Spring Fun

Spring Break (all in one post) 

 When I was on spring break, I was almost disappointed at first, I was going to be in Arizona the whole week of my break, and that means I wouldn't be able to have any time to have fun with my friends and I really wasn't looking forward to spending more than 14 hours in a hot, dry car with my older brother asking me to have a car pillow fight the whole time. Even though these things were a little annoying, the trip was still really fun when driving out of state.

The first stop we took was at my grandparents house, in Surprise, Arizona. My great- grandparents aren't the stereotypical "life alert' old people who can't do anything on their own. My grandparents are extremely active it makes me very self-conscious when they ask me if I'm really going to eat that cookie. They live right in the middle of a super fancy golf course community where there are more golf-carts on the streets than actual cars themselves. Arizona was really fun, very hot, and magnificently beautiful.

Since I was going to be in Arizona all break, I didn't have time to do a project assigned in my core class for my High School, so I decided to do a career observation of a radio show host in Phoenix, Arizona. It was absolutely amazing and made me even more excited about maybe obtaining a career in any type of broadcasting. 

After some good-'ol bonding and card games with my dearest great-grandparents, it was time for the highlight of our family trip. Our last and final stop before our arrival in California, we stopped at the grandest canyon of them all. As a kid, I had heard my dad and brother always talking about the Grand Canyon and since I never, really, had seen a canyon I assumed it was a little divit in the ground that wasn't very grand as it was said to be in the title. The Grand Canyon literally. took. the breath. out. of. me. And let me tell you, it was very grand. My mom is a science teacher and she also happens to be my science teacher. What we were currently learning in her class was all visually demonstrated at this canyon and my mom wouldn't stop geeking out. It was actually really funny to watch. 

Besides scenic pictures, my parents insisted that I and my brother joined together in front for the "future Christmas card" picture. This however, did not turn out as successful as they had hopped.

  

  This is what I did over spring break, what about you? Did you travel out of state? out of country? out of your bedroom? To me, spring break is a little week that says "Hey, you can make it! finals and then summer is here" hang in there other students who still have school, we can all make it. See you all on my next blog and thanks so much for reading :)) 

  Colleen xx

Tournament Essentials (part 1)

 *If you are in any club volleyball team, this post will be very useful to you, or if you are always confused on what to bring to a volleyball game, keep reading* 

  Your first volleyball tournament. How exciting! You have been practicing with your team for about a month now but you have no idea what to expect, or what to bring. Should you wear one of those cool ankle braces the olympic volleyball players wear, or will that be too much. Should you bring a first aid kit? 

  Have no fear, Colleen is here :) this blog will be all about what to bring, what to expect and what to wear to a volleyball tournament (This could also apply for any sport) 

1) Volleyball Uniform 

    This may seem as a "duh Colleen" but it would be pretty horrible if you forgot your jersey. The night before, make sure to have your jersey, spandex, knee pads, socks and shoes all folded in your team bag. That way, in the morning they will be all in the same place so you won't be scrambling everywhere to find your sock then be late. (MAJOR ALERT: Make sure your jersey is washed before your game, you will get sweaty and it won't be fun to be even more smelly with a disgusting uniform to begin with) 

2) Bling-Bling 

  If you are playing for club, having ribbons in your hair or your nails painted to the colors of your team is a really fun way to represent team spirit and be unique when in a sea of players. For the past two times I have been on club, the coach or the coache's wife had made us hairties with ribbons tied to them to put in our hair. Before the tournament, I also painted my nails black, to match the black stitching on my jersey. If your going to a tournament finalist championship, painting war lines on your face is always fun. As long as it's actual paint that won't burn your skin, have at it!

3) Carpool! 

  Many tournaments in aftershock are really far away and are such a drag to drive all the way there early in the morning, so why not bring a friend with you? This past tournament I had to drive to San Jose, and my good friend Mila needed a ride there. She came over the night before and we had a sleepover before waking up really early to drive down to San Jose. This is a really good idea to do for a far tournament, especially if it's with a player you will be interacting with on the court. For me, Mila is an outside hitter and I am a middle, with the bonding we had the night before, we worked way better and had a lot of fun. (Tip: the more people you have to carpool with, the better. Get to know your whole team on a personal level while at the same time reducing green house gases) 

4) Backpack essentials 

  If you are playing club, your team should give you a super fancy team backpack with your number stitched on the back super cool and professional. But the bag isn't to show off how cool you are, it's to actually put stuff in. Here are some things you might want to include in your bag:

 Team backpack, blanket, jersey, sweatshirt, warm up shirt, court shoes, water bottle, warm up pants, knee pads, socks, slip on shoes

5) Source of music 

  During a break at a game, you will find utter boredrum if you don't have entertainmet. For me, I bring my beats by dre headphones. They are an excellent source of blocking out any other distracting noise on the car ride there or right before a match. But during lunch breaks, you will be with your team and it's great to have a wireless speaker to play some music in your site and get everyone talking to each other and having fun.

6) Secret Sisters 

  A tradition my team does for every tournament is similar to Secret Santa, a confidential gift exchange during the holidays, except this is all season long. Before the first tourney, we wrote down our interests then threw the papers in a hat. The paper you got is the person you will give a small motivational gift each time to. This is a really fun idea, and always be sure to include a motivational note to keep their heads up high if they didn't play as well as they wished, or to congratulate them for their great skills that day.












    That's all for this post :) thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! I have way other plans on this post so there will most certainly be a part two and maybe even three to a tournament theme. Follow Mila on Instagram because she only agreed to be featured in this post if I gave her a shout out. @mila.sugarman Leave a comment to let me know how I did and for any other suggestions you might have. Until next time volleyball players :) 

Keeping your cool- on the court

Staying Calm on the court 

     

It can be very frustrating and aggravating when playing any sport and losing badly. I for one know. During my first year doing club volleyball, our team was the worst of the worst. We only won one game out of the whole entire season and one match from that. From my past experiences of different players and scenarios, I have faced the situation of being frustrated because I was so passionate about winning, I forgot about having a positive attitude.

 When your team isn't doing so good point wise- means that your team probably isn't doing so good attitude wise. To help your team, start smiling more, even if it means people will be annoyed by your happy attitude when the game is everything but. Believe it or not, if you are annoying and smiling a ton, and complimenting teammates on their good hits or serves, it will affect someone.

In my past years of volleyball, I have been the girl that was "too happy" and wasn't taking the game's score seriously. I have also been the player that was extremely frustrated for not being there at the right time. Although it is reasonable to be mad and aggravated in a situation like this, you shouldn't let it get to you because this attitude will only make you play worse.

Another good tip I have learned from a stressful game is to keep goals. In volleyball, when there is an uneven number of wins, the game goes to a third match that declares the winner of the game. However the third match only goes to 15, so you don't have as much time to catch up with the other team if they are way in front of you. Set goals; be the first one to 5,8,10 then 15. If you keep this point lead throughout the best that you can,  then the odds will be in your favor. 

No matter what happens on the court, always remember: It's just a game and another loss is just a step back, but with time and practice, you can take 5 steps forward. 

  Thanks so much for reading another one of my blogs on volleyball! I think I might start another theme to this blog than just volleyball, I have a lot of interests besides this really cool sport. 

Comment and leave me your feedback, thanks again! 

 Colleen :) 

How to hit a volleyball

 As you may have already read in other posts, I have been playing volleyball for over 5 years, but I haven't always been a front row hitter. I've only started hitting since eighth grade, but have improved my hitting by actually following the tips of these tips


5 ways to hit a volleyball

When working on spiking a ball front row, the focus should all be on your approach, the way you make your way to the ball. A setter will put the ball in a position for you to hit away, but if you just run up then hit the ball, you won't be as successful as when you have certain steps before hitting the ball

The approach that I have used and has helped me a lot is stepping with your right foot first, almost as if you were falling, then swinging your both arms way behind you. The lower you bend your knees, the higher you will go. Face your setter, then jump and turn towards the net, snapping your hand down, as is you were showing off your fancy nails to the team in front of you.




Extending your hand out to the farthest it can go while hitting is ideal, this is why many people say taller people should play volleyball. However, don't get discouraged if you are a short player, the sky is your limit with anything you want to do.

Volleyball Picture

New Year Memories

On December 31, everyone gathers around the clock or his or her TV to count down the last seconds of the year. Not necessarily keeping in mind all of the wonderful experiences that took place in the year that have been left behind. 

In 2015, I had so many fun, thrilling and memorable adventures that made the year worth wile. 

Towards the beginning of 2015, in eighth grade, I meet two of my best friends that I am still in contact with, before meeting these amazing people, I was with a group of people who made me extremely self conscious and scared about what other people would think of me. I realized how unhappy that made me feel and sought out to find people who made me happy. Even though I may have known these amazing people for a year, it feels like I have known them my whole life. 

 August 15, 2015 was probably the best day of my life and will always be the best day of my life. For my 14th birthday in December 2014, I got two tickets for front row seats at a Taylor Swift world tour concert in Santa Clara. Out of all the gifts I have gotten in my whole life, these simple pieces of paper meant the whole entire world to me. The first time I heard a Taylor Swift song was when I was 7, sitting in the car with my mom, I asked her "Who sings this song" and she said "I think her name is Taylor Swift." for Christmas that same year I got my first Taylor Swift album and have been a fan of her ever since. Going to a concert is an amazing experience that I will never in my whole life forget. Not only going to see your favorite artist or band perform, but also being in line to buy a hot dog and seeing another fan with a special t-shirt with an inside Taylor Swift joke, or seeing someone else and going "Hey, I have that shirt." The whole community is like a whole family of fans. 

In October of 2015, I ate my first fried pickle, and this may not seem like a big deal, or it may seem utterly disgusting. But what you have to understand is that I am a die-hard pickle fan and a die-hard deep-fried anything fan. In October, I went to a "KIN" In Healdsburg with my family and we all ordered deep fried pickles as an appetizer. At first I was confused at how the original crunchy texture might taste once fried, but my doubts were instantly relieved when I took the first bite. The pickle taste was still there, but was also twisted in with a beautiful fried texture from the outside. 

In May of 2015, I graduated from Cali Calmecac Language Academy. A school I had been attending for the past 9 years of my education (starting at kindergarten through eighth grade) Cali wasn't like every school. Since we had all been to the same exzct school since kinder, we all knew each other better and more personally than most other middle school's you would find. Besides the unique bond we all had with each other, we were also a charter school; meaning at least half of our classes since kinder were taught in Spanish. Present day, I am now fluent in both english and spanish and am so grateful to have gotten the chance to attend such a school. 

On December 15, 2015 I turned 15. This was not just any ordinary birthday. Since my birthday is on the 15th, this past year was my triple golden birthday; I turned 15 on the 15th, in the year 2015. When I was little, I expected my golden birthday to be like in the movies; sparkles surround me as I reach the actual time I was born and I become a whole different person, however this didn't happen. I did get extreme bragging rights that day though.

2015 was a very eventful and exciting year and I made so many life changing experiences. What are some of your favorite memories of 2015 and what are you most excited for 2016?

How to pass a volleyball

  How to Pass a Volleyball:

Passing a volleyball can seem complicated at first, but once you have your passing position down, passing a volleyball will be as easy as saying "I can't pass a volleyball"

The two most important things to keep in mind while passing are moving your feet to the ball and staying low (Bent knees)

Step One, ready position:

When passing a volleyball, you want to make sure your feet are shoulder length apart and your knees are bent. This way, it will be easier to get to the ball. Keep your habit of placing hands on your knees out of your mind. Doing this will only make you move slower. Instead, hold your hands out in front of you, ready for the ball

Step Two, Platform:

When passing the ball, volleyball players place their arms together, this is called a platform. Place one hand on top of the other and pul your elbows inwards. Any position for your thumbs that is comfortable for you is fine, as long as your thumbs aren't crossing, if your thumbs are crossing during a pass, then you could break your thumbs if a ball lands on your hand. 

 

Step three, Passing: 

When a ball is tossed, you should be in your ready position (Knees bent, feet shoulder-width apart) with your hands out in front of you. When the ball is close enough that it could hit your hands, pop your platform out. The ball should land near the person who threw the ball's forehead. 

Remember!

While using your platform, make sure to stay low (Don't stand up!) and don't move your platform up or down. As my coach says, your platform should be like a stick, it should be stuck in it's space.

The ball won't always fly straight towards you, run to the ball, then pop out your platform (Don't stand like a Christmas Tree) 

Congratulaitions!

Now passing should be as easy as pie! Just keep these three steps in mind and you should be passing like a pro in no time! 

  Thanks for reading my first entry to my volleyball blog! I will be posting more entries on how to underhand serve, hit etc. 

Blog introduction

A little bit about me

  

  One thing I am passionate is volleyball. I have been playing volleyball for five years now, ever since 5th grade I have been playing this amazing sport. Even before I even knew what volleyball was, people have always said that I would be good at volleyball because of my height. Maybe it's because of my height, or maybe it's my incredibly competitive personality, but volleyball did end up being the sport for me and I ended up finding a sport that I loved and would play for the rest of my life. In volleyball, I play middle hitter. That position is my favorite to play in my opinion. 

 Whenever the setter sets the ball in my direction, a little spark shoots in my stomach as I jump up in my approach to hit the ball. I get extremely passionate about diving, hitting passing and keeping the ball in play. Whenever I am having a bad day, or can't wait until school is over, I always remind myself that I have volleyball practice after school and that automatically lifts my spirits. Besides being extremely competitive, I am also very positive. Even though volleyball can be super stressful at times, I am usually known to be the one on my team that always keeps my head up high with a smile on my face. Last year, I tried Aftershock Club Volleyball for the first time. If it wasn't for that decision, I might have never have been at the skill level in volleyball that I am in today. I learned many things during my season in Aftershock, but personally, I think the most important thing I learned was how to hit. A skill that I have loved to learn and practice, and something that brings out the memory of reminder of why I love volleyball so much.

In this blog, you should expect lots of tutorials on volleyball skills, necessities for a volleyball tournament and much more. If anyone has any requests or are seeking advice, drop me a comment and I will make a post just for you. Thanks so much for reading. Buckle up, because your about to enter volleyball land.