing for future reference. For starters there is a new Equipment page that has all my posts about beach volleyball equipment, from reviews about nets, balls, and lines, to where you can buy discounted gear, as well as reviews about KT Tape and the Coach's Eye app.
I'll be putting up more pages, as well as updating the Health page. Be on the lookout for AVP/NVL, Hot Picks, Playing Tips (blogs posts only), and a Random/Funny/Meme page
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Easy fixes to be more successful on the beach
You can't coach height, and you can't teach speed, but there is much more to beach volleyball than just physical ability. You truly excel and move up into more challenging divisions you have to become a student of the game by identifying your own strengths and weaknesses, but here are some helpful tips that I think can be applied to any level that can instantly improve your chances of winning. Keep in mind that your skills may not necessarily be any better, but making these small changes will help reduce errors and prolong point streaks, and ultimately earn the only stat at the end of the day that matters: the W.
1. Communication
Oh where to begin. Without rambling on and on and on too much about this (because I could and probably should), I'll just give you the cliff notes version of the keys of good communication on the beach.
a. Serve-Receive: Communication here takes place before the ball is served. Whoever is set up cross from the server should make the call on middle serves since they have the better angle. Also little notes on wind direction, potential serving tendencies (short, long, line etc.), and calling out responsibilities ("my line, your middle), can go a long way and essentially eliminate all ace serves.
b. Shot calls: This skill takes some time to master, but the basics can be picked up rather easily. Immediately after setting the ball it is easy enough to see where the blocker is set up, so based on your preference you can give a swing call opposite of where the blocker is, or shot call based on where the blocker is. So if the blocker is set up on the line, you would give a "swing cross" or a "high line" call.
c. Defense/Pulling: The more time you spend with your partner the easier this is but even for new partnerships you each should be fluent in communicating where you set up on defense, what part of the court you want to take away with the block, and when the ball is in play, as a defender you need to give a "pull", "peel", or "off" call.
d. Setting/Offensive Strategy: Before the game even begins, be on the same page on how to set your partner. It should generally be the same from game to game, but whether conditions change, your physical abilities change, and who you are playing always changes. So in addition to tempo, middle, pin, and regular sets also be sure that each of you has an idea what should happen during transition plays, scramble plays, when to hit on 2, and if you want to throw in any wrinkles like back sets.
2. Know when to hold em
Did you just miss your serve? If so, then shake it off and move onto the next point. Did you just miss another serve? Well that isn't exactly a recipe for success but like life, the game goes on. At this point most people think that they must put their next serve in as they have been conditioned to never miss 3 serves in a row from the indoor experience.
Although memories of endless suicide sprints and wall sits, may make your first instinct to hold back, there is a much easier way to analyze and dictate how you should serve: how easily/difficult the opposing team is siding out off of serve-receive. If they are siding out like clock work, then try to keep the pressure on and continue serving tough no matter how many serves you have missed to that point. If you just lolly pop serves in just to feel good about getting them in then ultimately you will likely end up with the same result as a missed serve. The risk-reward ratio strongly swings in your favor when the other team sides out well, so get back there and let 'er rip.
3. Know when to fold em
If you were to put the game of beach volleyball in a nutshell, it would be summarized as this: low errors equates to winning. Yes, you have to make blocks, digs, and take big swings on free balls, but in the grand scheme of things, the team that makes the least amount of errors is the team that usually wins.
If you get roofed, then so bet it, tip your cap and move on to the next play. If you hit out or into the net then you have legitimate cause for concern because the other team did absolutely nothing to earn that point. So during tightly contested games, you just have to play the percentages sometimes and just make the smart play. You shouldn't think of this mentality as playing to "not lose", rather as not beating yourself. Swinging "deep 6" (aka deep middle back), not taking as sharp cuts on shots or swinging across your body, or making flashy plays will still give you some points here and there. When you got it going, keep it going and stay aggressive and keep the other team off balance, but when you are going blow for blow, then make them beat you instead of beating yourself.
4. Square up
Of all the small adjustments that you can make this one can probably have the biggest impact. From serve-receive, to setting, blocking, defensive positioning, and even serving, so much is dependent upon our ability to square up our hips toward where we want to impart our action. So when change of direction and explosiveness are so critical to play, the ough plays that a lot of the great players make may not be so far outside your realm of possibility, but it does mean that you will have to do the little things like squaring up perfectly over and over and over again.
5. Elbow high
Probably the most common flaw I see from indoor players transitioning to the beach is that way too often they drop their arm and elbow down when hitting roll shots, or they take exaggerated cuts on shots. There are a couple of main reasons why this is an important mistake to make, and a habit that you should try your hardest to not form.
When you drop arm down you are drastically changing you explosion out of the sand and thus not jumping as high, but more importantly it is an obvious tell for the defense. It may not feel like much to you but it pretty obvious to everyone else that you are going to roll instead of swing.
Secondly, since you are going to be contacting the ball much lower, and thus on an upward angle the ball will be in he air for much longer than it should and however much you need to hit it. For defenders this is what we feed off of. The longer the ball is in the air, the more time the defense has to pick it up. So consistently reaching high and hitting a soft flat shot over the block will always be the better more effective way sideout.
For more detailed tips and tutorials visit my YouTube channel here
1. Communication
Oh where to begin. Without rambling on and on and on too much about this (because I could and probably should), I'll just give you the cliff notes version of the keys of good communication on the beach.
a. Serve-Receive: Communication here takes place before the ball is served. Whoever is set up cross from the server should make the call on middle serves since they have the better angle. Also little notes on wind direction, potential serving tendencies (short, long, line etc.), and calling out responsibilities ("my line, your middle), can go a long way and essentially eliminate all ace serves.
b. Shot calls: This skill takes some time to master, but the basics can be picked up rather easily. Immediately after setting the ball it is easy enough to see where the blocker is set up, so based on your preference you can give a swing call opposite of where the blocker is, or shot call based on where the blocker is. So if the blocker is set up on the line, you would give a "swing cross" or a "high line" call.
c. Defense/Pulling: The more time you spend with your partner the easier this is but even for new partnerships you each should be fluent in communicating where you set up on defense, what part of the court you want to take away with the block, and when the ball is in play, as a defender you need to give a "pull", "peel", or "off" call.
d. Setting/Offensive Strategy: Before the game even begins, be on the same page on how to set your partner. It should generally be the same from game to game, but whether conditions change, your physical abilities change, and who you are playing always changes. So in addition to tempo, middle, pin, and regular sets also be sure that each of you has an idea what should happen during transition plays, scramble plays, when to hit on 2, and if you want to throw in any wrinkles like back sets.
2. Know when to hold em
Did you just miss your serve? If so, then shake it off and move onto the next point. Did you just miss another serve? Well that isn't exactly a recipe for success but like life, the game goes on. At this point most people think that they must put their next serve in as they have been conditioned to never miss 3 serves in a row from the indoor experience.
Although memories of endless suicide sprints and wall sits, may make your first instinct to hold back, there is a much easier way to analyze and dictate how you should serve: how easily/difficult the opposing team is siding out off of serve-receive. If they are siding out like clock work, then try to keep the pressure on and continue serving tough no matter how many serves you have missed to that point. If you just lolly pop serves in just to feel good about getting them in then ultimately you will likely end up with the same result as a missed serve. The risk-reward ratio strongly swings in your favor when the other team sides out well, so get back there and let 'er rip.
3. Know when to fold em
If you were to put the game of beach volleyball in a nutshell, it would be summarized as this: low errors equates to winning. Yes, you have to make blocks, digs, and take big swings on free balls, but in the grand scheme of things, the team that makes the least amount of errors is the team that usually wins.
If you get roofed, then so bet it, tip your cap and move on to the next play. If you hit out or into the net then you have legitimate cause for concern because the other team did absolutely nothing to earn that point. So during tightly contested games, you just have to play the percentages sometimes and just make the smart play. You shouldn't think of this mentality as playing to "not lose", rather as not beating yourself. Swinging "deep 6" (aka deep middle back), not taking as sharp cuts on shots or swinging across your body, or making flashy plays will still give you some points here and there. When you got it going, keep it going and stay aggressive and keep the other team off balance, but when you are going blow for blow, then make them beat you instead of beating yourself.
4. Square up
Of all the small adjustments that you can make this one can probably have the biggest impact. From serve-receive, to setting, blocking, defensive positioning, and even serving, so much is dependent upon our ability to square up our hips toward where we want to impart our action. So when change of direction and explosiveness are so critical to play, the ough plays that a lot of the great players make may not be so far outside your realm of possibility, but it does mean that you will have to do the little things like squaring up perfectly over and over and over again.
5. Elbow high
Probably the most common flaw I see from indoor players transitioning to the beach is that way too often they drop their arm and elbow down when hitting roll shots, or they take exaggerated cuts on shots. There are a couple of main reasons why this is an important mistake to make, and a habit that you should try your hardest to not form.
When you drop arm down you are drastically changing you explosion out of the sand and thus not jumping as high, but more importantly it is an obvious tell for the defense. It may not feel like much to you but it pretty obvious to everyone else that you are going to roll instead of swing.
Secondly, since you are going to be contacting the ball much lower, and thus on an upward angle the ball will be in he air for much longer than it should and however much you need to hit it. For defenders this is what we feed off of. The longer the ball is in the air, the more time the defense has to pick it up. So consistently reaching high and hitting a soft flat shot over the block will always be the better more effective way sideout.
For more detailed tips and tutorials visit my YouTube channel here
Saturday, November 9, 2013
AVP matches streaming
Yes we are all sad that summer is over but you can relive all the action, albeit anticlimactic, from the AVP at http://avp.com/live
I'll try to pull some of the footage and break the down in the playing tips tab. And yes I'm very sorry that it has been so long since the last one, but I've still had issues uploading/rendering videos and with this big move to AZ as of late I've been a little short on time.
But as always feel free to leave some suggestions and I'll do my best to have the video up within a week.
I'll try to pull some of the footage and break the down in the playing tips tab. And yes I'm very sorry that it has been so long since the last one, but I've still had issues uploading/rendering videos and with this big move to AZ as of late I've been a little short on time.
But as always feel free to leave some suggestions and I'll do my best to have the video up within a week.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Product Review: Body Armor Sports Drink
Where and How much:
Like I said I've never seen, heard of, or known of anyone who has used this so I don't know where else you can find it but I first found them at a 7-Eleven in Mesa, AZ. On their site they do have a store locator, although on my first attempt it landed me in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, but maybe you'll have better results than me. As a new product they were being offered for $2 a piece.
Like I said I've never seen, heard of, or known of anyone who has used this so I don't know where else you can find it but I first found them at a 7-Eleven in Mesa, AZ. On their site they do have a store locator, although on my first attempt it landed me in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, but maybe you'll have better results than me. As a new product they were being offered for $2 a piece.
The Pros:
For a sports drink at only 16oz it only boasts 140 calories. I guess you could call this the silver lining. It isn't ideal but it could be much worse.
It claims to have 2x the amount of the electrolytes than the leading brands with a total blend of about 600mg. That was the first draw that I noticed on the front label. It also contains 50mg of polyphenols (antioxidant) from blueberries, and is 10% coconut water.
The Cons:
For all those extra electrolytes it packs in, most of it is for naught. It is clearly labeled on the ingredients list that the source of magnesium in its electrolyte blend is in the form of magnesium oxide which is essentially useless since your body can't readily absorb it. Since it is a low sodium drink at about 15mg per serving and 30mg per bottle you aren't really getting all you need from the electrolyte department. Ideally the sodium:potassium ratio should be between 3:1-5:1 (based on sweat content), where as BodyArmor's ration is 1:20. Oh and those polyphenols apparently are 75% derived from apples according to their ingredients list.
The Results:
I suppose you can't really "feel" the difference if you did a blind taste test, but as far as how you perform with it versus other sports drinks would still vary on a lot of factors so it would be very difficult to determine its benefits. You should feel a bit of a "boost" which I'm assuming is coming from the B-Vitamins and green tea extract (although they claim on their website that it is a trace amount of only ~1/2 mg), so be sure not to mistake this from the electrolyte formula.
Overall it didn't taste bad, and it wasn't overwhelming with sweetness. It didn't have any artificial colors from what I could discern although it does contain "natural flavors" on the ingredients list which is always a cause to pause (find out more about "natural" flavors here). Even if you aren't gaining much from the electrolytes it is still a decent substitute if you forget to make your own batch at home and are your way to practice or a tournament. It says to have superior hydration and nutrition but superior is a relative term. You may still be better off making your own sports drinks but it is probably better than anything else you can find in a supermarket.
Extra notes:
On their website they are vehemently concerned with not being confused as a "sports drink" but rather being called a superdrink. But unless I drink this product and wake up tomorrow with a black cape, utility belt, hoarse voice, and a tank in the driveway, I'm going to just call it a sports drink (unless of course they sign Dwight Howard to their team, then I may change my mind).
Extra notes:
On their website they are vehemently concerned with not being confused as a "sports drink" but rather being called a superdrink. But unless I drink this product and wake up tomorrow with a black cape, utility belt, hoarse voice, and a tank in the driveway, I'm going to just call it a sports drink (unless of course they sign Dwight Howard to their team, then I may change my mind).
 |
| Drinking BodyArmor may or may not allow you to do this |
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
OC Sand Volleyball Club...The Next Level?
Up to this point, beach volleyball has maintained the status quo more or less, without much deviation to expand, develop, or progress the game significantly. But all of that may change in the immediate future.
We all know that beach volleyball was born and started in Southern California, and from that same region, we have seen some of the greatest players of all-time in both the indoor and outdoor game, but as the popularity of beach volleyball spread across the country we also have seen talent spikes (no pun intended) in different regions like Florida, and the Midwest. Even with those talent spikes Southern California has remained head and shoulders above the rest, and remains the place to be to take your game to the next level. Being anywhere else doesn't necessarily make it impossible, just improbably and illogical. It is like being an NFL player and practicing and training in Canada with CFL players. To be the best you gotta play against the best.
Before I expanded my thoughts on the NVL's money grab to develop beach volleyball athletes at the junior level with their Club Med facilities. Consider their philosophy (volleyball not business), to be a growing trend in the years to come. Here we have the next major development, the OC Sand Volleyball Club, started by Brad Keenan and April Ross.
With beach volleyball still in its infancy stages in the NCAA the talent pool is still very much spread out due to the fact that for the most part these are just indoor players playing on sand. Outside of the few exceptions, the sophistication of beach volleyball skills and intellect is basically on par and in proportion with that of the players' indoor skills and intellect. Expect that to change. Yes, the SoCal school are still holding down the majority of top beach programs, but that is also because they also have some of the top indoor programs as well. This year's AVCA Collegiate Sand Championships featured teams from Georgia State, FIU, UAB, and Jacksonville University, which let's be honest aren't the first names that come to mind in terms of volleyball, indoor or beach.
So why should be see a growing gap between the elite and the "very good" in years to come, and what does the OC Sand Volleyball Club have to do with it? Well as you may have taken note of, top programs like UCLA and USC have brought on retired professionals Stein Metzger and Misty May-Treanor for their school's team respectively. Schools that identify the need for specialization, that being the identification of the stark difference between the indoor and beach game and the resulting consequence of hiring different people for those jobs, will likely see exponential growth in success and development.
The OCSVC has gotten their foot in the door first, and now has the inside track with professionals who have had very successful careers in the hot bed in the world for beach volleyball talent. It will make it all the more likely that they will graduate athletes to nearby schools on the West coast, and as the old adage goes, the rich will keep getting richer.
But hey, prove me wrong Nebraska and Penn State. But I think you will find that transitioning from the indoor game to the beach is just as hard for the players as it is for the coaches, so it won't be long until there is a noticeably higher class of program. Basically, you can only drink Jameson for so long until you discover single malt Scotch. For the athletes, there may be more money in playing for international clubs post-collegiate career, but the competition to earn roster spots is much stiffer. With the beach game literally open to anyone who can make it through qualifiers (i.e Summer Ross), the incentive to pick a program with great indoor AND beach programs will be higher than ever, but ultimately it will be the schools that invest now that can see dividends pay out in the near future and long-term.
We all know that beach volleyball was born and started in Southern California, and from that same region, we have seen some of the greatest players of all-time in both the indoor and outdoor game, but as the popularity of beach volleyball spread across the country we also have seen talent spikes (no pun intended) in different regions like Florida, and the Midwest. Even with those talent spikes Southern California has remained head and shoulders above the rest, and remains the place to be to take your game to the next level. Being anywhere else doesn't necessarily make it impossible, just improbably and illogical. It is like being an NFL player and practicing and training in Canada with CFL players. To be the best you gotta play against the best.
Before I expanded my thoughts on the NVL's money grab to develop beach volleyball athletes at the junior level with their Club Med facilities. Consider their philosophy (volleyball not business), to be a growing trend in the years to come. Here we have the next major development, the OC Sand Volleyball Club, started by Brad Keenan and April Ross.
With beach volleyball still in its infancy stages in the NCAA the talent pool is still very much spread out due to the fact that for the most part these are just indoor players playing on sand. Outside of the few exceptions, the sophistication of beach volleyball skills and intellect is basically on par and in proportion with that of the players' indoor skills and intellect. Expect that to change. Yes, the SoCal school are still holding down the majority of top beach programs, but that is also because they also have some of the top indoor programs as well. This year's AVCA Collegiate Sand Championships featured teams from Georgia State, FIU, UAB, and Jacksonville University, which let's be honest aren't the first names that come to mind in terms of volleyball, indoor or beach.
So why should be see a growing gap between the elite and the "very good" in years to come, and what does the OC Sand Volleyball Club have to do with it? Well as you may have taken note of, top programs like UCLA and USC have brought on retired professionals Stein Metzger and Misty May-Treanor for their school's team respectively. Schools that identify the need for specialization, that being the identification of the stark difference between the indoor and beach game and the resulting consequence of hiring different people for those jobs, will likely see exponential growth in success and development.
The OCSVC has gotten their foot in the door first, and now has the inside track with professionals who have had very successful careers in the hot bed in the world for beach volleyball talent. It will make it all the more likely that they will graduate athletes to nearby schools on the West coast, and as the old adage goes, the rich will keep getting richer.
But hey, prove me wrong Nebraska and Penn State. But I think you will find that transitioning from the indoor game to the beach is just as hard for the players as it is for the coaches, so it won't be long until there is a noticeably higher class of program. Basically, you can only drink Jameson for so long until you discover single malt Scotch. For the athletes, there may be more money in playing for international clubs post-collegiate career, but the competition to earn roster spots is much stiffer. With the beach game literally open to anyone who can make it through qualifiers (i.e Summer Ross), the incentive to pick a program with great indoor AND beach programs will be higher than ever, but ultimately it will be the schools that invest now that can see dividends pay out in the near future and long-term.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
The Easiest Diet Rules To Follow
I could go on forever on complete vs. incomplete proteins good fat vs. bad fat, glycemic indexes, artificial sweeteners, and sodium content, but for those of us who don't have the time, or are in a rush and don't the time to scrupulously probe line by line on the nutrition guide and ingredients list I've comprised some of the easiest rules to follow when buying, making, and eating food.
1. Protein (g) + Fiber (g) > Sugar (g)
This is probably the one that I abide by the most because these are 3 key components for a very active athlete. We all know the benefits of protein, but fiber helps regulate blood sugar and ultimately the metabolization of the sugar you intake. Plus sugar is an inflammatory so if you struggle with joint pain ingesting a lot of sugar will only worsen your condition.
Think about if you were to consume a product with 20g of sugar but with no fiber. What happens basically is that all that sugar is going to try to be processed all at once and if you are not burning significant calories then you will inevitably store it away as fat. A similar product with fiber will have to be broken down and the more fiber there is the more sugar that will be broken down as well. This is why apple juice is bad for you where as apples are perfectly healthy. Without any of that flesh or pulp, there is a sugar rush that your body simply can't handle.
This rule is something I came up with myself, so this is by no means an industry standard (that I know of at least), but I found that I would be putting more items back on the shelf that were questionable than I was putting into my cart, and when it comes to health and diet that is usually the side you want to side on.
2. # of minutes to make meal > # of ingredients
There is probably a slew of ways to abuse and circumvent this rule, but this rule isn't meant to be broken, but to be understood at face value. The intent of this rule is to avoid highly processed, quick to make meals (think of Kraft Mac and Cheese). Of course you could cheat and take 20 minutes to make Mac and Cheese to offset the 17 ingredients, but that isn't what you should be aiming for.
When you get right down to it, you shouldn't be thinking about the time portion but the ingredients portion. A simple meal of choice of fish, salad topped with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, and a baked sweet potato will accumulate an outstanding 5 ingredients. So really this rule isn't about saving time (because you should take the time and care into preparing a nutritious meal), but cutting back on the unnatural preservatives, dyes, and contaminates, and adding whole foods will make this rule easy to follow.
3. Nothing in life is "free"
When is the last time you saw an stalk of celery have a label on it that said "Fat Free!"? I'm sure you haven't and the point here is that if a product has to officially claim on its label to be lacking one thing, there is probably issues elsewhere. Usually this is interchangeable with sugar and fat. Sugar free? Look for fat content both saturated and unsaturated. Fat Free? Look for how much sugar it has and revert back to rule #1. And don't forget that if you see 0g of sugar, don't forget to check the ingredients list for often used artificial sweeteners (hopefully by now you know that zero-sugar means your body pays a larger toll in the long run). Really the only "free" labels you should be excited to see are "GMO Free" and "Gluten Free".
*
I don't want to necessarily delve much deeper into questions like "white rice or brown rice?" (but the answer there is always quinoa), because this is just supposed to serve as a starter. So when you contemplate pasta for dinner, consider just topping off your pasta with freshly cut garlic, tomatoes, and olive oil instead of store bought sauce. Don't expect your budget to take much of a hit either because you can actually save money on healthier alternatives, although I don't think there will ever be a substitute for Top Ramen.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
The End Is Nigh
On my last drive home from work, I received the signal that every beach player dreads. Leaves falling off of trees. This momentous occasion for most people marks the time for pumpkin flavored everything, the affinity toward hoodies, but for beach players it basically means that summer and the beach season itself is now over. (Here is Chicago the weather is still insanely nice for some reason, but regardless of that, many players have packed it in looking forward toward indoor season.)
But with the end of one thing comes the beginning of another. I previously talked about physical preparations you can make in the off season that can pay huge dividends toward next year, but I want to add a few things to that list that you will inevitably procrastinate on.
Vitamin D
This is big one for multiple reasons. Vitamin D is the number 1 vitamin deficiency in the US. It is critical in maintaining many bodily functions as well as warding off any potentially serious complications. Our evolutionary background has allowed us to produce Vitamin D by absorbing the sun's UVB rays (no, there is not any Vitamin D IN sunlight. Vitamin D gets produced by your skin). Credit this deficiency to work days that take place during day light hours, and poor diet.
Lucky for you, you know that through sun exposure (i.e. beach volleyball) you can easily obtain 90% of the Vitamin D you need. The science on how much any individual needs and can absorb is still a bit fuzzy and your weight, genes, and even location on Earth factors into what you need. A very general rule of thumb says that for every 25 lbs of weight you should be getting 1000 IU of Vitamin D. So a 150 lb me should be aiming to get 6,000 IU daily (150/25 = 6, 6 x 1000 = 6,000).
Insufficient Vitamin D intake has been linked to seasonal affective disorder aka "winter depression", where a lackadaisical numbness of unmotivated nonchalance underwhelms you. Winter can be cyclical time for good or bad. Not getting enough Vitamin D making you less motivated in turn will make you work out less, eat less healthy, and continually compound on itself. If you start building good habits now, you will be able to get the work out you need, boost your metabolism and endorphin and in turn your mental state. Keep in mind though that Vitamin D is not a magic pill to cure this disorder. Sunlight is also a big factor which directly affects your pineal gland or "third eye", whose hormone secretion is directly affected by sunlight exposure.
One thing to be cautious about is that the Vitamin D consumption goes hand in hand with Magnesium consumption. Vitamin D needs Magnesium to be converted into its active form, so if you are Magnesium deficient (like most people are in the US), taking just Vitamin D will exacerbate this problem, and many people have reported adverse effects when taking Vitamin D. But don't run out to your nearest drug store and pick up the first bottle of Magnesium you can find.
Magnesium supplementation, can be a bit tricky. The cheap version, magnesium oxide, is essentially useless to you. What you need is chelated magnesium so it can be readily absorbed by your body. In the next blog post I'll talk more about chelates, how they work with magnesium supplements, and how you can work this in with your beach season.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Passion Doesn't Pay
Do what you love they said. You will be much happier they said.
Very few people get to make a living as an athlete, and strangely enough it is very costly to aspire to be one as well. That is what Johnny Manziel learned recently as he was penalized by the NCAA for "inadvertently" breaking one of their rules from uncountable list of idiocy.
I'm not sure what is more absurd, that he was penalized, or that is was only for the first half of a game. But the penalty itself is very indicative of why the system of amateur athletics in the US is so messed up, specifically under the rule of the NCAA. Even though this doesn't have much relevance to beach volleyball as it was recently just anointed as college sport for women, it has become such a hot button issue that I can't help but shed some more perspective on it.
Before I go any further, you should definitely check out Patrick Hruby's article on this matter and the Jonathon Benjamin story on which the article is centralized on. I'll try to not reiterate too many things that he has already said because he pretty much hit the nail on the head with that one, but I think there is a bigger component of exploitation that doesn't get much talk.
*
---
Alex Rodriguez has grossed over 324 million dollars in his career...yea...just let that sink in a little.
Regardless of how much we yell at our TV's in passion, sports may be a lifestyle or a culture to us fans and players, but at the end of the day it a business, and it is only one of many within the entertainment industry that compete against one another for our eyes and ears to exclusively give out attention and money to them.
The athletes then are not providing a service or delivering a product, they are the business itself but they don't get to profit off it unless the company that employs them profits. But in the world of beach volleyball, the companies like the AVP, NVL, and FIVB don't thrive unless the players do as well.
The other side of the business is advertisement, sponsors, and endorsement deals. This is what fuels the prize money (because ticket prices and merchandise are virtually out of the equation), and to attract more lucrative and lure more companies, those same partners need more of a reason and incentive to invest knowing that their brand will get proper exposure. The only place they can get that is through the sport and the athletes themselves.
So you should see that when the pros are able to make themselves more viable as assets, that can make appearances, be heard and seen as athletes, that have the ability to promote products and services, then tours will have money being thrown at them. But if I were a potential client, I wouldn't want to endorse a tour that has the majority of its athletes waiting tables, working odd jobs, or even worse, working for a competing company. What kind of exposure is that? You gotta spend money to make money, but let's leave the spending to the tours and not the players.
Very few people get to make a living as an athlete, and strangely enough it is very costly to aspire to be one as well. That is what Johnny Manziel learned recently as he was penalized by the NCAA for "inadvertently" breaking one of their rules from uncountable list of idiocy.
I'm not sure what is more absurd, that he was penalized, or that is was only for the first half of a game. But the penalty itself is very indicative of why the system of amateur athletics in the US is so messed up, specifically under the rule of the NCAA. Even though this doesn't have much relevance to beach volleyball as it was recently just anointed as college sport for women, it has become such a hot button issue that I can't help but shed some more perspective on it.
Before I go any further, you should definitely check out Patrick Hruby's article on this matter and the Jonathon Benjamin story on which the article is centralized on. I'll try to not reiterate too many things that he has already said because he pretty much hit the nail on the head with that one, but I think there is a bigger component of exploitation that doesn't get much talk.
*
---
Alex Rodriguez has grossed over 324 million dollars in his career...yea...just let that sink in a little.
Regardless of how much we yell at our TV's in passion, sports may be a lifestyle or a culture to us fans and players, but at the end of the day it a business, and it is only one of many within the entertainment industry that compete against one another for our eyes and ears to exclusively give out attention and money to them.
The athletes then are not providing a service or delivering a product, they are the business itself but they don't get to profit off it unless the company that employs them profits. But in the world of beach volleyball, the companies like the AVP, NVL, and FIVB don't thrive unless the players do as well.
The other side of the business is advertisement, sponsors, and endorsement deals. This is what fuels the prize money (because ticket prices and merchandise are virtually out of the equation), and to attract more lucrative and lure more companies, those same partners need more of a reason and incentive to invest knowing that their brand will get proper exposure. The only place they can get that is through the sport and the athletes themselves.
So you should see that when the pros are able to make themselves more viable as assets, that can make appearances, be heard and seen as athletes, that have the ability to promote products and services, then tours will have money being thrown at them. But if I were a potential client, I wouldn't want to endorse a tour that has the majority of its athletes waiting tables, working odd jobs, or even worse, working for a competing company. What kind of exposure is that? You gotta spend money to make money, but let's leave the spending to the tours and not the players.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Hot Pick Thursday: Go Ball Out
This one hits home for me and is quite personal. At the start of this season I decided to team up with an old partner from a few years ago. He is a real solid player, we had great chemistry, and he has a wicked lefty arm swing that was pretty much unstoppable. We played quite well through the summer then a few months ago he got news that he had testicular cancer. He had surgery shortly thereafter and all seemed well, but a blood test follow up indicated that the cancer had reemerged, and he is now undergoing chemo.
There isn't a nicer more outgoing guy I know and it is a shame that this happened, but he has taken everything in stride so well, and he has had a lot of support from his family and friends. What has helped him and those who want to support him, are these blue wristbands that say "Go Ball Out", which is a type of motto to just go hard whenever life gives you an opportunity, don't hold back and give it everything you got, and at this point that is what he is doing as he is fighting back against TC.
I know that probably none of you know him, but you all are probably aware of how costly it can be to undergo serious medical treatment in this country. It would really mean a lot to me and him as well if you could donate just a little bit, to help offset some of his medical costs so that it can be one less thing for him and his family to worry about, and as they say, every little bit helps.
Click here to donate
*Note that on the donation page, it says that payments will be sent to Jaime who set up the page, who is in fact Ryan's girlfriend
There isn't a nicer more outgoing guy I know and it is a shame that this happened, but he has taken everything in stride so well, and he has had a lot of support from his family and friends. What has helped him and those who want to support him, are these blue wristbands that say "Go Ball Out", which is a type of motto to just go hard whenever life gives you an opportunity, don't hold back and give it everything you got, and at this point that is what he is doing as he is fighting back against TC.
I know that probably none of you know him, but you all are probably aware of how costly it can be to undergo serious medical treatment in this country. It would really mean a lot to me and him as well if you could donate just a little bit, to help offset some of his medical costs so that it can be one less thing for him and his family to worry about, and as they say, every little bit helps.
Click here to donate
*Note that on the donation page, it says that payments will be sent to Jaime who set up the page, who is in fact Ryan's girlfriend
Beach Volleyball: Playing By The Percentages [Part 1]
This is going to be a bit of a hybrid post, that has both the breakdown analysis of a playing tip and the opinion based rant that you'd find in some of my other blog posts. You should be able to notice that there is much more to sports than athletics. There is gambling, fantasy sports, apparel, mascots, halftime shows, and numbers. When I say numbers I don't just mean jersey numbers or point totals. Statistics are vital to just about every sport, and broadcasters don't just provide them as filler but as an essential tool that allows the fan to quantitatively critique their team or certain players. There is a famous saying about statistics which says: "What's important isn't what statistics shows but what it hides". For the most part just having numbers doesn't do much good if you don't know what they mean, but it sure beats the hell out of having no data at all, and that's where we'll start off...
What color is the number 7?
To ask this question is like asking how good Sean Rosenthal is. You can use whatever descriptors and adjective you'd like but you still don't really convey the talent of a Rosie without actually seeing him play (unless you are a synesthete, in which case I bet the number 7 is yellow). Just to exacerbate the stark contrast between beach volleyball's marketability to other mainstream sports here are some numbers for you...
In the past 11 years if you were an NFL team that started the season 0-2, then you had roughly an 8% chance (22/276) of making the playoffs that year.
Albert Pujols hit at least a .300 batting average, 30 home runs, and 100 RBIs a season for his first 10 seasons, which is a record for any such streak of seasons in a player's career let alone his first ten.
Michael Jordan is the definition of clutch. How clutch you may ask. Well, Jordan hit 50% of his clutch shots in his career where as in comparison, the league average is around 28%. For more about his Royal Airness' clutchness and how it matches up against Lebron James, click here.
Now let's switch gears...
Who had the highest kill percentage in 2009? Who had the most blocks in the last 5 years? Ok, we all know it was Phil Dalhausser but we don't know how many. Neither do we know teams' sideout percentage or their average unforced errors per game, whether teams pass better against a jump serve or a float serve or if a time zone change affects their gameplay. All of these things would be vital pieces of information to use and help players strategize, but instead they are left to just "feel" the game out. So if I bring this full circle, I must ask again just how good is Sean Rosenthal? If I were to say that he was the greatest player to ever play the game I bet that you might slap me in the face, but if I told you to disprove me I think you would be hard pressed. For beach volleyball there is really only one stat that is tracked and that is wins, which in the end is all that matters, but it would be more complex, interesting, and entertaining as players and fans to get more insight than just 21 is greater than 19.
In Part 2 I will try to describe "playing by the percentages" without actually using any numbers in a playing tip video. Hopefully the addition of statistics in the near future will make the sport more digestible for the casual fan.
What color is the number 7?
To ask this question is like asking how good Sean Rosenthal is. You can use whatever descriptors and adjective you'd like but you still don't really convey the talent of a Rosie without actually seeing him play (unless you are a synesthete, in which case I bet the number 7 is yellow). Just to exacerbate the stark contrast between beach volleyball's marketability to other mainstream sports here are some numbers for you...
In the past 11 years if you were an NFL team that started the season 0-2, then you had roughly an 8% chance (22/276) of making the playoffs that year.
Albert Pujols hit at least a .300 batting average, 30 home runs, and 100 RBIs a season for his first 10 seasons, which is a record for any such streak of seasons in a player's career let alone his first ten.
Michael Jordan is the definition of clutch. How clutch you may ask. Well, Jordan hit 50% of his clutch shots in his career where as in comparison, the league average is around 28%. For more about his Royal Airness' clutchness and how it matches up against Lebron James, click here.
Now let's switch gears...
Who had the highest kill percentage in 2009? Who had the most blocks in the last 5 years? Ok, we all know it was Phil Dalhausser but we don't know how many. Neither do we know teams' sideout percentage or their average unforced errors per game, whether teams pass better against a jump serve or a float serve or if a time zone change affects their gameplay. All of these things would be vital pieces of information to use and help players strategize, but instead they are left to just "feel" the game out. So if I bring this full circle, I must ask again just how good is Sean Rosenthal? If I were to say that he was the greatest player to ever play the game I bet that you might slap me in the face, but if I told you to disprove me I think you would be hard pressed. For beach volleyball there is really only one stat that is tracked and that is wins, which in the end is all that matters, but it would be more complex, interesting, and entertaining as players and fans to get more insight than just 21 is greater than 19.
In Part 2 I will try to describe "playing by the percentages" without actually using any numbers in a playing tip video. Hopefully the addition of statistics in the near future will make the sport more digestible for the casual fan.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Off Season Preparations
Yes, there is still volleyball left to be played but I start seeing Leinenkeugel Oktoberfest lining the shelves of grocery stores I know it is the beginning of the end of this year's beach season, and with that it means it is time to switch gears.
Everyone will have a different approach to the end of the beach season, but if you are truly committed to your craft and the game, then you gotta be treating beach volleyball as a year long endeavor that isn't necessarily comprised of a "regular season" and "off season", but rather consisting of "playing" and "non-playing" stages.
Of course where you live, access to the beach/sand courts has a lot to do with when your "season" season starts, but you should have an idea in your mind already of when you would like to play your first tournament, and how many you would like to play. With some of this out of the way, here are a few tips that I've refined over the years, that help me better prepare for next year's long haul from the thawed out Spring to the brisk Fall months.
1. Sustain
You've just been through several months of hard training, and long days at the beach, so even if your body is getting tired and worn out, you're still in great physical shape. So for the next few months you are going to be in an awkward time where you aren't quite in training mode but you aren't going to shut it down either. At this point you goal should be simple: Make it to next year in just as good shape as you are now.
You don't want to start next year in a hole, or waste time building up your conditioning before you even start practicing and drilling. Of course you will have to build up your cardio, legs, and shoulder over the course of the season but there main areas that are easy to sustain. During the next few months you should keep a workout schedule for your core and upper body, and setting time aside for stretching, yoga, and generally improving your flexibility. I've learned this past year that flexibility is an often untapped asset for players, and in addition to helping recover and prevent injuries, it pays off immensely to have this aspect of your body built up. Besides, you will get your beach legs in eventually, so now is the time to give them some rest.
2. Diet
Now of course you've been super disciplined these last few months to give your body the proper energy it needed to get through workouts and the matches on the weekends, but now is no time to let loose because there are troubles ahead. Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner, so slipping up now by indulging in some grease will make the slope you're standing on a little bit slipperier, and next thing you know you'll find yourself wearing an permanent 15 pound weight vest. Again you don't want to waste time next year fixing last year's mistakes, so stay focused and stay on track. Let Thanksgiving and Christmas be your rewards for being disciplined up to this point.
3. Save
Get ahead of the curve and start saving now for new equipment, apparel, balls, and tournament fees. Lets not forget that this is when you should be stocking up on your vacation time so that you can call off of work to enjoy those "perfect" weather days. When summer rolls around you would much rather cap off a long day with a few beers with your buddies instead of having to pack it in early to get up for work the next day.
4. Study
The game is best played when you and your body is just reacting to what is happening. To set yourself up for success now is the time to train yourself mentally for the different situation it may face and what it should do when those situations arise. Visualize it over and over, believe me it helps. Also if you can't watch video of yourself playing, just watch all the different videos online and learn from those players strengths and weaknesses.
Everyone will have a different approach to the end of the beach season, but if you are truly committed to your craft and the game, then you gotta be treating beach volleyball as a year long endeavor that isn't necessarily comprised of a "regular season" and "off season", but rather consisting of "playing" and "non-playing" stages.
Of course where you live, access to the beach/sand courts has a lot to do with when your "season" season starts, but you should have an idea in your mind already of when you would like to play your first tournament, and how many you would like to play. With some of this out of the way, here are a few tips that I've refined over the years, that help me better prepare for next year's long haul from the thawed out Spring to the brisk Fall months.
1. Sustain
You've just been through several months of hard training, and long days at the beach, so even if your body is getting tired and worn out, you're still in great physical shape. So for the next few months you are going to be in an awkward time where you aren't quite in training mode but you aren't going to shut it down either. At this point you goal should be simple: Make it to next year in just as good shape as you are now.
You don't want to start next year in a hole, or waste time building up your conditioning before you even start practicing and drilling. Of course you will have to build up your cardio, legs, and shoulder over the course of the season but there main areas that are easy to sustain. During the next few months you should keep a workout schedule for your core and upper body, and setting time aside for stretching, yoga, and generally improving your flexibility. I've learned this past year that flexibility is an often untapped asset for players, and in addition to helping recover and prevent injuries, it pays off immensely to have this aspect of your body built up. Besides, you will get your beach legs in eventually, so now is the time to give them some rest.
2. Diet
Now of course you've been super disciplined these last few months to give your body the proper energy it needed to get through workouts and the matches on the weekends, but now is no time to let loose because there are troubles ahead. Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner, so slipping up now by indulging in some grease will make the slope you're standing on a little bit slipperier, and next thing you know you'll find yourself wearing an permanent 15 pound weight vest. Again you don't want to waste time next year fixing last year's mistakes, so stay focused and stay on track. Let Thanksgiving and Christmas be your rewards for being disciplined up to this point.
Nuh uh, none fo you!
3. Save
Get ahead of the curve and start saving now for new equipment, apparel, balls, and tournament fees. Lets not forget that this is when you should be stocking up on your vacation time so that you can call off of work to enjoy those "perfect" weather days. When summer rolls around you would much rather cap off a long day with a few beers with your buddies instead of having to pack it in early to get up for work the next day.
4. Study
The game is best played when you and your body is just reacting to what is happening. To set yourself up for success now is the time to train yourself mentally for the different situation it may face and what it should do when those situations arise. Visualize it over and over, believe me it helps. Also if you can't watch video of yourself playing, just watch all the different videos online and learn from those players strengths and weaknesses.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Hot Pick Thursday
This pick is semi-beach related, as many beach goers use bikes as their primary mode of transportation, when I saw this a few weeks ago my jaw instantly dropped...
Wu Tang themed fixie...yea, that's a thing that exists
Wu Tang themed fixie...yea, that's a thing that exists
State Bicycle Co. based out of Tempe, AZ is the company that manufactures this beauty but is only available for a limited time. They are currently accepting pre-orders on it but get it while you can because they are sure to sell out. It is priced at $599, but for a quality piece of bad-assery like this, I think it is completely worth it.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
The NVL Is Focused To Build Something
I'm sure that at this point the NVL has made it abundantly clear that it will be slow and steady that hopes to win the race. Just yesterday, I wrote about the lack of a rich talent pool at AVP tournaments, that seemingly feature 2 or 3 main teams that continually advance to Sunday, and there is a definite need to build and develop players at that intermediate stage in their playing career between high school and pro.
Recently it was released that the NVL will be putting together a beach volleyball academy. The sound of the name itself strikes me something with the whimsy of Hogwarts with the awesomeness of beach volleyball...but better.
This academy will be taking place at Club Med in St. Lucie, Florida and there are plans for 30, that's right three-zero, courts to be built, as well as boarding options. Before you pack you bags though, be aware that it comes with a hefty price tag: $43,186 a year with boarding.
It is surely one thing to invest in the juniors programs, and profit off those who are ineligible to collect prize money, but it is another thing to actually develop said players to hopefully one day, stay in the family and play for your tournament to build the sport. Because it makes no sense to plant the seeds, and water the plants only to have another farmer come along and harvest the crops when they are ready to be picked. As great as this sounds, there is something that still just doesn't sit right with me.
I'm guessing the NVL is throwing in the towel on landing a Sean Rosenthal or Brittany Hochevar at one of their events, but at least they have to foresight to land the next Summer Ross when the time comes. Of course it could all fall apart if they only offer prize money in the form of tuition fee cuts. The NVL, like any other tour, will have to solve the problem of substantial prize money to draw in the top athletes. How much of that $43,186 will go toward NVL pro tournaments will be answered down the road, but for now it looks like they are assembling all the pieces into their grand vision.
Recently it was released that the NVL will be putting together a beach volleyball academy. The sound of the name itself strikes me something with the whimsy of Hogwarts with the awesomeness of beach volleyball...but better.
Sorry Harry, but you're just not pro beach material...NEXT!
This academy will be taking place at Club Med in St. Lucie, Florida and there are plans for 30, that's right three-zero, courts to be built, as well as boarding options. Before you pack you bags though, be aware that it comes with a hefty price tag: $43,186 a year with boarding.
It is surely one thing to invest in the juniors programs, and profit off those who are ineligible to collect prize money, but it is another thing to actually develop said players to hopefully one day, stay in the family and play for your tournament to build the sport. Because it makes no sense to plant the seeds, and water the plants only to have another farmer come along and harvest the crops when they are ready to be picked. As great as this sounds, there is something that still just doesn't sit right with me.
 |
| Parents, you could send your kid to college to party and accrue loads of debt... Oooor, you could send them here to party, play beach volleyball and accrue loads of debt Which one gets you more bang for your buck?...That's what I thought. |
They have a pipeline to the juniors with USAV, they have been officially sanctioned, they have a crazy expensive resort to be a beach bum, and they've got Mikasa, the ball that no one uses or likes to use. So yeah it seems to be adding up to something, but I'm not sure if what they are projecting is what I was hoping for them or the sport itself.
As much as the NVL has to work (because the AVP can't be trusted), it just may not work out for them either. Don't get me wrong, when I first heard of this beach volleyball academy idea, I was ecstatic, and then I saw the price tag. Growing up I didn't come from money so $2,000-$3,000 a year for club was a lot to me and my family so I can't even imagine who would want to pay 44k for an education at Club Med with volleyball training.
 |
| Scenic pictures with obscure filters are a guarantee in beach volleyball, which is why a youthful mobile app sponsor would have made more sense |
I'm just starting to get the feeling that the NVL is out of touch. When I saw that they landed a major sponsor recently, and then continue to see that said sponsor is Poloroid, I could only shake my head. Worse, on their website they describe Poloroid as "the leader in photography". That's great and all if it is 1974, but here in 2013 the real leader in photography is Instagram. Besides it would be far more likely for someone to use a camera phone app at a tournament than pulling out a Poloroid. The digital marketplace is where they can cash in but for some reason they are just taking what they can get.
At this point in the year, we have seen a lot of what both domestic tours wanted to accomplish and we can kind of get a feel for where they are going. The AVP is still headed to fall off the cliff down the road, where as the NVL is a lot like Forrest Gump. Ya don't know where he is going, but he is going somewhere, and hopefully when he stops running he doesn't just turn around and instead finds himself at exactly where he (and the group of people following him) wanted to end up.
 |
| Hey Forrest...ummm...are we there yet? |
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Help Smack Sportswear on Kickstarter
This is the 2nd recent attempt at crowd funding I've seen regarding a product I was interested in. The previous one featured the Ubuntu Edge smart phone which ambitiously sought after $32 million but was only able to raise roughly $13 million, and so the Edge has been scrapped (for now).
This new attempt at crowd funding, which openly asks for donations on the internet to jump start initiatives, campaigns, new products or services, comes from the popular volleyball apparel brand Smack Sportswear.
Their new line of clothing is a partnership with Phiten to bring an advanced collection of athletic fabrics specially catered to beach volleyball and indoor volleyball players. You can find their Kickstarter campaign by clicking here, and you can pledge as little as $1, or you can actually "purchase" some of their products like boardshorts, bikinis, leggings, hats and t-shirts, but you will only be charged and receive their products if they reach their goal of $20,000.
As of now they have raised close to $9,000, and the campaign will close on September 27th. I was very disappointed to see the Ubuntu Edge, which would have been the most advanced smart phone the world has ever seen, come up short, and for a simple product like volleyball apparel and a modest goal of $20,000, I would hate to see this attempt fail as well.
Apparel is such a big part of sports culture, but since beach volleyball doesn't exactly have teams that you can represent with t-shits and hats (unless you a part of Rosie's Raiders), then the next best thing we can do for the sport is promote its awesome fashion sensibilities. I quickly learned that once you start to become a beach bum, you don't want to wear anything but boardshorts during the warm months (I even wear them to bed quite often when it isn't too hot). And even if you aren't trying to make a fasion statement, you can wear these products just to let people know that you are better than them because you are more athletic.
So head over to their Kickstarter campaign and buy a hat for $15, a shirt for $20, or a pair boardshorts for $40, which if you've ever shopped for boardshorts you know how good of a deal this is. Bikinis sell for $50 and capri leggings for $40.
As fans of a sport that has fallen and gotten back up multiple times, it would only make sense for us to support a brand that has been a staple within the volleyball community, that is taking the initiative to take sports performance to the next level.
...Besides, "Phitenized apparel" just sounds cool, and makes it sound like your clothes are on steroids.
This new attempt at crowd funding, which openly asks for donations on the internet to jump start initiatives, campaigns, new products or services, comes from the popular volleyball apparel brand Smack Sportswear.
 |
| Smack^P...The 'P' stands for Phun!... Actually is stands for Phiten, but whatever. |
As of now they have raised close to $9,000, and the campaign will close on September 27th. I was very disappointed to see the Ubuntu Edge, which would have been the most advanced smart phone the world has ever seen, come up short, and for a simple product like volleyball apparel and a modest goal of $20,000, I would hate to see this attempt fail as well.
 |
| Even if you are on a budget, for a measly $5 you can get an autographed postcard from a top pro |
Apparel is such a big part of sports culture, but since beach volleyball doesn't exactly have teams that you can represent with t-shits and hats (unless you a part of Rosie's Raiders), then the next best thing we can do for the sport is promote its awesome fashion sensibilities. I quickly learned that once you start to become a beach bum, you don't want to wear anything but boardshorts during the warm months (I even wear them to bed quite often when it isn't too hot). And even if you aren't trying to make a fasion statement, you can wear these products just to let people know that you are better than them because you are more athletic.
So head over to their Kickstarter campaign and buy a hat for $15, a shirt for $20, or a pair boardshorts for $40, which if you've ever shopped for boardshorts you know how good of a deal this is. Bikinis sell for $50 and capri leggings for $40.
As fans of a sport that has fallen and gotten back up multiple times, it would only make sense for us to support a brand that has been a staple within the volleyball community, that is taking the initiative to take sports performance to the next level.
...Besides, "Phitenized apparel" just sounds cool, and makes it sound like your clothes are on steroids.
Monday, September 9, 2013
A Cut Above The Rest
For the second consecutive tournament the men's final featured Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson squaring off against Sean Rosenthal and Phil Dalhausser, and just like in Cincinnati, Gibb and Patterson took down the 'W' in Atlantic City. To be honest I wasn't expecting Gibb and Patterson to have this much success this year, for one being a new partnership, and two, having a duo of two bigs playing together (although this is now the 2nd year of Casey playing as a "small"). Still I don't know where to put this hot streak in perspective.
I don't want to say that low level teams aren't good, or that the top level teams aren't working very hard to get to where they are, but it is clear that there are two different classes of athletes playing in these tournaments.
For all other sports there is a "separation of the classes", a definitive line that states that you are either a part of the elite group of people that are head and shoulders above the rest, or you are just among the commoners working to get close to that line. Football and basketball has the NCAA, baseball has the farm system of A, AA, and AAA ball, hockey has the AHL, and even golf has a junior program and pro card that separates the already have's from the want to's. Beach volleyball, for better of for worse just mixes everyone together and as you can tell there are the familiar faces rising to the top.
 |
| After spending 3 years under the tutelage of Brett Favre, Aaron Rogers is a top 5 QB who led the league in QB rating last year at 108.0 |
At what point do you even consider yourself a "professional" in beach volleyball? Is it when you qualify for a tournament, make the money rounds, or break $20,000 in a year? For the sport there is a cyclical problem facing many of its aspiring athletes. In order for them to get better they need more time and money to dedicate themselves to their training but in order to get extra time and money they need to place higher in tournaments. So as athletes that are working at least one other job they are in fact probably closer to being low-earning amateurs, than "part-time pros".
This is more than just the creme of the crop rising to the top. This is like putting the creme of the crop in a centrifuge and selecting the most enriched type. The low-level players are bogged down other jobs, and trying to land sponsors to just make it to the events, while the top-level pros get to train, condition, and practice exclusively for their sport. Even though every top-level pro has ground it out through qualifiers at some point in their career, there is a better way to develop players. In NCAA Football, teams have the right to red shirt a player which allows them to be on the team and practice without using up a year of eligibility. I think that USAV needs to adopt some type of amateur system that allows players to develop effectively by focusing just on the sport and not on the finances and the travel, then as the creme of that crop rises, hopefully we will get to see some new faces on the podium every other tournament instead of every 5 years.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Hot Pick Thursday
The first Thursday of every month I'll make a "hot pick" a recommendation from my personal experience that you should check out. It could be a product, another blog, a service, or just something random that you should have in your life. For the most part I'll try to keep it beach volleyball related, but I'm not going to make any promises (there is a lot of cool stuff you can find on the internet)
For this first edition I'm going to urge you to check out one of my favorite channels for watching quality matches online.
The YouTube channel is called somelamenickname, which instantly stole my heart, but it features decent quality video and some high def video of various players in full length from domestic and international tours.
The channel isn't very active but there is enough videos there that you can watch multiple times to keep you educated and entertained for months, and if it behooves you, send them a message to make more videos because I too would sure love some more.
Here is one of my faves...
For this first edition I'm going to urge you to check out one of my favorite channels for watching quality matches online.
The YouTube channel is called somelamenickname, which instantly stole my heart, but it features decent quality video and some high def video of various players in full length from domestic and international tours.
The channel isn't very active but there is enough videos there that you can watch multiple times to keep you educated and entertained for months, and if it behooves you, send them a message to make more videos because I too would sure love some more.
Here is one of my faves...
Monday, September 2, 2013
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Is Summer Ross The Chosen One?
She may not be old enough to drink but she is good enough to beat some of the best teams in the world. She is a ways away from being called the best player in the world, but the fact remains that we have yet to see anyone this good this early into their career. Much like how LeBron James was anointed 'The Chosen One' on a February issue of Sports Illustrated in 2002, the only thing that may stand between Summer Ross and domination is time.
Regardless of how good you think she is now, just keep it in perspective that she is playing against veterans of the sport. No one that has gotten to this level of competition, just walks up and starts playing pro. No one gets drafted in the 1st round, and no one gets recruited when they are young. You gotta earn your stripes every step of the way, so even though many of today's top pros have only been playing the sport professionally for a handful of years, the amount of experience they have had to achieve prior to their success far outnumbers the amount of time that it has take Summer to get to where she is.
People will continue to force the argument of The King vs. His Royal Airness, but in the end MJ is and always be king. On the beach, we can always argue who is the best right now but no one will be better than Karch, and I figured I would remind those out there who are too young to remember who he is. Now that we got that out of the way let's get down to the meat of the argument...
On Paper...
She is listed at 6'1" which is a great size, which allows her to be a blocker and a defender which may come in handy as the current game seems to be trending toward split blocking, and bigger defenders.
Pros...
What stands out most about her when you watch her play is just how fluid she is on the court. For someone her age and limited experience she seems totally comfortable, with good footwork and court presence. For a game that demands perfection on hand sets, she has some of the best hands I've seen on the women's side, and her bump sets are quite good as well. That same ball control is clearly put on display on defense too, and at times it seems like she is making tough digs almost nonchalantly. It is almost infuriating how easy she makes it look. Eliminating unforced errors is the biggest aspect to beach volleyball in my opinion, and she has a great high reach on her swing which certainly helps her hit around blocks and keep balls in the court.
If you aren't completely convinced then just watch the plays at 14:15 and 16:22...
When you put all those pieces together in combination that she is only 20 and has already won tournaments at the highest level, I'm not even sure what category you put her into because quite frankly we haven't seen anything like her. Sean Rosenthal qualified for an AVP event when he was 16, but didn't win his first event until he was 23. For most volleyball players they are just getting out of college and still getting accustomed to the beach game, so to say that Summer is ahead of the curve would be an understatement.
Then her instincts are world class. Maybe her inexperience here has turned into a positive so that she isn't thinking that much on the court and is instead just reacting. She won't get to every ball or she may be a step late but she is never out of position, and when she does make a read it always seems to be the right one. I can't tell you how many times I've seen pros sit in the cross and not move an inch when the other team rolls high line. Her defensive style is a bit "unconventional" as she just lurks in the middle of the court a lot of the time, but it seems to work for her.
Cons...
Now that I'm done building her up, I have to knock her down a bit. She does have flaws (plenty of them). Even though she has the size to be a blocker, she is lacking good form and quick footwork. Blocking on the beach is very technical and too many times she wants to drop off the net or peels too early when she just needs to commit being big at the net. She is capable but she probably won't be a full time blocker.
She does have a high swing but she still has an "indoor swing", and by that I mean just hitting hard and deep. During serve receive she needs to learn to hit sharper angles, instead on hitting deep corner or seam. During transition those are the right shots to make, but during serve-receive there will always be certain shots that are open and she needs to take advantage of that.
Lastly, she needs to improve her shot making. Too many times I've seen her get blocked, or the other team get touches at the net on her roll shots or pokes. I'm not sure if it is her approach or that she just isn't hitting high enough over the block, but I think this will come in time as she gets a better feel for the game. Adding this component will make it much easier for her to sideout and will improve her kill percentage on her swings as well.
*
Is she really the chosen one? In beach volleyball no one gets shot out of a cannon. Instead you gotta grind out the long haul up the mountain, but at this stage in her career it is as if she was dropped out of a helicopter half way up that mountain.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
How to speak beach #1
Nectar (nec-tir) adj. - 1) Pertaining to a hand set that comes out squeaky clean and in the perfect position. 2) n. An perfect hand set
Synonyms - Butter, dime
Example:
Player - "There is no way that was a double! THAT WAS NECTAR!"
Person 1 - "Dalhausser looks so dumb whenever he falls down when he sets"
Person 2 - "Yea, but dishes out the nectar"
Synonyms - Butter, dime
Example:
Player - "There is no way that was a double! THAT WAS NECTAR!"
Person 1 - "Dalhausser looks so dumb whenever he falls down when he sets"
Person 2 - "Yea, but dishes out the nectar"
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
New 'The Net Live' Podcast
It's time for back to school, and with the beginning of a new school year comes a new season for the women of the NCAA this volleyball season, and with that we will venture into the first season where beach volleyball will have its first season as an NCAA sanctioned championship sport.
More Sports Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with The NET LIVE on BlogTalkRadio
Monday, August 26, 2013
Big Fish In A Not So Small Pond
When news broke of Alex Rodriguez's season and a half suspension handed out by Major League Baseball, there was a echo that billowed throughout the league and a thunderous quake that trembled beneath the players as the verdict was struck down: the juiced of days of PED use will no longer be tolerated, or swept under the rug. When commissioner Bud Selig says that the exhibition All-Star game will decide home field advantage in the World Series, he means it, and not much can be done regardless of the amount of push back. Or when David Stern denies Chris Paul to be traded to the Lakers, fans and players collectively wince as they swallow their pride and move on with their lives.
We may not know all that goes on behind the scenes of some of the major sports in the US, but we get enough exposure to understand how much power players, coaches, manager, owners, and commissioners have when they speak out whether it is through a 2 hour press conference or a 140 character tweet.
Beach volleyball on the other hand is still small enough that the "playing field" is virtually leveled between players and executives. When they have significant grievances they are heard directly from the owners, not through a proxy, secretary, or assistant. And when the players push back, there is no army of yes-men at the ready to absorb the backlash from controversial decisions. So when Tarin Keith, a 7 year mid-level veteran and active social media user, spoke out about various clauses in the AVP's clause and was "banned" from the Manhattan Open this past weekend as a result, LOTS of people heard of it.
More importantly though, her message and growing concern and pessimism in the AVP's vision and business model was reverberated as players and fans prepared to take in "the granddaddy of them all" on this late summer weekend. The AVP, whether you are aware of it or not, did issue an unofficial "non-specific" rebuttal to Keith's concerns. But it seems as if the damage had already been done and all the horses have fled the barn.
So where is all of this leading us? You have players that are more visible, more recognized, and now whose opinions carry as much weight as the owners and person who are supposed to govern over them. Which means that either the owners of the respective tours, and the executives of USAV either give the players a seat at the table on issues that concern them, or I think the players should seriously consider unionizing so that people like Donald Sun with nothing more than a title aren't able to ban players from valuable tournaments in the future.
How plausible this is I believe will be up to the upper-echelon players, the mainstream and marquee names of the likes of Sean Rosenthal, John Mayer, April Ross, and Brooke Sweat. Will these players who have worked so hard to get to this level be willing to take a backseat to developing and future players? They would be in the right to say that it is a "right of passage" that every player must endure, but does it really have to be this way? To me the beach volleyball players of today hold much more power than I think they realize and are in position to create sustainable career for themselves in this sport, which they rightfully deserve, but who will be willing to take that step forward and speak out, not just for themselves for one another?
The ground is shrinking beneath the AVP's feet, and no longer can they consider themselves "top dog" when a single email, a single blog post and damage their glossy exterior. Maybe the pond isn't getting bigger, after all the sport is still rather small domestically. Instead, perhaps the big fish of the AVP, NVL, and USAV have just been as big as our imaginations allowed them to be.
We may not know all that goes on behind the scenes of some of the major sports in the US, but we get enough exposure to understand how much power players, coaches, manager, owners, and commissioners have when they speak out whether it is through a 2 hour press conference or a 140 character tweet.
Beach volleyball on the other hand is still small enough that the "playing field" is virtually leveled between players and executives. When they have significant grievances they are heard directly from the owners, not through a proxy, secretary, or assistant. And when the players push back, there is no army of yes-men at the ready to absorb the backlash from controversial decisions. So when Tarin Keith, a 7 year mid-level veteran and active social media user, spoke out about various clauses in the AVP's clause and was "banned" from the Manhattan Open this past weekend as a result, LOTS of people heard of it.
More importantly though, her message and growing concern and pessimism in the AVP's vision and business model was reverberated as players and fans prepared to take in "the granddaddy of them all" on this late summer weekend. The AVP, whether you are aware of it or not, did issue an unofficial "non-specific" rebuttal to Keith's concerns. But it seems as if the damage had already been done and all the horses have fled the barn.
So where is all of this leading us? You have players that are more visible, more recognized, and now whose opinions carry as much weight as the owners and person who are supposed to govern over them. Which means that either the owners of the respective tours, and the executives of USAV either give the players a seat at the table on issues that concern them, or I think the players should seriously consider unionizing so that people like Donald Sun with nothing more than a title aren't able to ban players from valuable tournaments in the future.
How plausible this is I believe will be up to the upper-echelon players, the mainstream and marquee names of the likes of Sean Rosenthal, John Mayer, April Ross, and Brooke Sweat. Will these players who have worked so hard to get to this level be willing to take a backseat to developing and future players? They would be in the right to say that it is a "right of passage" that every player must endure, but does it really have to be this way? To me the beach volleyball players of today hold much more power than I think they realize and are in position to create sustainable career for themselves in this sport, which they rightfully deserve, but who will be willing to take that step forward and speak out, not just for themselves for one another?
The ground is shrinking beneath the AVP's feet, and no longer can they consider themselves "top dog" when a single email, a single blog post and damage their glossy exterior. Maybe the pond isn't getting bigger, after all the sport is still rather small domestically. Instead, perhaps the big fish of the AVP, NVL, and USAV have just been as big as our imaginations allowed them to be.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Iceberg ahead?
If a few months ago I were to predict how this year would turn out, it would go a little something like this...
In the AVP's first full year back, they attract big names and big stages, and more or less par for the course by their standards while the NVL builds off of last year's momentum and reaches bigger audiences while the sport as a whole prospers and everyone eats cake and ice cream.
Ok, maybe that last part means nothing, and that was a little bit more than optomistic, but still here we are nearing the end of August and where do we find ourselves?
The NVL has managed to stream their matches, and hit major cities around the country, but due to scheduling and contract conflicts is unable to draw any of the big names in the sport, meanwhile the AVP is still par for the course, which as we know in business terms means they are shooting about 8+ for the round with 5 holes to go.
It may be difficult to gauge just how stable things are going right now, and that may be on the account that we aren't going anywhere. I mean have we really gotten any further than we have in the past? Does a year of bickering, infighting, table scraps payouts, and overlapping events really give you hope for the future? It may seem nice now, but if I'm reading the tea leaves, there's trouble ahead.
I knew it would be likely that the AVP would sign some of the star players of the sport to try and muscle out the "new" young gun tour, but I did not expect to see virtually EVERY notable take preference with the AVP over the NVL. Sure prize money has a lot to do with it, seeing as every NVL event looks to have a payout of only $7,500 to first place ($3,750 per person before taxes).
But just look at this past weekend. Long ago I scoffed at the idea that players would rather play for a tour that has shown that it has an unsuccessful business model in a city that has ZERO beach culture (although it has enough volleyball culture thanks to BYU) over a new tour that saved a lot of players their sponsors last year, and has a new refreshing model in a city that many of the same athletes live in within the mecca of beach volleyball. But I guess for the starving athletes of beach volleyball that type of decision isn't something that is worth placing on their conscience.
Sure the argument for free market competition sounds like it will strengthen the sport, but the sport doesn't even have any legs at this point, and despite its rich history it has basically reset back into its infancy years and is now crawling out of the gate.
We are all well aware that the AVP has gone bankrupt twice, but if that isn't stupefying enough, just consider that they managed to do that (twice) without a major competing tour, and with better sponsors and airtime with national broadcasts. Now you have to settle for early round matches streaming online, while another major tour takes away possible viewers, tickets, and merchandise. If the AVP couldn't succeed in the bubble then in what way are they or the sport for that matter be stronger when it seems like we are going to be in the same spot last year 5 years from now?
On the flip side of things, how is the NVL going to be able to develop their grassroots model if all the star athletes are flocking toward short-term prize money. At best the NVL will have to cater to the juniors and collegiate athletes (which isn't all bad since they can't pay out prize money to amateurs), but they still won't be the preeminent tour in the US. Worst case scenario, is that the AVP pushes the NVL past what their resources can accomplish, and they go belly up just before the AVP does, leaving everyone with no tour and a very bitter taste in their mouth.
For a while in this game of chicken, no one was budging, but I think the NVL is seeing what I see and is wisely using USAV to hash out a compromise. When we realized that the NVL and AVP would be competing against each other we envisioned that one would emerge as the tried and true victor but it may become more likely that no one emerges from this cage match, and the sport itself may be down for the count.
In the AVP's first full year back, they attract big names and big stages, and more or less par for the course by their standards while the NVL builds off of last year's momentum and reaches bigger audiences while the sport as a whole prospers and everyone eats cake and ice cream.
Ok, maybe that last part means nothing, and that was a little bit more than optomistic, but still here we are nearing the end of August and where do we find ourselves?
The NVL has managed to stream their matches, and hit major cities around the country, but due to scheduling and contract conflicts is unable to draw any of the big names in the sport, meanwhile the AVP is still par for the course, which as we know in business terms means they are shooting about 8+ for the round with 5 holes to go.
It may be difficult to gauge just how stable things are going right now, and that may be on the account that we aren't going anywhere. I mean have we really gotten any further than we have in the past? Does a year of bickering, infighting, table scraps payouts, and overlapping events really give you hope for the future? It may seem nice now, but if I'm reading the tea leaves, there's trouble ahead.
I knew it would be likely that the AVP would sign some of the star players of the sport to try and muscle out the "new" young gun tour, but I did not expect to see virtually EVERY notable take preference with the AVP over the NVL. Sure prize money has a lot to do with it, seeing as every NVL event looks to have a payout of only $7,500 to first place ($3,750 per person before taxes).
But just look at this past weekend. Long ago I scoffed at the idea that players would rather play for a tour that has shown that it has an unsuccessful business model in a city that has ZERO beach culture (although it has enough volleyball culture thanks to BYU) over a new tour that saved a lot of players their sponsors last year, and has a new refreshing model in a city that many of the same athletes live in within the mecca of beach volleyball. But I guess for the starving athletes of beach volleyball that type of decision isn't something that is worth placing on their conscience.
Sure the argument for free market competition sounds like it will strengthen the sport, but the sport doesn't even have any legs at this point, and despite its rich history it has basically reset back into its infancy years and is now crawling out of the gate.
We are all well aware that the AVP has gone bankrupt twice, but if that isn't stupefying enough, just consider that they managed to do that (twice) without a major competing tour, and with better sponsors and airtime with national broadcasts. Now you have to settle for early round matches streaming online, while another major tour takes away possible viewers, tickets, and merchandise. If the AVP couldn't succeed in the bubble then in what way are they or the sport for that matter be stronger when it seems like we are going to be in the same spot last year 5 years from now?
On the flip side of things, how is the NVL going to be able to develop their grassroots model if all the star athletes are flocking toward short-term prize money. At best the NVL will have to cater to the juniors and collegiate athletes (which isn't all bad since they can't pay out prize money to amateurs), but they still won't be the preeminent tour in the US. Worst case scenario, is that the AVP pushes the NVL past what their resources can accomplish, and they go belly up just before the AVP does, leaving everyone with no tour and a very bitter taste in their mouth.
 |
| Seriously, what are you guys doing? |
Saturday, August 17, 2013
AVP SLC live scores and live stream
The AVP season has officially kicked off in Salt Lake City, and assuming you aren't there live the next best thing to following the action is to go to the AVP's website and follow the live score updates.
You will be able to watch the live stream starting at 3 PM EST/2 PM CST until 7 PM EST/6 PM CST
Click here to watch the AVP Salt Lake City event live
You can also follow the AVP on Twitter at @avpbeach
 |
| Click here for the men's score updates |
 |
| Click here for the women's score updates |
You will be able to watch the live stream starting at 3 PM EST/2 PM CST until 7 PM EST/6 PM CST
Click here to watch the AVP Salt Lake City event live
You can also follow the AVP on Twitter at @avpbeach
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)