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FROM THE DIRECTOR'S DESK
As is customary in January, the Club runs a great many
tournaments. This serves to put some additional monies into our
account which we use to keep our fees the lowest of any major
Club on the West Coast, while reducing the amount of travel by
our teams and fans. We have hosted huge numbers in January, and
have benefited from our staff of volunteers who are so capable
of running efficient tournaments. The benefits come in the form
of being able to host CEVA Regional Power Tournaments. We have
been awarded one already and will host two others in the
coming months.
Our web site has now blossomed into a masterpiece under the
direction of Rick Woodruff. We will be putting more and more
useful information on the site, and coaches are beginning to use
it as their main communication source. There may come a time
where this newsletter will only be available online. Pictures,
directions, rosters, schedules - it's all on the Web, check it
out. Michael Steward, our original designer, has recently
returned from a tour of duty for the Navy, and has just flown to
San Diego for further training. His mother, Cindy, is my
faithful secretary, and works at home to produce this monthly
newsletter for you.
Mr. Kirc Roland, the new athletic director at Lower Columbia
College, along with assistance from other key folks at LCC, have
been instrumental in the Club being able to return to use LCC
for both practices and tournaments. As you might remember, LCC
was not available for practices last year. It is great to be
back. A major reason for our extremely low fees compared to
Clubs that compete in our region is the fact that our coaches do
not receive a stipend for their services, and our community has
supported us in many ways as LCC does.
We
should not take lightly the cooperation between
the Longview schools and LCC when it comes to
the Club being able to use their gyms for
practices and tournaments. I spoke with a
Portland Club director who pays an hourly fee to
use a gym. Thanks to Kirc Roland at LCC,
Debbie Morgan at Olympic, Scott Moultine at
Robert Gray, Molly Burger at Monticello, Jay
Opgrande at Cascade and Robert Blackman for
making the use of their facilities available to
us.
TREE NETTING
Through the generous cooperation of Weyerhaeuser, and the
coordination effort of Jim Oldis of J.L. & O Enterprises,
our athletes are provided fundraising opportunities. The
opportunity involves an early morning takeoff to a mountain area
where we will involve ourselves in either planting or covering
young seedlings. On the dates listed below, athletes can sign
up, bring friends along, and work in the outdoors to raise
money. The money from Weyco is based on acres covered. Jim
calculates the acreage, and divides it by the athletes
participating. When money is distributed, additional shares go
to those that bring extra helpers, etc. For this year's dates
(after February 8 or 9, and 22),
consult our website for March and April dates.
PAYMENT COUPONS
Enclosed in your athlete's team placement announcement are the
payment coupons. I hope you find them a convenient way to make
your payments. Kudos to Jocelyn Price who "volunteers"
to open the mail and manage the money. An enormous job as you
can imagine. The payments for all but two teams have been
divided into two payments with the second one due this week.
This front loading of the payments will keep us in the black
with those we do business with. Please communicate with Jocelyn,
Charlene or myself if payments are a concern immediately.
TRAVEL TALK
Our Club believes very strongly in the values, skills, and
lessons that can be learned by traveling and competing together.
To that end, we have extended ourselves to the maximum, serving
as a travel agency and working diligently to accommodate all
comers that wish to travel and support us. If you were to ask
around, I think you would find that attitude unique to our Club.
We work year round securing the best accommodations, and
locations for our kids.
LAS VEGAS DESERT CLASSIC
We are in the final "stages" for this annual trip. It
is an extremely competitive tournament with 322 teams entered at
last count. The kids will give it their best effort both on and
off the court. A team dinner on Sunday night is one of the
highlights of the season. All of the ladies dress up in their
"prom night best". Attending a Vegas style show
is also on the agenda. It is three and a half days of
continual play and fun.
TEMPE
Both
the Mizuno and ASICS teams will travel to Tempe
in March to attend the inaugural Sonoran Desert
Classic. This tournament replaces the
Fiesta Classic in January due to new NCAA
scouting guidelines. The 16's tournament
will be two days with the 18's playing for
three.
YAKIMA JAMBOREE
Several months ago I signed a three year contract for 100 rooms
at the DoubleTree Inn in Yakima. Charlene Andrews and Kim Pierce
work very hard on this
project on your behalf. Tell them thanks when you see them. A
reminder that any parent that transports three or more athletes
(including daughter), will be reimbursed for their first nights
lodging at the Inn by the Club. The athletes will be housed with
their parent, other parents, or be asked to pay additionally for
"athlete only" rooms. Any help that you can give in
providing sleeping bag accommodations in your room for team
members would be appreciated. The only two people able to
address housing concerns with the Cowlitz block of rooms
directly with the DoubleTree will be Charlene Andrews, Kim
Pierce and Bill
Marshall. You are welcome to look for housing on your own, but
will not get the consideration of our special rate, etc. The Inn
has been instructed not to accept reservations through anyone
else from our group. The Inn situation is critical and we must
adhere to strict guidelines. We will fax no later than February
17th a completed rooming list. It will be your responsibility to
call the Inn after February 17th, and tell them your name and
leave your credit card number for billing to guarantee your room
past the 6:00 check-in time. If you do not call and guarantee
your room, you risk the chance of losing your room! Any parent
meeting the transportation requirement will be refunded by the
Club for the first night housing at a later day. That is the way
that the motels have asked us to handle it. Any changes in
rooming arrangements will be made by Charlene, Bill or Kim. It is
important that you make your contact for billing purposes. If
you snooze, you lose on this one.
VOLLEYBALL FESTIVAL ~ 2003
Twenty-one years and still going strong. We anxiously await our
yearly trek to the sunshine state. Improvements include having
the tournament headquartered at the Sacramento Convention Center
for use for 18 and under competition. (29 courts under one
roof), the 16 and under at the CAL Expo (25 courts under one
roof), and the 14's at the Davis Recreational Center in air
conditioned comfort!! We annually take as many teams or
combination of teams that are interested. We have taken six
teams most years. Coaches will be discussing the event with you
in order to make decisions about participation.
USING THE WEB
Our web site is awesome and extremely user friendly thanks to
the efforts of Rick Woodruff. There is a great deal of
information on there for parents as well as athletes. I
encourage you to familiarize yourself with our site, and consult
it often to stay informed and learn more about the wonderful
sport of volleyball.
COACHES
REPORTS
Since
coaches write about each tournament on their
team's website, we are no longer doing a monthly
report for the newsletter. Coaches are
providing great write-ups, and parents are
taking great pictures of the kids. Visit
your team web page for details.
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