Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Problem in Glendale
Glendale, AZ was not quite Tempe. Ok, it wasn't even remotely close to Tempe. It was way out in the sticks. It was set up in a blacktop parking lot. Had no shade or water. And what concerns me the most, it had no ambience and did not feel anything like a beach volleyball tournament. Karch brought this point up to me and I feel it is incredibly valid. Miami was in a parking lot. Dallas was in a parking lot. Glendale too. I am concerned about Tampa and Atlanta as I believe they are parking lot events too. I have raised this with the AVP and although it is at the bottom of the radar, I hope that myself and other players can make it enough of an issue that it gets dealt with in some way, shape or form by next year. I would never take my family to the Glendale event as it stands right now. I would not go. Please way in with good ideas if you like. How can you make a Parking Lot event into a beach volley event? Is it possible?
Monday, May 14, 2007
My Response to Comments
I have to respond to the RR comment first.
I didn't want to use the term "choke" as I felt it was disrespectful to Jake and Rosy. They played better than we did and that is the bottom line.
Secondly, I won't delve into the trash talking and bashing of other players. It is not my style and you won't find me doing such on this blog. That being said, anyone that wants to post that kind of stuff on my BLOG is welcome to do so. Just don't expect me to engage in it as well.
Lastly, Jake and Rosy had one win and two losses against us on the FIVB tour. They did have a better overall year in my opinion though. By the way, is this Meathead?
Arsenal - Wanted to respond to some of your questions.
1. FIVB/AVP conflicts. Phil and I are only planning on missing Chicago to play in Austria. Other than that event, we will be playing in all of the AVP events.
2. Man Made vs. Real Beaches - I like to play on a real beach period. Hermosa and MB are great to play on and easy on the body. Most of the man made beaches are hard packed surfaces and work the muscles and joints pretty good. Places like Huntington Beach and Santa Barbara's West Beach are pretty hard packed even though being on a true beach. This past weekend was good jumping sand but not overly hard packed. It is tough to make a man made beach similar to a real beach but so far this year the AVP has done a good job.
I will do my best to respond to comments as I have time. Thanks for the comments.
I didn't want to use the term "choke" as I felt it was disrespectful to Jake and Rosy. They played better than we did and that is the bottom line.
Secondly, I won't delve into the trash talking and bashing of other players. It is not my style and you won't find me doing such on this blog. That being said, anyone that wants to post that kind of stuff on my BLOG is welcome to do so. Just don't expect me to engage in it as well.
Lastly, Jake and Rosy had one win and two losses against us on the FIVB tour. They did have a better overall year in my opinion though. By the way, is this Meathead?
Arsenal - Wanted to respond to some of your questions.
1. FIVB/AVP conflicts. Phil and I are only planning on missing Chicago to play in Austria. Other than that event, we will be playing in all of the AVP events.
2. Man Made vs. Real Beaches - I like to play on a real beach period. Hermosa and MB are great to play on and easy on the body. Most of the man made beaches are hard packed surfaces and work the muscles and joints pretty good. Places like Huntington Beach and Santa Barbara's West Beach are pretty hard packed even though being on a true beach. This past weekend was good jumping sand but not overly hard packed. It is tough to make a man made beach similar to a real beach but so far this year the AVP has done a good job.
I will do my best to respond to comments as I have time. Thanks for the comments.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
HOT HOT HOT
Should be a scorcher in Glendale, AZ this coming weekend. Temps supposed to be above 100 degrees every single day we are there. Fortunately the weather has been pretty warm in SOCAL lately and has been very close to 100 degrees where I live. Plus it is a dry heat rather than the strength sapping humidity of the East Coast and South.
Back to a 24 team draw which I do not like at all. I would rather have a 16 or 32 team draw. Giving a good team like the 16th or 17th seed that warm-up game to play is an advantage rather than a disadvantage. They get to feel the wind, sand ect... where as the top 8 seeds go in cold. Of course, that extra game sucks if they win and then lose the next one. Every extra game in this kind of heat is going to make it that much tougher.
No predictions for this tourney. Not sure what to expect from the new venue. Tempe was always a great site. Location was near the airport and there was the little water park to cool off in on the hot days. Plus grassy areas to lounge in. I think we are in another parking lot but then again, Phil and I are two for two on parking lots. Hopefully we can repeat in AZ.
If you are out there, please come and say hello.
Back to a 24 team draw which I do not like at all. I would rather have a 16 or 32 team draw. Giving a good team like the 16th or 17th seed that warm-up game to play is an advantage rather than a disadvantage. They get to feel the wind, sand ect... where as the top 8 seeds go in cold. Of course, that extra game sucks if they win and then lose the next one. Every extra game in this kind of heat is going to make it that much tougher.
No predictions for this tourney. Not sure what to expect from the new venue. Tempe was always a great site. Location was near the airport and there was the little water park to cool off in on the hot days. Plus grassy areas to lounge in. I think we are in another parking lot but then again, Phil and I are two for two on parking lots. Hopefully we can repeat in AZ.
If you are out there, please come and say hello.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
My Take on Huntington Beach
First off, I want to say thank you to all those people who have made comments on this blog. Dave from SD, Arsenal, and everyone else, I appreciate the feedback and it helps me as well. Also, to the guy who said I missed on the Stein and Lambo call, I beg to differ. When you made the call you were almost right, but in the end, I think I called it right. Sorry, have to give myself a little pat on the back for that one.
As for Huntington: Phil and I were pretty solid until the money was literally on the line. Then we crumbled like Feta. Hopefully we can bounce back in Glendale, AZ. Always nice in the beginning of the year as you have a lot of tourneys to bounce back on if you do poorly.
Stein and Lambo were awful that first game. I kept peeking to see what was up. The other guys were really lucky as well. In the third game alone they had at least 3 if not 4 dribble over the tape on either serves or hits. It wasn't Stein and Lambo's day. As often happens though, you get on a role and everything goes back to hunky dorry. That is what they did. They started playing better and better as the tourney rolled on and they took it all the way to the victory stand. Impressive to say the least.
Jake and Rosy were again very good and made it to the finals. I think physically they just overpower most of the teams out there. Any team can of course get on a run, but I think they more than anyone else, can just flat out overpower teams. From what I hear, they too struggled when the big money was on the line in the finals. Truth be told, I didn't watch a lot of it as I was still stinging from our loss to them.
Sean and Matt again struggled with a 25th. I saw there first loss against my former setter at UCSB, Dane Jensen and his partner. Great win for the quali guys and really bad loss for Sean and Matt. Many more finishes like that and I don't see them staying together regardless of their desire to play on the Olympic stage. It was really windy in Huntington and I think that may have had something to do with the losses. I will say that they did not play very well against Dane Jensen and Dane and partner played extremely well. I still think this team will be good, but they are going to take some lumps. So far, one good tourney and 2 bad tourneys for them. If this trend continues, they should do well in AZ.
Mark and Casey took a 9th. Semi-upset vs. Nick and Billy and then a tough loss to Karch/Wong. From all accounts, the Karch game was a great game to watch as both Casey and Karch were digging machines. Look for Casey and Mark to continue to climb the rankings and seed ladder.
Dax and Jeff took a 9th. Upset by Wong/Stolfus in 3 tight games. Then upset by Medel and Fred. Didn't see the games but you gotta win the tight games on this tour. Medel and Fred could very easily have served them off the court too.
Ring and Olsen had an off week. Upset in the first round and then victims of the Stein and Mike train through the losers. Took a 13th I think.
Medel and Fred had a good tourney outside of our game vs. them. I think they gamed it through with a 5th place finish. Took down Dax/Jeff and won the games they should have.
Not so good for Ryan and Larry. Leave it at that and expect them to better next week.
Great tourney by Nick and Billy. Nick is playing great volleyball. Serving the snot out of the ball and quick as a cat on defense. Billy is coming along and will only get better. If one of the top teams doesn't break up and try and break this team up, they will be really solid by the end of the year.
Another solid outing by Karch and Wong. Karch won't be playing in AZ but I think he will be announcing. Karch was a digging machine again and Wong played solid from what I saw.
Lastly, Hyden and Keenan were very good and benefitted from first round losses of Stein/Mike and Ring/Olsen. Nonetheless, they defeated Jake and Rosy in the winners semifinals. Great tourney by them and congrats to them. Especially John. He has had a rough year so far and I expect he will continue his solid play. Keenan is another big guy with lots of potential who continues to work on filling that potential up.
As for Huntington: Phil and I were pretty solid until the money was literally on the line. Then we crumbled like Feta. Hopefully we can bounce back in Glendale, AZ. Always nice in the beginning of the year as you have a lot of tourneys to bounce back on if you do poorly.
Stein and Lambo were awful that first game. I kept peeking to see what was up. The other guys were really lucky as well. In the third game alone they had at least 3 if not 4 dribble over the tape on either serves or hits. It wasn't Stein and Lambo's day. As often happens though, you get on a role and everything goes back to hunky dorry. That is what they did. They started playing better and better as the tourney rolled on and they took it all the way to the victory stand. Impressive to say the least.
Jake and Rosy were again very good and made it to the finals. I think physically they just overpower most of the teams out there. Any team can of course get on a run, but I think they more than anyone else, can just flat out overpower teams. From what I hear, they too struggled when the big money was on the line in the finals. Truth be told, I didn't watch a lot of it as I was still stinging from our loss to them.
Sean and Matt again struggled with a 25th. I saw there first loss against my former setter at UCSB, Dane Jensen and his partner. Great win for the quali guys and really bad loss for Sean and Matt. Many more finishes like that and I don't see them staying together regardless of their desire to play on the Olympic stage. It was really windy in Huntington and I think that may have had something to do with the losses. I will say that they did not play very well against Dane Jensen and Dane and partner played extremely well. I still think this team will be good, but they are going to take some lumps. So far, one good tourney and 2 bad tourneys for them. If this trend continues, they should do well in AZ.
Mark and Casey took a 9th. Semi-upset vs. Nick and Billy and then a tough loss to Karch/Wong. From all accounts, the Karch game was a great game to watch as both Casey and Karch were digging machines. Look for Casey and Mark to continue to climb the rankings and seed ladder.
Dax and Jeff took a 9th. Upset by Wong/Stolfus in 3 tight games. Then upset by Medel and Fred. Didn't see the games but you gotta win the tight games on this tour. Medel and Fred could very easily have served them off the court too.
Ring and Olsen had an off week. Upset in the first round and then victims of the Stein and Mike train through the losers. Took a 13th I think.
Medel and Fred had a good tourney outside of our game vs. them. I think they gamed it through with a 5th place finish. Took down Dax/Jeff and won the games they should have.
Not so good for Ryan and Larry. Leave it at that and expect them to better next week.
Great tourney by Nick and Billy. Nick is playing great volleyball. Serving the snot out of the ball and quick as a cat on defense. Billy is coming along and will only get better. If one of the top teams doesn't break up and try and break this team up, they will be really solid by the end of the year.
Another solid outing by Karch and Wong. Karch won't be playing in AZ but I think he will be announcing. Karch was a digging machine again and Wong played solid from what I saw.
Lastly, Hyden and Keenan were very good and benefitted from first round losses of Stein/Mike and Ring/Olsen. Nonetheless, they defeated Jake and Rosy in the winners semifinals. Great tourney by them and congrats to them. Especially John. He has had a rough year so far and I expect he will continue his solid play. Keenan is another big guy with lots of potential who continues to work on filling that potential up.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Tripping into $100K
Rarely does it happen that you fail as miserably as Phil and I did in Huntington Beach and still get the pot at the end of the rainbow. God was smiling on us at the end the tournament on Sunday. Thanks to Stein and Mike, Phil and I were able to walk away with an extra $100,000 dollars as well as our 3rd place prize money. Certainly nice to pad the bank account this early in the season.
Huntington was chock full of upsets all over the board. You had the second, fourth, seventh, and ninth seeds all falling to teams in the first round. On top of that, the fourth and ninth seeds ended up taking 25th place finishes. Fortunately Phil and I were able to avoid that bug and win on the first day of competition.
Our first match was against Seth Burnham and Tony Pray, a qualifier team. They played pretty well but Phil and I were steady and were able to keep a comfortable margin throughout the match. Scores were roughly 21-14 and 21-16. Tony had some very good jump serve aces as well as some outstanding digs on hard driven hits.
In our second match we played the always tough team of Brent Doble and Ty Loomis. We played them in Miami and they gave us all we could handle. They did the same again. We won the first game 21-12 but the second game they came out and played very good volleyball. They beat us 21-19 on a missed serve by Phil. I didn't think Phil and I played bad that game, I just felt that Ty and Brent played really well. The third was a seesaw affair until the very end. We took a slight edge and were able to complete the victory with a 15-11 win.
Our quarterfinal match was against team jump serve in Fred and Anthony. Fred struggled to get the ball past Phil and find the court. Phil had double digit blocks and Fred probably hit 6 or so balls out. It was nice for me as they served Phil about 80% of the time. They actually scored a lot of points off of him but not enough to offset the points we scored against them. Final scores were 21-12, 21-17.
In our last game on Saturday we played Phil's old partner Nick Lucena and Billy Strickland. They are a good team but came out poorly in the first game as we took it 21-11. The next game they shored up their game. Nick bombed a couple of aces and had a couple of great digs. We pulled it out in the end though with a sideout to win 21-19.
In the crossover semis we played Sean and Jake and quite frankly played the worst we have played all year long. That is not to take anything away from Sean and Jake who played well. Phil and I were nervous and pressed for the $100K. We were doing things we normally do not do. We got outside of our normal game and instead of being solid and consistant tried to make the great play. We ended up losing 23-21, 17-21, and 15-12. Phil and I spoke about it after the game and he said he hasn't been that nervous before a match in years. I echoed that statement too. We didn't have a killer instinct to go after the game and instead were hoping that Jake and Rosy would give it to us. It was a lesson that could have been very painful in the pocket book if it were not for Mike and Stein's win in the final over Jake and Rosy.
Looking back at that loss it is clear that Phil and I have to improve our mindset when it comes to a game with a lot of pressure on it. This is going to happen in major FIVB events as well as if we do make the Olympics. Playing for a gold medal will be a heck of a lot more nerve racking than playing for $100,000. We have to figure out a way to become calm and focused and enter the "zone" rather than remain frenetic over the course of the game. The only real highlight of that match for us was Phil's siding out. I felt he sided out well. He did not block well and his serving was all over the map. I basically didn't do anything at all. My sideout game was average at best and my defense was utterly terrible. My serving was in the court but not notably tough for the most part. Lots to build on if I want to look at it in a positive light.
Huntington was chock full of upsets all over the board. You had the second, fourth, seventh, and ninth seeds all falling to teams in the first round. On top of that, the fourth and ninth seeds ended up taking 25th place finishes. Fortunately Phil and I were able to avoid that bug and win on the first day of competition.
Our first match was against Seth Burnham and Tony Pray, a qualifier team. They played pretty well but Phil and I were steady and were able to keep a comfortable margin throughout the match. Scores were roughly 21-14 and 21-16. Tony had some very good jump serve aces as well as some outstanding digs on hard driven hits.
In our second match we played the always tough team of Brent Doble and Ty Loomis. We played them in Miami and they gave us all we could handle. They did the same again. We won the first game 21-12 but the second game they came out and played very good volleyball. They beat us 21-19 on a missed serve by Phil. I didn't think Phil and I played bad that game, I just felt that Ty and Brent played really well. The third was a seesaw affair until the very end. We took a slight edge and were able to complete the victory with a 15-11 win.
Our quarterfinal match was against team jump serve in Fred and Anthony. Fred struggled to get the ball past Phil and find the court. Phil had double digit blocks and Fred probably hit 6 or so balls out. It was nice for me as they served Phil about 80% of the time. They actually scored a lot of points off of him but not enough to offset the points we scored against them. Final scores were 21-12, 21-17.
In our last game on Saturday we played Phil's old partner Nick Lucena and Billy Strickland. They are a good team but came out poorly in the first game as we took it 21-11. The next game they shored up their game. Nick bombed a couple of aces and had a couple of great digs. We pulled it out in the end though with a sideout to win 21-19.
In the crossover semis we played Sean and Jake and quite frankly played the worst we have played all year long. That is not to take anything away from Sean and Jake who played well. Phil and I were nervous and pressed for the $100K. We were doing things we normally do not do. We got outside of our normal game and instead of being solid and consistant tried to make the great play. We ended up losing 23-21, 17-21, and 15-12. Phil and I spoke about it after the game and he said he hasn't been that nervous before a match in years. I echoed that statement too. We didn't have a killer instinct to go after the game and instead were hoping that Jake and Rosy would give it to us. It was a lesson that could have been very painful in the pocket book if it were not for Mike and Stein's win in the final over Jake and Rosy.
Looking back at that loss it is clear that Phil and I have to improve our mindset when it comes to a game with a lot of pressure on it. This is going to happen in major FIVB events as well as if we do make the Olympics. Playing for a gold medal will be a heck of a lot more nerve racking than playing for $100,000. We have to figure out a way to become calm and focused and enter the "zone" rather than remain frenetic over the course of the game. The only real highlight of that match for us was Phil's siding out. I felt he sided out well. He did not block well and his serving was all over the map. I basically didn't do anything at all. My sideout game was average at best and my defense was utterly terrible. My serving was in the court but not notably tough for the most part. Lots to build on if I want to look at it in a positive light.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
AVP.com: $100K at stake on the sand, Cuervo Triple Crown comes down to this weekend
$100K at stake on the sand
Cuervo Triple Crown comes down to this weekend
By Mike Scarr / AVP.com
The AVP Crocs Tour is heading back West this weekend, marking the first tournament of the 2007 season in Southern California.
That would be the Cuervo Gold Crown Huntington Beach Open, the final event in the Jose Cuervo triple crown series, which opens Thursday. At stake is a $100,000 bonus for each of the men's and women's teams that claim the top spot in the Cuervo standings.
"The added incentive of the Cuervo bonus will certainly make that a plus, because it can set you up for a pretty good year," said Todd Rogers, who, along with Phil Dalhausser, comes to town as the defending champion. "After that we'll be playing some smaller tournaments, when the prize money is not as much."
The Gold Crown events were sprinkled throughout the season in previous years but the plan this season was to kick off the campaign with the first three tournaments.
"We grouped them all at the front of the year, culminating in the Cinco de Mayo (weekend) which we call 'Cuervo de Mayo' to give it a bigger impact," said Jose Cuervo director of marketing Scott Geisler, adding the company will get continued exposure during the year with the Ultimate Beach Girl and Guy contest.
Rogers and Dalhausser have won the first two tournaments this season, besting Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal on both occasions: two weeks ago in Dallas and the season's inaugural event in Miami.
With a first- or a second-place finish this weekend, Rogers and Dalhausser will win the bonus, but Gibb and Rosenthal are solidly in the hunt. If they win and Rogers and Dalhausser finish no better than third, Gibb and Rosenthal would take the extra cash.
The situation is equally close on the women's side of the draw.
Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh tossed aside the disappointment of Miami, where they were eliminated in the semi-finals by eventual champions Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh.
If May-Treanor and Walsh can pull out a win this weekend in Huntington Beach, where they are defending champs, and Youngs and Branagh place no higher than third, they will win the Cuervo bonus.
Youngs and Branagh can clinch the triple crown, though, by winning the tournament outright or placing second.
While May-Treanor and Walsh got back on track in Dallas, the No. 1-seeded men's duo of Stein Metzger and Mike Lambert dropped two straight matches to open the proceedings and finished in a tie for 17th in Texas.
Rogers said he was shocked at their result but would not view that as a trend and expects them to hit the Huntington sand with something to prove.
"I think it was an aberration. I don't see it happening again, not that it can't," Rogers said. "I see every team having a bad weekend. I think, not only did they have a bad weekend, but I also think the teams had some career games."
Play will start at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, 9:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 9:45 on Sunday. All times are Pacific.
By the numbers: The first Huntington Beach Open was held in 1975 with Jim Menges and Greg Lee as titlists. The women held there first tournament there in 1989 as Patty Dodd and Jackie Silva took the crown. ... May-Treanor is two shy of Holly McPeak's record of 72 individual victories. ... McPeak has the most Huntington titles with four.
Multimedia: Both finals will stream live on avp.comTV. FSN Prime Ticket will have a delayed broadcast on Sunday, May 6, at 8:00 p.m. PT. FSN will then repeat the women's final Tuesday, May 8 and the men's final Saturday, May 12.
Format: The Huntington Beach Open will have a 68-team qualifier, both men's and women's, with eight teams advancing to the 32-team main draw. Action will take place south of the Huntington Beach Pier on 13 courts.
Set your clocks: The men's final will be Sunday, May 6, at 2:30 p.m. PT with the women's final to commence 30 minutes after the men's, approximately 4:00 p.m. PT.
Cuervo Triple Crown comes down to this weekend
By Mike Scarr / AVP.com
The AVP Crocs Tour is heading back West this weekend, marking the first tournament of the 2007 season in Southern California.
That would be the Cuervo Gold Crown Huntington Beach Open, the final event in the Jose Cuervo triple crown series, which opens Thursday. At stake is a $100,000 bonus for each of the men's and women's teams that claim the top spot in the Cuervo standings.
"The added incentive of the Cuervo bonus will certainly make that a plus, because it can set you up for a pretty good year," said Todd Rogers, who, along with Phil Dalhausser, comes to town as the defending champion. "After that we'll be playing some smaller tournaments, when the prize money is not as much."
The Gold Crown events were sprinkled throughout the season in previous years but the plan this season was to kick off the campaign with the first three tournaments.
"We grouped them all at the front of the year, culminating in the Cinco de Mayo (weekend) which we call 'Cuervo de Mayo' to give it a bigger impact," said Jose Cuervo director of marketing Scott Geisler, adding the company will get continued exposure during the year with the Ultimate Beach Girl and Guy contest.
Rogers and Dalhausser have won the first two tournaments this season, besting Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal on both occasions: two weeks ago in Dallas and the season's inaugural event in Miami.
With a first- or a second-place finish this weekend, Rogers and Dalhausser will win the bonus, but Gibb and Rosenthal are solidly in the hunt. If they win and Rogers and Dalhausser finish no better than third, Gibb and Rosenthal would take the extra cash.
The situation is equally close on the women's side of the draw.
Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh tossed aside the disappointment of Miami, where they were eliminated in the semi-finals by eventual champions Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh.
If May-Treanor and Walsh can pull out a win this weekend in Huntington Beach, where they are defending champs, and Youngs and Branagh place no higher than third, they will win the Cuervo bonus.
Youngs and Branagh can clinch the triple crown, though, by winning the tournament outright or placing second.
While May-Treanor and Walsh got back on track in Dallas, the No. 1-seeded men's duo of Stein Metzger and Mike Lambert dropped two straight matches to open the proceedings and finished in a tie for 17th in Texas.
Rogers said he was shocked at their result but would not view that as a trend and expects them to hit the Huntington sand with something to prove.
"I think it was an aberration. I don't see it happening again, not that it can't," Rogers said. "I see every team having a bad weekend. I think, not only did they have a bad weekend, but I also think the teams had some career games."
Play will start at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, 9:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 9:45 on Sunday. All times are Pacific.
By the numbers: The first Huntington Beach Open was held in 1975 with Jim Menges and Greg Lee as titlists. The women held there first tournament there in 1989 as Patty Dodd and Jackie Silva took the crown. ... May-Treanor is two shy of Holly McPeak's record of 72 individual victories. ... McPeak has the most Huntington titles with four.
Multimedia: Both finals will stream live on avp.comTV. FSN Prime Ticket will have a delayed broadcast on Sunday, May 6, at 8:00 p.m. PT. FSN will then repeat the women's final Tuesday, May 8 and the men's final Saturday, May 12.
Format: The Huntington Beach Open will have a 68-team qualifier, both men's and women's, with eight teams advancing to the 32-team main draw. Action will take place south of the Huntington Beach Pier on 13 courts.
Set your clocks: The men's final will be Sunday, May 6, at 2:30 p.m. PT with the women's final to commence 30 minutes after the men's, approximately 4:00 p.m. PT.
AVP.com: Rogers feels team hasn't peaked, AVP's top duo looks for improvement
April 30, 2007
Rogers feels team hasn't peaked
AVP's top duo looks for improvement
By Mike Scarr / AVP.com
As Todd Rogers sees it, he and partner Phil Dalhausser haven't yet peaked.
Recent performances may suggest otherwise as the pair have won the first two events on this year's AVP calendar, but Rogers strives to peak for the bigger midsummer tournaments. That tactic will be particularly important this year which will also include qualifying events for next summer's Olympic Games in Beijing.
Still, Rogers and Dalhausser, a team that reeled off eight tournament victories last season, is 2-0 in 2007 and they're doing what any good team has to do.
"Take a look at our scores; we're squeaking by," Rogers said. "With the exception of the finals, which in both we played very good volleyball, we're winning by scores like 26-24 and 21-19."We're not obliterating teams a la Kerri (Walsh) and Misty (May-Treanor) but we're winning the close ones, which is huge and that is why we are where we're at because we've managed to pull off the close ones."
Rogers can feel pretty good about the early success that he and Dalhausser have enjoyed this season, though. He was a two-time All-America at UC Santa Barbara, where he refined the value of setting goals. With their early victories, Rogers and Dalhausser have eclipsed the first goal and have placed the second goal of matching last season's tally within reach.
The third goal of utterly dominating and winning 18-25 tournaments in the 2007 campaign (including those on both the AVP and FIVB circuits) is unrealistic, Rogers admits, but it nonetheless helps to maintain the team's focus over the long season. Rogers said the mental grind can be as tough as the physical aspect of the sport and marvels at those that maintain their edge.
"I've found it harder and harder to keep winning and winning," Rogers said. "It makes it all that more impressive when teams like Misty and Kerri and back in the day, Karch (Kiraly) and Kent (Steffes) or (Sinjin) Smith/ (Randy) Stoklos, when they were winning so many tournaments. It is impressive that they can keep their focus for that long."
Rogers said that to maintain their own focus, he and Dalhausser need to put more energy into the early rounds and mimic the play they've exhibited in their two final matches.
"We have to play a little bit better, have a little bit better warm up," Rogers said. "Maybe not take that team quite as lightly and we'll end up with a big difference in scores by as many as three or four points. We can be in a more comfortable position instead of scrambling and get that last point. That has to be our focus."
Omens: The teams of Walsh and May-Treanor, and Dalhausser and Rogers both won last week and also are the respective defending champions at Huntington Beach.
Long season: Mike Lambert and Stein Metzger suffered the early season shock when they dropped two straight matches in Dallas. The No. 1 seed lost their opening match to Albert Hannemann and Ed Ratledge and then fell to Brent Doble and Ty Loomis in the contender's bracket
Lambert said he feels that he and Metzger have better communication this season, though, and are buoyed by the fact the bulk of the schedule still remains.
"Last year we didn't win a tournament for five tournaments but we had some good finishes," Lambert said. "Hopefully we get to a final sooner this year."
Cut shots: The first two tournaments have seen low seeds advance. Matt Olson and Jason Ring (13) finished third in Miami while Ryan Mariano and Larry Witt (11) placed third in Dallas. On the women's side, Jennifer Boss and April Ross (11) lost in the final in Miami ¦ Ryan Mariano led the Dallas Open with 12 aces in 16 games while Mark Williams led the men with 14 blocks in 12 games. On the women's side, Tatiana Minello and Walsh each had 12 aces and Dianne DeNecochea led with 19 blocks.
Up next: The tour makes its first stop in California with the AVP Cuervo Gold Crown Huntington Beach Open, May 3-6. Qualifying rounds for the 32-teams men's and women's draws will be Thursday with both men's and women's finals to be contested Sunday afternoon.
Rogers feels team hasn't peaked
AVP's top duo looks for improvement
By Mike Scarr / AVP.com
As Todd Rogers sees it, he and partner Phil Dalhausser haven't yet peaked.
Recent performances may suggest otherwise as the pair have won the first two events on this year's AVP calendar, but Rogers strives to peak for the bigger midsummer tournaments. That tactic will be particularly important this year which will also include qualifying events for next summer's Olympic Games in Beijing.
Still, Rogers and Dalhausser, a team that reeled off eight tournament victories last season, is 2-0 in 2007 and they're doing what any good team has to do.
"Take a look at our scores; we're squeaking by," Rogers said. "With the exception of the finals, which in both we played very good volleyball, we're winning by scores like 26-24 and 21-19."We're not obliterating teams a la Kerri (Walsh) and Misty (May-Treanor) but we're winning the close ones, which is huge and that is why we are where we're at because we've managed to pull off the close ones."
Rogers can feel pretty good about the early success that he and Dalhausser have enjoyed this season, though. He was a two-time All-America at UC Santa Barbara, where he refined the value of setting goals. With their early victories, Rogers and Dalhausser have eclipsed the first goal and have placed the second goal of matching last season's tally within reach.
The third goal of utterly dominating and winning 18-25 tournaments in the 2007 campaign (including those on both the AVP and FIVB circuits) is unrealistic, Rogers admits, but it nonetheless helps to maintain the team's focus over the long season. Rogers said the mental grind can be as tough as the physical aspect of the sport and marvels at those that maintain their edge.
"I've found it harder and harder to keep winning and winning," Rogers said. "It makes it all that more impressive when teams like Misty and Kerri and back in the day, Karch (Kiraly) and Kent (Steffes) or (Sinjin) Smith/ (Randy) Stoklos, when they were winning so many tournaments. It is impressive that they can keep their focus for that long."
Rogers said that to maintain their own focus, he and Dalhausser need to put more energy into the early rounds and mimic the play they've exhibited in their two final matches.
"We have to play a little bit better, have a little bit better warm up," Rogers said. "Maybe not take that team quite as lightly and we'll end up with a big difference in scores by as many as three or four points. We can be in a more comfortable position instead of scrambling and get that last point. That has to be our focus."
Omens: The teams of Walsh and May-Treanor, and Dalhausser and Rogers both won last week and also are the respective defending champions at Huntington Beach.
Long season: Mike Lambert and Stein Metzger suffered the early season shock when they dropped two straight matches in Dallas. The No. 1 seed lost their opening match to Albert Hannemann and Ed Ratledge and then fell to Brent Doble and Ty Loomis in the contender's bracket
Lambert said he feels that he and Metzger have better communication this season, though, and are buoyed by the fact the bulk of the schedule still remains.
"Last year we didn't win a tournament for five tournaments but we had some good finishes," Lambert said. "Hopefully we get to a final sooner this year."
Cut shots: The first two tournaments have seen low seeds advance. Matt Olson and Jason Ring (13) finished third in Miami while Ryan Mariano and Larry Witt (11) placed third in Dallas. On the women's side, Jennifer Boss and April Ross (11) lost in the final in Miami ¦ Ryan Mariano led the Dallas Open with 12 aces in 16 games while Mark Williams led the men with 14 blocks in 12 games. On the women's side, Tatiana Minello and Walsh each had 12 aces and Dianne DeNecochea led with 19 blocks.
Up next: The tour makes its first stop in California with the AVP Cuervo Gold Crown Huntington Beach Open, May 3-6. Qualifying rounds for the 32-teams men's and women's draws will be Thursday with both men's and women's finals to be contested Sunday afternoon.
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