Hello all,
Well, here we are in Barcelona and we have a few days left of this amazing trip. I want to take the time to give everyone a coach’s perspective on the volleyball portion of the trip and the progress we have made.
The competition in Spain has been fairly competitive overall. It certainly got better as the week went along. The first two teams we played were amateur club teams that had players that ranged in age from eighteen to late twenties. The second two teams were much stronger and consisted of some semi-pro and pro players from the Barcelona area. Spanish volleyball is a bit different in the skills they focus on. Not so much emphasis on blocking or communication on the court…but they can certainly play defense. You can also tell that most, if not all of the players here spend a lot of time playing in the sand.
Even though this is somewhat of a vacation for everyone…we are still here to play some volleyball. So, we have been pushing the ladies a good bit. Considering our brutal schedule, they have performed extremely well.
The experiences that they have been through have certainly brought them closer together as a team. That may sound a bit cliché, but there’s not much tougher than traveling half way around the world, no one speaks your language, the road signs are different, the food is different…then you are forced to play the game when your are dead tired. This experience has made them tougher individually and as a group.
I am proud of these ladies this week with all they have accomplished. You will certainly not be disappointed in their performance this season as I am confident that they are going to turn some heads.
See you all very soon
Steve and Amanda
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