Im Lauren and for the past four years I have been living out my dream of being a professional volleyball player. Through all the hardships nothing can take the place of this experience.
Monday, December 21, 2009
"La confianza de las jugadoras del Playa Finestrat pareció venirse abajo."
Jamper Aguere sqaurd presented a balanced attack, desent ball control and a very good block. Both of their middles are very agile and move very well to close the block. Acually one of their Brazilian middles reminds me of myself. Very athlete. So it was a good match up between us. I thought. Once again we could not compete with their team. Not because of lack of talent, but lack of wholeness on our side. The one thing I noticed about Jamper is that they are a very solid team. Every person seems to do their job to the best of their ability and although they may not have one superstar they have many players that are good at what they do. Together its a conducive unit. Something we are lacking. We were able to take a game off of Jamper in the 2nd set, but in the end we could not overcome their attack and they defeated us 1-3(10-25, 25-15, 12-25, 13-25).
Our next match was just two days later and it took us up to the northern part of Spain. It was very cold there. I was reminded of Indiana fall weather. Yes, I should be used to cold weather due to the fact that I grew up in the midwest and I spent a hard winter in Finland. Yeap, doesnt mean I have to like it though. Upon arriving in the gym to practice, it was clear that these people do not believe in central heating. Cold weather is not good for your joints, and my knees did not appreciate it. With all excuses aside, you have to push all the outside issues out of your mind when game time comes, and clearly we did not.
For some reason in this game we could not get going. We started all three games behind and I do not believe we ever had the lead at any point. In the first set we made a run towards the end on a service run from our side. We tied the score up, but after a service error Riobeo put the game away. After that moment I tried hard to forget the rest of the match. In the second set, their libero's defense came alive and she dug everything. I mean I hit a ball literally in the middle of the court and she dug it. Some chick from their side dug a ball off her foot. Talk about luck, but you create your own luck right? The second game brought out a lot of frustration and loss of confidence. This is probably why we only scored 9 points in the third set. It was a mess. I haven't lost a game that bad since the SEC Tourny my junior year, when I was benched and we scored 6 points.
Tempers flared and a lot of things were said that I am sured were regretable. One thing is for sure, we need to take Christmas Break to reevaulate our committment to this sport that we all supposedly love. When we come back, it is possible to turn this thing around. We just have to go out their and do it. We are going to have to work harder, train longer and love the game more then the other teams. I am fully aware of what I need to do to help my team and I hope they know too. When we come back its pedal to the medal, but one game at a time. Thats all we can control.
Till then... Vamos Finestrat......
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Officially a Losing Streak
Monday, November 30, 2009
We Never Showed Up
Team Finestrat was defeated by Valeriano Alles Menorca 3-0 (12-25, 17-25, 22-25). Embarassing right? Yes I was. The truth is we were never really in match. I could write all the excuses in the world: we were tired, we only had 8 players, they were more physical, the scouting report was incorrect. The bottom line is we are all volleyball players. We all know how to play this game and we simply did not do that. Menorca came out on fire in the first two games, completely shuting down our leading scorers. Blocking again was another problem and our passing was never there. To attack an opponent you need passing period! At one point in the match, our coach stopped talking to us. There is only so much he can do from the bench and the rest is up to us.
I am a believer in "you cant change the past, but you can produce the future." My last year at USC, Coach Somera really pressed the issue of the "next ball." For example, if you make a mistake on a play, you cannot get that play back, but all you can do is focus on the next ball. Our team has problems with getting over our little defeats. Menorca was beating us and our team just laid down and focused on all the things we weren't doing right and that is not the right idea to have in competition. I try my best to always focus on the next ball, I cant change the error I just made. I can only make it better the next time around. Michael Jordan used to say, "You can't get points today for yesterdays game." So whether is was something negative that happened or something positive, you have to move on to the next play.
I hope we can learn something from this match and move on to the next one. Focusing on how bad this loss was will not help us win the next one. We have to take the lesson and try and improve next match.
Our leading scorers this match: Lindsay Stalzer with 12 points + 4 and 8 kills and Me with 10 points + 2 and 8 kills.
"Talking about what you don't have will never get you what you want." -Adam Rodriguez
Monday, November 23, 2009
Tres Puntos! Yeah Buddy!
Ofcourse we started off like we always do. With no intensity. We dropped the first set due to poor attacking, many errors and no defense. Needless to say our coach was very mad and we knew we had to turn it around. The competition after this game was only going to get better. The next three games were pretty much the same. We came out with a little bit more "Umph." Defense was much better as we started blocking more balls and digging more balls. Well everyone except me, since I ended the match no blocks listed in the stats. That match was not my best game as I was only 10 +8. I made pretty simple mistakes and I know I can play better, block better. All that matters is that as a team we came together and put the match away. It might have not been pretty at times but a win is a win.
On another positive note we had three players leading the stats this week again. Katia Rodrigues was ranked #1 in reception (86% 14/16). She also earned a position on the Ideal Seven for this week. I led in service aces ( I know- an usual category for me to do well in, lol) with 3. Lindsay was mentioned in two categories: Atacantes, she was third with 17 kills and Atacantes Totales in which she was third with 22 puntos. Last week Dani Da Silva (reception) , Lindsay and myself (blocking-5) also made the top stats list. This marks the 7th week in a row in which a Finestrat player has lead in stats, was named MVP, or listed in the Ideal Seven. Vamos Finestrat. Lets keep up the good work.
"Its not what the situation is, its what you make of the situation." - Zig Ziglar
Next game is away versus Valeriano Alles Menorca.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Missed Opportunites
We came out on fire in the first game, containing them while we made a run for 25. But in one instance we lost focus and committed errors that would eventually let them back into the game. Once they tied us and took the lead, we were never able to catch up. It took the wind out of us a little bit and we hung our heads as we crossed over to the other side. But that is no time to give up. We still had at least 3 more games to play.
The second game was pretty close the whole way through. Tension was in the air and everyone on both sides could feel it. For them this could have been the nail in the coffin and for us it would have been a huge blow to have to come back from 2 down. We hung in there and made it to game three with timely kills and crucial blocks. In game three we didnt even look like the same team. We jumped out to a pretty nice lead and never really looked back. You could rename this game the block party, becuase we literally set up a wall. Lindsay Stalzer, who finished the game with five blocks, and Maria Revilla came up big in the blocking area. At one point I didnt believe they could get anything past them.
Game four was completely opposite. They jumped out to a big start and we could never really catch up. Even though at one point we started to make a run, but it was not enough. Another big factor was their big middle Sherri Williams. Yes, another All American from Florida. She is a very good player and we could not defend her. Our only hope was to contain her and hope it would be enough. The final and decisive game 5 would start off much like the fourth. We got behind and really could not make a run. If you subtract our errors, it might have been closer with a different outcome. We definitely had our opportunites the whole match to put them away but did not take advantage. That was all she wrote.
Thats the thing about athletics. You have to be there in the moment. Right in that instance. Can't think about the previous error and you cant try and produce the future. You have to play right then and there. You have to convert right then and there. You have to score when the opportunity knocks and if you dont, there might not be another opportunity to do so. No do overs. This is something we will have to work on in the upcoming games. Mental toughness and awareness.
"You need to stop thinking about whats gonna happen. You need to focus on what is right in front of you. HIT THE BALL." - Grey's Anatomy
Next game is at Home in Benidorm versus Traysessa Santa Cruz
Photo taken shortly before the match. Vamos Finestrat.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Too Little Too Late.
Have you ever had an out of body experience? You literally feel youself outside of your body, floating beside yourself staring at your body; like its unreal. That is kind of how the game on Saturday versus Cantur went. I felt like I wasnt even there in my body. It was that bad. And as I was having this out of body experience, my team must have had the same experience because I didnt recognize any of them eiether. We came out flat and with no energy, and we were defeated 1-3 (15-25, 17-25, 25-13, 29-31).
Again we fell into that "we have never played volleyball before" mode. Lucky for us we were able to snap out of it in the third game, therefore forcing a fourth game. All that effect was not enough at the end of the night as we lost the fourth game in a pressure packed event. We were one game too short to claim any points, and the only people we have to blame is ourselves. Missed opportunities, weak blocking and defense and many errors lead to easy points for our opponents.
Cantur featured a quadruple threat of North Americans. They were led by former Florida Gator All-American Benavia Jenkins, an offensive and defensive threat in the middle. Dani Da Silva led us once again with 22 points including four huge blocks. Followed by 12 points from myself. I wish I had blocked better, because that is my main job. I will just have to get better at it this upcoming week in the gym.
"When you learn what your weaknesses have to teach, they will become your strengths. " - Ralph Marston
Monday, November 2, 2009
Barn Burner in Haro Rioja
It was a barn burner last Saturday night in Haro. After being down 2 games, team Finestrat made an incredible comeback to win the match 3-2 (12-25, 26-24, 25-22, 25-23, 15-10). It was one of the most exciting, fun, heart-pumping, incredible games I have ever played in. More inportantly we received 2 huge points to place us in the middle of the pack this week in the standings. Which I believe was far higher than anyone expected.
We started off playing horribly. I was so confused and almost angry. It felt like none of us as ever touched a volleyball. We were making stupid mistakes, not playing smart, and being very timid. I remember thinking, " this match is gonna be over soon, if this continues." What was strange about this game for me was that I was connecting with both setters. Amazing. So as long as they kept setting me, I knew I had to continue to put the ball down. Haro is a very good team, but they can be beaten and I always believed that. Just had to go out and play our game. They have two very athletic and quick middles who can also score. Their setter is smart and sets her hitters into very good situations. Their wing players are also very good and can score in almost every position on the court. Ball control is also descent. They showed how good they were when the score was 16-9. We lost 25-12 and our coached let us have it.
The second game was very close. We were playing a bit better, but we still were not stopping their hitters when we needed to. Towards the end we managed to get a lead and at one point had game point. Because I had a hot hand this match "Colo" decided to go to me in the middle. It was a good set, I was up quick, no block.... I hit it out of bounds just to the left. AAAGGGGHHH! I want that set back so bad, but there was nothing I could do about it. That tied the game back up and they went on to block their way to a victory of game 2.
A bit defeated, my team walked to the other side. Here we had game point and could not put the game away. Our coach let us have it again and then the team just had a total meltdown. People were starting to panic and yell at each other. There were tears. Im thinking this match is far from over, well at least it was for me. Like I said earlier I knew we could beat this team. So heading into the third game we somehow all mentally got extra focused. We came out on fire. Attackers were finding the court. Our blocking system began to work for our defense. Lindsay, the other American, was playing some crazy defense in right back. We came out with the lead and never let it go. My connection with the setters was still golden. Shocked. We won 25-22.
The fourth game would be crucial. Over here in Spain and probably other countries, wins are not weighed the same as normal. If you beat a team 3-0 or 3-1, you receive 3 points. If you beat them 3-2, you receive 2 points and the losing team receives 1 point. So sometimes all you need to do is take a team to 5 games and you can at least steal a point. So this game was important. With the way we started off the match, it would be great for us to even steal a point from Haro. This game was pretty even and went back and fourth. When a setter can connect with their middles, it really opens up the game for your other hitters, and thats exactly what happened. Our "Brasillenas" got some good looks and took advantage of them. We started blocking balls as well. Even with my so focused mind, I managed to goof in a crucial moment in the game. I got a service error because I did not hear the ref blow the whistle in the loud gym and forfeited a point. Want that one back too. After two very controversial plays we were able to take the lead and never looked back. 25-23.
At this point I think we were thankful that we would at least walk out this gym with 1 point. Game 5 was fire for us. We came out and grabbed a 5-0 lead quickly and that pretty much was the ball game. Crucial blocks also helped and before I knew it we were looking at game point. I couldnt believe it as I glanced at the scoreboard. When Katia's kill hit the floor we all celebrated by hoping in a circle in the middle of the court. Wow, what a win! It was so much fun to play in. This is the reason why I love playing sports; why I love being an athlete; why I love competing. Its moments like these when you realize that that superhard practice you had the week before actually paid off today, and everything comes full circle.
I want to be this focused for every match. It felt good to believe in myself and my team even when we didn't believe in ourselves. I want to keep that intensity for as long as I am an athlete because the results feel so good. "Only he who can see the invisible can do the impossible." - Frank L Gaines
On another note- >>> Congratulations to Dani De Silva for being named MVP of the Week!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Best Blocker in Week #2
Sunday, October 25, 2009
First Win in Our House!
The game started off pretty steady, like when you're first meeting someone and you try to get a feel for them. They kept it close pretty much the whole game, but we focused up and pulled out the win in the end. At times in the match, we got really tense and started to panic. Thats when a team can really make a move. The key is to stay "tranquila." In game two we exploited their weakness of not having one of their better players on the court. With her gone we could focus on other hitters directly. Its like with the Lakers back in the day. If Shaq were not playing, you would double-team Kobe. This is where our blocking came up big for us. We outblocked them 7-2. Defense at the net takes a lot of pressure off our backrow players and opens up the offense for us.
At the beginning of game three, we were rolling. We needed one more game to win the match. This can be very tricky. A lot of times a team can lose focus and slack off, which can give the their opponent an opportunity to sneak up and steal a win. That is exactly what happened. Our passing broke down as well as the well formed wall of a block we established in game 2. Actually we recorded no blocks this game as a team at all. We forgot the little things, and as in life those little things count more than the big things. Game 4 proved to be very different. Our block was back and our offense opened up for our attackers. We hit a 50% as a team, and that was the match.
After it is said and done a win is a win. This one felt good, especially in front of our home crowd. I hope there are many more to come, but only time and hard work will tell. Our next game is away on Saturday versus Haro Rioja Voley. Check out our stats to our game here -> http://www.rfevb.com/cnac/super/femenina/est/SF/est012.pdf
Thursday, October 22, 2009
First Game of the Season
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Ready for a New Season
front row (l-r) Dani Da Silva, Katia Rodrigues, Rebeca Fernandez, Lara German, Ainhoa Miravalles, Ana "Colo" Martinez
back row (l-r) Jaime Gallego, Natali Flaviani, Lauren Ford, Ramon Guerrero, Juan Villinares, Lindsay Stalzer, Maria Revilla, Manu Rubio
Well here is the official team photo, but we have not officially started the regular season. We have one more practice game tomorrow on Monday and then the next one will be the first game of the season. Let me add that it will be against the best team in the Spanish Superliga. They have been the champions in Spain many times. Their team has had great players on there like Glinka, Logan Tom and Aury Cruz. If you don't know them, look em up. YES! What a way to start off a season. I guess it is good that we played them in a practice game last week. I am not going to lie, I was intimidated. But I remember something my father used to always tell me. He'd say, " You know Makia, they have to put their spandex on the same way you do. One foot at a time." It was always funny to me, but oh so true. So that calmed me down a bit. The first game was not so bad. I think the score was maybe 20- 25. The next three were a different story. They are a very good team, but to me it was nothing that was spectacular. Not to take anything away from them because they are all very skilled players. But to me it seemed as though no one was a superstar, yet everyone came to work to do their job and did it well. They worked real well as a unit because every one seemed to be very good in their particular area. They didn't depend on one player to carry them or score all the points. Everyone could score and it didn't matter who had the ball. No discrimination. If that makes sense. I think the next time will be different for me to handle the pressure and be more successful. I can only be the best if I play against the best.
The team before our scrimmage versus Benidorm @ homeIn between all the training and weight lifting and conditioning, my team has been involved with many other practice games as well. These games really mean nothing but practice. We get out on the court and try new things, make mistakes, and try to perfect a system for our team. Like at Murcia, we had a specific plan on what we wanted to work on. We play teams from both the top league and the 2nd league. If one were counting wins we are 2-3. Not bad, coming from our view point. Yes, everyone would love to be undefeated, but then what would we learn. In each of those loses I guarantee we found things that we need to do better and could improve on.
Two weeks ago we have scrimmaged a team from Benidorm twice. Coincidently, it was the same team that passed on me two years ago. The first time we played, it was in our gym the Pabellion in Finestrat. I have heard it described as a Barn, which is a pretty good description. But Home is Home, right? We beat them 3-0. I felt it was a pretty good game for us. We clicked. Everyone seemed to connect with the setters, and for me that is huge. Our passing broke down in game two, but we were able to turn it around and come back from behind with huge serves from Dani Da Silva and Maria Revilla. Plus if gave our town a chance to see us in action, since we will not be playing our regular season games there, but in Benidorm. That day we also presented all the teams of the club. Our teams vary from a very young age of about 8 or 9 to anywhere from 30 -35. SO it was nice for all of us to see each other play. Some of the little ones are really good.
At the Pabellion cheering on the youth teams
La presentación del Club Voleibol
The next week we played Benidorm again at their gym. Well its safe to say we share the gym since we will play our home games there. This time Benidorm fought hard and took us to four. My connection with the setters was not so good this game. But when one part of your game breaks down, you need to focus on other ways to help your team score. In my case that is blocking. In game three our passing was not the only thing to break down. Just mentally we were not focused and made a lot of errors on our side. Much credit to Benidorm. They never gave up and continued to fight us the whole night. They scored in all the most important situations, and made some pretty scrappy plays. My American friend Tina Martin (Benidorm) is quite the hustler. In game four, we started off flat once again, but somehow fought through with some pretty good defense both at the net with blocks and back row with digs. Dani da Silva also contributed with some very tough serves. Her serve is very dangerous and at times is very hard to pass. No matter how ugly or pretty it was, we won, but it was still a practice game.
Ralph Marston once said, " When you learn what your weaknesses have to teach, they will become your strengths." I will have to mentally and physically continue to work hard and stay tough as the season progresses. Here we go!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Encuentre Mi Equipo
(back row) Lindsay Stalzer, Katia Rodrigues, Entrenador Juan Villinares, Asistente: Ramon Guerrero, Maria Revilla,
Lauren Ford. Not Pictured- Natali Flaviani, Jaime Gallego, Manu Rubio- fisio
So here is the first unofficial team picture. It was taken around my second week here. Since then we added another player from Argentina named Natali Flaviani. She is a beast of a middle blocker. She is also my third roommate. More about that later. Also missing from this photo is our third trainer and weight coach Jaime Gallego and physical therapist Manu Rubio. Jaime is a very good translator and speaks very well. He attributes this to his world travels to many English speaking countries. Manu, our physio therapist, might be my best friend by the end of this season, considering my ankle problems. I already have daily appointments with him after practice. Usually during rehab the "usuals" Dani, Katia and I go to Manu and they teach me Spanish while we treat our ailments. Good times.
Another pastime we are starting is group get togethers. We are going to try to come together for dinners or fiestas (parties). My roommates and I are already planning a Halloween party. Cant wait. In the photo to the right, we all gathered at Dani and Katia's house for dinner. I cooked Curry chicken, which everyone thought was pretty good. We also had Pate, which is basically tuna and mayonaise with some other ingredient. I know it was really good. The Brasilleras served cornbread with pollo (chicken), maize (corn) and queso (cheese). It reminded me of my mother's Mexican Cornbread. The other main dish was a traditional Spanish dish called Tortilla. It is made out of Huevos (eggs) and patatas (potatoes). Ofcourse no meal is complete without Fanta Limon. Love that stuff. When I find the receipe for all these meals, I will certanly post them. Overall, it was a good time and I really enjoyed tasting everyones dish. I was so full afterwards.
Finally, meet my roommates. I am on the left and in the middle is fellow American Lindsay Stalzer. She is a graduate of Bradley University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. She plays opposite, but can also hit outside and middle. Trust me when I say, this girl can fly. On the right is Natali Flaviani a middle blocker from Argentina. She is very athletic with a fast armswing. This girl takes no prisoners. But dont call her Natali; she likes Flavia. Its fitting to her personality as well. Both girls are very nice and good roommates. This photo was taken right after we came from the beach. We can never get enough sun over here. :)
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Un Día en la Playa
After about 2 hours of sunbathing, we decided to walk around a bit and try to catch a bus back home. The one thing that stuck out to me the most was how many foreigners vacation here. There was so much English being spoken, it didn't even feel like Spain sometimes. I guess this place is a big vacation spot for a lot of Brits and Australians, and they were much help in giving us directions. We soon noticed that we were getting too black and decided to try and go home. The only problem was that no buses were running back to Finestrat. We only noticed this after three bus trips around town. We even stumbled back into my old hood when I was here two years ago. This clearly was the funniest part of the trip. We had no cell phone and no way of contacting our team.
We walked upon this hostel looking motel to ask to use a phone. After further inspection, we decided this was not the best place seeing as it looked like a serial killer resided there. Across the street was a better lit, nicer looking hotel. We walked in and asked the guy to call us a cab. And after further inspection of this place, I have come to the realization that it was a burlesque- style hotel. Girls were walking around in lingerie, and men were coming and going. I laughed to myself because I couldn't decide what was funnier; the serial killer inspired hotel or the hotel equipped with an escort service right across the street. We managed to visit both within five minutes. We quickly got heck outta dodge.
You will all be happy to know that we made it home safely and decided next time we should have a better plan. Overall it was a good day at the beach.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Practice! Practice! You Talkin' Bout Practice?!
Well lets see, it has been about two weeks. I cannot believe I have been here for only two weeks. It seems like I have been here much longer, but that is due to the fact that we are only training right now. No games yet. So there is sort of a preseason feeling to all this. There are no games, its just training and getting a feel for each other out there on the court. We practice twice a day for about 2- 2 1/2 hours. So I wake up at about 8 am, grab some breakfast, and head out the door at about 9:15 for our 9:30am practice. Practice is pretty much focused on ball control and conditioning. My two favorites! And if you know me, you know I am lying when I say that. Being a middle blocker, my expertise is in protecting the front line as much as possible through attacking and blocking. You rarely see me in the back row passing (bumping) or digging. I'm 6'2. and its hard enough to bend down to tie my own shoes. But its great to be an all-around player and as much as it is uncomfortable for me to do it, I know it is making me better in the long run. Adversity builds Character! Plus who doesn't love conquering something they are supposedly not good at.
After morning practice its really important to put food back into my body. I usually sweat out about 2-3 Ibs every practice. Not exaggerating at all. I can wring the sweat out of my shirts. I call it my Patrick Ewing Syndrome. After lunch comes my favorite part of the day. Siesta! Its a tradition in Spain to take a short nap in the early afternoon after your midday meal. Usually stores and businesses are all closed for this past time. I think its great and we need to adopt this siesta time in the States as well. Our afternoon practice starts at 4pm. The gym's temperature is blazing by this time of the day, but nothing I cannot handle. The girls and coaches have been very accommodating to us. Sometimes we play American music and the other day we played basketball. Yay! Some days its hard because I do tend to miss a lot of things in translation. They are pretty understanding and encourage us to speak in Spanish as much as possible to ease the transition. The other day I was in a drill and I said something in German and totally forgot I was in Spain.
As much as an athlete loves to practice and get better, we also love to go out and show what we have been practicing for and play games. I believe there is about 5 or 6 more weeks until our first season game. It gets pretty redundant and repetitive after awhile. But you have to understand that whenever I slack off, someone else in some other gym is busting theirs so they can kick mine. Someone once told me that the acronym for FORD was Fix Or Repair Daily. I guess that's why after all of the tweaks and practice and daily repairs, I am still BuiltFORDtuff.
Our Practice Facility