Last weekend South Florida put the nation on notice that we are becoming a stronger force to be reckoned with in Volleyball. Hats off to the folks that host the event, everything went well and I personally thank them for putting these events together. It was great to see the entire spectrum of competition from the 12 year old to the 18's.
In between my daughters games I found myself engulfed in so many matches. I was impressed with the quality of play and the size and strength of so many players. It was great to see teams from the west coast, gold coast and Central Florida. It will only be a matter of time that teams from the northern states start coming to the tournaments in South Florida, after all, where would anyone rather be in January and February.
For those of you that saw OBV on your pool and do not know anything about them they are a South Florida club in it's second year. Mike Zarate is the founder of various volleyball clubs including Crackers and Rice (1996), Club Florida (2000) and Club F1 (2005). Recently (2007) Mike founded Ocean B Volleyball in his quest to provide athletes with "A Fresh Approach" to club volleyball. His dedication to the sport paid off in the opening of his club with 277 girls and 75 boys trying out in the FIRST YEAR.
In only their second year, Mike has led OBV to become the LARGEST club in South Florida and the 2nd largest club in the state!! In 2008 OBV's tryouts exceeded 300 girls! Presently he has the ONLY club in Florida that fields girl's teams, boy's teams, a men's team, women's team, and is affiliated with the largest beach club in Florida - Beach Dig. many of their teams did well and some are pictured throughout.
There were so many incredible games, match ups and subplots that the tournament was truly enjoyable. Unfortunately I was unable to see all the games but I found myself highly impressed with the play of Boomers Elite 18, Miami Elite 18, South Florida Flyer's 17 Top Select 14 Elite and SDVC-17 Navy (Pictured Below).
Congratulations to all the teams that competed - win or loose all the girls played hard and we are very proud of you.
For a complete standing of each team click on the title of this posting and it will send you to the final standings of the 1st annual Ft. Lauderdale Invitational.
Attention Club Directors, Coaches, Parents & Players send in your stories and pictures, this site is for all of South Florida Volleyball.
Contact us at volleyballreport@gmail.com
Special Thanks for the great pictures from Philip "Flip" Littke and OBV.
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