Very windy bronze medal match in Australia today. Phil and I were fortunate to win the game. The first game was kind of a comedy of errors. We had a lot in the beginning and Jake and Rosy had a lot in the end. In the second we had all the errors and they had all the answers. The third game was 3-2 with us up and then we switched 7-3. We kept at least a 2 point lead through the game and won 15-11.
I have said it before and will say it again. It is tough to play in a bronze medal match out here. Phil and I used it to experiment with some different things. We both felt pretty banged up having played the maximum amount of games (9).
The wind was also a major factor as it was gusting. Phil and I were setting each other little baby sets to keep the wind out of play as much as we could. From the good side you could pretty much hit your jump serve as hard as you wanted and it would go in. You just had to get it over the net. Phil actually jump floated the whole match. I was jump serving from the good side and floating from the bad side.
Olympic wise we are looking almost like a lock. I wouldn't say that we are yet, but it is very very close. Jake and Rosy have thrown the first punch in the battle between them and Mike and Stein. Granted the latter team was not here but by virtue of Jake and Rosy finish, they have put themselves just under 1000 points ahead of Stein and Mike and really the pressure is now on Stein and Mike to perform at almost all the FIVB events they play in. They can afford a few bad ones but only if Jake and Rosy have a few bad ones too. Should be interesting.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser take the Bronze
30-Mar-08, Adelaide, Australia - Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser (USA) defeated Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal (USA) in three games (21-18, 14-21, 15-11) to take home the Bronze Medal from the first FIVB International Beach Volleyball event of 2008. Rogers and Dalhausser earned $14,000, and added 480 points towards qualifying for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Rogers and Dalhausser have now compiled 3,780 points for seven international events since the start of the Olympic qualifying process last May. A minimum of eight SWATCH-FIVB World Tour participations are required for Summer Games consideration. Rogers-Dalhausser are the leading USA Men's Beach Volleyball team to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.
Rogers and Dalhausser have now compiled 3,780 points for seven international events since the start of the Olympic qualifying process last May. A minimum of eight SWATCH-FIVB World Tour participations are required for Summer Games consideration. Rogers-Dalhausser are the leading USA Men's Beach Volleyball team to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Australia2
Another long day in Adelaide. The weather was a bit dodgy as they say here. Rainy and windy in the morning but the sun did manage to come out in our last match. On the american side of things Casey and Matt lost a tight one to China 1. They had to be pretty tired having played in country quota and the qualifier. I think it is their best finish ever in FIVB competition. Jake and Rosy have yet to play their semi game but if I were a betting man I would take them over china. On the women's side Jen and April had a subpar tourney. They finished 17th. Tyra and Rachel finished 13th. Also what I would consider a subpar performance for them. I think both teams missed a good opportunity to gain some valuable points towards the Olympics and catch up or keep pace with Nicole and EY. The tourneys are only going to get more difficult as we go forward and teams like Misty and Kerri are in the tourney. EY and Nicole groveled through like Phil and I but like Phil and I they lost in the semis. The matches I saw they looked good.
Phil and I opened up this morning at 8am against the 2nd team from the Netherlands. A team that has been dubbed the american killers. They beat Jake and Rosy 3 times last year and I think they might have beat Lambo and Stein too. Not sure on that one though. We played them in the WC in Swiss and beat them in a tough 3 game battle. We came out strong and won in 2. The first game we frittered away a couple of match points before closing it out. The second we were pretty strong. I think the scores were 19 and 13. In our second match we played the tough German team of Brink and Dieckmann. They can serve really well and take you out of a match quickly. Both guys can bring it from the service line. In the first they were not hitting any serves and we won like 15 or 16. In the second Phil and I were in control and then Brink went back and fired 4 or 5 bullets from the service line. He had at least one ace and maybe 2 and I was struggling to pass the serves very well which created points for them. We caught them at 20 and were able to pull out the match in the end though.
In the semis we started off very slow. They started off serving Phil and were digging and blocking him really well. We came back at the end but they sided out to win 19. The second we were strong and they struggled a bit. Score was 15 or 16. In the third we were up 9-6 and had a point opportunity but could not convert. I gave up some points and they came back and ended up winning 13. Tough loss after grovelling all the way through the losers bracket. Pretty tired now and ready for dinner and some sleep.
Phil and I opened up this morning at 8am against the 2nd team from the Netherlands. A team that has been dubbed the american killers. They beat Jake and Rosy 3 times last year and I think they might have beat Lambo and Stein too. Not sure on that one though. We played them in the WC in Swiss and beat them in a tough 3 game battle. We came out strong and won in 2. The first game we frittered away a couple of match points before closing it out. The second we were pretty strong. I think the scores were 19 and 13. In our second match we played the tough German team of Brink and Dieckmann. They can serve really well and take you out of a match quickly. Both guys can bring it from the service line. In the first they were not hitting any serves and we won like 15 or 16. In the second Phil and I were in control and then Brink went back and fired 4 or 5 bullets from the service line. He had at least one ace and maybe 2 and I was struggling to pass the serves very well which created points for them. We caught them at 20 and were able to pull out the match in the end though.
In the semis we started off very slow. They started off serving Phil and were digging and blocking him really well. We came back at the end but they sided out to win 19. The second we were strong and they struggled a bit. Score was 15 or 16. In the third we were up 9-6 and had a point opportunity but could not convert. I gave up some points and they came back and ended up winning 13. Tough loss after grovelling all the way through the losers bracket. Pretty tired now and ready for dinner and some sleep.
Australia
Goodday mates! Working hard through the loser's bracket here in Adelaide. The American men in general are doing pretty well here so far. Stein and Mark ended up taking a 9th today. Casey and Matt made it through a tough qualifier and are sitting in 7th with a game vs. the chinese tomorrow. Jake and Rosy are sitting pretty in the crossover semis.
As for Phil and I, we are sitting in 7th and play a team from the Netherlands tomorrow bright and early. We started off vs. a vastly improved French brother team. Kevin and Andy Ces have switched sides and are actually quite good. We pulled out a 3 game match 15-13 in the third. We had been down 10-6 but managed to string some points together and pull it out. Our second match on Thursday was against Jake and Rosy. They are playing very well as evidenced by where they currently stand. They played well against us and won 24-22 and 21-17.
Today we played 3 matches and won them all. Our first match was against the team from Georgia which is actually a team from Brasil with Georgian passports. They are a solid team who we played a couple of times last year. We played well and beat them in 2 games. Our next game was against the Japanese team of Shiratori and Asahi. We played very well to win 21-15 and 21-12. In our 3rd game we played the top team from Switzerland, Sascha and Patrick. We came out strong in the first and won 21-13. They probably missed 5 out of their first 8 serves which helped quite a bit. The second game started the same way as the first. But at 8-6 with us up they strung together 5 straight points due to some very poor passing by me and one by Phil. From then on we were down until the end of the game. They were up 19-16 and we sided out. Phil had a big jump serve which created a point opportunity in which we converted. They sided out to make it 20-18. We sided out and then Phil got a block to tie us up at 20's. I dug two more balls in which Phil hit over on 2 and that was the game. Good win as the Swiss are a good team.
As for Phil and I, we are sitting in 7th and play a team from the Netherlands tomorrow bright and early. We started off vs. a vastly improved French brother team. Kevin and Andy Ces have switched sides and are actually quite good. We pulled out a 3 game match 15-13 in the third. We had been down 10-6 but managed to string some points together and pull it out. Our second match on Thursday was against Jake and Rosy. They are playing very well as evidenced by where they currently stand. They played well against us and won 24-22 and 21-17.
Today we played 3 matches and won them all. Our first match was against the team from Georgia which is actually a team from Brasil with Georgian passports. They are a solid team who we played a couple of times last year. We played well and beat them in 2 games. Our next game was against the Japanese team of Shiratori and Asahi. We played very well to win 21-15 and 21-12. In our 3rd game we played the top team from Switzerland, Sascha and Patrick. We came out strong in the first and won 21-13. They probably missed 5 out of their first 8 serves which helped quite a bit. The second game started the same way as the first. But at 8-6 with us up they strung together 5 straight points due to some very poor passing by me and one by Phil. From then on we were down until the end of the game. They were up 19-16 and we sided out. Phil had a big jump serve which created a point opportunity in which we converted. They sided out to make it 20-18. We sided out and then Phil got a block to tie us up at 20's. I dug two more balls in which Phil hit over on 2 and that was the game. Good win as the Swiss are a good team.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Goodday from AUS
Phil and I are fighting off boredom as we wait for the MD of the tourney here in Adelaide. Left SB Saturday night and got in midday on Monday. 14 hour flight from LAX to Sydney. Longest flight I have ever been on but we did get the upgrade which was huge. Time change is 17 1/2 hours ahead of pacific time. Pretty easy to get used to. You get up early and want to get to bed early. Works for me.
Had a good workout in the gym on Tuesday. Hit it around a bit on Monday when we got in but it is really really windy. The wind started up Monday afternoon and has not let up. To the point where beach volley becomes who can keep the ball in the court wins. It has also rained a little as well. I guess they really need that here though as they have been in a drought. Hopefully today the wind will die down. Either way we plan on hitting it around again to get used to the conditions.
AUS is a nice place. Everyone here has been very gracious and kind. I have to say so far that I definetely like it here. Even had a little Kangaroo meat the other day. Pretty good stuff. Similar to beef but a touch gamier.
Cheers mate.
Had a good workout in the gym on Tuesday. Hit it around a bit on Monday when we got in but it is really really windy. The wind started up Monday afternoon and has not let up. To the point where beach volley becomes who can keep the ball in the court wins. It has also rained a little as well. I guess they really need that here though as they have been in a drought. Hopefully today the wind will die down. Either way we plan on hitting it around again to get used to the conditions.
AUS is a nice place. Everyone here has been very gracious and kind. I have to say so far that I definetely like it here. Even had a little Kangaroo meat the other day. Pretty good stuff. Similar to beef but a touch gamier.
Cheers mate.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Todd is off to Australia - 2008 FIVB Season Opener !
You can find Todd's 2008 Schedule on his web page :
http://www.toddjrogers.com/
http://www.toddjrogers.com/schedule.html
http://www.toddjrogers.com/
http://www.toddjrogers.com/schedule.html
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Past Weeks Training
Long week of lifting, plyo's, volleyball and filming.
Lifting went well. Got it all in but it was a very heavy week for me on the legs as well as the upper body. Felt good though.
My plyo/track workout was difficult as always.
Volleyball went fairly well. We trained against Nick/Sean on Monday and then Dax/Billy on Thursday. Monday was a beautiful day at East. We played 4 games to 21 vs. Nick/Sean. Won the first 3 like 15, 18, 16 or something like that and then lost the 4th one 15 or 16. On Thursday it was really windy. We warmed up and then played 2 games to 21 and then called it. The wind was getting stronger and stronger. We won both games like 16 and 12 or something like that. The last game was a mega windball game and Phil and I pretty much served them off the court from the good side. We decided to call it after that because it was getting ridiculous.
Did a bunch of filming for some projects some friends and I are doing. All beach volleyball specific stuff. Filmed all day Wend. and all day Thursday too. They filmed our practice as well. Then they filmed our plyo workout too. It isn't difficult but it is tiring. Look for more in the future on what we are doing. I am pretty excited about it.
Lifting went well. Got it all in but it was a very heavy week for me on the legs as well as the upper body. Felt good though.
My plyo/track workout was difficult as always.
Volleyball went fairly well. We trained against Nick/Sean on Monday and then Dax/Billy on Thursday. Monday was a beautiful day at East. We played 4 games to 21 vs. Nick/Sean. Won the first 3 like 15, 18, 16 or something like that and then lost the 4th one 15 or 16. On Thursday it was really windy. We warmed up and then played 2 games to 21 and then called it. The wind was getting stronger and stronger. We won both games like 16 and 12 or something like that. The last game was a mega windball game and Phil and I pretty much served them off the court from the good side. We decided to call it after that because it was getting ridiculous.
Did a bunch of filming for some projects some friends and I are doing. All beach volleyball specific stuff. Filmed all day Wend. and all day Thursday too. They filmed our practice as well. Then they filmed our plyo workout too. It isn't difficult but it is tiring. Look for more in the future on what we are doing. I am pretty excited about it.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Latest Training
Trained this past Thursday vs. Nick and Sean. They looked solid. Nick was probably the best player on the court overall and was playing at mid-season form. Sean looked a bit lethargic. On our side, I would say I was a bit lethargic and Phil was decent.
We did some sideout work and then played a wash game to 11. Phil and I won 11-6 in over an hour. Wash drills tend to take a long time. Phil tweaked his back mid-wash drill. He was able to finish the drill but he looked very much the worse for wear. Would have been nice to have our DC Ernie Ferrel on the sand to fix him up. We called it after the wash because Phil was pretty stiff. Plus, the fog had rolled in and it was getting cold. He's fine now as he got a bunch of work done on his back.
We did some sideout work and then played a wash game to 11. Phil and I won 11-6 in over an hour. Wash drills tend to take a long time. Phil tweaked his back mid-wash drill. He was able to finish the drill but he looked very much the worse for wear. Would have been nice to have our DC Ernie Ferrel on the sand to fix him up. We called it after the wash because Phil was pretty stiff. Plus, the fog had rolled in and it was getting cold. He's fine now as he got a bunch of work done on his back.
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