Coach’s Corner

Congratulations! 12 Black Took 2nd Place (Silver Medal) in Gold Division at the USAV Junior Olympics National Tournament

The 12 Black team travelled to Miami last week to compete in the USAV National Junior Olympic Tournament. Having finished 3rd in the Lone Star Region, we earned a bid in the American Division. We started the tournament as the #1 seed!

The girls played the first two days undefeated. We started the third day 5-0... won the first match against a team from California, but then had our first loss to the #5 team from Florida. We still came out first in the pool and advanced to the GOLD bracket.

We came out swinging on the last day, defeating the #4 team from St. Louis 25-11, 25-22 (ironically, Mary Lynn went to school with some of the moms from that team!!).

Now... we’re on “Court 1” for the finals against a team from California... They set up bleachers around three sides of the court... and had the medal stand at one end. The girls were lined up and marched in. Each girl’s name was announced and she was able to step out of line and wave to the crowd. The game had an announcer and everything! We played Xtremely well in the finals, but needed a few more points to earn the gold. We were up in the second game 19-16, but missed a few key opportunities and lost 25-22. The coach from the California team had won 3 GOLD medals previously... he must have “out coached” me!! :) We finished the tournament 8-2.

Getting a chance to see my girls get a Silver Medal placed around their necks is an experience I’ll never forget.

I also want to recognize the Brazos Valley 12 Mizuno kids and their coach Bill Reynolds for coming down and helping us warm up in the finals. I want to acknowledge the other Lone Star Region teams for cheering us on including Extec 12 National & Coach Jamie... SA Sting... and San Antonio Magic for cheering us on. I also want to send a shout out to Rockwood Thunder. Great team, coach, and parents... we appreciate them cheering us on too! It was rewarding to have kids we met and played along the way come support us! That’s a testament to their coaches.

The girls finished the year 74-11 after 13 events... including two National Tournaments (finishing top 10 in both)... two National Qualifiers (finishing 5th in both)... 3rd place in the Lone Star Region... and 1st place in the Houston Power League. These girls gave up a lot during the last 10 months to get that opportunity. I couldn’t be more proud.

As this will be my last Coaches’ Corner this year, I want to take a minute and give some thanks. First, to the parents on my team for supporting me all year. Many of you came to the club to have me coach your daugthers... and I know there were times when my decisions didn’t always line up with what you believed. All year, I tried to balance what’s best for the team with what’s best for each of the girls. In all my years of coaching, this was the “least DRAMA” team I’ve had. I’m thankful for the confidence you all had in me.

Secondly, I’d like to thank the coaches at the club who have ALL had an influence at one time or another on the team. A special thanks to Mona who was my partner in this effort all season... we got together a couple of years ago and it paid off! I want to thank Diane who practiced with the team every night throughout the year. A huge part of our success also comes from Royce who trained the girls with us from August through November (when his team moved to different nights)... and then many nights more afterwards. I also want to thank Ray and Felipe who created an environment for success and worked with the girls individually as well to prepare them for success. Ashton, Danielle, Debbie, Kim... it took us all.

Finally, I want to thank the girls on my team for this year. In November, we stated our goal was to medal at JO’s. The girls trained hard for that goal... from preparing for the first tournament... to preparing for the last one. It would have been easy to not push along the way, but they never stopped working hard. And one of the most important things:NO ONE QUIT! You guys are AWESOME!

So... stay tuned for more to come next fall. I believe this team is positioned to win a gold next year! With the club’s passion for excellence... committment to “NO SHORT CUTS”... and partnership with Felipe Coronel and World Volleyball Consulting to “train like no other”... the sky is the limit for this group of kids!!!

Coach Eddy
12 Black

12 Black Success at AAU National Tournament

The 12 Black team took their 59-6 record to Orlando to compete in the AAU National Volleyball Tournament last week. The girls entered the tournament as the 6th seed out of the 54 teams. After the first two days, the girls were sitting with a 6-0 match record... going 12-1 in games. The third day was a great day of volleyball with the girls playing the #5 and #8 seeds (KIVA and OVA)... both top programs in the country. We split with both teams, but came up a few points short in the 3rd games.

With a 7-2 record in the tournament, we earned a place in the GOLD BRACKET and played at Disney’s Wide World of Sports on the Championship court. We played the top U.S. seed (#4) from Indiana and were overpowered. That team went on to make the finals and finished second. They were a great team and were without a doubt the best team we faced this year.

They finished tied for 9th place... with a tournament record of 7-3.

The kids had the opportunity to compete against some of the best clubs in the country. They also had the chance to meet some great kids from Puerto Rico and trade email addresses. (Hi Camille and Dianna!) I feel my kids did a great job playing; they both won and lost with grace and sportsmanship. They were reminded how to enjoy the competition and then enjoy the comraderie of true athletes. There’s not much more I could ask for.

We leave next week the USAV Junior Olympic tournament. I’m expecting to do very well there! We compete in the American Division....and the only teams to beat us this year are all in the National Division.

More to come!!

10 Year Old Team Competes at AAU National Tournament

As mentioned during this year’s banquet, XTREME took a 10 year old team to compete at this year’s AAU National Tournament.  The team consisted of 2 athletes of the 11 Black, 4 athletes of the 11 Purple, and 2 athletes that joined us from other clubs.  Having only practiced together for around a month on the regulation height, the team performed quite well. Starting as the 10th seed overall, the team moved up and finished 5th losing to the tournament champion in the quarter finals.  We were very pleased with how the girls handled themselves in such an overwhelming atmosphere.  As a reward, most of the girls finished the week with a trip to Disney World.  Look out next year, we may have a 10 year team compete all season.

Best Wishes,
Coach Royce