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" 

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

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.

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.

Seriously, what are you guys doing?

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.

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.

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

New Playing Tip + Coach's Eye Review

In this video I first go over some of the new features of the new update on the Coach's Eye mobile app before going in depth on some of the different ways to taking a defensive approach to a cross court blocking strategy.  Much like previous videos, this covers multiple situations to allow you to cover as many shots as possible to gain that strategic edge.

Get Coach's Eye for Android here

Ger Coach's Eye for Apple here

Check out the latest podcast of The Net Live

Wish that ESPN featured volleyball, or that there was some version of ESPN for volleyball?  Yea, me too, but although there is no such multimedia broadcasting entity, the closest and best thing we have in my opinion is The Net Live.

It is a podcast dedicated exclusively to volleyball, featuring Kevin Barnett, DJ Roueche, and Reid Priddy.  You get all the latest updates, player and fan interaction, plus some good ol' fashioned banter.

Check out the most recent episode below

Tuesday - 8/12/13

Check their website (http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-net-live) for their schedule but they usually have broadcasts on either Mondays or Tuesdays.

We'll be posting each podcast here as they become available

What's Beef?

The ongoing feud between the NVL and AVP

There is never a dull moment in beach volleyball now a days, and it's all for the wrong reasons.  No, the oo's and ah's are not being shouted from the grand stands, instead people are glaring, cheering, and heckling from behind keyboards.

In this new chapter of the NVL vs. AVP saga, the NVL went on a public "smear" campaign against the AVP to display the lack of transparency, cooperation, and selfish greed that points to a 'not that surprising' unhealthy future for the sport itself.  If you've been following the NVL on Facebook you've seen that they have been posting "updates" on recent communication attempts with the AVP, specifically Donald Sun and Al Lau, to come to a solution over scheduling conflicts as well as contractual obligations that prevent players from playing in any tournament of their choosing.

This is how they prefaced their posts...

Then followed the first update, with update #2 in the comments...

Finally updates 3 and 4 respectively...

As you can see from the comments there is strong support from the fans for this attempt, albeit a flimsy and half-hearted attempt, to repair the riff and scheduling conflicts that have amassed over the past few months.

With the first of two scheduling conflicts coming this very weekend it should be obvious that this is more of a publicity stunt to draw people's attention and favor toward Hermosa Beach this weekend (where the NVL is playing) and not Salt Lake City (where the AVP is playing).  But you have to give the NVL props for using the weapons they have at their disposal:  fan loyalty, a well-respected veteran of the sport (Al-B), and of course the silver bullet:  official backing from USAV.

But as far as I can tell neither side has given any ground in this tug-of-war match for supreme control over the US market.  The AVP has lots of money but the same old model of throwing lots of money at a hat hoping that a rabbit will pop out of it.  The NVL has a healthier grassroots model that puts extra emphasis on youth development, but they are lacking major star power, sponsors, and exposure.  

The end result is ultimately this...

Meanwhile, the fans are left without a winner.  Someone *cough* *cough* USAV *COUGH* needs to clean this up and fast.

Back From Vacation!

Sorry that there hasn't been much content lately, but I just got back from vacation and I'm excited to cover all the happenings from this past week and then some.

Please accept my apology in the form of this kitten thwarting off this dangerous predator

Of course there will be some very interesting topics to look forward to like...

• possible rule changes for the FIVB
• The NVL disclosing emails sent to the AVP
• The Net Live reaction to the WSOBV
• Hermosa vs. Salt Lake City this weekend

Stay tuned!

New Coach's Eye Update Coming Soon!

Before I started working on a new playing tip video I noticed a new notification in my Coach's Eye app that said "Big things are coming", and once I clicked through I was greeted with this promo video...

Needless to say, I'm pretty excited to test out some of these new features.

Beach volleyball is only 2nd to hockey

In the last post I made my argument for why beach volleyball is such a tough sport.  Deep sand, sweltering heat, a mental game that makes chess look like tic-tac-toe, advanced hand-eye coordination and reflexes, in combination with the teamwork, short burst and long-term endurance necessary, I easily put beach volleyball as a top 3 toughest sport, but of course my bias has it in the top 2.  But even that bias isn't strong enough to to allow me to put one sport in particular below it:  hockey.

Let's try to do an apples to apples comparison to see why I will always give the edge to game that is played on the other extreme of temperatures...

1.  Environment
If beach volleyball is on the far right of the playing environment spectrum then hockey is definitely on the far left.  These less than comfortable conditions put additional stress on the body to perform optimally.  Not only that, but basic movements are exacerbated even more so.  For the beach, more resistance is applied to inhibit movement, but ice does the same thing with less friction.  The ice makes it harder to start and stop, so this section is a tie.

2.  Hand-eye coordination
If baseball is at a 10 in this category, then I would place beach volleyball at a solid 6.  Not to be confused with the skill necessary to make certain plays, but purely the making contact on a spike, or being able to intercept the path of a serve or hit, requires advanced reflexes but we don't have to use another instrument to make contact.  We have the luxury to use the familiarity of our own body.  I'm not the biggest hockey fan but clearly there is great skill and coordination necessary to redirect a puck that is flying past multiple players for a goal, not to mention trying to stop it.  The slight edge here goes to hockey.

3.  Athleticism
How you define athleticism will surely be different that how I define it, but we hear it a lot in sports how a player is very raw but has great athletic ability, so what does that say about the athleticism necessary to even participate on the professional level?  Well there are a few factors that we would have to look at:  explosiveness, power, agility, speed, flexibility.  I believe these 5 perfectly encompass the purely physical aspect of playing professional sports.  Reflexes and coordination isn't included because that requires more processing by the brain.

So explosiveness, is generally defined as power exerted over a short period of time.  The most explosive movements for hockey (by my best estimation) is the slap shot.  For beach volleyball you can make the case for either the jumping aspect or the arm swing, but considering that you are facing more resistance jumping through sand opposed to a stick moving through air, volleyball gets the point in this sub-category.

Power in the traditional sense of slow twitch movements, could go either way.  I'm not going to pretend to know what type of training goes into hockey but based on the type of movements made, and the types of builds that you commonly see in hockey I would have to say that the amount of power that either athlete can generate is comparable.

I'll just do agility and speed together because, clearly both are at the high end of the spectrum in terms of agility by having to quickly change direction.  Although hockey does have more room to navigate you won't really get up to a top speed and sustain it long enough for it to be a factor.  The sprinting involved in both sports in more of a product of explosiveness.  This one is a wash as well.

Finally there is flexibility.  For beach volleyball there is the contortion of the back, arm and shoulder during a swing, and for hockey a slap shot has to take place on multiple planes, with great emphasis on the twisting of the core.  Other than that, you do have to get down low a lot on the beach to pass and dig, so if anything there is a slight edge to volleyball in this one too, and over all the athleticism category goes to beach volleyball.

4.  Teamwork
I don't think you can necessarily say that because hockey has more players on the ice at once that a greater amount of teamwork is necessary.  Baseball has more but at any given time, only 2 or 3 player are really involved in the play.  So you can't quantify it in black and white like that.  So I guess what this comes down to is the number of changing variables that each play has to account for and communicate the changes the need to or not be made.  Not only in hockey do you have to take account for being onside, floor spacing, and passing, but there are also line changes going on constantly in hockey.  There is a lot of communication necessary to make adjustments in volleyball but a lot of the time that takes place in between points, and for the most part a simple "mine" call and "high line" or "1 up" call is sufficient to get the job done.  The edge here goes to hockey.

5.  Physicality
This is where the favor swings in big favor to hockey.  For volleyball players our biggest fears is that our body will break down on us, but in hockey you may have to worry about your opponent breaking your body...literally.  When I heard about the injuries that the players played with during the Stanley Cup Final, I was in awe.  The worst of the injuries was Patrice Bergeron who played with a broken rib, torn cartilage in his ribs, a separated shoulder, and later revealed that he had a punctured lung.  But in addition to that Bryan Bickell had a grade 2 knee sprain, Jonathon Toews likely had a concussion, and Marian Hossa clearly was laboring with a bad back.  Getting slammed into the boards, back checked, and slashed by a blunt object surely doesn't make the game any easier.  Point and and mad props to hockey.

As volleyball players, we get to play at the beach, and don't have to worry about getting our bell rung.  For this main reason, no matter what the score is, hockey will forever get my respect.