Four in a Row & On A Roll!

Team Finestrat has been real busy lately; which is why I have not blogged since forever. Apologies. Between practice and road trips to Spanish islands, I have been extra busy. I have lost my passport in an airport, we added a new player to our roster, I've entertained out of town guests, and also sad good-bye to a dear friend. Its been an emotionally and physically challenging four weeks. So excuse the tardiness of this blog. But! Good things come to those who wait right? The good news is that in between all those things mentioned earlier, we have been winning and winning a lot. Since starting the new year with new incentives and possible pay cuts, we have gone 4-0 in the Spanish Supaliga. We also jumped up 4 spots from 10th place to 6th. We are now playoff eligible. Amazing right? It has been quite the journey. So I will start from the beginning.

Last time I checked in, we had just defeated CAV Murcia. They are one of the top teams in the league that are stuggling financially and can not afford to pay their foreign players. Therefore, their athletes did not compete. It was a pretty descent game, but most importantly we won because had we not, our pay checks would have been cut. I usually would not condone this type of motivation because I know when I play under this type of pressure, I screw up. But this motivation must have worked for some players on my team because the very next week we traveled to Mallora, a island off the east coast of Spain, to play Oxidoc Palma. In this TV game we defeated them 3-1 (25-23, 25-18, 20-15, 25-23). Not a great game for the middles because neither of us could get a good connection with the setter, and on top of that we were both battling injuries. Our outsides Dani Da silva, Katia Rodrigues & Lindsay Stalzer all had very strong performances.

Natali "Flavia" Flaviani defending the net vs. Oxidoc Palma setter Sara

Dani DaSilva goes up strong vs the strong block of Ukranian Oxidoc Palma middle Vita Prychepa

In Week 14 team Finestrat squared off against Haro Rioja in our house. For some reason this match is always quite emotional. As you recall last time, we defeated them on their home court and they felt we came in in stole it from them. Which we did, and that was why it was such a good match. This time was different because they were without two key players; their Americans Queen Nwezwa & Vicki Brown both decided to leave the team for whatever reasons. I felt it was a complete game changer with those two players missing. Both are very athletic and bring a big defensive front. We defeated them 3-1 (25-20, 18-25, 25-18, 25-20). Having a breakout game for us was Flavia with 17 points on 17 kills.

Katia "Katchu" Rodrigues busts the ball through the block of Haro for a point

Finally this past week, we traveled once again to the Gran Canary Islands to place Team GC Cantur. This match was real important because we were on a 3 game winning streak, and Team Cantur was on a four game losing streak. Also, the last time we faced off against them, we played horrible and it was the beginning of our demise in the first half of the season. This time would be the same type of match. It was point for point the whole time. Our first game of the match would result in one of the longest games played in the history of the Supaliga. It lasted 41 minutes and after a plethora of missed serves from both teams, it ended off of an ace by yours truly. The score was 38-36. Eventually we came out on top 3-1 (38-36, 23-25, 26-24, 26-24). We were lead by the amazing efforts of Dani DaSilva with 36 points on 31 kills and 5 aces. Overall this really was a team effort with everyone doing their part.

On a sidenote, I would like to vent a lil bit... Even though this was a great win, it had a negative tone over it because whoever did the stats were completely wrong. Honestly, there are times where you might miss a block or a dig because its so fast, but I have never seen such a misrepresentation of the actual truth. For the record, Team Finestrat outblocked Cantur in this match, but we were not credited. I think thats a shame. You work hard as athletes to succeed, but you also would like a true account of the work you have done, and when that is taken away its sad. Personally, I see it as a challenge to go out and outblock the next team, so that it will not be a question of how many blocks we did or didnt have.

Next we will try and keep out winning streak going at home versue Tenerife. Vamos Finestrat!

"Having a strong work ethic is what will make you successful in whatever you choose to do. Get up in the morning with the thought that you will apply yourself and give work/school your #1 effort. Failures should be seen as learning opportunities. Don't ever give up on your dreams." - Dwight Freeney, The Indianapolis Colts

Starting Off With a Bang, but at what cost?

First and foremost let me start off by saying that this blog is my way of sharing my adventures of volleyball in different countries and expressing my feelings. I try to be fair and impartial with my entries. And I try to keep it positive, without complaining. I do not know if that is possible anymore. With the new year, came a new goal for me as a serious athlete. It also brought a new incentive from my club that I am not too happy about. It can be simply paraphrased as Win or Dont get Paid! Talk about negative reinforcement, but is this the way to inspire a team. Is this the way to run a business? I know neither is going to work for me. "Im sorry I thought I was a professional athlete?"


This past saturday Team Finestrat faced off against the ever so powerful CAV Murcia. As you might recall, the first time we played, the results were not so positive on our side. My coach did not hesitate to tell me personally that I played really badly. Which was right. It was not a strong game for me. This time around would be very different because Murcia had to play without some of their strong players. Because Murcia has not payed their players from the past and present, the foreign players have not been playing. Fortunately for us, they did not play this game, and Team Finestrat was victorious in winning the match 3-1 (27-25, 22-25, 25-17, 25-23).

Although, anyone should be thrilled from winning; the joy was sucked out due to the negative incentive placed on this match. I dont need to go into details, becuase that should stay within the club. But I will say this: I love sports. I love the game of volleyball. I love being an athlete, and I dont want that taken away. When negative weight is placed on this feeling, then what is left? What happens when your love of the game is gone because every other day you are worried about being fired or possibly someone on your team being let go. How are we as a team supposed to get better, it everything is a numbers game and your destiny depends on how many points you score as an individual.

These are questions that have been running through my head lately. I am trying to stay positive, because in the end this will make me stronger, right? I just know I have to stay the coarse. This may be the dry, deserted path on my way to an oasis. I just keep telling myself, " God will not put things on me that I cannot handle." In the words of a fellow former Gamecock Carlos Powell, " Got Faith?" I sure do.

Congrats to Dani DaSilva on making the ideal seven for the 12th week. Next game is away versus Oxidoc Palma. Vamos Finestrat!

New Year. Same Goals

Happy New Year to all of you. Congratulations on another year. With the new year comes new years resolutions; a pledge to better yourself in one way or another. It could be anything from dropping a vice, to paying off credit cards. Eiether way, its a promise that a lot of us make and break. Me? Well I must confess... I dont think I have ever followed through on a New Years Resolution. But that is not going to stop me from pledging to another one this year.

As an athlete, all we do is make resolutions. I guess in our case they are goals or plans to do or execute during a match or game: Cut down on turnovers, decrease errors, press over on the block, etc. What happens when we are not reaching these goals. I think so many times, we as human beings run into problems and quickly try to resolve them by cutting corners or simply quitting them. We begin looking for a quick fix or the easiest fix. Its like when you over think and start messing up on things that you were good at in the first place. So now not only have you not fixed the first problem, but you have created another problem by thinking too hard. Sometimes we may just need to reevaluate and tweak one little thing. This one little thing most likely is disguised with hard work, challenges, or a struggle. Therefore, we do not choose to take on the challenge. We rather look to a easier path.

In the movie "Taking of Pelham 123" John Travolta's character states to Denzel Washingtons character that, "Plan B is to reinforce Plan A." My number one resolution or goal is to always become a better athlete, volleyball player. I knew coming to Spain that this was a whole new arena of possiblities. I knew it wouldnt be easy. This first half of the season, I doubted myself. I thought, maybe I should retire my athlete life and start a normal 9-5; just because we were losing or I had a bad game. Even the management stated they would fire all of us if we did not win. What type of message does that send? I am sick of giving up on something just because it is not going the way I would like it to go. I guess they should have fired Michael Jordan many times with all the shots he missed.

I am in no way saying that you shouldnt have plan Bs, or a back-up plan or different ideas to reach a goal. I am simply trying to say you shouldnt just give up because its not working. Sometimes you have to stay the course and let it play out. This year I just want to grind through and when things get rough, I need to stay the course. No more backing out. When I get frightened, I want to become inspired. I am living out a dream right now as a professional athlete, and if I run away from it, I guess it was not a dream to begin with. No more doubts.

"When obstacles arise, change your direction to reach your goal, not the decision to get there."
- Zig Ziglar