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Cowlitz Volleyball
Newsletter
April 2001
Volume 10 -- Issue 5
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FROM
THE DIRECTOR'S DESK
It seems like just yesterday that the season
began, but in fact, for all but four of our
teams, the culminating Regional tournaments
signal the end of the 2001 season. The season
begins in October for the staff of the Club, who
organize upcoming events, order equipment, and
uniforms, and prepare for the whirlwind that is
the Regional season.
It has been an interesting season to date.
Scheduling has been more difficult than ever, as
fewer, and fewer Clubs run tournaments of their
own. Several years ago the Region went away from
requiring all Cubs to run at least one
tournament per age group that they have teams
in. It is more and more of a struggle to obtain
gym time at a reasonable rate as is evidenced by
LCC and their new policy in January to require
$30.00 per hour for use of their gyms.
The Cowlitz Club has run more tournaments than
any other Club in the Region, and have been
rewarded by having several Power League
tournaments relocated to our facilities. We are
grateful to the Longview School District, and
administrators Rod McHattie at Mark Morris, Jay
Opgrande at Cascade, Debbie Morgan at Olympic,
and Ty Morris at R.A. Long and Scott Moultine at
Robert Gray, who have provided us practice and
tournament sites. Without their assistance, our
Club would not exist.
We have been blessed with a very patient,
hard-working, and committed group of volunteer
coaches, who have turned individuals from
several different school programs into
functioning cohesive teams, in a short amount of
time. We are an interesting group of experience
and youth on the coaching staff this year, and
appreciate the patience of parents as coaches
and athletes learn the ropes of competing in our
highly competitive region.
TRAVEL TALK
We have had to travel more in the past two
seasons than at any other time in Club history.
Phoenix, Colorado, Hawaii, and Bend have shown
up on our travel itinerary’s for reasons of
national exposure, and necessity, as the Regions
extends itself to find available facilities.
The EMERALD CITY CLASSIC
Four teams will be competing in the Emerald City
Classic in the Seattle/Bellevue area on the
weekend of May 19, 20 as we have for years.
Cowlitz has been a charter member of the Emerald
City tournament since its inception some seven
years ago, and will continue its commitment to
the tournament. It is run by the Washington
Volleyball Academy (formerly Seattle Juniors).
See their website link through our web page.
The "PUSH TO DAVIS"
You will note that we are going light in May to
give kids a chance to finish up their schooling,
wrap up athletic competitions for their school
teams, and get a break from the gym. We will
push for final preparation for Davis in June,
host our own pre-festival tournaments, and
finish the 2001 season in Davis during late
June.
The Davis tournament is now in its 18th season.
We will be taking three teams to this year’s
activities (18 Asics, 16 Black, and 14 Black).
All teams will be staying in air conditioned
comfort, (16 & 18's at U C Sacramento, and
the 14's at U C Davis), and enjoying the
guaranteed sunshine of Northern California. We
have been treated very well by Festival
tournament organizers to ensure our continued
participation after last year’s Sacramento
hotel fiasco. Most of the playing sites are now
air conditioned, and at the request of coaches
the opening ceremonies are now an afternoon
affair. This is a "must see"
tournament with some 10,000 athletes
participating.
SCHOLARSHIP SIGNINGS
The Cowlitz Volleyball Club is pleased to
announce the signing of two senior athletes to
letters of intent to continue playing volleyball
in college:
Melissa Rowe - a 5'10" middle blocker from
Mark Morris is a six year member of the Cowlitz
Volleyball Club. Melissa has committed to
Concordia in Portland, Oregon. Concordia is
coached by Joe Houck who also coaches Portland
Volleyball Club Black team as well. Coach Houck
has been very interested in Melissa since her
stellar performance in the Fiesta Classic in
January.
Abby Pond - a 5'3" setter/defensive
specialist from Vernonia High School who has
played as the ASICS Libero this past season.
Abby has signed a letter of intent to play at
Clackamas Community College next season for
Cathy Woods. The Clackamas team has been one of
the top NWAAC teams over the past ten years.
Abby has had an outstanding six year career as a
defensive specialist for the Club.
Raven Northrup - a 6'0" middle blocker out
of Kelso has signed a letter of intent to
continue her career at Lower Columbia College.
Raven is a four year Cowlitz player, and will be
playing for Jocelyn Price, and Bill Tuggle, who
along with their coaching assignments at LCC,
co-coach our 16 Black team.
Congratulations to all five of our seniors who
have signed in the past two months, and will
join the large alumni contingent that have
played collegiately after graduating from the
Cowlitz program.
Turning in Gear
All athletes are required to turn in all gear at
the completion of their final competition for
the Club for the year. This includes bags, all
uniforms (except shirt won at competitions),
warm-ups, etc. Athletes are reminded to bring a
change of clothes on the last day of
competition. The coaches will accept the
"dirty gear", and get it washed. The
alternatives always result in someone losing
something, and having to pay incredible
replacement costs, for a single item, properly
marked. One athlete lost a bag with warm-ups in
it last year - replacements costs were almost
$500.00. Please turn in at the final competition
site.
WEBSITES
Our web page under the direction of Rick
Woodruff has been a fantastic addition to our
Club. It is a great communication tool between
our Club, and interested patrons. Rick continues
to update daily, and for those that are
interested in following teams during the
Festival, and maybe even the Emerald City
classic, there will be daily updates. Other web
pages are available through our site, and
information on camps are now entered.
COWLITZ ASICS
This team has had a tremendous season so far,
playing in more National and Regional
tournaments than any other team in recent Club
history. We have managed to win 70% of our
competitions in a season where we have played
the most aggressive schedule in Club history.
With the advent of such an informative web page,
I have written about our team at the conclusion
of each tournament this season, so an update
here will cover non-tournament results.
All six seniors on this year’s Asics team were
players in our Club last year, and five of them
played on the Asics team last year. They have
been fantastic student athletes and role models,
and are to be congratulated for their stellar
careers. Great job Melissa, Lauren, Abby,
Jessica, Tiffany, and Katie.
All five juniors on the team have come up
through the ranks of our Club program, and have
made major contributions to our team’s success
all season. They form the nucleus of what should
be an outstanding team next season. Keep
watching these young student athletes who have
assisted the team GPA to an Asics record 3.5!!!!
Great job Amanda, Katie Stephanie, Brooke, and
Tara.
The parents on this team have been without
question the best in my 21 year involvement as
Club director. They have been supportive of the
program by encouraging all of the girls on the
team, not just their own daughter. They have
unselfishly given of their time, and money to
travel and support not only the team, but the
philosophy of the Club. It is no wonder such a
high percentage of our athletes continue on to
college, and graduate.
16's Black
The Cowlitz 16's Black team is a remarkable
team. With a very slow start to the season and
some turmoil along the way, these athletes have
overcome some huge obstacles and continue to
climb as we move towards regionals.
We started our climb with a good finish in
Yakima. We won the second Power Division with
some great play in the end. Of course, this was
only the beginning. As coaches, we were
beginning to see the improvement we had been
looking for all season and it came at a very
opportune time. With a long drive home, it
seemed much shorter with some success under our
belts. Our passing and hitting have became much
more consistent this tournament which allowed
for some great games. Brenda Riggs played every
minute of every match and has proven that she
can pass the ball. We count on her a lot to take
care of our serve receive.
After Yakima, we headed for the land of
sunshine, Honolulu, Hawaii!! What a great
experience that was for all of us in sooo many
ways. We, of course, had fun in the sun and the
volleyball was good too! But, we have to admit,
volleyball just didn’t seem as important as
the beach, the surfers, the snorkeling, the
whale watching from a 38-foot yacht and the need
for a tan. However, even though we started for
slow, we finished on a strong note, placing
third. We did get a "first" on this
trip, in that on the first day of competition,
we played in a gym that had no lines on the
floor. We definitely had to work on our
"visualization" skills that day. It
was very frustrating at times, but we managed.
For more detailed information about this trip,
see the article written on the Cowlitz web page.
We then headed for Power League....the Bronze
Division. We had something to prove to the other
teams, but mostly to ourselves, and that is that
we didn’t belong there. We finished the day
winning the division without losing a game! Our
next goal was to win the Silver Division and we
did it! This was quite an accomplishment...to
jump that many places up in one month was a real
stretch, but we had our minds made up and came
out on the top, after two play-off games. Heidi
Yohe and Courtney Fritsch held us together at
the beginning of the day, while Breanna Jenkins
and Emily Popp did it for us in the afternoon.
It just goes to show you that this is truly a
"team" game and a team effort. Julie
Henderson continues to locate the ball to our
hitters and our quick attack is definitely more
aggressive than it was earlier in the year with
the improved and inspired play of Ashley
Flahaven and Breanne Cochran.. Our Libero,
Merete Rice, is doing a great job on the passing
part of the game. Her ability to read the hitter
is getting better and in turn, so is her
defensive pass.
We have overcome many hurdles put before us this
past year, and we’re not done yet. As long as
we continue in the direction of improving our
level of play every time we step on the court,
we will find success.
Bill and jaws would again like to thank all the
wonderful parental support this year. You have
all been great and your positive support,
especially in times of strife, have really
helped all of us get through some adversity.
Thanks for all you do for us and more
importantly, for your daughters.
To the players, we can’t say enough about how
proud we are of you and what you have
accomplished so far this year. We will continue
to strive for excellence as we continue our
journey to Regionals and beyond, and we are
looking forward to a great end of the season.
You have proven that you know what being a
"team" player is all about and it is
evident in everything you do on and off the
court. Thanks for being such special people and
being part of the memories we have built
together.
16's Blue
Well this has been quite a year for our team. We
have made our presence known in the Power
tournaments, ended the year with a fourth place
finish going into Regionals. Everyone was so
happy to see that the "Blue" team was
excelling at the level. All the credit goes to
the hard work of these girls. They gelled as a
team so well, I couldn’t ask for a better
bunch of girls. Every time they went on that
court they gave it their all, playing as if they
were giants in their five foot nothing bodies.
They have never let another team intimidate
them. We have proven that it is teamwork that
makes you the best. The team as a whole is the
reason for all the tournament wins and the
fourth place finish in the Power League. What a
great experience this has been for us coaches.
As a coach, teaching these girls has been such a
joy to me. Even though I have a long drive to
get to practice and such, it is all worth it.
Seeing these girls improving each practice and
finally seeing something go together after you
have said it a 1,000 times...there is nothing
better than not having to say it again because
they finally got it.
I would like to thank the team and their
parents. The parents of this team have been
nothing but supportive for these girls and us as
coaches - even if I was breaking my clipboard.
This has just been a great season, one that I
believe none of the people involved will soon
forget.
16's Red
We had a great time this coaching the Cowlitz
16's Red team, and learned a lot. Our season
went fairly successful, with the highlight being
the tournament in Yakima. We won a shirt and
finished 13th out of forty-four teams. The girls
really showed at what level they were capable of
playing. We were proud of how the girls played
in the Power League this year. We remained
consistent in the Contender Division finishing
in either fifth or sixth place at each of those
tournaments. We were impressed by the way the
girls came together and often times played at a
level that we don’t think they felt they were
capable of playing at. The individual
improvement the girls have shown in each of
their games is something that they should be
proud of. Many of the girls had to play out of
position at the last tournaments, as we were
short on numbers. We are very proud of the
attitudes and work ethic that these girls have
shown. We would like to thanks the parents for
their support this year, and for their patience
as well. We are very appreciative. What a good
time we had coaching these girls. Thank you 16's
Red for making it fun, and for being cool. We
are glad that this was the group of girls we had
the privilege of coaching in our first year.
Thanks so much!!!
14's Black
This has been a great season so far for the 14's
Black. I am in awe of the athletic things that
these 14's are capable of doing and that they
continue to improve has got to be a problem for
the rest of the regions. Our offense was in
place at the beginning of the season, but we are
now trying to implement a quicker attack. Our
back court defense is still the talk of
tournaments that we go to and our blocking is
now more of a factor as well.
Now to brag a little....The Athlete’s Corner
14's Black was the #1 seeded team in the Region
Power League after winning the Gold Division in
the February tournament. Also, the first weekend
in March we went through the NW Jr. Jamboree in
Yakima with only two game losses in nine matches
and defeated Nike NW Jr. Air Elite in the final.
We did stumble a little bit in our March Power
League, but I guess all teams go through a bit
of a slump some time during the season. We were
able to pick up the pace a bit at our April
Power League and finished third. We will be
seeded in the top four for our Regional at the
end of April.
Other than the one grim day in March, I have
truly enjoyed this year’s experience with this
14's Black team. They have responded very well
to me and my system of playing the game of
volleyball. I also have to thank Rick Woodruff
(THE Web Master) for the good work that he did
with these players last year, that solid
foundation has allowed these players to have
success doing a lot of the things that I have
asked of them this year. I have also enjoyed
getting to know and work with Eric Van Zanten
this season. He has been a lot of help. Thanks
to the parents as well. You have been great to
be around and you are very supportive of your
daughter’s efforts.
14's Red
I have always believed that the measure of true
growth is the constant movement upwards. It is
not erratic. If what I believe is true, we are
making "true growth" as a team. Yakima
was one of the elevating points in our life as a
team.
In Yakima we were seeded 11th in the Challenge
Division and ended up fourth. We were undefeated
in both pool play episodes and then entered the
Championship bracket where we met some very
strong teams, and our match.
Not long after that we entered the Power League
in the Diamond Division, seeded second in pool.
We met the seed and had to face Nike from the
other pool. We whomped them. Then we had to face
Douglas Co. who had beaten us in pool play. In
one of the finest matches I have ever seen (and
there have been a few) we won. The young ladies
played with such tenacity and purpose. That
victory got us shirts and a number 7 seed at the
next Power League in the Bronze Division.
Our third tournament in March took us to The
Hoop in Vancouver. We were seeded 1st in pool
and won it, ending up 2nd in the championship
bracket. We beat our Club’s Purple team who
had played well that day. We then had to face
our nemesis, 14-Blue. As it has been in the
past, we played well at first then gave up the
farm by missing serves and not diving for the
ball. We lost, bummer, but got third overall.
This month, we had our final Power League in
Longview. When I found out that one of our top
kill producers had been injured, I just shook my
head and thought, "Now there are 8 of
us". I talked to the team about each being
a piece of a very small puzzle and that all of
the pieces needed to fit well to make it work. I
would like to think that wonderful piece of
wisdom was the reason for our outcome, but I
really know that it came from the hearts of
these lovely ladies. We were at the bottom of
the pool and ended up getting second in our
pool. We lost to Nike, but played well. We then
beat Sudden Impact and Locos with authority. Up
came Douglas Co. We lost that close one and then
lost to Vancouver in three which were also very
close.
In reviewing our stats, the ladies have moved up
in serving percentage and collective team kills.
Passing is still that illusive part that I hope
is next to make the move upwards. God knows we
work our tail off on that.
Am I proud of these ladies? Without a doubt!
They listen more now and apply the instruction
that is given to them. They do want to get
better and this letter is evidence of that. Each
of these kids mean a great deal to me and to the
other coaches and I think that they know that.
The last match we will have together is
Regionals. I don’t want this to end. Who knows
what they are capable of achieving. Sometimes I
forget that they are seventh graders. Don’t
tell them they aren’t supposed to be doing
this well. We are the best batch of seventh
graders in the Northwest. We have proven that to
everyone.
To the parents, you are superb! You have helped
and supported us throughout this season far and
above what most parents do. Thank you, thank
you, thank you.
As the season winds down I find myself want to
say a few words about the team.
Progress started at our first practice and has
not stopped since. Each and every girl has
worked very hard to improve themselves and
perfect their particular skills. They are now
showing the thought processes and skill levels
needed to play the game.
Besides all of this, these ladies are a joy to
be with. I have fond memories of our travels and
tournaments. A word to the parents, you are
awesome. It makes the job of coaching your
daughters so much easier with support like
yours. Thank you!
Finally, I know that all the girls will return
next year to continue with your Club careers. I
know that I will hear many good things about
each and everyone one of you.
14's Purple
"WOW!" We have come a long ways since
the start of the season. Each girl has grown so
much in their all around ability and their
individual confidence. We have had some
excellent battles and exciting matches with some
very strong finishes. The ladies are hard
workers and have shown progress with each match.
Our best weapon against other teams is our power
house serving! They are consistent and tough and
consistently tough! Each girl can pick up the
ball and serve an awesome serve, game point or
not! We have turned around some games and
battled for some wins with scrappy defense and
tough serves. Mikah Clancy will hit the floor
for anything and Amanda Harris takes care of
those overfeeds at the net. Our goal is to
finish strong at Regionals and go out with a
win.
12's Black
I can’t believe this season is over. I have to
say I am truly bummed that we have only one
tournament left. The team is really playing some
good volleyball.
Our last Power league tournament we took first
in the Silver Division coming from behind all
day long. We did not fall victims to any
"bump bump" teams. These young
volleyball players fought hard playing their
game, passing, setting and hitting - refusing to
let those teams get away with any slop ball. It
was an intense and a very long day. 15 hours! I
counted from the time I got up until I got home.
I giggled because as tired as I was and as tired
as the girls were I knew it was all worth it. It
was so funny in our huddle at the end of the
last match. I heard phrases like "winning
feels so good" and "Oh my gosh, I love
how this feels". For me winning was just
the cherry on top. The best part was seeing
these kids putting all the work we’ve done in
practice to use on the court to their advantage.
It was great!!!
I have had the best time with this group. They
are funny, goofy, and giggling all the time, yet
they work hard at what they do. It sure added a
new vibe with a couple of fifth graders on the
team. I’m very glad that we expanded our
twelve’s division.
I’d like to give a HUGE thanks to all the
parents for their support and patience
throughout this season. You made my job easier
this year and I thank you so much for that. Most
of all I thank you for allowing your daughters
to play Cowlitz volleyball this season. Thanks
as well to my team mother who helped keep me
organized and picked up my RED BULLS when I was
desperately in need. A huge thanks to my
assistant coach Brandi Hanson. She really helped
me see other views of this game and with this
age group specifically. I am forever grateful
for her advice and support.
Last, but not least, thanks to Sarah Charette,
Amanda Trochim, Elizabeth Spears, Nichole
DeSantis, Brianne Culbertson, Janelle Fruetchy,
Chelsie Barnes, Ashlee Hanson, Talia Hamer, and
Brittany Carey. You all were so much fun and all
became better volleyball players. I had a great
time. Thank you!
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