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Brandywine Bobcats Off to Jr. Nationals
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Brandywine Volleyball Club / Bobcats 13 & Under Finished 46th.
Well, after the first week or two of practice
the team was in a huddle after a winning a scrimmage game against one of
our older teams in the club. They broke the huddle by saying “NEW ORLEANS.”
I turned and asked them why they did that and without hesitation they all
said because we are going to Nationals. I have to say that I thought I
was coaching a good team but with only 4 girls returning with one year
of club experience each (and that was from a team that had only won 10
games the season before). But this was their goal and they were going to
do what ever it took to reach their goal.
After coming in 3rd overall at East Coast
Championships at Penn State (and even taking a game from, but losing to,
most favored Fort Wayne 13 Elite in a rally game) the team had high hopes
for Jr. Nationals. |
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| Well, off we went....most of the team and
their families got to New Orleans a few days early to soak up the local
favor along with the hot sun by the pool. After arriving on Friday
to New Orleans I went straight to the convention center to check in for
the team. Well, I have to say as I walked through the doors and into
the gym area I was blown away. Just the fact that there was over 45 courts
in one site with all of these people walking around like a mini city was
overwhelming. First thing I did was to round up the team and finding most
of them by pool side was not hard. I told everyone that we were going to
go to the gym as a team first thing next morning. We needed to see this
site before we started playing. |
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Meeting in the hotel lobby was
a site but only second to seeing us walk the streets on New Orleans to
the convention center together, stopping traffic at times. Just as I thought
as we walked into the gym the girls let out a sigh and stood there just
soaking it in. For us as a team Penn State was overwhelming and now
it was like I was throwing them into the lion pit. There were over
90 teams playing at the same time while there was another 90 waiting to
play. With the USA Women’s National Team practicing over there and all
these booths selling everything you could imagine about volleyball it is
just a site that every player should get to experience.
We walked around watched some older teams
play and as we did the girls saw players and coaches that they recognized.
We starting talking to people that we knew and before you knew it they
felt right at home because I told them don’t forget they did earn their
way here and that there was only 49 teams here from our age bracket from
around the country. When it came our time to play that afternoon they were
ready to play. Although we did not win many games we were never out of
any game.
The experience of playing in a national tournament
like this was something that each girl (and all their families) will remember
for very long time. Each girl had her own special experiences at Jr. Nationals
but what I can tell you as a team they learned that volleyball does truly
“Start With One Good Pass.” Someone asked me,“well now that it is
over and since the team did not do as well as they did locally would you
do it all over again”. I said without even thinking YES! Because remember
it is not all about wins and loses it is about teaching and gaining experiences.
Thank you for letting me write this and I
hope that next year I will be able to share more of our experiences with
you from Jr. Nationals (wherever they are) and maybe even a few more wins
!!
Bob Trinsey (Coach & Club Co-Director)
BRANDYWINE VOLLEYBALL CLUB
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