Wow, so let me try to summarize the last couple weeks as best as I can. Everyone on our team basically got hurt. Scott, my Canadian roommate, broke his ankle. Maartin had a high ankle sprain, and I had a very low ankle sprain. Not to mention the 3 guys who practice very limited. So in the end some practices who only had 6 guys. But the nice part about it all was the fact that our last two games (before Christmas break) were Rescheduled! Players on the team were saying this was the first time in years they have rescheduled a game and they did it twice back to back. But I feeling God is working his magic. We went from being a game ahead of everyone, to being a game or two behind. So when we start making up the games we should make up a lot of points fast.
So my dad and Holly came to visit us and it was awesome having them here! We went and visited Paris, Brugge, Amsterdam, and of course my home city of Antwerpen. In the end I decided Brugge was by far the most amazing town. It is a clean cut old military fort, so it has rivers running through it and all the houses are tight knit and people are very nice there. Paris was only okay. I rate it a B/C. The buildings were amazing and Louvre was unbelievable, but it reminded me so much of Las Vegas. The Kings and Queens of France seemed to get into this power struggle of who can build the most amazing structure. And YEAH they are all amazing, but almost too much. And while all the buildings look nice in the middle of the city, as soon as you get out of the middle it becomes a sloppy town of mean people. I was happy to be there, but I was happy to leave. Amsterdam was a pleasant little town, but still no morality makes it a shady place. We got to see the coffee shops (Marijuana smoking places) and it was creepy. Got to see Amsterdam and got leave Amsterdam. Antwerpen is a city very close to me and it is one of my Favorites. It has that small city feel to it sometimes (meaning they don't get overboard with tourists) but they have all the pretty buildings that all the other town have. Their Cathedral is amazing. We got to have Christmas Eve Service there and it was spectacular. No words can explain the beauty of these Churches. The service was lights out boring because it Catholic (literally lights out, I did fall asleep). I was wondering what they would think if we let the Well (a christian church in Fresno known for great services) hold a service in there.... haha. It might appease a.... should I say, living audience.
Christmas was good. It was great having family around to spend it with. It also was the only day we didn't travel and so it was nice just to relax.
New years is going to be a blast. We are going to the beach and spending it with Manu and his Parents. I hope we get to play some Macciavelli, my new favorite game on the planet! When I come back to Fresno I am going to bring so many good games back.... all in Dutch! haha.
So finally, my grandparents got Jessica and I the Love Dare book. And at first I was really reserved about getting it because the movie looked soooo rough. But after opening it and starting it, I think it is going to be really fun to do. I have noticed I yearn for self improvement and I certainly want to not only survive my marriage, but also thrive in my marriage. So I am excited to see what the book can do....
Well, Tootles!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Gearing up
The game this weekend was canceled due to a players mom for the other team dying. And our whole team sends our sympathy to Eisden.
But, this was a super important game. This is what could have propelled us up to the Big boys and we could have secured our spot in 5th place or above. So it was slightly frustrating that it was canceled because we were gearing up to go on a run before the 3 weeks we have off for Christmas break.
As for this week, I have Jessica's birthday Tuesday. Then my dad gets here Thursday and things get all crazy after that. I will keep everyone posted.
But, this was a super important game. This is what could have propelled us up to the Big boys and we could have secured our spot in 5th place or above. So it was slightly frustrating that it was canceled because we were gearing up to go on a run before the 3 weeks we have off for Christmas break.
As for this week, I have Jessica's birthday Tuesday. Then my dad gets here Thursday and things get all crazy after that. I will keep everyone posted.
Monday, December 7, 2009
The Bar
So last night, I worked the Bar in our volleyball club. I was covering for a team mate, I thought, "what the heck, it can't be that hard." Well come to find out, I have never poured a beer before, off the tap or outta a bottle. So yeah, I didn't know the tricks. So after a little bit of an embarrassing night I can now, somewhat, pour a beer.
And I have to make a correction, it wasn't Santa Clause this last weekend, it was St. Nikolaus.
Jessicas Birthday in 8 days. What will I do?
And I have to make a correction, it wasn't Santa Clause this last weekend, it was St. Nikolaus.
Jessicas Birthday in 8 days. What will I do?
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Huge win
So this weekend Santa Clause brought us a present. We beat, what was, the current #1 team in Division 2 volleyball in Belgium. We won 25-18, 25-23, 25-21. It was just a very good win.
On a sad note, Scott the Canadian rolled his ankle in practice and is on crutches for the next week and probably will be out until after Christmas. Maartin, one of our middles, also rolled his ankle and might be about the same ETA. So we have had to bring up players from the second team for practices, and we also got to see our long lost buddie Koen this week for a practice. It reminded us of the good old days..... back in September.
So this is Santa Clause weekend in Belgium. He comes and gives all the little kids presents. And I guess Christmas is similar, but it is for family and giving each other gifts (not santa giving gifts). So here is what Santa Clause is like in Belgium: He rides a white horse, he comes from Spain, and his helpers are called Black Pete's. They are called that because they are covered in black from going down all the Chimneys. They have to go down the Chimneys so they can open the front door for Santa. You ask, "do they leave Santa cookies and Milk?" The answer is no. They leave Santa Beer and sugar cubes.
Well, have a fun Santa Clause weekend!
On a sad note, Scott the Canadian rolled his ankle in practice and is on crutches for the next week and probably will be out until after Christmas. Maartin, one of our middles, also rolled his ankle and might be about the same ETA. So we have had to bring up players from the second team for practices, and we also got to see our long lost buddie Koen this week for a practice. It reminded us of the good old days..... back in September.
So this is Santa Clause weekend in Belgium. He comes and gives all the little kids presents. And I guess Christmas is similar, but it is for family and giving each other gifts (not santa giving gifts). So here is what Santa Clause is like in Belgium: He rides a white horse, he comes from Spain, and his helpers are called Black Pete's. They are called that because they are covered in black from going down all the Chimneys. They have to go down the Chimneys so they can open the front door for Santa. You ask, "do they leave Santa cookies and Milk?" The answer is no. They leave Santa Beer and sugar cubes.
Well, have a fun Santa Clause weekend!
Monday, November 30, 2009
Update.... can i get an update!
Wow, I thought I hadn't updated this thing in a month, but it has only been one week. Well we will start with, our team has decided to start practicing more. 2 more times a month. I love the idea, but I may be the only person on the team who likes it haha. I need to get better and this would certainly help. My playing hasn't been bad, but something has been lacking. It almost has nothing to do with my physical level, but my mental state. I think my confidence level hasn't quite been what it was like at Fresno State. And that is for obvious reasons: new environment, new team and new skills to learn. So the goal for me is to trust God and always do my best and know that is enough.
Our team has been interesting. We keep trying to find our identity on an individual and team level. Who is going to be our star, who is going to be the leader, who will make the difference.... so on and so forth. The only thing that has been consistent up to this point is our inconsistency. I am hoping that can all change with some more practices. We are coming to that make or break point in the season and I hope we will prevail.
Our team has been interesting. We keep trying to find our identity on an individual and team level. Who is going to be our star, who is going to be the leader, who will make the difference.... so on and so forth. The only thing that has been consistent up to this point is our inconsistency. I am hoping that can all change with some more practices. We are coming to that make or break point in the season and I hope we will prevail.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Wow, what a week
So this last week was a great week. I think everyday was filled with something, and I was quite busy. The only bad part is that I am having a hard time remembering everything that happened. But I will try my best...
First, I am now coaching a 11-12s girls team for my club Zoersel. Hermin, our club president, convinced me that they all speak English and it will be super easy(said it was something like coaching once a week). So I get to the gym to watch the first practice. Not one girl there speaks English. I guess they don't start the English classes till next year. By the end of everything, I am coaching both practices a week, games on weekends and cup games. Yeah, I don't speak dutch and they don't speak English. Oh it makes for interesting days. But I love it. It has been so much fun and the group of girls are a blast. They are always smiling and laughing, it tends to lighten my mood also. But yeah..... Surprise!
Over the weekend I got to go see a game between Lennik and Rosselaar. Lennik is currently the 3rd best team in Belgium and Rosselaar is currently 1st. Man these teams were good. Lennik's setter is the Netherlands national team setter and Rosselaar's setter is the Belgium national team setter. Every player jumped outta the gym and smashed on volleyballs! Lennik ended up winning in a thriller 5 game set. There is a good chance that one of those teams will continue on to play in the European Cup (the best pro teams in the world). To say the least I got the idea.
Our game the next day was a good one, besides the fact we lost in five, again. We dropped the first two sets somehow, because we weren't really playing bad, but we just didn't take the set in our own hands. Sets 3 and 4 people stepped up and made a difference. But set five we went back to our usual self. Errors and more errors. So in the end we beat ourselves. We are hoping that practice will begin to change all this, but sometimes.... its just a mentality. You have to want to win and be willing to do anything to get it. We don't have that fire. And we need it.
So that is the big stories, I forgot to mention that we got VIP tickets for the Lennik game. Kim dog hooked us up. So we got a meal which was fish soup (salmon, halibut, and shrimp), Feasent, and a chocolate desert. Yeah, I tried some new things....
P.S. the Bickey Burgers are bomb here, and my wife makes the best meatloaf sandwiches.
Have a good Thanksgiving cause they don't have that here. Ta ta for now!
First, I am now coaching a 11-12s girls team for my club Zoersel. Hermin, our club president, convinced me that they all speak English and it will be super easy(said it was something like coaching once a week). So I get to the gym to watch the first practice. Not one girl there speaks English. I guess they don't start the English classes till next year. By the end of everything, I am coaching both practices a week, games on weekends and cup games. Yeah, I don't speak dutch and they don't speak English. Oh it makes for interesting days. But I love it. It has been so much fun and the group of girls are a blast. They are always smiling and laughing, it tends to lighten my mood also. But yeah..... Surprise!
Over the weekend I got to go see a game between Lennik and Rosselaar. Lennik is currently the 3rd best team in Belgium and Rosselaar is currently 1st. Man these teams were good. Lennik's setter is the Netherlands national team setter and Rosselaar's setter is the Belgium national team setter. Every player jumped outta the gym and smashed on volleyballs! Lennik ended up winning in a thriller 5 game set. There is a good chance that one of those teams will continue on to play in the European Cup (the best pro teams in the world). To say the least I got the idea.
Our game the next day was a good one, besides the fact we lost in five, again. We dropped the first two sets somehow, because we weren't really playing bad, but we just didn't take the set in our own hands. Sets 3 and 4 people stepped up and made a difference. But set five we went back to our usual self. Errors and more errors. So in the end we beat ourselves. We are hoping that practice will begin to change all this, but sometimes.... its just a mentality. You have to want to win and be willing to do anything to get it. We don't have that fire. And we need it.
So that is the big stories, I forgot to mention that we got VIP tickets for the Lennik game. Kim dog hooked us up. So we got a meal which was fish soup (salmon, halibut, and shrimp), Feasent, and a chocolate desert. Yeah, I tried some new things....
P.S. the Bickey Burgers are bomb here, and my wife makes the best meatloaf sandwiches.
Have a good Thanksgiving cause they don't have that here. Ta ta for now!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Ice Cream
We won this last weekend. It was a good win. We are hoping to win this weekend and string together some wins in the next couple weeks. I didn't play well. My passing was off and that directly affected my hitting. But I am planning on training hard and coming back and playing good this weekend. A couple good wins and we should move up the rankings a couple places.
So one noticeably different surprise I have had here is the Belgium ice cream! It is so good, and it is sooo cheap. I got a liter and a half of ice cream for a euro fifty. And it was really good ice cream. Yeah, nice pleasant surprise.
Long week this week. I think everyday will have something in it, so it is very exciting.
P.S. I started coaching a 11-12s team here. It is amazing how well their ball control is. The girls are practically setting perfect balls. And they all can pass, set and even hit the ball. It is purely amazing. The coaching here is so different. I am having to change the way I am used to coaching because the styles are so different. For example, they play for fun, not to win. So all the drills are games that just allow them to get used to playing with the ball. Usually in the states we put them in lines and have them do repeated passing, setting, hitting, or serving. It seems here that they do that, but always mixed into a game environment. Very interesting.
So one noticeably different surprise I have had here is the Belgium ice cream! It is so good, and it is sooo cheap. I got a liter and a half of ice cream for a euro fifty. And it was really good ice cream. Yeah, nice pleasant surprise.
Long week this week. I think everyday will have something in it, so it is very exciting.
P.S. I started coaching a 11-12s team here. It is amazing how well their ball control is. The girls are practically setting perfect balls. And they all can pass, set and even hit the ball. It is purely amazing. The coaching here is so different. I am having to change the way I am used to coaching because the styles are so different. For example, they play for fun, not to win. So all the drills are games that just allow them to get used to playing with the ball. Usually in the states we put them in lines and have them do repeated passing, setting, hitting, or serving. It seems here that they do that, but always mixed into a game environment. Very interesting.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Another
Another tough weekend. We lost this weekend 3-2. It was a close tough match. We started the match going down 2 sets fast, and then got momentum and had a strong 2 sets after that. So we go into the 5th set and lose pretty close. The score didn't say it all. If we have of gotten even one point where they did instead we could have easily come out on top. But, kinda the same problem as before, I'm not sure how much we want it. I mean you gotta want to win! Do everything you can to get that win. But, it seems we continue to have to learn.....
On the brighter note I played probably the best I have yet here. I was starting to feel comfortable and starting to play with the emotions that I put on the back burner for Fresno state the last couple years. Fresno State needed me to be consistent, not make a lot of errors and keep the emotions under control. Zoersel needs me to unleash. So I am having to recalibrate the way I play. Fresno State I was a role player more than a star. I hoping for Zoersel I can step up my game a be more of a go-to-guy for them. But, we shall see. I don't want to step on peoples toes. We have good players who are also looking for roles and I don't want to inhibit them from being able to completely come out of their shell. It will be an interesting next couple weeks.....
Life here seems to get slower and slower. Today I almost pulled out my hair. Even the video games weren't interesting. That was surprising. So we have had some progress though on doing more things than play volleyball 4 times a week. I dropped in on a guy off the teams work and learned a little bit of physical therapy. I am hoping I can do that throughout the next 7 months and hopefully learn some good stuff. Me and Jessica are also looking into coaching a team for Zoersel. It would be 10-12 year olds and should be about 12-20 of them. Exciting! Hopefully more stuff will continue to come our way.....
So we have this crazy guy that lives down the street from us. We can totally see his house, and he is always outside doing these crazy mannerisms with his hands and is going crazy! We have tried to figure out what is wrong with him but our only conclusion is drugs. We have narrowed it down to Meth or Cocaine. The other day he was trying to make snow angels in the middle of the street. P.S. Snow isn't supposed to arrive until a month from now. We were going to let him know, but he probably only speaks Dutch. Oh well, we will just continue to be window watchers.....
I love my wife!
On the brighter note I played probably the best I have yet here. I was starting to feel comfortable and starting to play with the emotions that I put on the back burner for Fresno state the last couple years. Fresno State needed me to be consistent, not make a lot of errors and keep the emotions under control. Zoersel needs me to unleash. So I am having to recalibrate the way I play. Fresno State I was a role player more than a star. I hoping for Zoersel I can step up my game a be more of a go-to-guy for them. But, we shall see. I don't want to step on peoples toes. We have good players who are also looking for roles and I don't want to inhibit them from being able to completely come out of their shell. It will be an interesting next couple weeks.....
Life here seems to get slower and slower. Today I almost pulled out my hair. Even the video games weren't interesting. That was surprising. So we have had some progress though on doing more things than play volleyball 4 times a week. I dropped in on a guy off the teams work and learned a little bit of physical therapy. I am hoping I can do that throughout the next 7 months and hopefully learn some good stuff. Me and Jessica are also looking into coaching a team for Zoersel. It would be 10-12 year olds and should be about 12-20 of them. Exciting! Hopefully more stuff will continue to come our way.....
So we have this crazy guy that lives down the street from us. We can totally see his house, and he is always outside doing these crazy mannerisms with his hands and is going crazy! We have tried to figure out what is wrong with him but our only conclusion is drugs. We have narrowed it down to Meth or Cocaine. The other day he was trying to make snow angels in the middle of the street. P.S. Snow isn't supposed to arrive until a month from now. We were going to let him know, but he probably only speaks Dutch. Oh well, we will just continue to be window watchers.....
I love my wife!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Bye Week!
This week was a fun week! We didn't have a game this weekend so it felt like the week was more open. So starting with practices, they were pretty light and fun. Tuesday ran a little bit, practiced some defense, and played some games. Wednesday we played 2 on 2 the whole practice, it was amazing. The only down side was I lost every game. I totally thought me and my partner could have done well and for some reason we just didn't. Oh well, I think we will have many more opportunities to win next time. And Friday we practiced some defense and then played a 5 v 5 game where my team just got crushed. Fun week of practices....
Thursday was a team party day. Everyone from the first men's and woman's teams does to a city called Leuven. The city is a purely a college city. In the place where we were was old market in Leuven. It was a lot of fun. We went to 3 different bars throughout the night. We didn't get back into bed until 530 am. A couple guys on our team were struggling by morning. One guy threw up everywhere and didn't stop throwing up until 6:00 pm the next day. Another player on our team called in "sick", yeah he was hungover. But all in all it was a really fun night. Me and Jessica didn't drink very much. We had this really good beer that has Cherry in it. It completely masks the terrible task of beer. I can actually finish a glass of one of those..... But don't ask for two.
Friday I hung out all day with Manu and it was a perfect day in my book. We went to the Bakery in the morning, played Gears of War 2: The Hoard all afternoon, ate pizza, played ping pong, and played a really fun card game called Sabatour. I got killed in Ping Pong, but I look forward to rematches. Manu is a good player. Sabatour was a super fun game. I can't even explain how fun it is. So in the United States we basically have three popular board games: Monopoloy, Risk and Settlers of Catan. Over here they have a whole company devoted to board games. Supposedly Catan is an old game here and they have way better ones. I am really excited to learn them and bring them back home. The company is called 999 Games. And it is purely a dutch company.
So this leads to this weekend and it has been super relaxed. It has been really nice just to be able to relax with Jessica. We finished 24 season 3 yesterday and we are hoping to rent seasons 1 and 2 later this week. And today went to the bakery, got some amazing sugar bread. Sugar bread is white bread and they infuse into the middle of it a perfect amount of sugar. It tastes so good you don't have to put anything on it... And the rest of the plans are to relax today and get ready cause it is going to pour some rain tonight!
Have a good week!
Thursday was a team party day. Everyone from the first men's and woman's teams does to a city called Leuven. The city is a purely a college city. In the place where we were was old market in Leuven. It was a lot of fun. We went to 3 different bars throughout the night. We didn't get back into bed until 530 am. A couple guys on our team were struggling by morning. One guy threw up everywhere and didn't stop throwing up until 6:00 pm the next day. Another player on our team called in "sick", yeah he was hungover. But all in all it was a really fun night. Me and Jessica didn't drink very much. We had this really good beer that has Cherry in it. It completely masks the terrible task of beer. I can actually finish a glass of one of those..... But don't ask for two.
Friday I hung out all day with Manu and it was a perfect day in my book. We went to the Bakery in the morning, played Gears of War 2: The Hoard all afternoon, ate pizza, played ping pong, and played a really fun card game called Sabatour. I got killed in Ping Pong, but I look forward to rematches. Manu is a good player. Sabatour was a super fun game. I can't even explain how fun it is. So in the United States we basically have three popular board games: Monopoloy, Risk and Settlers of Catan. Over here they have a whole company devoted to board games. Supposedly Catan is an old game here and they have way better ones. I am really excited to learn them and bring them back home. The company is called 999 Games. And it is purely a dutch company.
So this leads to this weekend and it has been super relaxed. It has been really nice just to be able to relax with Jessica. We finished 24 season 3 yesterday and we are hoping to rent seasons 1 and 2 later this week. And today went to the bakery, got some amazing sugar bread. Sugar bread is white bread and they infuse into the middle of it a perfect amount of sugar. It tastes so good you don't have to put anything on it... And the rest of the plans are to relax today and get ready cause it is going to pour some rain tonight!
Have a good week!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Wins and Trips
So we got another win this weekend. It was not like the last win though. The team we played was in round of 32 for the Antwerpen Cup. So basically everybody in Antwerpens providence plays in this cup. So the team we played was 4 divisions lower than us. And rules are here, for every division lower a team is, they get 2 points every set (up to 6 points). So yeah, the team started every set with 6-0 lead over us. Yeah it wasn't easy. And then, lets say they get 2 points, its 8-0 at first timeout. Yeah kinda hard to comeback on. But in the end we fought through it and got the W. But.... I can't tell you how tough of a match it was. They weren't better than us, but with home field advantage and a lead, it was tough. On the brighter side, we get to do it all over again in a couple weeks for round of 16. haha. The team will probably be a lower division than us. This weekend we are off from games. Looks like we will have to go do something.....
We went and visited Brugge yesterday and it was amazing. A very cool little town. Supposedly it is one of the top places to see in Europe. They had two large churches, one was a cathedral and the other could have been too. We got to go in one and it was amazing the things inside. It reminds me of the anthropology class I took and didn't think I would ever get to see the stuff I was learning. It is the one or two times I wish I paid attention in class Ha ha.
So I am starting to miss the small things back home. Nothing else has hit me besides the small things. Like thanksgiving with family, poker nights, and the Toyota truck. It has been really weird. Oh, I am also missing watching sports.
So sometimes I think, what would the world be like without the world wide web. And sometimes I think I would be amazing. Besides not being able to email, the world wide web is a piece of Junk. Who ever invented it needs to be taken out back and shot for his negative output on society. How many people get lost in this world of facebook, myspace or anything else like that. How many viruses are out there because people just like to hurt other people because they hate their lives so much. How many people are seeking for the attention they never got from the loved ones around them. And how many of those loved ones never actually loved because all their focus was on the internet. Gosh I think technology is society's last step towards self destruction.
I once heard a theory, the longer people live on this earth, the greater a rift we create between us and God.
We went and visited Brugge yesterday and it was amazing. A very cool little town. Supposedly it is one of the top places to see in Europe. They had two large churches, one was a cathedral and the other could have been too. We got to go in one and it was amazing the things inside. It reminds me of the anthropology class I took and didn't think I would ever get to see the stuff I was learning. It is the one or two times I wish I paid attention in class Ha ha.
So I am starting to miss the small things back home. Nothing else has hit me besides the small things. Like thanksgiving with family, poker nights, and the Toyota truck. It has been really weird. Oh, I am also missing watching sports.
So sometimes I think, what would the world be like without the world wide web. And sometimes I think I would be amazing. Besides not being able to email, the world wide web is a piece of Junk. Who ever invented it needs to be taken out back and shot for his negative output on society. How many people get lost in this world of facebook, myspace or anything else like that. How many viruses are out there because people just like to hurt other people because they hate their lives so much. How many people are seeking for the attention they never got from the loved ones around them. And how many of those loved ones never actually loved because all their focus was on the internet. Gosh I think technology is society's last step towards self destruction.
I once heard a theory, the longer people live on this earth, the greater a rift we create between us and God.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Good Win
So this is exciting! We got a win tonight. It is a different feeling than what I have been getting for the last couple weeks...
The team we played probably won't end up very high in our league. They were all a little small, but played good defense. The win is good for us to hopefully get our feet back under us and be able to start winning more. We shall see. I played a pretty good game. Jessica thought I did really good, but I felt like it was average to what I could do. I am slowly getting accustomed to the style of play and I'm starting to make a difference on our team. One thing noticeably different about our team was the roles teammates developed. Before we would have some people playing very well, and others playing very poorly to pull the rest of the team down. Tonight everyone was playing a level game. Minimizing errors, helping teammates and being positive. I felt that it really made a difference. I am hoping it will continue onto the next game and the next and so on....
So games here are different. First of all, we have a pub connected to our court that we play on so people watch the game and drink. And also the crowds are intense. There is a guy with a drum banging away and all cheering in unison. Its crazy. But it makes it a lot of fun because when we win, we do lots of cheering and singing songs in the showers. And then we go up to the pub and hangout with sponsors and the people. Its a lot of fun.
Jessica has been able to come to all the games and it has been so amazing to have her around. She comes to the practices and watches. I really appreciate her.
Tootles!
The team we played probably won't end up very high in our league. They were all a little small, but played good defense. The win is good for us to hopefully get our feet back under us and be able to start winning more. We shall see. I played a pretty good game. Jessica thought I did really good, but I felt like it was average to what I could do. I am slowly getting accustomed to the style of play and I'm starting to make a difference on our team. One thing noticeably different about our team was the roles teammates developed. Before we would have some people playing very well, and others playing very poorly to pull the rest of the team down. Tonight everyone was playing a level game. Minimizing errors, helping teammates and being positive. I felt that it really made a difference. I am hoping it will continue onto the next game and the next and so on....
So games here are different. First of all, we have a pub connected to our court that we play on so people watch the game and drink. And also the crowds are intense. There is a guy with a drum banging away and all cheering in unison. Its crazy. But it makes it a lot of fun because when we win, we do lots of cheering and singing songs in the showers. And then we go up to the pub and hangout with sponsors and the people. Its a lot of fun.
Jessica has been able to come to all the games and it has been so amazing to have her around. She comes to the practices and watches. I really appreciate her.
Tootles!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Bad losses, and Reflection
It sometimes is hard to give updates. My brain goes dead and I can't incorporate enough words together to make a good post. But here goes nothing!
So Sunday we had a game and it was probably our most up and down game yet. First two sets we were playing great. Set 1 we lost barely because of simple mistakes. We cleaned up the simple mistakes in game 2 and were unstoppable. Game 3 we started well, but at the 8-5 break we were up and then we were down at the 16-15 break. Yeah and it went down hill after that. We seem to get in these funks where we just don't make it easy on ourselves. We make a lot of simple errors, don't put together good swings and miss serves. So we lose game 3 and get smashed in game 4. We are so close to getting the ball rolling, but we just fall short. I am hoping that one good strong win will get this funk outta the system and we will go on a strong roll.
Life in Belgium has completely gotten to the slowest it can be. We sleep in, go for walks, visit the bakery's and play cards all day. Then we have practice during the week and the games on weekends. It is such an awesome life to live. But, I sometimes feel like we are wasting our time. I could be working making good money, going to school or at least reading personal building books. But all in all this is time I will never get to have again. A nice time to relax and take it all in. I will call it early retirement :)
This has been a good opportunity for me and God. I have gotten to read my bible every day and feed on the Omniscience of God. So I guess it isn't a whole waste of time.....
So Sunday we had a game and it was probably our most up and down game yet. First two sets we were playing great. Set 1 we lost barely because of simple mistakes. We cleaned up the simple mistakes in game 2 and were unstoppable. Game 3 we started well, but at the 8-5 break we were up and then we were down at the 16-15 break. Yeah and it went down hill after that. We seem to get in these funks where we just don't make it easy on ourselves. We make a lot of simple errors, don't put together good swings and miss serves. So we lose game 3 and get smashed in game 4. We are so close to getting the ball rolling, but we just fall short. I am hoping that one good strong win will get this funk outta the system and we will go on a strong roll.
Life in Belgium has completely gotten to the slowest it can be. We sleep in, go for walks, visit the bakery's and play cards all day. Then we have practice during the week and the games on weekends. It is such an awesome life to live. But, I sometimes feel like we are wasting our time. I could be working making good money, going to school or at least reading personal building books. But all in all this is time I will never get to have again. A nice time to relax and take it all in. I will call it early retirement :)
This has been a good opportunity for me and God. I have gotten to read my bible every day and feed on the Omniscience of God. So I guess it isn't a whole waste of time.....
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Life update
So we finally got internet to the apartment so I will be able to update more and regularly.
We lost this last weekend. It was a tough one to take in. I felt like I was ready to go and play and we just got killed. 3-0. Surprisingly the team is supposed to be really good, but I though they were one of the easiest opponents we have faced yet. We just didn't bring our game. I think we have hit the point where we need to stop talking about how to play volleyball and just play. Nike has it right, "Just do it!" So this weekend we play away on Sunday and we have to go on a long drive to the other side of Belgium. (so we've been told). The drive is 1 hour 15 minutes. Wish us luck!
So life in Vorsselar has been good. We are in the center of town and have wonderful views. The bakery is next door, the store is a minute walk away and there are 4 pubs within a baseball throw away from us. Life can't get better. The weather here has changed. It is now in the 15C (60F) range for temperature. We are hoping it will warm back up, but that is probably a big fat negatory.
In basically our backyard( a short walk) we have a soccer field, a track, mini golf, and beach volleyball courts. And just behind that is a Castle that I want to buy. Life is Good!
We lost this last weekend. It was a tough one to take in. I felt like I was ready to go and play and we just got killed. 3-0. Surprisingly the team is supposed to be really good, but I though they were one of the easiest opponents we have faced yet. We just didn't bring our game. I think we have hit the point where we need to stop talking about how to play volleyball and just play. Nike has it right, "Just do it!" So this weekend we play away on Sunday and we have to go on a long drive to the other side of Belgium. (so we've been told). The drive is 1 hour 15 minutes. Wish us luck!
So life in Vorsselar has been good. We are in the center of town and have wonderful views. The bakery is next door, the store is a minute walk away and there are 4 pubs within a baseball throw away from us. Life can't get better. The weather here has changed. It is now in the 15C (60F) range for temperature. We are hoping it will warm back up, but that is probably a big fat negatory.
In basically our backyard( a short walk) we have a soccer field, a track, mini golf, and beach volleyball courts. And just behind that is a Castle that I want to buy. Life is Good!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Oh La La
We got a win! We won yesterday in 5 with the final game's score being 15-13. It was a very eventful game. I guess we should have won in 3, but we always get close and then don't pull out the win. After this tough match I am hoping that we have learned to figure out how to win. Sometimes its a concept people are foreign to. When the game gets tough they don't know what to do because they don't know how to win. I have encountered this situation several times in the past. I am hoping that we get it out of our system and get used to this whole winning thing.
The cool thing about our team is we have a lot of versatility. If someone is having an off game we have plenty of players who can sub in and do a good job. But the hard part is, it would just be easier for the starter to play well (ha ha).
I have been playing okay. I haven't hit my strides yet, but I'm not playing bad. Surprisingly, I'm not passing well. That always used to be a strong point in my game and it has gone bad. So that is pretty frustrating. I know I can better, I'm just not. But, I know it will turn around.
So the eventful game. The game started with them giving us this Cactus drink in a glass bottle with 20% alcohol. Yeah that was their gift to us. Back in the states gifts were socks, wristbands, or raisins. Not here, its alcohol! So yeah game started great! Then about midway through the match the other team started yelling through the net. Things got heated. They blocked me on one play and their middle was standing there screaming at me. Yeah I was always told what goes around comes around.
(Major event entrance)
So its the 5th set, about midway through. I go up and smash this ball line. One of my hardest hits. I pegged this guy in the face. I just saw it out of the corner of my eye and so I turned and started cheering because I never hit people in the face. My whole team was cheering too. It was exciting. Then, Scott yells, "everyone shut up!" I look back and see this guy on his back holding his face with half his team around him and the other half yelling at us through the net. As it turns out, the guy ended up having a bloody nose and a black eye. I remember looking at the bench and seeing this poor guy with a bag of ice on his face and he had the blank stare of person who just had a concussion. Yeah, things got real heated after that.
One fight almost broke out, more smack talking than should be legal, several yellow cards almost handed out (1 actually was, but it was at the beginning of the match) and a lot of unhappy people.
And so, the game ended with us being down 12-13, we just sided out and needed this point badly. After several diving plays, amazing saves and clutch blocks/kills we scored 3 points and won.
All in a days work.
The cool thing about our team is we have a lot of versatility. If someone is having an off game we have plenty of players who can sub in and do a good job. But the hard part is, it would just be easier for the starter to play well (ha ha).
I have been playing okay. I haven't hit my strides yet, but I'm not playing bad. Surprisingly, I'm not passing well. That always used to be a strong point in my game and it has gone bad. So that is pretty frustrating. I know I can better, I'm just not. But, I know it will turn around.
So the eventful game. The game started with them giving us this Cactus drink in a glass bottle with 20% alcohol. Yeah that was their gift to us. Back in the states gifts were socks, wristbands, or raisins. Not here, its alcohol! So yeah game started great! Then about midway through the match the other team started yelling through the net. Things got heated. They blocked me on one play and their middle was standing there screaming at me. Yeah I was always told what goes around comes around.
(Major event entrance)
So its the 5th set, about midway through. I go up and smash this ball line. One of my hardest hits. I pegged this guy in the face. I just saw it out of the corner of my eye and so I turned and started cheering because I never hit people in the face. My whole team was cheering too. It was exciting. Then, Scott yells, "everyone shut up!" I look back and see this guy on his back holding his face with half his team around him and the other half yelling at us through the net. As it turns out, the guy ended up having a bloody nose and a black eye. I remember looking at the bench and seeing this poor guy with a bag of ice on his face and he had the blank stare of person who just had a concussion. Yeah, things got real heated after that.
One fight almost broke out, more smack talking than should be legal, several yellow cards almost handed out (1 actually was, but it was at the beginning of the match) and a lot of unhappy people.
And so, the game ended with us being down 12-13, we just sided out and needed this point badly. After several diving plays, amazing saves and clutch blocks/kills we scored 3 points and won.
All in a days work.
Monday, September 21, 2009
We lost
We lost this weekend 3-1 to Kapellem. We are out of the Belgium cup. Its frustrating. I played a pretty steady game. Just once again we aren't clicking very well. I have to go, so hopefully I can update more later. Have a good week!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
10 Things that are Hardest Getting Used to in Belgium
Here are the 10 Hardest things to get used to in Belgium. Starting from 10 (least hard) going to 1 (hardest).
*One thing to not make the list is deep fryers. Everyone has a deep fryer in Belgium.
#10) Cup of coffee. Yeah, so apparently a cup of coffee over here is about the size of my thumb. When I asked for a "mocha" they brought out (with a regular black coffee) a little packet of cream, that on the outside said "Mocha". Yeah, it didn't quench my coffee fix. So I went to the Starbucks at Brussels airport :)
Number 9) No tax or tipping. When you order your food, and the price says 4.50, you pay exactly 4.50. No tax, no tipping. It gets me every time. I order, then I start adding up 8.25% tax, 15% gratuity; that 4.50 turns into 8.00 dollars in the states. Not here! 4.50=4.50
8) This one is simple, but yet annoying. So for all my life my birthday has been on 2/14/86. Not in Europe. In Europe my birthday is 14/2/1986. Yeah, when you do a lot of paperwork, you mess that up a lot!
7even) The music here has been an experience in itself. In America, most commonly played during the night life is pop/rap. Here, the most common thing is Techno. Hands down. I already have seen more turn tables on a stage than I ever had in the states. I always thought techno was one of Gabe's (my brother) sick dream at world domination.
6pack) Phone plans here are outta control. From what I understand, you buy a pre-paid card, and use money off of it when you call people. Simple. The price? .23 a minute, .13 per sms message. Yeah, screw that.
Phive) Water. It is fine here. You can drink it. It doesn't smell, like Hanford. But everyone drinks bottled water. So we are in a restaurant, we ask for nice cold tap water. We get bottled water and a bill of 1.50. It was more expensive than the beer! Ridiculous.
Four4) The time. So all the clocks are military time. So first of all, I had to remember what 15:26 pm was. But the hardest thing to get used to was at midnight the clocks read 00:00. Yeah, it freaks me out every (every) time. I keep thinking the world is ending! No joke.... That is going to be my nightmare when I am an insomniac at a mental institution during my 80s.
3#) The currency here is flat out killing me. The euro looks like monopoloy money, and feels like it too. It feels like plain paper. So I look at a fifty and think 'worthless'. Yeah doesn't bode well for me. Then to top it off, the Euro coins go up to 2. So in America the highest coin you commonly saw was a quarter (.25$). So if you had a pocketful of coins in the states it would pretty much mean you had nothing. In Europe, a pocketful of coins could mean a lot of money. Yeah, swallow that one down.
11) Can anyone in the states tell me the size of their refrigerator? Yeah, standard answer is standard. Yeah, standard for here is the size of Americas small office refrigerators. No joke, we are talking 1 m X .75m (3ft X 2ft). In America, refrigerators are easily twice the size of that.
ONE) Small portions, for same price. It very common to get smaller and costs just as much. But, the hard part is this doesn't apply for everything. So it is hard to differentiate between what is going to be HUGE and what is going to be super small by just observing the prices. For example the coffee. Little baby cup for 4 euro. Then yesterday we went and got a huge sandwich for 5 euro. (No tax or gratuity of course). So it makes for very interesting and sometimes frustrating outings.
So that completes the 10 things that are hardest getting used to in Belgium. Hope I got some laughs, hope you got some insight.
*One thing to not make the list is deep fryers. Everyone has a deep fryer in Belgium.
#10) Cup of coffee. Yeah, so apparently a cup of coffee over here is about the size of my thumb. When I asked for a "mocha" they brought out (with a regular black coffee) a little packet of cream, that on the outside said "Mocha". Yeah, it didn't quench my coffee fix. So I went to the Starbucks at Brussels airport :)
Number 9) No tax or tipping. When you order your food, and the price says 4.50, you pay exactly 4.50. No tax, no tipping. It gets me every time. I order, then I start adding up 8.25% tax, 15% gratuity; that 4.50 turns into 8.00 dollars in the states. Not here! 4.50=4.50
8) This one is simple, but yet annoying. So for all my life my birthday has been on 2/14/86. Not in Europe. In Europe my birthday is 14/2/1986. Yeah, when you do a lot of paperwork, you mess that up a lot!
7even) The music here has been an experience in itself. In America, most commonly played during the night life is pop/rap. Here, the most common thing is Techno. Hands down. I already have seen more turn tables on a stage than I ever had in the states. I always thought techno was one of Gabe's (my brother) sick dream at world domination.
6pack) Phone plans here are outta control. From what I understand, you buy a pre-paid card, and use money off of it when you call people. Simple. The price? .23 a minute, .13 per sms message. Yeah, screw that.
Phive) Water. It is fine here. You can drink it. It doesn't smell, like Hanford. But everyone drinks bottled water. So we are in a restaurant, we ask for nice cold tap water. We get bottled water and a bill of 1.50. It was more expensive than the beer! Ridiculous.
Four4) The time. So all the clocks are military time. So first of all, I had to remember what 15:26 pm was. But the hardest thing to get used to was at midnight the clocks read 00:00. Yeah, it freaks me out every (every) time. I keep thinking the world is ending! No joke.... That is going to be my nightmare when I am an insomniac at a mental institution during my 80s.
3#) The currency here is flat out killing me. The euro looks like monopoloy money, and feels like it too. It feels like plain paper. So I look at a fifty and think 'worthless'. Yeah doesn't bode well for me. Then to top it off, the Euro coins go up to 2. So in America the highest coin you commonly saw was a quarter (.25$). So if you had a pocketful of coins in the states it would pretty much mean you had nothing. In Europe, a pocketful of coins could mean a lot of money. Yeah, swallow that one down.
11) Can anyone in the states tell me the size of their refrigerator? Yeah, standard answer is standard. Yeah, standard for here is the size of Americas small office refrigerators. No joke, we are talking 1 m X .75m (3ft X 2ft). In America, refrigerators are easily twice the size of that.
ONE) Small portions, for same price. It very common to get smaller and costs just as much. But, the hard part is this doesn't apply for everything. So it is hard to differentiate between what is going to be HUGE and what is going to be super small by just observing the prices. For example the coffee. Little baby cup for 4 euro. Then yesterday we went and got a huge sandwich for 5 euro. (No tax or gratuity of course). So it makes for very interesting and sometimes frustrating outings.
So that completes the 10 things that are hardest getting used to in Belgium. Hope I got some laughs, hope you got some insight.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
First Game!
Our first game was tonight! Yeah, we got to play! But, it was a tough loss. Here's how the game went down....
Set one we were up 24-22 and gave up 4 straight points to lose the match. Yeah, we had it. Second set we were never really in it. Couple bad plays, several subs and we lost our rhythm. We almost came back, but they closed the second set out. We switched line ups, and won the next two sets. They were both close, but by the end of the sets we had some breathing room and won. So 5th set. Game to 15. We kept switching points back and forth, but we were losing ground here and there and they continued to side-out. I was serving and we had the game 9-11, we were down. And they ended up siding out, and going on a small run. It was 14-9 when we finally got the ball. That is a lot of ground to cover. The final score was 15-11. It was a tough one. But, we have over 20 more games of league play. We still got a lot of games ahead of us.
In terms of my performance I played pretty good. My guess is I hit in the ball park of .200 and went 15/35 with 7 hitting errors. I passed okay. I had a lot of good passes, but there was one or two where I could have done better for sure.
I felt like the whole team played good, we just didn't.... click. More play should allow us to work out the kinks and allow the clicking to begin. Highlights of the game: Maartin had several huge blocks (I mean Huge), Scott had a block that (1st) bounced off the ground and (2nd) pretty much gave the guy a bloody nose (after) bouncing off the ground. Miehele had a hit that landed somewhere by the 10ft line. Manu hit a ball about 150 kmph. I think if it had of hit someone we might of had to get an ambulance. And Yentl and Yence both had some sets that even faked me out; they were so good. So in the end we didn't get the W, but we did have some very positive moments and a lot of good material to learn from.
So here's a sneak peak at a future blog- "10 things that are hardest getting used to in Belgium"
Set one we were up 24-22 and gave up 4 straight points to lose the match. Yeah, we had it. Second set we were never really in it. Couple bad plays, several subs and we lost our rhythm. We almost came back, but they closed the second set out. We switched line ups, and won the next two sets. They were both close, but by the end of the sets we had some breathing room and won. So 5th set. Game to 15. We kept switching points back and forth, but we were losing ground here and there and they continued to side-out. I was serving and we had the game 9-11, we were down. And they ended up siding out, and going on a small run. It was 14-9 when we finally got the ball. That is a lot of ground to cover. The final score was 15-11. It was a tough one. But, we have over 20 more games of league play. We still got a lot of games ahead of us.
In terms of my performance I played pretty good. My guess is I hit in the ball park of .200 and went 15/35 with 7 hitting errors. I passed okay. I had a lot of good passes, but there was one or two where I could have done better for sure.
I felt like the whole team played good, we just didn't.... click. More play should allow us to work out the kinks and allow the clicking to begin. Highlights of the game: Maartin had several huge blocks (I mean Huge), Scott had a block that (1st) bounced off the ground and (2nd) pretty much gave the guy a bloody nose (after) bouncing off the ground. Miehele had a hit that landed somewhere by the 10ft line. Manu hit a ball about 150 kmph. I think if it had of hit someone we might of had to get an ambulance. And Yentl and Yence both had some sets that even faked me out; they were so good. So in the end we didn't get the W, but we did have some very positive moments and a lot of good material to learn from.
So here's a sneak peak at a future blog- "10 things that are hardest getting used to in Belgium"
Thursday, September 10, 2009
It All Hit Me
It all hit this week. I am a professional athlete. I am a VC Zoersel's asset. You ask, what led you to this epiphany? The fact that I was bouncing on a trampoline.
So here's the deal. I grew up with a trampoline. Fallen off more times than I can count doing flips, playing tramp basketball and volleyball. But never once have I been hurt. So I was bouncing on a trampoline two days ago. Just bringing back old times, doing the seat drops and the flips; stuff like that. Well my manager see's me and starts worrying instantly. He says be careful, it would be bad news if you got hurt. Right then I did a backflip. His eyes lit up and he suggested that I shouldn't do that again. HAHA!
Then, the nail went into the coffin. We were helping last night VC Zoersel setting up a party for Friday. Our manager gives us gloves and says "be careful! Don't want you guys to get any splinters." I just about lost it........
But in the end, I do understand where they are coming from. Just like how any player is important to the team, you don't want the player to go get hurt. Especially when you set high goals to do well in cup and league. The importance of all the players on the team is worth more than money.... and Injury.
So in conclusion-
I will eat my vegetables. Repeat, I will eat my vegetables. Repeat, I will eat my vegetables.
So here's the deal. I grew up with a trampoline. Fallen off more times than I can count doing flips, playing tramp basketball and volleyball. But never once have I been hurt. So I was bouncing on a trampoline two days ago. Just bringing back old times, doing the seat drops and the flips; stuff like that. Well my manager see's me and starts worrying instantly. He says be careful, it would be bad news if you got hurt. Right then I did a backflip. His eyes lit up and he suggested that I shouldn't do that again. HAHA!
Then, the nail went into the coffin. We were helping last night VC Zoersel setting up a party for Friday. Our manager gives us gloves and says "be careful! Don't want you guys to get any splinters." I just about lost it........
But in the end, I do understand where they are coming from. Just like how any player is important to the team, you don't want the player to go get hurt. Especially when you set high goals to do well in cup and league. The importance of all the players on the team is worth more than money.... and Injury.
So in conclusion-
I will eat my vegetables. Repeat, I will eat my vegetables. Repeat, I will eat my vegetables.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
First Win
We won the cup game this weekend 3-1. We lost the first barely on a late come back by the other team. Our team was playing good, but brought the heat as the match continued. We went on to win the second set decisively by 4 or 5 points. The third set was the game changer. We were down 24-21. Yentl (one of our better servers) served 3 good serves in a row. This is how the other teams stats went. Block, ace, hitting error. Game was tied 24-24. Yentl got us another point, then they sided out. We sided out right back. Then we got the last point and won the set. The other team was done. 4th set wasn't very close. Our team played very well at the end. So we move on to the 2nd round of cup play vs Kapellem. It should be a good match. Hopefully Scott and I get to play! Yeah, we didn't get to play this weekend cause paper work isn't done yet. And it sucks even more, its nothing we can control.
While riding the plane to Europe, I didn't know what to expect. I have never been to Europe and people tell me it is so much different! When I got here, I was a little surprised. It isn't all so much different. Sure the language is different, the houses are different, the food is different, but the people are the same. It was then that I realized that culture and beliefs are different from person to person, but the people are the same; no matter where you come from. They still feel, fear and struggle. You look into their eyes and see depth; not language barriers. Some people are mean, some are nice. Some are looking for friendship, some are looking for peace, some are looking for a fight. I found it amazing. Is this so much different that where I came from?
In a world where we are taught to see differences, God somehow showed me how to see similarities. I began to see people, not things.
While riding the plane to Europe, I didn't know what to expect. I have never been to Europe and people tell me it is so much different! When I got here, I was a little surprised. It isn't all so much different. Sure the language is different, the houses are different, the food is different, but the people are the same. It was then that I realized that culture and beliefs are different from person to person, but the people are the same; no matter where you come from. They still feel, fear and struggle. You look into their eyes and see depth; not language barriers. Some people are mean, some are nice. Some are looking for friendship, some are looking for peace, some are looking for a fight. I found it amazing. Is this so much different that where I came from?
In a world where we are taught to see differences, God somehow showed me how to see similarities. I began to see people, not things.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Eat Some Nutella
So I have had 4 or 5 people ask me to elaborate more on my blog. I like the ideas streaming in.
Personality of our team. In the big picture, our team is young, aggressive and passionate. Even though we have a 40 year old on our team, it is the younger guys who drive the team. In terms of leadership, there is no real standout leader. It's almost like everyone is.... waiting. Waiting for someone to take charge and lead by playing well, all the time. By establishing that type of player I feel the team will flourish. When you talk about our team, first thing that comes to mind is young talent. Everyone has so much potential, and they are all good players already. Not to mention a bag of Skittles of personality. Its Scott and My joke, everyone wants to party with our team.
Our coach, Jee, is very observant and has a good way with the players. He rarely yells at us, but he isn't afraid to call out our weakness or what we need to work on. I love it. It helps me to stay focused on the task at hand. He also, as i said, observes. He talks to us, asks us how we are feeling. Instead of saying "you sucked" he said to me, "is there anything wrong, are you okay?" Its nice having a coach like that.
So I will go through the players one by one-
Manu- First thing to be said, he is sitting in his class reading my blog right now while trying to obtain enough information to get his PHD. Yeah, PHD. So first thing about his character is his brains. Very smart. And has good street smarts too! On the court I see him do things that would have never occurred to me. He will hit a certain angle and it is such a smart hit it amazes me. Manu was the first player on the team to truely befriend us (but the team did follow quickly).
He also has the potential for leadership.
Yentl, the team mouth. My first encounter with Yentl was when we were first introduced to the team, Yentl was joking around with the group. But it wasn't in English. And he also had that mischievous smile that makes you think he is always trying to get your goat. My second encounter with Yentl was our first game, he was mouthing off to the other setter and after the game they almost got into a fight, on the court. Yeah, wake up call for me. He brings the fire to the team. Which is interesting coming from the setter.
Patrick, the 40 year old, married man, kids, and life. He always makes me laugh. We don't think he speaks English very well so anytime I say something around him he just looks at me and winks or smiles cause I don't think he knows what I'm saying. But he is good. I like having him on the court, and being a left handed middle, he certainly changes the flow of the game.
Jens (Yence not Jen's), is the other setter on the team. Our two setters make me laugh cause they are exact opposites in personality. Jens is quite and reserved where Yentl is loud and Joking. I certainly like them both, and they set good balls.
Martin is one of our young guys. He plays middle and is good. When he connects right, he hits the ball straight down. Its amazing to see. I have gotten to hang out with him a little bit and he keeps telling me this radio station "Studio Brussels" is the best.
Steven is our other middle, he is interesting. I have a hard time getting a read on him. Good blocker. Probably one of the better ones on the team. He is very funny. Drives his business car which is a Jaguar. Owns his own business with his family. They make lamp shades.
Michele (don't ask how to pronounce it) is one of our opposites. He was very shy at first. But after a couple of hang out times he has started to open up. He is a very good attacker. He is another one of the" smile and wink" type of personality.
Jan (Yan), our libero, is a pretty awesome guy. We played 3 hours of a shooter game Sunday on his big screen tv and with his play station 3. It is was awesome. I think me and him will be gamer buddies. The best way to explain Jan on the is Kylie, Scott's and my reaction after every game or practice, "gosh our Libero is so good!"
Kim, is our homeboy. We have spent more time with him off the court than anyone else. Kim is the player who retired last year from volleyball, had a huge article written about him in the paper. He is now playing on our team this year. He got the Brett Farve syndrome. But, I can't tell you how happy I am to have him play on the team. He is a great spark to the team when we are playing bad. He can come in at any moment and just pound volleyballs. And on several occasions he has come in and jump served 4 or 5 points for us. He is clutch. And one of the best personalities I have ever met. Now, we need to get him married!
Scott, my Canadian friend. Its funny with Scott, I think the team thinks that we were best friends before we got here in Belgium. The fact is, I had only met him two days before. As it turns out, we have a lot in common. I mean, he plays Cribbage and Rummy! I couldn't believe it. He eats super unhealthy, loves coke, little bit of a picky eater and doesn't hear a word you say the first time you say it so you get the answer, "eh?" But Scott was hard to read at first. He has a lot of personality. I have since come to enjoy his (and Kylie's) company. Kylie reminds me a lot of Jessica. Considering Kylie and Scott are going to be our roommates, I think we will have a lot of fun.
And last on the team is Me. And Me is Me.
So I hope this post quenches some of your thirst!
Personality of our team. In the big picture, our team is young, aggressive and passionate. Even though we have a 40 year old on our team, it is the younger guys who drive the team. In terms of leadership, there is no real standout leader. It's almost like everyone is.... waiting. Waiting for someone to take charge and lead by playing well, all the time. By establishing that type of player I feel the team will flourish. When you talk about our team, first thing that comes to mind is young talent. Everyone has so much potential, and they are all good players already. Not to mention a bag of Skittles of personality. Its Scott and My joke, everyone wants to party with our team.
Our coach, Jee, is very observant and has a good way with the players. He rarely yells at us, but he isn't afraid to call out our weakness or what we need to work on. I love it. It helps me to stay focused on the task at hand. He also, as i said, observes. He talks to us, asks us how we are feeling. Instead of saying "you sucked" he said to me, "is there anything wrong, are you okay?" Its nice having a coach like that.
So I will go through the players one by one-
Manu- First thing to be said, he is sitting in his class reading my blog right now while trying to obtain enough information to get his PHD. Yeah, PHD. So first thing about his character is his brains. Very smart. And has good street smarts too! On the court I see him do things that would have never occurred to me. He will hit a certain angle and it is such a smart hit it amazes me. Manu was the first player on the team to truely befriend us (but the team did follow quickly).
He also has the potential for leadership.
Yentl, the team mouth. My first encounter with Yentl was when we were first introduced to the team, Yentl was joking around with the group. But it wasn't in English. And he also had that mischievous smile that makes you think he is always trying to get your goat. My second encounter with Yentl was our first game, he was mouthing off to the other setter and after the game they almost got into a fight, on the court. Yeah, wake up call for me. He brings the fire to the team. Which is interesting coming from the setter.
Patrick, the 40 year old, married man, kids, and life. He always makes me laugh. We don't think he speaks English very well so anytime I say something around him he just looks at me and winks or smiles cause I don't think he knows what I'm saying. But he is good. I like having him on the court, and being a left handed middle, he certainly changes the flow of the game.
Jens (Yence not Jen's), is the other setter on the team. Our two setters make me laugh cause they are exact opposites in personality. Jens is quite and reserved where Yentl is loud and Joking. I certainly like them both, and they set good balls.
Martin is one of our young guys. He plays middle and is good. When he connects right, he hits the ball straight down. Its amazing to see. I have gotten to hang out with him a little bit and he keeps telling me this radio station "Studio Brussels" is the best.
Steven is our other middle, he is interesting. I have a hard time getting a read on him. Good blocker. Probably one of the better ones on the team. He is very funny. Drives his business car which is a Jaguar. Owns his own business with his family. They make lamp shades.
Michele (don't ask how to pronounce it) is one of our opposites. He was very shy at first. But after a couple of hang out times he has started to open up. He is a very good attacker. He is another one of the" smile and wink" type of personality.
Jan (Yan), our libero, is a pretty awesome guy. We played 3 hours of a shooter game Sunday on his big screen tv and with his play station 3. It is was awesome. I think me and him will be gamer buddies. The best way to explain Jan on the is Kylie, Scott's and my reaction after every game or practice, "gosh our Libero is so good!"
Kim, is our homeboy. We have spent more time with him off the court than anyone else. Kim is the player who retired last year from volleyball, had a huge article written about him in the paper. He is now playing on our team this year. He got the Brett Farve syndrome. But, I can't tell you how happy I am to have him play on the team. He is a great spark to the team when we are playing bad. He can come in at any moment and just pound volleyballs. And on several occasions he has come in and jump served 4 or 5 points for us. He is clutch. And one of the best personalities I have ever met. Now, we need to get him married!
Scott, my Canadian friend. Its funny with Scott, I think the team thinks that we were best friends before we got here in Belgium. The fact is, I had only met him two days before. As it turns out, we have a lot in common. I mean, he plays Cribbage and Rummy! I couldn't believe it. He eats super unhealthy, loves coke, little bit of a picky eater and doesn't hear a word you say the first time you say it so you get the answer, "eh?" But Scott was hard to read at first. He has a lot of personality. I have since come to enjoy his (and Kylie's) company. Kylie reminds me a lot of Jessica. Considering Kylie and Scott are going to be our roommates, I think we will have a lot of fun.
And last on the team is Me. And Me is Me.
So I hope this post quenches some of your thirst!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Ah good Practice, I can Update now
So practice last night was bomb. I finally feel like my body is bouncing back after a long unresponsive last week. We lifted, practiced and then did core workout. Alex better look out, I am going to get up to 100 kg. Oh wait, you statesmen don't know how much that is : )
So quick review on last weekend- We played a double header. We started really well and was pounding a very good team in our league. And then.... Things crumbled. We ended up losing 2-1. Then we played the next team and the goal was just to climb out of the pit of doom. I think we ended up winning 2-1. But, it was a poor showing of our team and of me Individually. But after a good practice, that seems to be in the past now.
So this weekend brings us to the first game of the Belgium cup. I hope we win!
Game tonight, it should be fun!
So quick review on last weekend- We played a double header. We started really well and was pounding a very good team in our league. And then.... Things crumbled. We ended up losing 2-1. Then we played the next team and the goal was just to climb out of the pit of doom. I think we ended up winning 2-1. But, it was a poor showing of our team and of me Individually. But after a good practice, that seems to be in the past now.
So this weekend brings us to the first game of the Belgium cup. I hope we win!
Game tonight, it should be fun!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Brussels
So we went to Brussels today to pick up Scott's girlfriend. What an amazing city. It was awesome seeing all the buildings and places. The crew was Me, Scott, Kim, Tine and Kierra. It was a really fun group to go with. I will post pictures on my facebook!
We split 2/2 with the team last night. They seemed to have a completely new team. I is turning out to look like an interesting year. Everyone knows who the good teams are, but no one knows who the best is. I'm Excited! Its for the taking!
We split 2/2 with the team last night. They seemed to have a completely new team. I is turning out to look like an interesting year. Everyone knows who the good teams are, but no one knows who the best is. I'm Excited! Its for the taking!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Slow
Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. It's been slow as up to right now. As you can see on my facebook, went to the beach Sunday. It was good, but really crowded and no waves to swim in. Thats my favorite part! I can see why the California beaches are so coveted. But it was still a lot of fun! So Coffee here only comes as Expresso. And no one knows what a latte, or a mocha, or a white chocolate mocha, iced, shaken not stirred is! Haha. I would like a good mixed Coffee though.
So the funniest thing of the week (to me) is the fact I am going to have to get a list of all the drugs I can't take because I am now a professional athlete. So of course, I can't take steroids. Darn! (j/k) But also on the list are random things like extra strength Tylenol. I can have regular Tylenol, but not extra strength. Weird. What happens if I take more than two regular Tylenol? would that be considered extra strength?
Tonight we play the team who won our league last year in an exhibition match. It should be fun!
So the funniest thing of the week (to me) is the fact I am going to have to get a list of all the drugs I can't take because I am now a professional athlete. So of course, I can't take steroids. Darn! (j/k) But also on the list are random things like extra strength Tylenol. I can have regular Tylenol, but not extra strength. Weird. What happens if I take more than two regular Tylenol? would that be considered extra strength?
Tonight we play the team who won our league last year in an exhibition match. It should be fun!
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Playing
So this year I will be playing Zoarsal in Belgium. My season starts basically now till May. It is super exciting. I couldn't have asked for more. The team is awesome, the coach is great, and the people are taking care of us. It should be a good experience.
We had a tourney today and it went okay. We went 2-2. We could have done better though. The team is just having to work out kinks of having two foreign players added to it. Things look good though. We play a lot the next week to get ready for season. I am excited to be playing this high caliber of volleyball. Everyone is good.
We had a tourney today and it went okay. We went 2-2. We could have done better though. The team is just having to work out kinks of having two foreign players added to it. Things look good though. We play a lot the next week to get ready for season. I am excited to be playing this high caliber of volleyball. Everyone is good.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
So Whats Happening?
So up till now I haven't explained very well everything that is going on. So I'll do it now. From what I have understood there are many divisions of volleyball. For Belgium I believe there are 4. The team that is working out the details on signing me (called Zoersel) is a division 2 team that sometimes plays the division 1 teams. All teams can compete for the Belgium cup, but it is very unlikely that we will win. If we do well, we will lose in the quarters to the team that will probably win it. After winning it that team will go on to play in the Euro Cup Champions league. That Belgium team usually does well in the Euro Cup which encompasses all of Europe's best teams.
So that is the divisions. The winners of divisions 2,3,4 and so on get to move up to the division higher. So the goal is to come in first. For us that means winning our league, and then playing a challenge match against the other 1st team from the other division 2 league.
Every team is broken down into three other categories based on how much money they have to play around with. You have professional, semi-professional and amateur. Professional clubs are usually Div 1 and pay a lot of money for their players. Amateur teams usually don't have a lot of money and so they don't pay their players a lot. Zoersel (the team looking at signing me) is an Amateur team. The difference in amount of money a team has is usually based on sponsorships or endorsements.
Currently Zoersel likes both Scott and Me and wants us both to play. We are working out things like transportation (they want to get us a car to use through the year), a room (which will probably be a house with common kitchen, bathroom and so on), and how much we'll be making. Both of us are looking into doing School and/or work while we are here. The team practices tues, wed, and friday. They play on Sunday nights. Season goes until the last week of April.
I hope this updates you enough. If you have any questions leave a comment and I'll answer.
Saturday we play in a tourney with the team.
Here's some cool reading material.
http://www.bringitusa.com/events/firesale_men_2009/index.php
So that is the divisions. The winners of divisions 2,3,4 and so on get to move up to the division higher. So the goal is to come in first. For us that means winning our league, and then playing a challenge match against the other 1st team from the other division 2 league.
Every team is broken down into three other categories based on how much money they have to play around with. You have professional, semi-professional and amateur. Professional clubs are usually Div 1 and pay a lot of money for their players. Amateur teams usually don't have a lot of money and so they don't pay their players a lot. Zoersel (the team looking at signing me) is an Amateur team. The difference in amount of money a team has is usually based on sponsorships or endorsements.
Currently Zoersel likes both Scott and Me and wants us both to play. We are working out things like transportation (they want to get us a car to use through the year), a room (which will probably be a house with common kitchen, bathroom and so on), and how much we'll be making. Both of us are looking into doing School and/or work while we are here. The team practices tues, wed, and friday. They play on Sunday nights. Season goes until the last week of April.
I hope this updates you enough. If you have any questions leave a comment and I'll answer.
Saturday we play in a tourney with the team.
Here's some cool reading material.
http://www.bringitusa.com/events/firesale_men_2009/index.php
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Quick
Game went great! I passed great, which is what they are looking for, but I didn't hit very well. The team we played was good. Very good. I have never seen a complete block every time. Crazy. But we are excited. I will give a better update tomorrow! Now, off to see the town with the team!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Big Day
So everyone must have done a grip of praying cause I played great today. We had two practices one from 9 am- 12 and then from 4-7. We scrimmaged and I did very well. So well, I had two coaches come up to me after morning practice and ask a lot of questions about me. It turns out they were from Belgium, are looking for a good all around outside and were interested in me. So we talked, and then I went to afternoon practice. Performed well and now I am sitting in one of the coaches houses in Belgium. So the deal is, there are two of us trying out for this team. They could take both of us, or take just one. We play in a game tomorrow night with the Belgium team to see how we work out. If things go good, I could be playing this season for Belgium.
I can't believe it.
I can't believe it.
Monday, August 17, 2009
First Practice
Wow. I am so sore. Best practice I have participated in, in a long time. There are a lot of very good players here. It will be very tough to be in the top 10 of all the players. I think I am going to give up on the wishing luck, and start asking for prayer.
So, give me prayer. I am going to need it.
So, give me prayer. I am going to need it.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Walk, Walk, Walk
So Sunday was a fun day.... when we were not walking. So I am with 3 guys I met (all Canadian) (By the way, they all heckled me because I only knew where Canada was, not their Providences). Well back to story, we want to play some volleyball and so go to this nearby sports club to ask where some nets are. The lady looks at us and makes some calls. We appreciated it. Then she starts to give us directions. No joke they were, well its about 3km and takes 25-30 minutes to traverse. She said it is a left, then a right at the light and straight on after that. She said she could call a taxi, we said heck no, we are athletes, 30 minute walk would be easy. So we start walking, take a quick left, take a semi quick right and then walk. And we walked. Past the town, past a meadow, through a forest, past a farm, through another forest and then made it. We walked for an hour and a half before we got there. We asked probably 4 people along the way an all of them were like 1 more km. 1 more kilometer. It ended up being like 5 or 6 kilometers. So in the end we got to play some sand volleyball. And after, we called a taxi.
I love my Wife.
I love my Wife.
BLAH!
One whole day gone! Traveling sucks. We'll I'm here in Eindhoven and the town is beautiful. I like the way Europe looks. So green, so fresh. Now time to try the food!
-Kit
-Kit
Friday, August 14, 2009
Preemptive Strike
First Log, Starship Enterprise.
Tommorrow morning I leave to take my claim in the volleyball world. I am trying out with 36 other good volleyball players to make a spot on a Professional European volleyball team. 20 of them play my position. Resistance will be futile. The goal of the mission: to impress. Theoretically, I am too short (at 6'2") to play indoor volleyball. So I have to use other skills like passing, serving, defense to make up the fact I am 2 inches shorter than the short professional players.
Nervous you ask? Never. Actually, I lied. I feel like there is this weight over my head. Like a meteorite is in direct path of my coordinates, and I have no choice but to walk straight into it. On the flip side, I am excited. I get to practice more volleyball in two weeks than I did in a whole season at Fresno State (Shout out: National Champions!).
So my Aerodynamic Ship leaves tomorrow morning at 620am. I arrive in Amsterdam the next day at 640am, with a couple stops in between. From there I get the wonderful and delightful treat of having to weave my way through Amsterdam, maneuver through red light districts, evade soft drug dealers, find the train Station, and get the flock out of that part of the galaxy.
Wish me Luck!
Tommorrow morning I leave to take my claim in the volleyball world. I am trying out with 36 other good volleyball players to make a spot on a Professional European volleyball team. 20 of them play my position. Resistance will be futile. The goal of the mission: to impress. Theoretically, I am too short (at 6'2") to play indoor volleyball. So I have to use other skills like passing, serving, defense to make up the fact I am 2 inches shorter than the short professional players.
Nervous you ask? Never. Actually, I lied. I feel like there is this weight over my head. Like a meteorite is in direct path of my coordinates, and I have no choice but to walk straight into it. On the flip side, I am excited. I get to practice more volleyball in two weeks than I did in a whole season at Fresno State (Shout out: National Champions!).
So my Aerodynamic Ship leaves tomorrow morning at 620am. I arrive in Amsterdam the next day at 640am, with a couple stops in between. From there I get the wonderful and delightful treat of having to weave my way through Amsterdam, maneuver through red light districts, evade soft drug dealers, find the train Station, and get the flock out of that part of the galaxy.
Wish me Luck!
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