First Weekend in San Diego

Well, we just got back from our first weekend of competition. It was a good time as many of our girls had never been to California before, yet it was a homecoming for several of us. One of the best things about this weekend was the parent support! Every match we played this weekend, we probably had as many or more people in the crowd than theopposing team did. I know that the coaches and the girls really appreciate the effort of all the parents that came.

Our match against Cincinnati was pretty solid. They came in as a team receiving votes for top 25. They finished ranked 44th last year and didn't lose any starters. We took a game off them and lost a couple of the other games by just a couple of points. Overall we were pleased with the performance our athletes put forward. They worked hard. We had moments of greatness in our first match of the season.

Our second match against San Diego State wasn't as pretty. We really struggled with some of the small details. SDSU played very well against us and made very few errors, so kudos to them. We definitely walked away from that match with many things that we need to work on.

The last match of the weekend was against CSU Northridge. They were definitely a solid team and they played hard against us. We ended up working through a lot of struggles to pull out a victory in that match. I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest during that last run of set 5. It was good to win that one though. Like Lyndsey said in her interview, that will be one that we look back at and draw strength from late in the season.

We have our home opener tonight against Air Force, and our home tournament this coming weekend. We will have four matches this weekend! Going to be pretty busy from now until then preparing.

The picture above is from Coronado Island looking across San Diego bay at down town. This is one of my favorite views anywhere.

First Week!

Holy Moly things are flying by! We are so busy that I hardly have time to sit down!

We just completed our first week of training. Our girls are doing great and we are all having a lot of fun. Many of the girls are pretty sore, but they are working through it. In another week, we will be ready to go.

We have done some really fun things since the last time I put a posting up... We have had a dinner for both the freshmen and sophomores classes. We also had a karaoke party. Of course I recorded it... I will be sure to put a short clip up soon, that is, as soon as I can find a few minutes!

Still moving into the new facility. We are almost settled, but our offices aren't quite totally put together yet. Soon.

Well, off to another practice.

It Has Begun!

Didn't we just finish our season? Just kidding... Our girls reported today. Today was set aside for several meetings, physical, tests, and paperwork. Plus, we have a fun dinner planned for tonight at a local park. Tomorrow, the real work begins.

This is going to be another great season. We lost four great seniors last year, but with our returning athletes and the addition of our new 2010's, we are just as physical and talented as we have ever been. We may take a few bumps early in the season, but look for us to finish very strong.

It is apparent from our first meeting this morning that our girls are ready for the season. We talked with them for about thirty minutes and they could hardly sit still. They are so excited! The coaches are excited to. We just had our first meeting to look over practice plans. It is always a little daunting trying to dial in the correct amount of technical instruction in contrast to team play, but that is why we are doing two-a-days! Lyndsey really has a great vision for the team. It is a great day to be a Bear!

Sorry it has been so long since this has been updated. Very busy summer. Plus, we just moved back into Butler-Hancock. I will be sure to take some great pictures to put up. I will also be sure to keep you all updated on our progress.

Go Bears!