Had another good training session against the Canadien team of Mark Heese and Ahren Cadieux on Thursday. We mostly did drills working on some specific things but finished with a match. Phil and I won in 3 games. 3rd game was a barnburner and it was good to get the competitive juices flowing. Mark and Ahren are around the 20th ranked team in the world and it was good to compete against another FIVB team since our first tourney of the year will be on the FIVB in Australia. That tourney is in late March.
Outside of the volleyball training I also had a great week of physical training. Had a couple of great lifts in the gym. Really went hard and heavy this week but it is good to see the strength still there. Also changed it up at the track a little bit. Difficult workout but made it through and felt fairly good. Then got crushed by Kaleo my massage therapist. That might be the most painful "workout" of them all.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
First Practice
Vacation is over and it is time to get back to the grindstone. Phil and I had our first practice with another team. We practiced against Aaron Watchfogel and Mark Williams. This is a new team with a lot of fire power. Both of them can bring the noise and both are exceptionally good passers too. They have very potent jump serves and can diversify their offense with both of them being able to hit on two. Aaron is playing the left side and is right handed and Mark is back on the right side and is left handed. Reminds me a little of when Dax and I played.
It was a good first practice for Phil and I as it was good to get some of the rust off. We sided it out a bit with them and played 4 games to 21. Phil and I won all 4 but they were good games. Everyone was a little rusty and it showed in all the little things. All in all I was happy with how we played but recognized we need to improve on some things and continue to just get back in the swing of things.
It was a good first practice for Phil and I as it was good to get some of the rust off. We sided it out a bit with them and played 4 games to 21. Phil and I won all 4 but they were good games. Everyone was a little rusty and it showed in all the little things. All in all I was happy with how we played but recognized we need to improve on some things and continue to just get back in the swing of things.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Maui Vacation 2
Maui was great! Spent some great family and friend time in a beautiful setting. We left at the perfect time too. Started to rain on the day we left and continued to rain until we came back. In the SB area we got 10 to 15 inches of rain over that week. That is pretty much a season's worth for us. Meanwhile, we were hanging out in sunny Maui with temps close to 80 degrees.
The place we were staying was the bomb and absolutely perfect for families. The place is connected to the Grand Wailea Resort and is a Hilton property but instead of hotel rooms they are brand new townhomes that had just been built. I think we were the first ones to stay in our place. We stayed in probably the nicest one that has been built so far. Only 16 of the 120 places have been built but the pool oasis was fully operational. It was almost completely empty everytime we hung by the pool. Our kids all ran amuck and there was no one there to complain. Even when people did show up, they all had kids roughly the same age as ours. The townhome was a 3 bed 3 1/2 bath place with about 3,000 square feet in total. The master was simply dope as really were all the bedrooms. It was nice with a family because you can go to the grocery store and get groceries for meals ect... and have a place to store it all. It's nice to have a place for the kids to relax when they are tired and not be cramped in a hotel room.
We took several trips around the island. We hiked the Lava fields, snorkeled in a couple of different spots, took a hike up the Ioa valley, checked out the sugar plantation and our family drove around the entire West side of Maui. Very treachorous drive but there are amazing pools, a blowhole, and the coast is rugid but beautiful. We also went over to the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel Pool which is great for kids. They have a water elevator, water slides and an amazing pool. Kids loved it.
We saved the road to Hana and the Haleakala volcano for next year. :) We honeymooned there for 2 weeks and did all that stuff back then. Would have been a bit tougher with the kids. We figured we would let them get a year older and attempt that. It was fun and I feel amazingly refreshed physically. Ready for the season now.
The place we were staying was the bomb and absolutely perfect for families. The place is connected to the Grand Wailea Resort and is a Hilton property but instead of hotel rooms they are brand new townhomes that had just been built. I think we were the first ones to stay in our place. We stayed in probably the nicest one that has been built so far. Only 16 of the 120 places have been built but the pool oasis was fully operational. It was almost completely empty everytime we hung by the pool. Our kids all ran amuck and there was no one there to complain. Even when people did show up, they all had kids roughly the same age as ours. The townhome was a 3 bed 3 1/2 bath place with about 3,000 square feet in total. The master was simply dope as really were all the bedrooms. It was nice with a family because you can go to the grocery store and get groceries for meals ect... and have a place to store it all. It's nice to have a place for the kids to relax when they are tired and not be cramped in a hotel room.
We took several trips around the island. We hiked the Lava fields, snorkeled in a couple of different spots, took a hike up the Ioa valley, checked out the sugar plantation and our family drove around the entire West side of Maui. Very treachorous drive but there are amazing pools, a blowhole, and the coast is rugid but beautiful. We also went over to the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel Pool which is great for kids. They have a water elevator, water slides and an amazing pool. Kids loved it.
We saved the road to Hana and the Haleakala volcano for next year. :) We honeymooned there for 2 weeks and did all that stuff back then. Would have been a bit tougher with the kids. We figured we would let them get a year older and attempt that. It was fun and I feel amazingly refreshed physically. Ready for the season now.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Maui Vacation
Going to Maui for a vacation with my family and some friends. Should be a great time and we will be gone for a week living in the warmth of Hawaii. Seeing as how the entire country is in a cold snap, us too relatively speaking, couldn't be happier to be taking off. Plan on snorkeling, hiking, and living it up. Hope everyone can stay warm and hopefully I will get a chance to blog from Maui but if not, I will see you when I get back.
Take Care.
Take Care.
Monday, December 31, 2007
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year!!!
Things have been nice in our neck of the woods. Beautiful weather today. Going out to play on the beach in just a bit. Might top out around 70 degrees or so here.
Training wise things have been going very good. Lifting for the past two months and feeling very strong. Working on the track for the past month and it is still a ridiculously hard workout but every time out there I am feeling stronger and stronger. No ball work with Phil yet as he has been in Florida for the past several weeks. I expect we will start up in the next week or two though.
Off to watch some bowl games.
Things have been nice in our neck of the woods. Beautiful weather today. Going out to play on the beach in just a bit. Might top out around 70 degrees or so here.
Training wise things have been going very good. Lifting for the past two months and feeling very strong. Working on the track for the past month and it is still a ridiculously hard workout but every time out there I am feeling stronger and stronger. No ball work with Phil yet as he has been in Florida for the past several weeks. I expect we will start up in the next week or two though.
Off to watch some bowl games.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Eagles win 10-6!
My son was very happy!! We had a great time going to the game and I have to give a huge thank you to Ryan Morgan and #20 Alan Ball from the Cowboys for hooking us up with those tickets.
We flew out early Sunday morning (6am) on a direct flight from SB to Dallas. I got my son up at 4:30 and he didn't sleep on the plane until at least 1 hour into the 3 hour flight. He was so jacked to be flying and going to an Eagles football game. We got into Dallas around 11am, checked into our hotel and went over to the stadium. Everything was within about 10 miles so it was pretty easy getting from one spot to the next. We did have to park about a mile away but it was a fun walk with all the tailgaters going strong and basically being stupid drunk. Funny for Nate and I at any rate. Surprisingly, there were a lot of Eagle fans there.
We ended up sitting in the endzone seats but lower section. Got to see the one touchdown at reasonably close range at least. Wish the game could have been an offensive explosion but Nate was just happy his Eagles won. Romo was pretty darn bad. Couldn't believe how many throws he made to wide open guys that were not even close to the receiver. I don't buy into the "its because his chick was there and happens to be very famous herself." Don't care either way though.
Trip home was uneventful and easy through Phoenix. Got home late afternoon on Monday. Of course now my son wants to go to Denver to see a game. I told him only in the early part of the season unless we are in the skybox or something. To cold to sit for 4 hours. Probably be writing a similar email next year in October from Denver.
Merry Christmas Everyone.
We flew out early Sunday morning (6am) on a direct flight from SB to Dallas. I got my son up at 4:30 and he didn't sleep on the plane until at least 1 hour into the 3 hour flight. He was so jacked to be flying and going to an Eagles football game. We got into Dallas around 11am, checked into our hotel and went over to the stadium. Everything was within about 10 miles so it was pretty easy getting from one spot to the next. We did have to park about a mile away but it was a fun walk with all the tailgaters going strong and basically being stupid drunk. Funny for Nate and I at any rate. Surprisingly, there were a lot of Eagle fans there.
We ended up sitting in the endzone seats but lower section. Got to see the one touchdown at reasonably close range at least. Wish the game could have been an offensive explosion but Nate was just happy his Eagles won. Romo was pretty darn bad. Couldn't believe how many throws he made to wide open guys that were not even close to the receiver. I don't buy into the "its because his chick was there and happens to be very famous herself." Don't care either way though.
Trip home was uneventful and easy through Phoenix. Got home late afternoon on Monday. Of course now my son wants to go to Denver to see a game. I told him only in the early part of the season unless we are in the skybox or something. To cold to sit for 4 hours. Probably be writing a similar email next year in October from Denver.
Merry Christmas Everyone.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Cowboys vs. Eagles
Been off the blog scene for awhile. Busy and don't have anything current to go with. Figured I share this weekend though.
Nate, my son, and I will be going to Big D tomorrow to watch the Cowboys take on the Eagles. My son is a big Eagles fan and that is the closest they come to Santa Barbara. At least in the latter part of the season. We are flying out oh bright and early tomorrow on a direct flight from SB to Dallas. Check into the hotel and then on to the Stadium. I can't say that I hold any true love for either team. I don't hate 'em but don't love 'em either. My son is 6 years old and loves football. His favorite channel on the Dish is 154. That would be the NFL Network for those of you who do not know. Choice between Sponge Bob and Football and the pigskin wins it everytime. I love it.
Look for us on the 50 yard line.
Nate, my son, and I will be going to Big D tomorrow to watch the Cowboys take on the Eagles. My son is a big Eagles fan and that is the closest they come to Santa Barbara. At least in the latter part of the season. We are flying out oh bright and early tomorrow on a direct flight from SB to Dallas. Check into the hotel and then on to the Stadium. I can't say that I hold any true love for either team. I don't hate 'em but don't love 'em either. My son is 6 years old and loves football. His favorite channel on the Dish is 154. That would be the NFL Network for those of you who do not know. Choice between Sponge Bob and Football and the pigskin wins it everytime. I love it.
Look for us on the 50 yard line.
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