Seattle Tourney

The finale for Webfoot 16-Black's 2012 season was in Seattle, Washington. This was an amazing trip. The results in the gym were not what we were striving for, but the experiences outside the gym were priceless. This was one of the most enjoyable trips I have had, and it is because of the players and parents involved.
The weekend of play started with playing in a pool that contained a 18's team, 17's team and another 16's team. First on the slate was the 18's team, and we came out with a little apprehension. We played well, considering our competition. The same was true against the 17's team that was up next. We did not play quite to our potential because we looked like we unsure of what to do against them. Finally, we played the 16's team, not some of our best ball. We put up a fight but were unable to overcome big runs that we gave up during each set. Saturday was a day that had me struggling with the officials all day, which may have had an effect on the teams play. We continued to struggle play wise, which was frustrating to watch. The day ended with the last two matches being better ball. The players step up their effort level and it showed on the court. I teach that it is best to walk off the court with no regrets than to walk off wishing you could have played differently. The players did that on Saturday.
Each player had their time to shine this weekend. Taylor had a sequence that she blocked a ball, and then hit the overset from the block, was dug and giving another overset and put that one away. The net play by the middles this weekend was the best I had seen all year. Maddie did a great job serving, as far as I remember, she did not miss a single serve. The outsides also did a great job passing on Saturday. I can remember all of them diving and sacrificing their bodies to make a play on the ball, Miranda and Emily both hurting fingers or hands. Shalini was incredible from behind the serving line. She had several occasions were she had long strings of points. The other player that had great success serving, was Hannah. Her serves were like bullets, that got us back into games. The setters were consistent as always, same as Cory. Her defense and passing kept many rallies alive, giving our setters settable balls, that in turn gave out hitters, hittable balls. Great Job Girls.
I would also like to say how much fun I had with this team off the court. They are a great group of young adults that are hilarious. They kept many situations light, while being able to show their competitiveness on the court. I thank you all for making this season a memorable one. I would also like to thank the parents for giving me the opportunity to work with your children and trusting in me to be a part of their development, I consider that an honor. Like I said last weekend, I hope all of you players improved as much as you would have liked this season. I saw great improvement in all of you. If you need any help finding camps to attend this summer, let me know and I will connect you. I hope to get the chance to see all of you play in the fall. To all of you , have a great summer. Thanks again for a great season.
Troy