Just wanted to say hello to everyone and update everyone what's going on with me. Had a fairly relaxing last couple of weeks in comparison to before Thanksgiving. Been enjoying a lot of time with the family. We put our tree up at the beginning of the month and I put up the lights around the house. We are pretty much ready for Christmas here. Have a roaring fire going most everynight although the weather had been really nice here for the most part. Finally this weekend we are getting some cold weather for our area. Actually dipping down around the freezing point at night. I know a lot of you probably are not even getting a high of 32 degrees and are laughing at us. Personally I love the cold mornings but I suppose that all becomes relative to what your idea of cold is.
Been working out in the weight room since the beginning of November and it has been going pretty good. Feel strong and no major pains. Just some feel good soreness from the lifting. Started up at the track this past week doing our long sprints, jumps and stadium stuff. Good Lord I love to hate the track workout. It sucks but once I am done I feel like I have actually accomplished something. Been doing a lot of cardio work as well. Jogging and the stairclimber are great workouts for this time of year. Throw in some surfing and I have a well rounded off season training regiment.
Going to Omaha, NE for the Women's Final 4 this coming week. I am giving 2 presentations on the sport of Beach Volleyball to a lot of indoor volleyball folks. The NCAA is considering making beach volleyball an NCAA sport in the coming years. Would be really good for the sport in my opinion. Not to mention give opportunities to some schools that may not normally have a shot at an indoor championship as well as giving some well rounded beach volleyball players a shot at a scholarship that they would probably not have received in the indoor game. Looking forward to it.
On a professional beach volleyball level, still waiting for the FIVB and AVP to come out with some sort of schedule. Usually the FIVB has a schedule out by this point in time. Kind of shocked they don't have something out. The only thing I know is that Phil and I will be playing in the World Championships in Stavanger, Norway at the end of June beginning of July. Not shocked at all that the AVP does not have their schedule out. I don't remember the last time they actually posted a schedule the year before or even 2 months before the season started. Hopefully they will at least let the players know in a timely fashion so we don't have to pay through the nose for a ticket to Florida 2 weeks in advance because they could not confirm the stop any earlier.
Merry Christmas everyone!
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13 comments:
Todd, sounds like a nice off season. Have been having trouble getting into the Christmas Spirit, maybe it will hit me in the next couple of days.
Enjoy the holidays, the cool weather and stay healthy for 2009. Best to you and your family.
Jeff
Todd,
Enjoy Omaha this coming weekend...be sure to bring your winter clothes! It's gonna be a cold week!
Have you heard anything about your HWN schedule? I saw the article on AVP.com about it..but it said the schedule of who was going to be where isn't final yet. Hope to catch you back in Omaha in Jan!
Happy holidays, Todd. I knew that you had a brother but he lives in Japan and he speaks Japanese and French? Do you, too??? I must say he writes beautiful Japanese! So you must know your daughter's name, Hannah, means "flower" which is my favorite name as well. I can't wait to see you all at HWN and hope you come to NYC!
Kaoru
Todd,
Glad all is going away during your off and holiday season. Getting over a bad cold and we had a few days where the high of the day was 31 degrees here in NYC which didn't help. Question...do you & Phil exchange presents? Happy Holidays to you and the family!
Garret
Good to hear from your camp Todd! I am a victim of the ice storm here in New England. My house is just 2 miles from where the rain vs ice line was so I didnt have it so bad. No power for 48 hours and no internet for 4 days. Thursday night was sheer terror...no power...complete silence except huge bangs of trees snapping off branches which sounded like artillery...didnt sleep for 1 second waiting for a tree or branch to come thru roof or window. We survived the first night huddled in 1 bedroom away from trees. I sent the family 30 miles south to the in laws and I rode out the rest here by myself. Had to keep water going so pipes wouldnt freeze. Low point was when it got to 35 degrees in house and I could see my breath. There were stories of looters so I had a 2 iron with me at all times. Got power back at 1030pm Sat night but some people will not get power or heat for over 2 weeks. I feel guilty lighting the Christmas stuff. People with wells and electric pumps cant even flush toilets and some people have flooded basements and sump pumps have no power. Generators are selling faster than you can say Beijing Beast. I hope everyone on the board here and Todd's whole family have a great holiday season and a spectacular New Year. Looking forward to 2009! Send Budweiser!!!
Todd,
Feliz Navidad y Prospero Ano Nuevo y Felicidades!
Arsenal 12
Merry Christmas to you and your family and a very happy New Year. What are your thoughts on the AVP going private?
Thoughts on the AVP going private: Ahh.. this one is a good question. Not having to release financial information is at the heart of this, power probably has a piece of this too (ie.. control).
The AVP has gone bankrupt twice in it's history and is currently probably under a heck of a lot of stress to raise sufficient funds. The reality is that the nearly 100% sponsorship based business revenue model is extremely vulnerable to swings in the economy. This is the primary reason the AVP went bankrupt twice before. It is hard to have 16 events.. try to compete with the FIVB, and then have to scale back to 12 (renig on sponsors promises in the process) and lower costs. Where do companies cut FIRST before headcounts, investments, R&D etc... Sponsorships without a doubt. The AVP basically has no consistent revenue from liscensing it's brand (ie.. NFL, NBA, etc.), and has made some good moves this last year in trying to mimic the FIVB's sponsorship model (partnering with a local partner who foots half the bill and prize money basically). One of the most wasted opportunities ever in my humble opinion is the merchandising business. I used to run the Merch business for the avp for less than a year before it went bankrupt/got bought out for much bigger reasons than merch. At that time Board shorts for example wholesale were being bought for like $20-$27 a pair if you can believe it(3x to 4x what should be wholesale price), and then sold at $50 no problem. Demand is and always has been strong for AVP goods. Seems like a decent return, but the reality is good shorts made in Asia, Mexico and other markets run $6-10 bucks mattering on the quantity and to a degree the quality. The AVP volleyball brand (not beach.. VOLLEYBALL) has significant unrecognized value. Developing a good merch business and retail business via liscensing deals, a good webshop with a decent assortment, distribution deals with retailers makes sense. Jersey's for youth club teams, etc would do good to get out the brand further to youth. Good styles and good gear are key of course. My experience when I was running the business is that the demand is there without a doubt. Simply put, nobody had ever done more than set up the shops at events. There are people all over the country who would love to have more avp gear. The fact that the AVP were overpaying dramatically at that time was related to other things I will not go into related to management at that time (without casting blame, and recognizing lack of knowledge in this area by then management). Needless to say this is easily a multi-million+ dollar business that is a heck of a lot more robust than the sponsorship model. I am not suggesting the Merch. Replaces the sponsorship, but helps to create a more consistent revenue stream, while at the same time expanding brand awareness and profitability.
They obviously have their priorities in the AVP exec circles and I am not privy to those conversations so I leave the concept on the table as it is proven. The merch business makes money for the AVP hands down, sadly MUCH MUCH less than it is capable of. It could make SO much more, and add so much more to brand awareness with the right leadership. Hire someone who has run merch for one of the other tours and knows the distribution channels, and you have a great business, and promotional vehicle.
As to why they would go private.. I would say right now the numbers are pretty tough with the financial markets melting down and a publicly traded company has to post earnings etc. Fair enough.
Sorry about the length..
Should have put it in paragraphs. = )
FIVB 2009 calendar is out!
I hope everyone is having a great Christmas Eve. I am at home here in Massachusetts sipping a nice Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and watching the repeat of the Broncos vs Browns Classic game. Back when Elway and Kosar were running the offenses. No astroturf and dirty unis..good old days. I just carried in the Hannah Montana Beach House for the girls. Their big present. Disney is like a vacuum in my wallet.
Good story on the AVP Mr Anonymous...are you really Jerry Solomon aka Mr Nancy Kerrigan? The AVP had a vision of becoming like the ATP Tennis tour which was never a good idea. Having tournaments on real beaches that repeat every year and build tradition was the way to go. Not sure if the magic of the early 90s can be recaptured.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND MAY 2009 BE THE GREATEST YEAR OF OUR LIVES!!!
Thanks Jeff. You too.
Will answer the HWN questions and let you know on Omaha.
Kaoru- My brother is in Japan and speaks fluent japanese. Very little French if any. He had a guy working with him that spoke french and I could see Dean picking up a little. I don't speak a lick of either despite 3 years of french class. I did know that Hannah means flower in Japan. I like that too.
Susan - Glad that you are reading. Hopefully I can post a little more often for your reading pleasure.
Garret- I have given Phil venison jerky and wine before. Nothing this year though.
Nice Scott. Was that your family picture by the way?
You too Arsenal.
Lot of Anonymous and I will touch on the AVP going private.
That would be my brother writing the book. All of it pretty much correct.
Todd
Cheers TJ. = _ =
Mr. Anonymous..
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