FROM THE DIRECTOR'S DESK
Welcome to the Cowlitz Volleyball Club. This is our
eleventh year at producing a newsletter in an effort to keep
athletes and parents informed of upcoming events, club
happenings, etc. As an informed educator once said,
"It seems that the mission of all teenagers is to keep
their parents in the dark about upcoming events, school,
etc." This newsletter is an effort to partially
eliminate the athletes from the loop, and create opportunities
for coaches and parents to communicate directly. In
addition, thanks to the stellar work of Coach Rick Woodruff, we
have an outstanding web page for you to reference about upcoming
events. Check it out at www.cowlitzvolleyball.com
- it is AWESOME!! The first practice of each month is
designated as parent night. Either before or after
practice (check with coaches), each coach will hold a
parent/athlete meeting, distribute the newsletter, and attempt
to over events of interest to parents. Hope to see you
there.
The season is off and running, and as you might have noticed, we
will get your daughter into competition ASAP, since the season
tends to fly by. Hundreds of hours have been logged
putting together the season for your daughter. Let us know
if there is anything we can do for you, and certainly let us
know if you are willing to volunteer your time to assist us with
fund raising, transportation, tournaments, concessions,
etc. We are an all volunteer organization, and any help is
greatly appreciated.
The region has a "Power Tournament" format which calls
for us to be involved in one Power Tournament a month.
Locations have been narrowed down to two or three spots and can
be viewed on the CEVA web-site www.columbiaempirevb.com.
This can also be reached through our web-site. It is certain
that we will be hosting Power Tournaments at some time during
the regional season. We have been given several dates for our
consideration. We will announce next month after we have secured
adequate gym space.
NEW RULES
Last year, the 12's and 14's were exempt from the new rules of
Rally score and unlimited substitutions. This year, all
teams will play under last year's rules with the following
exception: NO game can end on a missed serve (for 12's),
therefore when a team gets to 24, the game will revert to
regular scoring.
DRESS GUIDELINES
Each athlete is furnished with top quality uniforms, equipment
and accessories. A check with other clubs reveals that many
neighboring clubs ask their athletes to pay additional monies
for uniforms, etc. We have chosen not to do so and have worked
with ASICS, Subway, Pro-Image, and Bill Hatch Sporting Goods on
team sponsorships for our athletes. In view of this the
following are our expectations while your daughter is in a
Cowlitz uniform:
- Shirts
are to remain tucked in at all times
- No
tank top / sleeveless shirts will be worn
- No
"boxer type shorts" are to be worn
while in uniform
- Any
shorts worn by athletes will be worn at the
waist and will not be sagged!
- No
"devices" are to be used to fasten
sleeves or hold them up
- The
length of socks will be determined by the
coach and all athletes on the team will wear
the same length white socks
- As
dictated by USVBA and for safety reasons -
no jewelry at practice or matches
PICTURE
NIGHT
Our ninth annual picture night will be held on
Wednesday, January 16, 2002 in the cafeteria at
Monticello Middle School. Information on
packets, and photo times for teams were
distributed in late December. Bell Studios
from Rainier will once again be doing the photos
and the team booklets which he provides for
free, as a sponsorship to athletes, parents and
sponsors. The information is about our
Club, and its players. The first booklet
of its kind in the Pacific Northwest, we still
maintain our simple no gloss appearance where
athletes are not required to solicit ads,
etc. For those athletes that do solicit
sponsors, they will be recognized in the booklet
provided that the information is received prior
to the deadline.
CONTRACTS
All athletes, parents and coaches MUST complete the signing of
contracts before participation in tournaments. A
special thanks to all parents for their support
in helping their daughter live up to the
expectations of the contracts. We have
initiated a pay by mail system to centralize
payments. Coupons were included in the
team assignment letters. Please mail all
payments in a timely fashion.
TOURNAMENTS
| January
5 |
All
12's -- Longview |
| January
5 |
All
14's -- Longview |
| January
6 |
All
16's -- Longview |
| January
6 |
All
18's -- Longview |
| January
7 |
Coaches
Meeting / Referee's Clinic |
| January
12 |
All
18's Qualifier -- TBA |
| January
13 |
All
16's Qualifier -- TBA |
| January
13 |
14
Black / Blue -- Central Catholic |
| January
16 |
Picture
Night -- Monticello
Cafeteria |
| January
18, 19, 20, 21 |
ASICS
@ Fiesta Classic |
| January
23 |
All
12's Qualifier -- TBA |
| January
24 |
All
14's Qualifier -- TBA |
| January
27 |
All
18's -- Longview |
**NOTE ~ Season schedules will be out by the end
of January. Power Tournaments, Yakima Jamboree,
Longview Tournaments and Regional dates are
firm. Rose City Tournaments will involve at
least two teams per division indicated, and are
firm in that regard as well.
The Cowlitz Volleyball Club hosts more
tournaments than any other club in the
Northwest, with over 330 teams participating in
Longview tournaments last season. Our
ambitious approach to tournaments is done for
several reasons, the most obvious reason being
that it guarantees our teams entry into
tournaments, with minimum travel time for
athletes and parents. But also, it should
be mentioned that the influx of 330 teams into
our community is most beneficial to local
merchants, etc. in terms of dollars spent in our
community, and it is a plus for our very
supportive and knowledgeable volleyball
community. It should also be mentioned
that both the Longview School District and Lower
Columbia College are very supportive and helpful
in the use of their facilities for tournaments
and practices. Running the tournaments
also generates income for the Club which allows
us to provide the best possible program for our
athletes while keeping costs to a minimum.
TRAVEL TALK
One of the benefits of Club participation is the
opportunity to travel to different communities,
cities, and states in pursuit of volleyball
competition. This section of the newsletter each
month will update you on the latest travel
information as the events come up. Our major
trips include Fiesta Classic in January, Las
Vegas in February, the Yakima Jamboree trip in
March, the Colorado Crossroads, and the Davis
Festival Tournament in June along with Power and
area tournaments will keep us busy.
- Fiesta
Classic
Departs
January 18th, Portland 7:56a /
Arrive Phoenix 11:21a ~ Alaska Flight
710
Departs January 21st, Phoenix,
5:28p/ Arrive Portland 7:19p ~ Alaska Flight
711
Hotel Info: Quality Hotel and Resort /
Phoenix ~ 1-800-256-1237
- Las
Vegas
We will depart on Friday, February 15th
at 8:01 p.m. on Alaska Airlines, Flight 600
arriving in Las Vegas at 10:05 p.m. Flamingo
Hilton will be the headquarters for our
three day stay. Transfers to and from the
hotel are included. The return flight will
be on Monday, February 18th on
Alaska Airlines, Flight 605 at 10:40 p.m.
from Vegas arriving at Portland at 12:52
a.m.
- Yakima
Jamboree
Depart Friday, March 15th, for
Yakima, returning March 17th
Parents, coaches, and athletes will be
housed at the DoubleTree Inn, Yakima. We
have contracted for 100 rooms. This
tournament affords athletes two complete
days of competition where they are matched
up with teams of equal ability. It is a very
well run tournament, and a lot of fun for
family and athletes. Limited housing ~
complete coupon and get to your coach ASAP!
- Volleyball
Festival 2002
Will be held in late June. This marks the 18th
year of this national caliber tournament,
where each year 10,000 athletes and 600
teams compete over a seven day period. The
opening ceremonies are held at the Arco
arena in Sacramento to accommodate the
17,000 people expected each year. We have
had numerous top sixteen finishes in the
past. The trip will begin on June 20th
this year, and will involve hotel stays in
Redding, Santa Clara and Sacramento over an
eleven day period. All of the housing
contracts have been signed, and we are
looking forward with great anticipation to
the trip. More info later.
PRACTICE
PLANS
Practice
schedules for the Club are set up as follows;
12's
Black Tuesdays 7:00 Monticello
12's Blue Tuesday night 7:00 Monticello |
14's
Purple Tuesday night 7:00 Olympic
14's Red Tuesday night 7:00 Castle Rock Middle
School
14's Blue Wednesday night 6:00 Olympic
14's Black Wednesday night 8:00 Olympic
16's Red Wednesday night 6:00 LCC
16's Blue Wednesday night 8:00 LCC
16's Black Wednesday night 8:00 LCC
18's Blue Wednesday night 7:00 Monticello
18's Black Wednesday night 7:00 Monticello
Of course
there are always exceptions to the rule (we are
at the mercy of changing school basketball
schedules), here are the changes that have to be
made due to home games for the LCC basketball
teams. Due to home games on the following dates
practice sites will change as will times. Every
effort will be made to keep the same practice
night.
Thank
you for your patience.
Next
month you will hear from coaches, and get travel
updates. Check with our coaches if you have any
questions.
WEBMASTER
Rick Woodruff
is definitely the "Master of the Web".
The site is updated almost daily and is well
worth your time to check it out. Coaches will
rely more on the Web this year to communicate
information to you.
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