Travel Forms
Parents: Please be on the lookout for travel commitment forms in your in boxes in the next week. We will be emailing out the forms so that you can confirm the travel plans being made for your daughters for this season's travel tournaments.
Let's Play!: Power #1 Part 1
The Rocky Mountain Region will ring in the new year over the next two weekends with the first Power Tournaments of the season. This Sunday's playing sites are listed below. To see the complete list of teams, download this PDF . If you need directions to any of the sites, click
here. All sites have unique rules that govern their use; most sites do not allow coolers in the gym. Please represent Front Range well by being sure to obey the rules of the facility, as well as the tournament director. If you have any questions, please contact
your coach.
Silver: Coach Eduardo Fiallos |
Arvada West HS |
Blue: Coach James Beasley |
Arvada West HS |
Red: Coach Craig Kingsley |
ACES |
White: Coach Bob Poulter |
Fort Morgan HS |
Cardinal: Coach Dave Youngblood |
Fort Morgan HS |
Amber: Coach Erin Dilbeck |
CSCS |
Royal: Coach Betsy Stackhouse |
CSCS |
Scarlet: Coach Michelle Hoffner |
CSCS |
Pink: Coach Jen Pokraka |
Overland HS |
Good luck to all teams!
High School News
Congratulations to Erica Denney for representing the USA over the winter break in Europe! Erica traveled to several of the same cities that she visited with Front Range this past summer. The team finished third in the 2008 Middle European Zone Volleyball Association (MEZVA) Tournament in Pula, Croatia. After the tournament, the team headed to Maribor, Slovenia to train and celebrate the new year. Before returning, the team headed to Rome to play two friendly matches against the Italian Youth National Team. Be sure to check out Erica's journal entry, as well as the site for the entire trip. See the most recent article on USA Volleyball's website here.
Continuing the list of All-League selections, 17 Silver's Lindsay Weaver was named to the Colorado Springs Metro League 5A Second Team, as well as being an Honorable Mention for the All State Academic team. For her efforts, the Colorado Springs Gazette included her as an Honorable Mention to their Peak Performers list. 18 Black's Emily Alexis was named the MVP of the Skyline League and was also First Team All League. Congratulations to both of you!
Alumnae News
So you thought that the college season was over? Well, you were right. But over the course of the season, Front Range alumna Katelin Batten was quietly breaking the all-time CSU career digs record. The junior broke the record of 1241 digs set in 1992. She now holds the record at 1310 digs. She also holds the CSU digs per game record. Congratulations, Batty!
Getting Off to a Great Start This Season
by Tim Engels, M.A.
Thank you for all the effort you've all been putting into building the habit of using good routines in practice and competition. I hope you've been able to notice how good routines help you to stay calm, focused and competitively determined. Have you been able to notice whether the quality and consistency of your routines is maintained when you compete? My guess is that you may sometimes forget to use your routines when competing and sometimes rush your routines when you do them.
Expect this to happen at the seeding tournament and be prepared to remind yourself often to use your routines. Make it one of your process goals for the day - using your routines (especially serve routines and serve-receive routines for the passers) and taking your time to do high quality routines - 1) clear mental rehearsal, 2) calming breath and 3) Hit Mine Pass or Go Slow, then 4) Noticing by taking a calming breath and mentally rehearsing any corrections.
Remember what we've talked about in past seasons: 1) limit the number of jobs you have and make sure you're clear about what your coach's expectations are for you. Jobs are connected to skills you want to apply, using routines between points to prepare yourself for the next point, and match tactics and strategy you're carrying out. When you're not playing, you will have some kind of record-keeping to do, cheering on your team, and staying prepared to play when called on. Keep it simple - even what I've just listed is pretty complex when there's pressure, too. 2) Catch yourself being good. 3) Manage your own stress - what routine will you to use regularly, particularly one that uses calming breath and taking a moment to collect your thoughts when the pressure and excitement build.
Have a great time at this first competition of the season. I hope to see some of you in action next Sunday.
Tim Engels, M.A., sports psychology consultant to Front
Range Volleyball Club, is a sports psychology consultant and counselor in
Denver, CO. You can contact him at (303) 956-5691 or tengels@qwest.net.
And Now For Something Completely Different...
Wondering how to get your hands on more practice gear or more booster clothes? Download the order forms, print them, fill them out, and bring them in to Front Range to get your order on its way. If you want to, you can even call it holiday shopping.
Click here to download the practice gear form.
Click here to download the booster order form.
