Side Effects Of Being An Athlete

There are many stresses and things that could go wrong being an athlete. The biggest thing for me is the time management. I have practices every day along with the homework and family priorities. I often find myself very busy with little free time to relax or do activities. This is the worst during the busiest part of school season and the busiest part of club season when we are gone for days at a time. When you miss school, you have to do all the make up work along with all the current work. It can get very tiring and annoying. Also, it is VERY hard not to get distracted by your phone or other devices, especially after a game day or tournament, when you want to check what people said about the game.
Another stressful thing about playing a sport is being frustrated about being in a rough patch. Sometimes, when you are working at things and trying to get better, you feel like you're getting worse before you get better. There are a lot of failures before success, but eventually you get it. Also, people get frustrated when they are  not doing so well in practice or in a game. In volleyball this is easy to do, and because so much of the game is mental, one mistake could affect the next play and sometimes the one after that if you get mad, upset, or let it bother you. We just have to remember that it is okay to make mistakes and that you learn from them. 

Another problem with some athletes is getting tired of your sport. If someone is constantly practicing and playing with no breaks, they might get burnt out and not enjoy playing or not want to play anymore. This is probably more likely to happen if the practices seem repetitive, like they're doing the same things all the time in practice. Some people will get burnt out, but some who really enjoy the game won't. It just depends on the person. Some ways to prevent this from happening is to take a break from it, or in your free time do things non sports related, so you're not always thinking about it and you're not always with the same people all the time. Sometimes it's not always the sport you get tired of, but the people. 

In sports, it's important to have good team chemistry. It is important for the team to get along so they can play well together, and when they don't it can be frustrating. That is another tough thing about playing sports; getting along with your teammates and how to deal with it if you don't. When people don't get along or if players have bad attitudes it can affect the whole team, even if it is just a couple people from the team because it can make the game not fun to play. 

All these things are very hard to deal with, but as athletes we have to push through it because that is what happens in sports, and if you love the sport enough it won't matter what you have to deal with to play it.

Setters

How do the hitters know what to run? Who decides? This would be the setter. The setter is one of the leaders on the court who is constantly communicating with everyone on the court. They decide what plays the hitters run and when. The setters are the ones who take the second ball almost every time and "set" it up for the hitters to hit. The only times that the setter doesn't take the second ball is when the setter takes the first ball in defense, and when it is out of system. When the setter digs the ball on defense, they are trained to dig it to the middle of the court and the libero or left back takes the second ball. They usually will set a nice, high ball to the outside. Most teams have the libero take the second ball out of system, but some do it differently, for example they  would have the right front take the second ball instead of the libero. The other way to be out of system is to have a pass not to target. Setters can get to a lot of our of system balls, but they will not have all three hitting options, or they might not be able to run the tempo that they would on a good pass. If the pass is far enough away and the setter can not get to it, then a different player, usually who ever is the closest to the ball, will take it. 

In system passes, however, are different. You can run all three options, or two options if the setter is front row, plus any back row attacks. A lot of coaches teach tempo, which is setting at a faster pace. Tempo is harder for the other team to defend, and can fake the other team out if the setter sets something else. A team can run combination plays, where the hitters run different tempo sets. These plays are run on 3 passes(perfect/great passes) and on serve receive. They can throw another team off, and open up spots for certain hitter to score. For example if the middle runs a slide, they might pull the other middle blocker with them, leaving the outside hitter with only one blocker to hit around. The setters are the ones who come up with the plays that the hitters run. There are many things they take into consideration when deciding which plays to run and who to set: the other team's defense(open spots), their blockers(if they cheat one way or are weak or strong), hot hitter, match ups, setter back or front row, what plays work well together, and when to run them. It is important to have a smart setter who knows how to look at the match ups, the other team, and makes smart setting decisions. 

Anybody Can Play Sports

I believe anyone should have the chance to play sports. No matter what your talent is, there should never be a restriction on playing a sport. Sports are activities that bring different kinds of people together to start friendships. Its not all about the talents you have or the winning of the games, its about getting people involved in something that is good for the body and social life. Yes there are times and a level where its competitive and where its not all about friendship, but that is not always true.

In high school there is a level that is called Varsity. The Varsity level is for the athletes that are advanced in their skills are competitive at the sport they play. These girls are more likely to have been playing the sport since they were little. These girls don't have to be taught how to play, they already know how to, its just coaching them to become better players at that particular sport. To play at this level you have to know what you are doing, and you can't be out for the sport for fun or to hangout and meet new friends.

Any other level at a high school, people can play and go out for the sport. Doesn't matter what your talents are or the reasoning why you are going out, you just can be going out to meet people. I believe that sports should start to encourage kids with special needs to go out for certain sports and be involved with kids that they see throughout the school day. This could make them feel more appreciated and feel like they are apart of something like every other regular kid. I think this would extremely cool and would have a huge impact on the high school overall. It would show that we are more than just a winning or athletic school, but that we are apart of something bigger than that.

Free Throws

Free throws are simple, you close your eyes and shoot the ball. No I am just kidding you don't close your eyes when you shoot a free throw. Keys to winning a basketball game is making your free throws, so by closing your eyes to shoot one is not going to be very successful towards winning the game.

To get to the free throw line, you have to make a move that will cause the other team to foul in some way when you were shooting the ball. This will allow you to go to the free throw line to either shoot one or two. If you make the shot then it goes to one free throw if you miss the shot you are given two free throws to shoot. Free throws are basically a free shot given to the team. This is why so many teams practice free throws, because they are given points. There are a lot of pressure involved with them too. If the game is tight and you have to knock down the free throws to either be in the lead or to keep your lead, it can bring tons of pressure to the shooter.

Some athletes have a routine before they shoot and some do not. Coaches always say, "imagine the ball coming off your palms and it going softly in the basket." This could be a way of helping you nail your free throws every time you get to the line. If you are so used to doing a certain routine before shooting the free throw, and then all of a sudden you don't do your routine you have a higher chance of missing your free throw.

The more free throws you make the higher the chance your team will win the ball game. Its hard to beat a team that makes all of their free throws.

Pep Assembly

Pep assembly's require athletic ability, social skills, brain games and musical skills. Pep assembly's is a great way to have a chance to talk and hang with friends. It is a great way to have some friendly competition between each class. There is no way someone can get hurt or attempt to fight during these assemblies.

Pep assemblies are to get the student body excited for the next season of sports. They are also for recaps of the previous season to recognize the teams that have fought hard for where they finished. These assemblies connect the student body together to all be supportive for the same thing. These assemblies aren't just for recognizing the teams, but to also make a friendly competition between each grade at Kennedy high school.

Mr. Stecker the athletic director runs these assemblies, because he is the one that is in charge of all the athletics. He makes these events fun and exciting for each upcoming sport. First he will talk about and let the past season sport teams come out on the floor and speak about their season. If they were lucky enough to receive a banner of some sort they will share it and give it over to the school. After this part the dance team, cheerleaders and flag team will perform for the student body. During this time the students are sitting on the floor all dressed in green and gold to receive a spirt point. Once all of this is completed, the competitions begin.

This part of the assembly is the reason why so many people have fun and go all out. Students will buy confedee, silly string, clappers, balloons, etc. Mr. Stecker will ask which class has the most green and gold and this will be determined by three judges that are teachers at Kennedy. The class will scream and throw things in the air to make them seem like the most class with the school spirit or green and gold. Then he will ask for each class that has the best school cheer. Each class will have a different cheer to chant. This is also not only judged by the cheer, it is judged by how loud, how creative, and cool it looks. This will have to be won by the class that has the most props and will be the loudest class. Each class will get their chance to chant their cheer, but once each class has gone, they will repeat their cheer until the judges decide which class one.

Mr. Stecker has a list of questions to ask the student body. Usually they are, "the class that has the best hair style. The class that has the best freestyle. The class that has the best rely team that can shoot, play volleyball and run. Looking for the class that has the best class selfi." There are tons more questions that Mr. Stecker has asked before. This part of the assembly isn't about just people that have athletic talents, but are about having the student body come together to send the person they think has the best talent for that question. After each grade has gone, usually that particular grade will chant the persons name competing for the spirit point or the name of the grade.

There is also a section where captains of that season sport will come out onto the court and play a game; whether that is twister, rely, ninja etc. This is a friendly game for the rest of that sport to cheer on their captains. This gets the rest of the student body especially the younger grades to know who people are to feel like they know some people in older grades. These games do not count towards a spirit point, because they are usually all seniors that will go out onto the floor instead of someone from each class.

Our school could go into a national wide contest for the class with the best pep assembly's. Honestly I do not think any school in America could compete with our school. Every single student at Kennedy high school gets into the assembly and wants to win the spirit stick for bragging rights around school. This is something that not many people in the United State can say they went to high school with this much school spirit and unity together. It is pretty cool to say that I have been apart of something like this environment.

U.S. Cellular Center

 The US Cellular Center. What is it you might ask? It's the end of the road for most volleyball teams, it's the sweet, sweet smell of victory. Only 8 teams, the best of the best, get the honor of playing on the perfectly laid down sport court in the middle of hundreds of cheering fans. The electrifying energy of the US Cellular Center is something you can't explain, you can only experience.
       The "Cell Center" as some call it, is the sanctuary of state volleyball. 5a, 4a, 3a, 2a, 1a, it doesn't matter how big or small the team is, as long as you win the regional games, you will have the honor to play at the Cell Center. In previous years, the State Volleyball tournament was played at the Ice Arena, down the street from the Cell Center, which was under construction, and when they made the announcement last year that the Tournament was being held at Cell Center again, everyone was excited that they once again will have the chance to play under the bright LED lights of the Cell Center.
     But don't get me wrong, even though playing at the Cell Center is such a magical experience, every team ends their season in heart break except for one, the State Champion. Only a handful of teams can describe the feeling of being State Champions. During the state tournament, there are two courts squeezed into the arena floor, but for the championship game, overnight the two courts are morphed into one and the real fun begins. Not only do family and friends come to support the championship game, but teams from all over Iowa, news stations, newspaper reporters, maybe even Ashton Kutcher or Chris Soules make an appearance to watch the battle of all battles.
       And this year, it is our year. Kennedy Highschool Volleyball. We have had three years of heartbreaking losses in the regional final, but this year we finally made it, and we are NOT letting our chance slide away from us. This year, we have all the weapons we need to finally snatch a state title for our school, we have the DRIVE. Something about the Kennedy Highschool Volleyball Team, we are like conductors of the electricity running through the air, we love it, we want more, we yearn to play for big crowds. We have been preparing for this Tuesday for years. This Tuesday we will make history, this Tuesday we will make The US Cellular Center our home. The Cell Center is calling our name, and we will come running, because this year, The Cell Center is ours.

Liberos

For starters, liberos are the ones with the different color jersey. That is usually the most popular question about volleyball. They wear a different color jersey because they are the only ones who can go in for someone without using up a substitution. You usually use a libero for a certain position the whole time, and not just once in a while. They know for sure that the libero will be going in all of the time for the same two people every time, but you can change who they go in for. The reason why they can go in without using a substitution is because they are constantly going in and out so they would take up a ton of subs. This would be a problem because you get a limited amount of substitutions. Even though they can just run in without using a sub, that doesn't mean they can just do whatever they want. There are rules to being a libero, and there is even a designated ref called the libero tracker keeping track of when and who the libero for each team goes in for. One of the rules is that when the libero goes in for someone, that same person has to go back in for the libero when the libero comes out. Another rule is that the libero can only serve for one person, for example if she served for the first middle, she cannot also serve for the second middle. There is another rule about the libero setting, and it's kind of complicated. If the libero sets a hitter, she must be behind the ten foot line when she sets the ball, otherwise the hitter can't jump and hit it. If she does hit it when the libero sets in front of the ten foot line, then the ref calls, but if the hitter sees that the libero set in front of he ten foot line, the could stay down(not jump) and hit it over. Another option, and one that a lot of liberos do, is to just pass set the ball with their platform instead of actually setting, that way they don't have to worry about being in front of the ten foot line. The liberos are suppose to be the best passer on the team, which makes sense because they usually on the court all the time. They are the defensive leaders who also should be one of the ones who communicate the most on the court. 

Off Season

Sports are a fun way to keep busy during the school year and make new friends, but it's not always just to stay busy. A lot of athletes are extremely committed to the sports they play and are looking to pursue a career in college. These athletes probably have become extremely good at what they do because they work hard in and out of season. The off-season is just as important, if not more, than the regular season.

During your off-season it is extremely important to lift weights and eat healthy. Basically you must stay in shape so that what came easy to you in-season stays easy to you in your off-season. No one likes to come back to their sport and not be in shape enough to do their drills. Yes, it will take some getting used to, but staying fit will help you get in the groove faster. Eating healthy can impact your performance greatly, but remember everything is good in moderation.

Some off-season activities might include running, stretching, and lifting regularly. It is also important you do some of your sports activities as well. Go to open gym or pass a ball around every once in a while. Skill level depends on how much time you are willing to invest. More time is spent off-season than in-season. Lifting can also contribute a ton to your individual performance. Every athlete could use a little more muscle or a little more quickness. Lifting will help athletes become stronger, but can only help if you are lifting the correct way. It is extremely important to have good form when lifting. If you lift properly, your body will benefit extremely.

While off-season activities are extremely important, I understand that some athletes choose to participate in club sports. This is a good way to stay busy as well and know you are preparing for school season. Club is basically a substitute for off-season training. Taking this into consideration, between your club season and school season you should still be attending open gyms or exercising as much as you can to get in school mode.

I cannot exaggerate the importance of staying in shape in your off-season. It is important to continue exercising and practicing healthy choices when not involved in sports. Not making the most of your time will catch up to you in the long run. Keep working hard and setting goals. They are waiting to be achieved. 

Stress

There are many stresses and things that could go wrong being an athlete. The biggest thing for me is the time management. I have practices every day along with the homework and family priorities. I often find myself very busy with little free time to relax or do activities. This is the worst during the busiest part of school season and the busiest part of club season when we are gone for days at a time. When you miss school, you have to do all the make-up work along with all the current work. It can get very tiring and annoying. Also, it is VERY hard not to get distracted by your phone or other devices, especially after a game day or tournament, when you want to check what people said about the game.

Another stressful thing about playing a sport is being frustrated about being in a rough patch. Sometimes, when you are working at things and trying to get better, you feel like you're getting worse before you get better. There are a lot of failures before success, but eventually you get it. Also, people get frustrated when they are not doing so well in practice or in a game. In volleyball this is easy to do, and because so much of the game is mental, one mistake could affect the next play and sometimes the one after that if you get mad, upset, or let it bother you. We just have to remember that it is okay to make mistakes and that you learn from them.

Another problem with some athletes is getting tired of your sport. If someone is constantly practicing and playing with no breaks, they might get burnt out and not enjoy playing or not want to play anymore. This is probably more likely to happen if the practices seem repetitive, like they're doing the same things all the time in practice. Some people will get burnt out, but some who really enjoy the game won't. It just depends on the person. Some ways to prevent this from happening is to take a break from it, or in your free time do things non-sports related, so you're not always thinking about it and you're not always with the same people all the time. Sometimes it's not always the sport you get tired of, but the people.

In sports, it's important to have good team chemistry. It is important for the team to get along so they can play well together, and when they don't it can be frustrating. That is another tough thing about playing sports; getting along with your teammates and how to deal with it if you don't. When people don't get along or if players have bad attitudes it can affect the whole team, even if it is just a couple people from the team because it can make the game not fun to play.

All these things are very hard to deal with, but as athletes we have to push through it because that is what happens in sports, and if you love the sport enough it won't matter what you have to deal with to play it.

Sand Playing

Sand volleyball has many different rules than Indoor volleyball. Yeah there are many differences between the two with the looks of the players, the actual court itself but there are big differences between the rules too. They can be so big that it is hard for some volleyball athletes to change between the two, without some practice.

The size of the court is very different. The size of an indoor court is 18m x 9m with a line across the floor indicating it is 10 ft from the net. This line indicates the front row players and the back court players apart. In indoor the back row players can't jump in front of this line. Sand courts are much smaller, because it is hard to run in and sand and there are only two people playing, which means it is harder to cover more ground. In beach volleyball there isn't such thing as a 10 foot line. Due to there only being two players on the sand court, they are both considered front row and back row players.

There are different types of volleyballs for indoor and outdoor. Indoor consist of a leather covered and much harder. Indoor volleyball is about speed and power. Having a heavier ball means it can be hit hard and quicker. Beach volleyballs are light and can be bigger than indoor. These balls are lighter, so they can float in the air better. Good players will use the lighter ball and the weather to their advantage when playing the sport.

Volleyball is played with six people in the indoor game. There are many rotations going on to make sure each player is in their best spot to help the team win. In sand there are two players that can hit, block and dig extremely well. In more advanced sand volleyball like the olympics, there is more of a designated hitter and digger, and then a designated blocker. For beginners or two really well attackers they will play straight up defense where they are both back ready for a dig. The two players will share the back court together.

Indoor volleyball is best out of five games, the winner reaching 25 first. In sand it is best out of three games; each game going to 21. In both the tie breaker game goes to 15. Both are rally scoring and you must have to win by 2 points.

In sand volleyball if you set the ball, the ball CAN NOT have any spin to it what so ever. If the ball spins at all then it is considered a double. This is why you have to be a good defender and hitter, because knowing how to set isn't very important in this game. Where in indoor volleyball that is one of the most important parts of volleyball. If you want to tip the ball you have to have a closed fist where then you would almost be punching at the ball. Another way to tip in sand is with a knuckle punch, where you close your hand, but keep one of your knuckles out and punch at the ball.

Comparison Between Sand and Indoor

Being an indoor volleyball player can be boring sometimes. Always being trapped inside when it is beautiful out. The dress code and things needed for sand volleyball is different than indoor volleyball.

 The girls that play sand volleyball have a fit body and are crazy tan. In indoor not many girls are dark complexing. Having an extremely fit body isn’t a priority either, due to the fact that people can’t see your body when playing indoor volleyball. Sand volleyball players can have six packs, and are just built in the arms and legs. Indoor is a great place to start learning how to play volleyball and then progressively become a beach volleyball player. Indoor is much easier to learn the fundamentals and the game, because you don’t have to walk on the uneven sand or have to deal with the weather. Sand also has different rules than indoor does. It isn’t a huge difference, but going from being lenient in the indoor game and then moving to outdoors and there are more strict rules is hard to adjust too.

People who play sand wear an outfit that almost looks like a bikini. Some girls will wear spandex like the indoor players, but will wear a sports bra instead of a swimsuit top looking. They wear this, because first they don’t want crazy looking tan lines and second it is easier to move around when playing outdoors. Your body is able to move more freely. When playing beach volleyball the sand can get very hot. There are some solutions for this. Some players wear socks to cover their feet called sand socks. These socks have grippers in them to help the athlete move around in the sand without having their feet burn to death. Another solution is spraying the sand down with a hose. This will cool down the sand and will make it a walkable state. Playing in wet sand helps not having sand get stuck to your body when diving for a ball, or get in your eyes when playing. Sand socks come in many different colors and are very comfortable. Some athletes won't wear them, because they can fall off if they are too big. The socks can stretch to your feet and are snug when wearing them. 

Sand volleyball and indoor volleyball have many different rules and can be played very differently. This I will touch on at a later date. 

Cost of Club

Club sports are costly for parents. Every sport has a club fee for playing the game. They not only have a fee for playing, but they have to pay for their jerseys, team shoes and socks if the sport team requires that. They also have to pay for every tournament they enter in.

Every tournament has a fee, that the club will pay. It could be $100 to $800. The club then splits the amount among the athletes on the team. The more girls on a team the less the cost is going to be for one player. A volleyball team has up to 8 or 10 girls, they will not carry more than that. A basketball team usually will carry up to 10 players. There are perks to having more people on a team, because the cost will be lower. At the same time having more players on a team could be stressful, because some girls might not get a lot of playing time.

A lot of teams that are good and have players that are going to big places will having matching shoes, socks, and knee pads. Having to buy new apparel can get expensive. If a team is sponsored by a certain company like Nike, then they will have to wear nike things. Say you had mizuno shoes, and under armor knee pads, then that athlete will have to buy new apparel to play for the team.

To play for a team there are tryouts that athletes have to attend to. Tryouts have a cost to them too. Usually tryouts are hosted for a team, 3 or 4 times. They will cost around 60 dollars, but you get to go to every tryout. It isn't just one and done you can go to multiple to show what you got. Now say you didn't make the team, but you gave that club team 60 dollars, that is money that they get for doing nothing for your child. If you make the team, you have more to pay with everything that club requires.

National Qualifiers

National qualifiers are hosted in large cities. They are in cities that teams all over the country can come to. There are multiple national qualifier tournaments. There are some in the Midwest, so that teams from that area have some of these tournaments to attend to. There are some on the West coast, so teams can go to those especially teams from Hawaii, because they don't have the opportunity to attend others. National qualifiers are the only tournaments besides that states regionals, that can give a team the opportunity to attend nationals.

These tournaments are so large that the hotels are booked and if you aren't part of the volleyball tournament then you will have a hard time finding a hotel to stay at. Usually qualifiers will give out two bids in each divison. It depends on the tournament too. If the tournament usually attracts more teams to the qualifier then it will be given more bids to give out. There are some tournaments that give only one bid out and that is super hard for the team that comes out to be second. They know that they are so close to the final and receiving the one thing that they work so hard for, and it just be taken from them. They will then have to start all over again at a new tournament for the same chance. Towards the year goes on teams start to receive bids to nationals that they accept. Once a team receives a bid they can still attend these tournaments to try and receive another bid. Say a team has qualified for a bid a month ago and then the qualified for another bid, that bid moves down to the next place team. Teams love this situation because it gives more teams a chance to carry on their club season at nationals.

Qualifiers are so much fun. People look forward to them in the season, because they are so big and there are so many college coaches. It puts a bunch of adrenaline in your body to play hard and fast. It makes it more fun to play and more interesting. They are kind of over whelming with all these college coaches around the country coming to watch teams plays.

Ankle Braces

When playing a sport it is important that your ankles are strong. Every single time that there is a sprained ankle it weakens and leads to a large ankle sprain. When there is a sprained ankle usually the athlete comes back to early. This keeps them from having an ankle that is strong enough to not be able to need an ankle brace.

Ankle braces help keep it from moving side to side or from a hard jerking movement. Having an ankle brace tight on your ankle will help keep it from doing movements that are bad for the ankle. If the ankle brace isn't tight then there is no point in wearing it. If your ankle can move around freely without any worries, then you should be prepared to have an ankle problem. You don't want to have your ankle brace so tight that your ankle loses blood flow, or is painful when you are walking.

Some coaches don't believe in ankle braces, because they believe that it weakens the ankle. You will see some college teams all wearing ankle braces, or not one player wearing the ankle braces. This is usually decided by the coach on what he or she believes in. Some girls that have had ankle problems will either wear ankle braces or tape their ankle to be in place of an ankle brace. There is also some players that will tape their ankle and wear an ankle brace at the same time. This will happen when the player comes back too early and their ankle is still really sore and weak. This is not a bad thing, but will make your ankle weaker and it makes it harder for it to come back stronger and better than before.

Ankle braces are a good thing for players that in their mind think and worry about hurting their ankle again. In this situation an ankle brace is a great thing for that person, because if they are constantly worried about hurting their ankle all the time. This will be a good solution for them, because the ankle brace will help them believe that their ankle will be fine when going hard at playing the sport you love. I suggest not wearing an ankle brace unless you are think about your ankle being injured again. It is completely your choice.

Tryouts

Once that final whistle blows in the state tournament for high school, the players know it's club season. The after school practices and team dinners are over with. No more hanging with the girls outside of practice. It is time to find a club that will take you far and will show your talents off to a college volleyball coach.

Club tryouts are probably the most stressful thing. There are so many girls that show up and what if you don't pass, hit or set a ball good when the coaches are looking at you? There is so little time to show what you got. Some coaches on the other hand know some players and know how they play. They have either coached them in the past or have seen them play in their high school season and then doesn't have to keep a close eye on them at tryouts.

Tryouts are at minimum two hours. Depending on the club it could be longer. They consist of many drills and then some playing at the end. The coaches want to make sure you can not only pass a free ball, but can play outstanding defense too. For the front row they want to make sure the hitters can move side to side quickly and jump super high. To be a good front row player, you have to be able to close the block when you are off. Coaches look at the players who communicate extremely well and have the compassion for the game. If you are the type of player that laughs or say oh well when making a mistake coaches won't appreciate you more than they will for other girls. Tryouts is all about which girl is making the extra effort for a ball or giving encouragement to other players.

At the end of the tryout, the coaches round all the athletes up and discuss what will happen in the next few days. When a phone call will occur or an email will come their way to get asked to play for their team. At this time you have shown everything you can offer to the team and is just hoping to receive a call or an email, asking them to come to their team. There is a cut off for when you will be able to tell the coaches that you are going to attend their team.

Being In Shape

Every sport has its on kind of shape. Basketball is sprints going up and down the court multiple times for a certain amount of time. On top of sprinting basketball has defense which is staying in a squat position for awhile and moving side to side. Soccer is a jog sport that once in awhile you have to sprint up the field. Soccer is a sport that you start to sprint and play hard when the soccer ball comes near you. Volleyball is a totally different kind of sport. There is always a dead ball in volleyball for a time to rest. Front row is jumping to block and then running out to get a big transition to be able to jump high and get a kill. Back row is staying in a low squat position the entire time. They are in a base position and then move staying in a squat position to dig the ball from the hitter. 

Transition from sport to sport is tough when you aren't in the shape for it. Going from soccer to basketball is not that bad, because you are already used to running constantly even if it is a light jog. Going from volleyball to basketball is extremely tough, because you are not used to a constant sprint. There is a comparison with the position of squatting. There is a constant squat position in the game of volleyball, so being able to play defense is much easier, because you are already used to that position.   

The first couple of weeks of practice when going to a new sport is seriously hell. The coaches work the athletes ass off until their bodies are used to the sport. You feel like you are dying on the inside. Now me, it feels like my mouth fills up with blood and that I'm tasting my own blood, but we all know that isn't true. You dread the first two weeks of practice, because you know you are just going to die. 

Why Therapy Is a Good Thing

All athletes should participate in therapy. Therapy strengthens the muscles in a way that can't be done by lifting. Lifting gets muscles big and strong to look bigger. Therapy helps train your muscles and ligaments to land correctly, to cut correctly, run correctly etc. Therapy can help prevent injuries. How a large injury happens is from smaller injuries before the big one happens. A sprained ankle can lead to a broken ankle. Hip pain can lead to back injuries or knee injuries. By going to therapy this large injuries can be prevented.

Therapy is also required after an injury has occurred. If there is no therapy after an injury than that muscle or ligament will not get stronger. It will stay weak and will not be ready to play a sport again. Therapy is the opposite of a chiropractor. Chiropractors crack the area on the body to adjust it. This works sometimes but by massaging and strengthening will overall be the better route. You want to have your muscles learn the right way to move. This will help your body as you get older too. Your ligaments won't be worn out when you are at an age where it is hard to walk or get up from the couch.

Have you ever heard the saying, "A habit will come to you when the repetition is repeated for two weeks"? Now in therapy that saying is adjusted. By repeating an exercise like one legged squats it will take longer than two weeks for your body to naturally bend that way. In therapy, the athlete is training themselves a knew way to do things. In knee bending, you have to make sure your knee is trained to bend straight. You don't want your knee going towards the inside. If anything you would rather have the knee bend towards outside of the body. If the knee is constantly bending towards the inside it will more likely end up in a torn ACL or another torn ligament.

Professional athletes and college athletes are participating in therapy, three times a week if not everyday. It is strengthening your own body parts in a way that will make you more successful and better at a sport. I would recommend in therapy on your knees, due to more knee injuries occurring recently.

Are Knee Pads Needed

How many volleyball players really know how to dive for a ball? Not many actually. When you are learning how to play the game of volleyball they don't usually teach you how to dive. This lesson is usually taught later, because learning the technique of passing is much more important than diving. Playing volleyball you want to pass the ball before you dive. If a volleyball player is always on the floor and not getting balls up then they aren't doing anything for the team. There is a saying that goes, "my grandmother can dive too. STAY ON YOUR FEET."

When on defensive and there is a strong powerful hitter coming up against the defenders, the defense is usually on their heels so when they tip the defenders will dive for the ball, because they aren't ready for it. Coaches and the other teammates get pissed off if the defender misses the tip. Tips are the easiest kind of balls to pick up.

The correct way to dive is by tucking in your leg and landing on your outer thigh. Knee pads are to protect your knees from brusies and cuts. Because many players don't learn how to dive at a young age, they land on their knees using their knee pads. This is extremely dangerous and bad for their knees. It is important to learn how to dive right, so they can not only save their knees but get balls up that they wouldn't be able to get up before.

When going after a ball you are going to take a big step towards that direction and then tuck your leg and land on your thigh. After the dive you will either do a log roll or a summer salt roll. the summer salt roll is when after the ball is up you will roll over the shoulder that is on the same side of the thigh that you dove on. A log roll is when you roll side ways like a log. The summer salt roll is used more often. It really depends on what the person is doing in the moment on which roll they choose.

Girl Vs. Boy Basketball

There is a large difference between girls and boys when playing sports. They have different body types and have different ways of learning the game.

Boys play fast moving. They are always quick and can jump out of the gym making boys seem so athletic. When you are watching mens basketball you hear their shoes squeak and you are constantly turning your head watching them run up and down the court. When watching girls it is a lot slower. You don't hear their shoes squeaking or turning your head all the time. The ball movement is slower and there aren't as many shots that are being put up due to the game being slower. When boys take a jump shot, it is like they hang in the air for awhile when they shoot. Girls don't do this. It is a quick jump shot. They don't hang in the air or whip their passes to their teammates. You will see more steals in girls basketball than in boys basketball, because of the way they pass the ball. Girls passes are softer and don't whip it to their teammates. This is also a reason why mens basketball is considered faster moving than girls basketball.

Coaches for mens basketball are a lot more mean and can say what they want to their players. Girl coaches are more soft, because girls are drama queens. Coaches could get in more trouble for saying harsh things to girls than to boys.

Powder Buff

Kennedy girls volleyball hosts a boys volleyball tournament for the student body. The girls on the team are the coaches and some will ref the games too. The boys can meet to coordinate clothes to wear and make up a team name. The head volleyball coach for the girls varsity team creates a bracket. This tournament is for fun and to start introducing boys volleyball in the state of Iowa.

The boys get crazy and take this tournament seriously. Yeah they don't have good technique or know how to play at all, but they all want to win. There is a lot of yelling, cheering and laughter in the gym around this time. Some people come and watch these boys play. We usually only have time for two or three games due to having football practice or volleyball practice. The coaches don't actually coach, because they don't really know how to play and they don't comprehend volleyball terminology. They boys will make the subs themselves. They can yell at each other and be mean, because boys don't care about what they say to each other. If the girl coach subbed them out then they would get mad and  say things to her that they shouldn't say.

Now whatever team wins earns bragging rights over the other team. Usually there is a freshman, sophomore, junior, varsity team and sports teams like football, golf and soccer. It is pretty cool to watch the boys play and pick up the game fast. The team that loses, gets upset and is pissed off. Powder Buff is a thing we have been doing for three years now and all the boys love it. Come out and watch or play next time we host it!

different signs in sports

Like terminology in a sport there are also hand signals involved. Hand signals are just as important as terminology. Depending on the sport hand, signals can be used differently. They also mean different things for different people playing or reefing the sport.

For the sport of volleyball hand signals are used to be secretive and faster for communicating what the hitters want. Because everyone that plays volleyball knows what a 1 ball is or a 31 ball etc., so the setter will use hand signals to replace the numbers to make it more secretive. To make it secretive, the setter will pull their jersey to make it act as a wall and then hold up a number or a signal for the play. There are different plays for different situations. In serve receive the plays are going to more simple and not so complex. When there is a free ball plays are going to be complicated and hard for the opponents defense and block.  You will see more pin hitters hitting faster and different kind of sets than they would on a serve receive ball.

For the reefing point of view, they have a huge amount of signals to give. They don't communicate by yelling out number usually. Reefing is a hard job. If you would like to be a ref I would suggest to have the personality of toughness and standing your ground. Parents, coaches and players get on their back for the type of calls they make. When they give the right away to serve, their signal will be, their arm coming across their chest to hit the opposite shoulder. Every type of call they make has to be accompanied by their whistle. By making a call they will have to do the following;  they will blow their whistle and then point to the side that received the point, then signal what happened on the side that made the mistake. By calling a lift, they will move their hand up looking like they are carrying a tray. A double hit will be called sometimes and that is referred to just the number two being held up with their fingers. If one of the players touches the tape or hits the net, they will give the signal to the team that won the point and then give the signal by slightly touching the net, while telling the coach what number it was by their fingers. If the setter or one of the players trying to save a ball crosses the center line the ref will point at the center line with their pointer finger. There are a lot more signals refs will give.

Basketball players, especially the point guards, will give the signal of the play they want to run. They could either yell it or give a hand signal. Most times you will hear them and see them give the signal. The point guard is like the quarter back of the team. They call most plays and start every play of the game. Coaches will give the signal for what defense the team will be in. They will shout it out at the players on the court usually, because the players don't look back at the coach every dead ball. The coach will yell it out and put up a hand signal. This will vary depending on what the coach believes in.

Reefing for basketball is almost like playing. They will run up and down the court. Their signals are by putting their hand in the air with either a fist or an open hand. If it is a fist that means they have called a foul. If it is an open hand, there is either a sub or a start of a new ball. If they put their hands in a circular motion really fast that means someone has traveled. When they call a foul their is always a hand signal to resemble what happened. They will move their hand fast to one side to indicate a shove. If someone was hit an arm while trying to block a shot than they will take one arm to grab the other. When blocking a person or trying to take a charge a lot of times a body call will be used. This is when they take their hands and put them in fist and them hit their waste and come back up. A charge call is when they put one hand behind their head and the other arm is in a fist and is pointing towards the other direction of the court. There are more calls a signals that occur in a basketball game than the ones I just stated.

Volleyball Terminology

Every sport uses terminology, but volleyball uses a lot. In the sport of volleyball there are many terms that are used. There are terms for the back row and for the front row.

For the front row numbers are the primary used terminology. The numbers are for the setter and the hitter. It is so the setter knows what kind of set to give the hitters. For a middle hitter there is a 1 ball, which is a quick set that goes probably a foot above the net and is not very far away from the setter. This is used, so it is fast making it harder for the opponents block to be up and closed. This is ran a lot when there is a short serve, making the entire offense faster because the pass comes quicker tot the setter. It is also used to trick the blockers. Sometimes if the middle is loud calling "1,1,1,1" the blockers will hold with her allowing the setter to set the other two hitters, giving them a hole in the block to hit. For the middle there is a 2 ball. Which is in the same spot of a 1 ball just way higher. This is very slow and you won't be seeing advanced volleyball teams running this play. There is also a set called a 1-out. It is just like a 1 ball just pushed a little further out. This is used when the middle is late to getting closer to the setter and calls this. This is a good play, because the opponents blocker in the middle is a little off and they don't expect it right away, so she is late blocking leaving the middle hitter with no block to hit against. There is a 31 ball. This ball is considered a shoot to three quarters away from the setter. The set is fast and it barely goes above the net. It is just high enough so the hitter can hit it. This is a play you will see more advance teams running, because it means there offense it fast. This also is great, because it leave the outside hitter and the right side hitter with multiple options on what to run. The last option for a middle is a slide. It is a back set to the middle. The middle chases the ball and swings. It is a great play to run making it harder for the opponents defense to dig it up. You can make this play a fast set too.

The outside hitter can run a 5. This ball is pushed all the way out to the pin and is the higher set.This ball is set when the pass was off and it is the teams way out. There is a play called 4. It is just like the 5 just lower and quicker. This one is probably the most common. There is also a 31 just like the middle, but is for the outside. This is usually ran when the middle hitter runs a slide or 1 ball. If the middle hitter runs a 31 or a slide the outside can run a 2 ball, which is awesome, because the blockers and defense aren't ready for it.

The right side hitter runs a 9 ball. This is kind of like the 5 for an outside. It is slower and higher, but pushed out to the back pin. They can also run an 8 being just like the 4 just for a right side instead of an outside. They can run a six ball which is set like a 1 ball for the middle just a six is a quick back set. A right side can also hit a 1 or 2 ball too.

An advanced offense would consider a middle running a 31, the outside running a 2 ball and the right side either running a 1 ball or a six ball. There are multiple plays the front row can run, it just all deals with the first pass the setter receives.

There are more terminology for the back row, but I will talk more about that in a later date.

Points

 In the past, the volleyball game would end at 15 points. Whoever would reach 15 first would win. The match would last forever, because the only way you were allowed to score was if your team was serving. Now if you know how to play volleyball you would understand how hard that is. That is why the game would only go to 15, but that is still a lot of points to get to. Now volleyball is scored through a system called rally scoring. Rally scoring was approved by the USA Volleyball Association in 1999. This is a revelry new thing for volleyball. It works so any team is allowed to score a point. The team does not have to be serving to earn a point. This has made the games go to 25 points instead of 15. This has also made volleyball harder to win if you fall behind.  Most coaches that have used to play did not play with rally scoring. I bet a lot of you athletes get the lecture, "oh it took us forever to win. We actually had to fight and get aces."

There are multiple ways to earn a point for your team. Receiving a kill in volleyball means you made the volleyball hit the opponents floor. If you are able to accomplish this then your team will get a point. There are many different types of ways you can get a kill in volleyball. There is something called a tool and that means you hit the ball of the opponents hands while they were blocking. You could have also tipped the ball over the net and their defense did not dig the ball up. You also could have rolled the ball over. This is like a tip, but fast and the ball dies faster. It is harder to pick up sometimes depending on the situation. Another way to earn a point for your team is an ace. An ace is when you are serve and get a point without the ball coming back over to your side of the net. The opponents setter can double the ball causing your team to receive a point. This usually will happen with the setter, but the other players on the court are guilty of doing it also. The opponent can carry the ball too. This call is the refs judgment on whether she has the ball in her hands too long or not.  There a many things that could happen in the game of volleyball that could either cause you to win or lose. Rally scoring could either be considered a good or bad thing, depending on the athlete.

Transitioning

Transitioning from sport to sport is a tough thing to do. Some people like doing so and some people don't. It can be tough when you transition from volleyball to softball, because the motion for throwing a softball is kind of like serving or hitting a ball. When serving a ball, you hit the ball at its highest point and bring your arm straight through. In softball you throw a ball by finishing your follow through across your body. When you are done throwing, it should look like you are bowing to the person you are throwing to. Throwing a softball like you are serving a volleyball will cause the softball to rise and be higher. Since the ball will be thrown higher, it will make it more difficult for the person receiving the throw to catch it.

Transitioning from a sport like soccer to basketball is much easier. Basketball is a conditioning sport and so is soccer. Yeah they are two different kind of conditioning, but you are more likely to be ready for basketball. Now going from a sport like volleyball or tennis to basketball will be MUCH more difficult. Basketball is running constantly up and down the court and not just running, you have to stay in a stands and try to beat a girl in defense. It is harder than it looks.

It is good to play different kinds of sports and moving from each frequently. Sometimes it is great to have a break from a certain sport and play a different one. Some people will even do better if they have a break from a certain sport and then come back to it later on in the year and have a great season. It is good to be able to have multiple skills, so that way you can incorporate it into the other sport you play.

Type Of Player

There are SO many aspects in the sport volleyball. There is no way you can play volleyball without six other girls. If you are a person that does not believe me, you will at the end of this blog. Every position has such a huge aspect in the game. You can't play without back row players or front row.

Back row positions are probably the hardest position on the court. The key at being very successful at volleyball is knowing how to pass. If you know how to pass you can learn how to do anything on the court. Passing isn't just about the technique or the form, but also the reading and learning where to go depending on the player or ball. If the opponent is a big passing team and everyone on the team knows how to pass, you are going to find it difficult to beat them. There is nothing more frustrating than playing a team and banging the ball without receiving a kill, because the team dominates at digging. It is the key to winning a close match.

Front row players are usually tall and can jump. You rarely see a girl shorter than 5'9'' in the front row. Knowing unique shots(spots on the court to place the ball) will improve your game much more and get your team further to 25. Hitters have to be smart on when to hit the ball hard or when to give some power off. Usually in a long rally the hitters will either roll or tip the ball to get the opponents back row players caught on their heels. To have a great hit, there has to be a perfect set.

Setting is a hard position. The entire offense in their hands. If she is having a bad day then the rest of the team will be off. If the hitter doesn't receive a set that they are allowed to make a great shot with then the team isn't going to win. There are so many sets that are available to learn, it is unbelievable. There are different speed sets and height sets. Depending on the pass depends on the type of set the setter can feed to the hitters. When a team wants to be an advanced team they will have a faster speed offense. Setting takes a lot of training and a lot of hard work to be the best. It is a hard position, because even if you know how to set the different types, every hitter is a different height, speed, arm length so you have to adjust to that certain player.

Being a bench player has a HUGE affect on how well the team is doing. If the bench has high energy then the rest of the team should have that same kind of energy. Bench players are like the "cheerleaders" for volleyball. They pick the team up when they are down. Having a fun and loud bench is a great strategy to winning a match.

Hard Work

There is a quote that I look to when I want something in life and that is "Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds." -Gordon B. Hinckley. This quote is inferring to how nature takes over if us humans are not there to keep the grass cut, the tress trimmed or pulling weeds, etc. Now doing all these things is a lot of work to maintain and keep things looking beautiful.

This quote is perfect to understand and think about when you are playing a sport. If you have ever pulled weeds before, you know how much work it is and how disgusting it is. Because, I don't think houses that are taken over by nature are pretty, I put that picture in my head into the sport I am playing. What I mean by this is, if you don't take care of something that will be taken over by mother nature; you don't work hard at being better at the sport then its like mother nature taking over you.. You won't, be any better and you will get worse than improving and moving up a mountain, so say.

This quote I believe will only work and inspire those that have seen mother nature take over something human built. Otherwise, they don't really understand it and will keep going half of their potential. Those people that work hard will be better and will get more opportunities in life than those that go half way.

Maybe some don't need a quote to inspire and motivate them to work hard. Maybe they have a different motivation, like money or love. In this world today people are very driven by money, because they want the things in life that maybe they didn't have growing up or did have and want to make sure they keep that lifestyle. Working hard in something you love is your choice not anybody else. No one can make you work hard at something. Yes, they can give you speeches and lectures of how much of a disappointment you are, but when it comes down to it you are the one that has to make the decision.

Stereotypes

Saying volleyball is a easy and none athletic sport is the most hurtful stereotype a volleyball player can hear. Some might say football is a real sport, and it takes more athletic skills than volleyball. Others might say basketball is the only sport that should be considered difficult that takes skill to accomplish the sport. Now in my opinion, I personally don't understand how these people can compare these three sports together. They are all COMPLETELY different.

I have played basketball, volleyball and softball my entire life. Now I know football and I understand the game, but have never participated in the sport, due to the fact of me being a girl. Volleyball, basketball and football are three sports that do not have much in common. Yeah, football and basketball are huge contact sports and volleyball isn't so, but volleyball takes a lot of reaction time, and skill on being able to swing, pass and set. Boys don't have an understanding of how much talent volleyball really takes. There are certain skills you have to be able to accomplish and master before stepping on the court. Passing a volleyball does not look hard at al; until you actually try it.  You can teach people how to pass all you want, but it really comes down to how athletic and easy that player picks it up. Setting is like passing. It is all about the kind of hands a girl/boy has. Now hitting is probably the easiest to do. The big secret to hitting is being tall and a fast arm swing. That is the key to success at that particular position.

Football and basketball are sports that are dominate in men playing them, so they are prone to be more popular and seem better than any other sport. Football is a sport that you either have to be big and strong or blazing fast. Basketball has a variety of talents to be able to succeed at that sport.

Yes sweating is a factor in any type of sport you participate in. So when someone says, "oh you don't even sweat in volleyball, how could you consider that hard?" This comment blows my mind, because volleyball is a game where there is constant movement on the court and talking. Have you ever tried talking while running up and down the court in basketball or down the field in football? Well you could imagine it is hard and is extremely tiring. There have been studies on ESPN that have proved the reaction time from the moment the hitter hits the ball to the time the defender digs the ball. The study said the reaction time was less than .8 seconds. Now if you are one of those people that says volleyball doesn't take talent than ask yourself if you could dig that ball.

Eating The Right Foods

When playing a sport it is extremely important to eat and consume the right foods. Eating healthy will help you gain the energy you need. Especially when you have a long day of working out, you really want to make sure you are eating foods that aren't going to make your body feel weak but strong instead. Junk food like chips, brownies, cookies, etc are not good for the body in a long day of playing a sport.

Protein is very good to consume throughout the time you are competing. Having healthy snacks at the house like fruit, vegetables and yogurt are going to help keep you from eating things like chips, cheetos and candy before dinner. Although eating healthy is more expensive than eating junk food, you have to look at the out come of eating healthier. You will look better and be better. You will perform better at the sport and thrive to be the best of the best. Eating healthy does not have a bad outcome so why doesn't people that want to succeed and be the best they can be at a sport not eat as healthy as they can? I honestly couldn't answer that. There could be multiple factors, but the easiest answer would be they have the sweet tooth for the junk food and the healthy food does not seem yummy to them at the time they are buying the items.

Smell of Volleyball

You would be amazed on how sickening and nauseating the smell of knee pads, volleyball shoes, and ankle braces are. Volleyball smell hands down beats the smell of football.

Knee pads consist of sweat that stays in the pad, it has no where to go so it just sits there and doesn't move. There is no air flow to push the smell out. Volleyball players don't have time to wash their equipment everyday after practice or a game. If you wash them, they have to sit outside and not dried in the dryer. A lot of times volleyball players put their knee pads, shoes, and ankle braces in their bag after practice or a game and then the next day when it is time to practice again, they take their equipment out of their bag and their knee pads are still wet from the day before. Believe it or not, but that wetness is the sweat from the day before. This builds up and leaves a repulsive scent, that is indescribable. This happens over and over again, leaving the smell to go nowhere other than the inside of the bag. Before you know it your bag will start to smell horrendous, and you won't be able to get rid of it.

Volleyball knee pads aren't something that can just be washed in the washing machine and smell brand new again. No matter what you try the smell will not go away. The sweat gets soaked in the fabric of the knee pad and doesn't go away. Some athletes try soaking them in fabric softener and ultra clean before they put them in the washing machine. This works if you wash them every week, but if you are a normal volleyball player this does not work. From all the sweat that is soaked in the knee pad a fabric softener or ultra clean is not going to do the job. A volleyball athlete is going to have to deal with the fact that their knee pads, shoes, ankle braces and bags are going to stink horrendously bad.

Club Volleyball Vs. High School Volleyball

There are many differences between club volleyball and high school volleyball. Club season can last up to eight months and as short as five months. High school volleyball only last up to three months. Both club and high school have one goal, and that is to get to state and win it and for club to make it to nationals and succeed at nationals. In high school to get to state all depends on how well they do in the beginning of the year. If the high school volleyball team has a winning start of the season they will have a better regional seeding to have their ride to state. Now club volleyball is all about the tournaments the team is in and how well they do. If they are in more qualifiers: tournaments with teams all over America to receive a bid to nationals. Teams can either receive a bid from a qualifier tournament or the state that team is from regionals. If they place first or second in either of those tournaments they will receive a bid to nationals. This is extremely exciting! It is an award of how hard you have worked.

High school state volleyball is short. It last for three days. Each class plays on a different day. There is 5a, 4a, 3a, 2a, and 1a. Volleyball, basketball and softball are the only sports in high school that have 5a. There is a total of three days for each class that the state tournament lasts. If the team makes it all the way to the championship they would have played a total of three matches, one match a day. This is a big thing to be apart of in high school. Going to state is the ultimate goal for high school athletes. State volleyball is hosted in the U.S. Cellular Center downtown Cedar Rapids. There are two courts set up right next to each other with a curtain between them, so the game balls won't be interrupting the courts. Once you lose you are done with that high school volleyball season. The girls cry and the seniors realize that they are done with high school volleyball and on to the next step in their lives.

Club nationals is a lot different than high school state volleyball. State volleyball is right after regional. Nationals are hosted in June and last about three weeks. There are multiple different age groups ranging from eleven year olds to eighteen year olds. Then on top of that there are different divisions in the age groups. There are five different divisions. Patriot which is the lowest, then there is USA, American, National, and Open. Open is the best of the best. Usually there are only 26 teams that are allowed to be in the open division. This is where most of the college coaches come to scout players. National division still has top teams, because the teams that didn't make open but at a national qualifier ended up in the top 5, but couldn't pull it through to receive a bid got pushed down to the national division. If you make the national division instead of open you still should be ready to compete, because there are tough teams and triple the amount of teams than in open. Winning or even placing in the top 15 at nationals is outstanding and will get your club name out there.

Being a Good Teammate

Every team has teammates they absolutely love or they have no interest in being around them. It is hard having teammates that don't get along. That is something you never want when you are searching for a team to play with. You want to make sure that the girls are people you see yourself hanging with and being friends with forever. When I think of a good teammate, I think of someone that will help me get better, or someone that is going to be in my life and friends with for as long as I live.

Teammates are not just people you say you play a sport with. They should be known as one of your best friends. A good teammate doesn't cheat their way out of things. For example, if you are lifting with another teammate you don't want to skip any lifts or reps. It is kind of like not cheating in school. That doesn't help you or your partner. There are a lot of aspects in being a good teammate. Giving positive and not negative feed back is good. Sometimes the other player likes when another teammate says something like, "hey you should get up faster on that block" or "you almost had it, just more step and you could have gotten it up." A lot of times players like hearing something from another teammate instead of getting yelled at by their coach. Little things like that could help your teammate go a long way. Doing something so little as giving tips doesn't just help them, but puts you in a great spot called a leader. Colleges look for this and want this on their team. That also leads back to my recent blog about getting recruited.

No matter what your job is on the court or field, you have a huge aspect to the team. If you are a bench player that is just as big of a role as the quarter back or point guard or the libero in volleyball. Cheering on the bench could be the determination of what will be the outcome of the game. Maybe the team isn't playing very good and needed a boost, but the bench wasn't cheering loud enough then they lose. Now what if the bench was loud and did everything they could to get the team fired up? Most likely the outcome would have been different. A good teammate cheers on the team no matter what position they are in. They should want the best for all of their team(family).

Not Treating Injurys

Treating injury's are extremely important in succeeding in a sport. If you never treat an injury, you aren't ever going to get better. The injury is just going to be worse the longer you play with it, instead of treating it so it could be stronger. You see tons of NFL and NBA players not treating their injury's proper, due to them wanting to play and not sitting out. This is because they earn their living by playing this sport, so if they sit out due to an injury it could keep them from ever coming back and playing. There are reams of athletes that do this. They should not be doing this, and they should have to pay a cost for doing this.

Now the National Football Association has cracked down on the concussion injury. A collection of players have suffered from this injury and it has become an enormous problem. There are myths saying, "ex NFL players are messed up in the head." This is said, because of the amount of concussions there were. Players never treated these, or told their coaches they had one, because they didn't want to sit out and risk never playing again. They did this, again, to not sit out from the sport they love. A concussion can last as long as two weeks to two months. It all depends on how bad the injury is. Especially this injury is scary and not okay to not treat it. Now the NFL has strict rules on this injury, because of the history with it and how bad it has effected people.

Sprain ankles is another huge injury that isn't treated how it should be. In a lot of cases, sprained ankles are worse than broken ankles. Broken ankles are treated with being placed in a boot and not doing any activity on it for a certain amount of weeks. Sprain ankles turn blue and purple and have therapy done to it right away. It is hard for it to heal, because you can't really tell when you are ready to come back. Usually they say you are ready when it doesn't hurt to run on it. The swelling could take months to go down. Most of the times the swelling never goes away. It will always be a little big even after two years after you sprained it.

Recruitment

Recruitment is a stressful and drawn out event. It could last for three months to four years. It’s a never ending thing. There are multiple aspects in getting recruited.

It all starts with filling out question-airs on the college’s website. Usually this begins at the start of freshman year in high school. Colleges will receive thousands of question applications. Most colleges will pick the ones that they already have an interest in. Once the athlete contacts the school, the college is going to know that the player has an interest and then that makes them have an interest in the player. As a freshman the college coaches can't contact the player but the player can contact by email, phone, or text. If the coach doesn't respond then the player has to try another time. The coach can't call the player back.

Once club season starts, you should email the volleyball coach and let them know what club you are playing on, the back round of the club, and the schedule for the club season. If you do this the coaches are more likely to show up at the tournaments and come to the court you are playing on. Now if you get them to come to the court, make sure you are playing your hardest and show an enormous amount of leadership on the court. Coaches look for communication on the court, cheering on the bench, good sportsmanship, and competitive attitudes.

Your club coach should work their butt of to make sure you get to the point of recruitment. They should have your back in this stage of your career. They have a big say and could help you tremendously in the college search. When you are writing emails make sure you include your coach’s name and information, that way the college coach can get ahold to ask question about you. These college coaches would like to have other coaches that know the player better than just watching and not knowing a thing about them have a say and tell the college coach how they play. Club coaches love this, because they get to chat and brag about players they coach. They want every player they coach to go far. They want them to represent the town and state they come from. If you think about it, wherever a person goes to college at and play a sport, they are representing their high school, town, state, family and friends. A lot of people don’t realize that.

The Effect of an Injury

Usually, when a person is playing a sport it is, because they enjoy it and are good at it. Some cases it is their life. They are in the gym or field (depending on the sport), working hard to improve on the thing they love. One thing can always crush a dream.. and that is an injury.

There are multiple injury's that could destroy someone's career or set them back from a certain goal.  The worst injury that can happen to someone that would destroy their career would be multiple concussions. Concussions are something that are taken serious now a days. If a helmet comes off during a football game the person has to sit out a play before coming back in. Concussions have destroyed so many people careers that people are trying to do stuff about it now. They are trying to do whatever they can to prevent a concussion from happening. If a person has the awful luck of receiving multiple concussions then they are not allowed to play sports anymore. That would be the one of the worst injury's to receive, because once you get one you are more likely to get another one.

A lot on injury's push the athlete back and keeps them from achieving one goal they have in life. Every injury a person receives, the longer it take them from reaching that goal. The more injury's a person has the less time they are going to be able to play that sport they love.

Injury can either break or motivate a person. There can be two perspectives to an injury. There can be a fight back, and actually want to get better and be a better athlete than what they were. Or they can look at an injury and say they don't want to do what it takes to get better and be better. Some people are motivated and see a good outcome from it and others think it is the end of the world and they don't want to do put the effort in of being better.

ACL Injurys

Now an injury that could possibly destroy your career, but isn't as likely to, but it will hold you back would be tearing your ACL. ACL stands for Anterior Cruciate Ligament. Your ACL is the ligament that keeps your knee from going left and right. It keeps it in place. It also helps keep your two bones attached together. Now usually when people tear their ACL they tear either their meniscus, MCL or both. If it is torn then usually 95% of the time, surgery has to be required. If it is partially torn then physical therapy is occurred to strengthen it without having to go through surgery. The person will be playing through pain.

Why tearing your ACL sets you back so much, is because the recovery takes at least six months. Depending on the person it could take longer than that. Physical therapy usually starts a couple days after surgery. The first couple weeks maybe even the first month the therapist are just trying to wake up your quad muscle, because it goes to sleep after surgery. They hook a machine up to the muscle to make it flex, basically the leg jumps so the muscle starts to begin to work. During this time getting the knee strait is critical. Once the knee is straight then the bending of knee begins to occur. Usually the physical therapist set a goal to get the knee to. Later on in the recovery work on extending the knee. After surgery it is really hard to get the extension back in the knee. A lot of athletes work on it all the time. Every time they are sitting or getting ready for bed, they are extending and flexing their quad muscle to receive the extension.

A couple months after surgery is when the strengthening and re-learning how to jump, run and cut. It is harder than it looks. People never think how hard something so simple as running can be. Everyone grows up just running which comes after walking and it just comes natural to the person. When you are old and have injured something it is harder to teach that part of the body to do something.

People with an ACL injury either come back stronger or just come back and have lost a lot of their talent on the game. That is why and ACL injury could destroy someones career or just push them back from a certain goal they have.

Opinion on Whether Girl Coaches Should Coach Boy Sports

When it comes to sports boys know more than girls. Boys know how to coach and treat their players if they are boys. If a boy coach is coaching other boys, then the kids are going to respect and listen to the coach more than if a girl coach was coaching them. That is just how our society works.

Since girl sports move slower and the speed of the game isn't as fast, boy coaches are going to be better coaches for boys than girl coaches would be for boys. Unless you are Brittany Griner, girls should not be coaching boy sports. Brittany Griner is a women basketball player who plays in the NBA and has set multiple records. She is six foot eight and is one of the only women who can dunk. There was a huge debate on whether she should be able to play in the NBA. They didn't allow her, because then they would later on maybe have to let in another girl and it is hard for guys to play against girls, because it destroys their ego.

Have you ever seen a women coaching in the NBA? No, because men don't listen to women especially when it comes to sports. They think they know it all and that anything a women says about a sport is wrong. Girl sports aren't as quick or as athletic as boy sports are so I don't think they would understand or be able to teach a game that is suppose to be fast, athletic. They could teach the fundamentals defiantly, but teaching the speed of the game would not be their specialty.

Just imagine a women coaching men... There would be absolutely no respect given to the women. That would be considered bad too, because our society is about treating women right. If they coach men sports it would basically be considered weird, because the men would not give respect.

Three Opinions on Why Volleyball Is Diffucult

There are so many people that say, "volleyball is easy. You don't have to have any skill playing volleyball. I could do it in my sleep. Basketball and football take actual skill." Little do they know that volleyball takes a lot of skill. When it becomes at a high level, like from 8th grade and up, the time and effort the person puts into volleyball will reflect on how good they are.

There are a lot more aspects that go into volleyball other than, just jumping and swinging or thrusting your arms out at the ball. The way people hold their hands have a HUGE impact on how the ball will be passed. If one hand is in a fist and the other hand is wrapped around the fist then their passes will most likely be accurate. If the hands are wrapped together with the thumbs laying next to each other, the passes will most likely not be as accurate as the other hand wrap. Also, for defense the back row players must know how to read the other teams hitters. They must know how to see the way their body is facing or the way their approach angle is facing. Serve receive for back row players is all about seeing the ball and then beating it to the spot. It has harder than it looks. There are two types of serves, a float serve and a top spin serve. Top spin serves are way harder to pass than float serves. Float serves move different directions before it comes at you, so it is hard to beat the ball to the spot.

 Setting is all about thinking and being smart on who to set. The hitters depend on the setter to give them a set, so they can put it down. To be a great setter is having the ability to see which pin the opponents middle is cheating to and then set the opposite pin. Another key is to always jump set as much as they can. More they jump set more the other teams block is going to go up with the setter and then leaves the hitter open.

Every hitter has to be able to see the block and then find a way to hit around it. If there is a hole in the block they need to hit there. If the block is closed but they give up line they need to hit there. If the block is closed but they give up cross then they need to make a shot that will give them a kill. The final option is if the block is closed and they have nothing other than to do than they should tool the blocker. Tooling means they push the ball off the blockers hand so it goes out of bounds.

Comparison Between NBA and The WNBA

NBA stands for National Basketball Association. WBNA stands for Women's National Basketball Association. The NBA is more known world wide and makes a lot more money than the WNBA. The average salary for the NBA is $5.15 million and the average salary for the WNBA is $72,000. To me this is extremely unfair. It doesn't make sense to me why the NBA would receive more than the WNBA. This country has gone through a lot of discrimination and I think this is considered a type of discrimination. There has been laws trying to prevent discrimination and having men receive more money than women just doesn't seem like something that is trying to prevent discrimination.

Usually, the NBA has sold out seats for every game. Now the WNBA usually, doesn't have sold out seats. It is more like going to a college basketball game. The NBA games are a lot more exciting and entertaining. I have attended a WNBA and to be honest it was not that exciting. There are a lot more other things I would have rather been doing. Now I haven't been to an NBA game, but I do watch them on TV and they are fifty times more exciting.

The NBA is one of the oldest sport league in North America. Where the WNBA was found around 1996 and just started playing games a year after. There weren't many teams to start out with the WNBA, but is now growing and becoming more popular around the United States. NBA is so big, because people all over the United States love to watch men play basketball. They are more athletic, they can dunk, the game is faster than the WNBA too. If a women that was from your community that has entered the WNBA, that is going to bump up the number of people that will watch this sport.

Also, the NBA have more sponsors than the WNBA due to the fact that they have been around much longer.  The NBA attract more money to their games leading to increase in their salaries and increase in the amount of sponsors that want to support them. WNBA just isn't that popular yet and doesn't have the money and sponsors that the NBA has.

Take Down Number One Rank

   Boom, bang, is the sounds we hear when hitting a volleyball. Last night there was A LOT of that. The kennedy varsity volleyball team took down the number one ranked team, Cedar Falls. On top of that, we beat them in three sets. There was a lot fight, but the cougars came out with the win.

    We started out doing our job, by scoring the first point with loud and encouraging cheer. We never fell behind in the first set. We had control of the game the entire time. It was a great experience to watch. We ended up winning 25-13 the first set. Now for them having three D1 commits and us beating them that bad is pretty impressive. 

  Usually, after you kill a team by that much when they are a good team, the opposing team comes back with a bang and gives a fight. Cedar Falls did that and made us fight for the win. We pulled through winning 26-24. That game dealt with amazing amount of trust between teammates. I have never been in a situation where I can't trust my teammates on the court with me. I am so thankful for that. 

  Cedar Falls did not give any more of a challenge as they did the first or second set. It was like taking candy from a baby. We ended up winning 25-18 for the final. We felt extremely accomplished and over whelmed, because they were ranked number one and we were ranked number four, so for us to beat them in three was pretty impressive. Made all the other team realize how good of a team we are and what we can do if we put our mind set to it. 

  Last weekend on homecoming day we had a tournament and Cedar Falls beat us twice. They didn't just take the win they actually crushed us like a grape. We looked like we didn't understand how to play. We had one day to prepare for them and we worked immensely hard as a team and ended with a great result. 

  Our crowd had a enormously amount of help to let us pull this win off. They cheer to let us know they have our backs when we are down. They get us rowdy and into the game. They are the people that make us want it so bad. We by far have the best student section out of all the Cedar Rapids Community School district.