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NEWSLETTER - MARCH 2001 |
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Cowlitz Volleyball
Newsletter
March 2001
Volume 10 -- Issue 3
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FROM
THE DIRECTOR'S DESK
Surviving January and February for Cowlitz is a
monumental task, even with the reduced number of
tournaments we were able to run due to the
nature of the calendar. This is not to suggest
that we were not rewarded. As the month of March
moves on, we have hosted three days of Power
Tournaments for the region, providing a minimal
travel day for several of our teams.
The region has struggles, as we have, with
obtaining commitments for sites to host
tournaments. This has benefited us in a round
about way, but our struggles continue with Lower
Columbia College. They have agreed to maintain
their fee structure for us through the end of
this year for tournament play, but have insisted
that we pay for practice time.
Many thanks to parents as we have had to
scramble for practice time at different gyms. A
"BIG" thank you to the Longview School
District which has provided alternate sites for
us at Robert Gray, and R.A. Long. I cannot
imagine what our fee structure would have to be
without their assistance, and continued
commitment to our area's women athletes!
FINDING TOURNAMENTS
You may have noticed that there are very few
programs that host tournaments. Much of this has
to do with the hassle associated with securing
gym time at a reasonable fee. We are paying more
and more to attend other tournaments, and are
finding a need to travel to Seattle more often
as they run so many tournaments. Our region has
scheduled, and rescheduled sites, and even
dates, and we are now discovering Bend and
Eugene more often, as scheduling becomes more
difficult. Thanks for your understanding.
COMMITMENT LEADS TO SUCCESS IN LIFE / TEAM
Thank you to all who have assisted your
daughters with the concept of commitment, and to
seeing something through to completion ~ no
matter the struggle. My line of work allows me
to observe parents as they experience their
kid's struggle through the maturation process as
young adolescents. Young people will struggle,
get their feelings hurt, and often want to give
up. Waiting for their opportunities and then
taking advantage of them, is a noble learning
that will carry them in later life. Thank you
for sticking with your kids through the tears,
cheers and jeers which are so much a part of
being a competitive athlete in this very
competitive world.
FUNDRAISING OPPORTUNITY
Through the diligent efforts of Dwain Buck,
father of Cara who completed her career with
Cowlitz last July, we have had an additional
opportunity to raise funds to assist with Club
dues. A Club card will be available very soon.
See your coach for details.
SCHOLARSHIP SIGNINGS
Each month we will feature in this section
senior athletes who have signed to continue
playing volleyball in college on scholarships.
This month the spotlight is on two athletes:
Tiffany Thorkildson has signed with Western
Oregon University in Monmouth as an outside
hitter. Tiffany is the hardest hitter this Club
has ever had, and her thunderous spikes are
becoming rather noteworthy. Congratulations,
Tiffany. Lauren Anicker has decided to continue
her education at Western New Mexico University
where she will join former Cowlitz teammate Jeni
Sabo. Known for her contagious smile, blocking
skills and timely hitting, Lauren and Jeni will
challenge the record books at Western before
they leave with their degrees. Several other
seniors are closing in on their decisions. Look
for more next month.
PIZZA
FEED / AWARDS NIGHT
This annual event is scheduled for Wednesday,
May 2nd in the Monticello Cafeteria at 6:30 p.m.
All teams are required to attend, and are
encouraged to bring family, friends/boyfriends,
etc. Cost is $3.00 per person or $10.00 per
family for all you can eat pizza and pop. Please
mark your calendars and plan to stay for the
entire event.
TRAVEL TALK
Looks like Bend has become a destination for our
Club in April, either for Power League, or
Regionals. The venue is excellent. If you are in
to skiing it could work into a little side trip
to Mt. Bachelor as well. We have secured some
very reasonable housing through the Red Lion
North in Bend. See your coach for details.
THE INFORMATION IS ON THE WEB
Our Web site is so efficiently handled by Rick
Woodruff that I am not sure how much additional
information can be shared that is not already on
your daughter's team web page. Within 24 hours
of the tournament a story is posted on the Web,
if the coach has sent it to Rick. Be sure to
visit the site often.
COWLITZ
ASICS
Coach Bill Marshall
The team has participated in seven tournaments
in eight weekends to start the season with
remarkable results. I have been writing a
detailed story to cover each tournament and
posted it on the Web. For individual tournament
results please visit the site.
This group of eleven young women are superb
athletes, students, and great ambassadors for
their school, family, and the sport of
volleyball. It is very possible that we have
assembled the greatest collection of talent and
intelligence ever by our Club. They are
supported by a great group of parents, who have
supported our Club for many years.
For the first time since 1988, we have the size
to go along with the skills needed to compete
against the best in the country. We compete in
the third toughest region in the country, and
have had phenomenal success on the courts. The
team GPA for this group of student athletes is
an amazing 3.5. I am so proud to be associated
with this group of student athletes. It is the
kind of team that every coach dreams about.
There are no stars on this team, just a group of
highly committed athletes. Check them out before
it is too late.
COWLITZ
16'S BLACK
Coaches:
Jocelyn Price
Bill Tuggle
The Cowlitz 16's Black team is heading in the
right direction as we are developing our level
of consistency and improving our skills. We seem
to be having a lot more fun on the court, all of
which is a direct result of our improved play.
Each player seems to be getting to know their
role on the team and are stepping up to the
challenge that we have created for ourselves.
Breanna Jenkins and Heidi Yohe have become much
more powerful and consistent as our outside
hitters. Breanne Cochran, Ashley Flahaven and
Courtney Fritsch are getting much better at
connecting with our quick offense. Julie
Henderson is doing a fantastic job of delivering
the ball to our hitters. Emily Popp and Merete
Rice are continually getting better at providing
the defensive platform that is needed for
success on the court. And last, but not least,
is our steadiest player, Brenda Riggs. She plays
just about every minute of every game of every
match. She is our best passer and one of our
best servers. Serving has become a very
important part of our offense, as we continue to
rack up the aces.
We have a rough road of tournaments ahead of us
in traveling to Yakima, then Power League at
home followed by a much-awaited trip to
Honolulu. Somewhere in between all these
tournaments, we will spend a weekend of tree
netting! We are looking forward to the challenge
and the fun times that await us. Look for good
things from this team! We started off slow, but
we plan to finish strong and make a good run as
we go!
Bill and Jaws would again like to thank all the
parents and their positive support of us and our
team. We have had a rough start in more ways
than one and we really appreciate all your
support and we would like to thank you for
sharing your daughters with us. It has been fun
to get to know them and we are looking forward
to building those relationships even further.
Thanks for all you do and all the encouraging
words.
16'S
BLUE
Well, the 16's Blue has been playing
outstanding. We have been winning a lot. We
played quite well for the month of February. We
started out the month with Power League play,
with us having a play-off to see who was Gold
and we held the 7th spot and came out in 5th
place. We went up to Seattle for the ASICS
tournament, which had 48 teams, and we took the
Division 18 championship. Rounding out the month
we took the Longview Tournament for the second
time. So that gave our girls three T-Shirts this
year which they love. Our team was very
surprised that they are this good. I think now
that they are feeling that they really do
deserve to be at the top with the other big
names teams in the region. We definitely have to
work hard, but these girls work really hard to
win and deserve the accomplishments that they
keep making. They have now decided to stay on
top of their game and keep winning which makes
everyone happy. These girls have improved so
much. They are definitely not the same team that
we started with. I'm so proud of them.
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 region. 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 beginning to the be talk of the
tournaments that we go to and our blocking is
beginning to be a factor as well.
Now, to brag a little....The Athlete's Corner
14's Black is the #1 seeded team in the Region
Power League after winning the Gold Division in
the February tournament and we are looking to
hold that seed in this month's contest.
My thanks go out to the team and their parents
for a great start to this season. Also, thanks
to Eric for his help. He has a very good
knowledge of athletics and his insights on the
game and what we need to work on have been very
helpful.
14'S
BLUE
This team is one of highs and lows, but the good
thing is we are having fun while doing it! I
know sometimes we just don't have everything
working our way, but when I ask for a smile the
whole team responds. Kristina Driver is one of
those full energy kids. She always has a smile
and is always willing to try new things. Her
outside hitting skills are improving everyday.
Lisa Walker, my middle hitter, is showing her
power at every tourney. With her kills against
NIKE and blocks against Vancouver Lightening,
she is learning pretty fast. Ashley Grayson, my
other big middle hitter, plays all the way
around and had a little trouble passing at
times. The funny things was that she was
determined to get back into the game and kept
asking "What am I doing wrong!"
Needless to say she went back into the game and
had five perfect passes in a row!! Alesha
Elliott, Ashley's fearless sidekick, is doing an
amazing job in the right side position. She is
really attacking the ball and her setting is
really improving. Stephanie Erdman, my awesome
setter, is flying all over the court. She is
getting very aggressive and getting great sets!
Jump sets will come ~ I promise!! Once she sets
her mind to it she amazes me in her ability to
accomplish her goals. Danielle Young, the libero
of the bunch, asks constantly what she can do to
get better and what to do on the court. Her
aggressive attitude and willingness to learn has
brought her a long way and will take her many
places in her playing ability. RaeAnn
Williquette, my rightside player, is always
smiling. We just need to get her out of
squealing when I hit at her. She has a great
spirit of the game and in the past couple of
tourney's has really impressed me in her
passing. Megan Nichols is my powerhouse. When
she gets the ball out in front of her and
snaps...man..watch out!!! Her approach and
technique is wonderful and will take her places
in volleyball. Greta Moseson is my all-around
player. She is the perfect person to have on a
team because she can play every position. When
she learns to open her hand when she hits
"boy oh boy", she will be a very good
hitter. Once it all comes together she will be a
powerhouse! All in all this team is wonderful.
They crack me up with their corny jokes and
silly mishaps. Once you get all of them together
in a room you can't get them to stop laughing. I
hope that they are having fun because I sure am!
They are great kids and I hope each and every
one of them pursues volleyball in the future
because I can see they all have the drive to
win!!
14'S
RED
Every time that I am asked to write a bit of
information about our team, I see a series of
short movie-like clips pass before my eyes. The
good ones and the not so good ones. Right now I
am seeing more good ones than bad ones. For a
while there it was not too pleasant on
everyone's part. I am seeing more hustle on
everyone's part. I would like to see more
bruises on the body based on hustle and the
girls are willing to share. When they find
bruises do go away, and that you can dive and
not get bruises which is so much the better, we
as a team will get better.
I believe that everyone is learning that must
get their serves in if they are going to serve
the next time. Now that we are playing with nine
young ladies and everyone is playing it does not
leave the coaches with many opportunities to
make changes. Hopefully we are done with changes
and people can get used to their positions.
Our last Power League in Camas found us winning
all of our pool play matches against Locos,
Eastwind and Canby. Then we had to face Sudden
Impact Hurricane. We played with aggressiveness
and desire the first game and won 25-19. In the
second game we slipped a bit in our
serve-receive and they won 21-25. In the third
game we lost 9-15 due to a lack of
aggressiveness and desire on the majority of the
team's part. But, in the next match, knowing
that they would have to stay later and ref, they
blew off the Webfoots 15-7 and 15-11. The
Webfoots had played great all day and we got
their number. We are still in the Diamond
Division and seek to get to the Bronze Division.
I also want to thank the parents who feed me so
well when we get to these tournaments. These
young ladies can be phenomenal. When they start
hot out of the blocks no one can beat them. Let
a taste of doubt creep in and then the match is
that much harder for them. Oh, the talent is
there and each time we play we creep up the
ability ladder just a bit closer to where I know
that these young ladies can play. Yes, I am
proud of them. I look at where they were and
what they are doing now. Somehow we tend to
forget what they used to be like and must
realize what they have achieved. Keep your
fingers crossed and don't give up hope. There is
gold in their eyes.
14'S
PURPLE
We have come a long way since the beginning of
the season. With each tournament, we become
stronger as a collaborative unit. Currently our
strongest asset is our serving; many of our
girls are serving tough and consistent! Our
focus right now is to prepare ourselves to play
at the next level. We are practicing and playing
more competitively as well as aggressively. We
are fine-tuning our defense and looking forward
to the next Power League tournament to really
"strut our stuff". We have had to
recover from some tough losses lately. Any match
that we lose it is by small margins. Taking it
in stride, we are constantly building on each
"game" experience and using all of
them to our advantage; win or lose. We are
relentless in the pursuit of "better"
volleyball all the time, and we love it!
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