Florida Regional Championships in Orlando Florida, 2009

CLICK ON THE TITLE ABOVE TO SEE THE FINAL RESULTS OF EACH AGE GROUP.

This years event played host to more than 400 teams from across the state of Florida that competed on 54 courts in Halls NA & NB of the Orange County Convention Center. The level of competition was very high at these championships as several teams won the opportunity to play at the Junior Olympics that will be held in the Miami Beach Convention Center June 26th - July 5th 2009.



The tournament had two divisions: A National BID Division and a Regional Non-Bid Division. We commend all of the South Florida teams that competed in the Florida Regional.









Below is a list of the teams that did very well in their respective age group - Congratulations.

National:
13's Gold 3rd Place - Boomers 13-1 Elite
15's Gold 3rd Place - Club Florida 15 Mizuno

Regional
12R Bronze Winner - SFVC-11 Regional
14R Silver Winner - Wildfire 14 National
14RG Gold Second - SFVC 14 Regional
15RO Gold Second - Boomers 15-2 National
16RO Silver Winner - Florida Gold Coast 16-1
16RG Gold Winner - SFVC 16 National
16RG Bronze Winner - Palm Beach Jr's 16 Red - Grahi
17RG Gold Second - South Florida Flyers 17 Club



We are expecting a few stories from some parents on this event. Once we receive them we will post them. We invite your comments or stories.

To see pictures - please click on the image of the Florida Regional - Orlando on the top of the side bar.

Great Final Tri-County Tournament: the Palm Beach Classic

WOW - what a great weekend of Volleyball in Palm Beach. As part of a Tri-County team we do not get a chance to travel so many players and parents from Miami took the opportunity to stay around the convention center. First and foremost, the area around the convention center is looking great. Everyone loved City Place.

The weekends games were highly contested matches with an AM and PM wave competing on 16 courts. Once again, hats off to the folks that run these tournaments. One thing I would like to suggest is that room be made for coolers on future events. Looking at our future elite players, I was pleased to see how much both Spike VBC 12 and Palm Beach Jrs. 12 Red Ashley have improved from the inception of the season culminating in a highly contested and well played Silver Championship Match.

Below are the results of the top teams per age classification:

17/18 Gold - Boomers 16 Elite
2nd in Gold - SDVC 17 Navy Blue National
17/18 Silver - Palm Beach Jrs. Elite

16 Gold - Boomers 15 Elite
2nd in Gold - SFVC 15 15 National
16 Silver - Wildfire 16 State Black

15 Gold - Wildfire 15 National
2nd in Gold - Boomers 14 Elite
15 Silver - Palm Beach Jrs 15 red Alicia

14 Gold - OBV 14 Select
2nd in Gold - Florida Gold Coast - Devon
Silver - Spike VBC 14

13 Gold - Club Florida 13 Travel
2nd in Gold - SFVC 13-1 Regional
13 Silver - Boomers 13-2

12 Gold Boomers 12-1
2nd in Gold - SFVC 11 Regional
12 Silver - Spike VBC 12

Congratulations to all the teams that played their hearts out. As a spectator, I was truly impressed with the high level of play from the 18's on down.

For me and my family club season is over. Funny, it seems like yesterday that I was taking my girls to a few try-outs. Both of my girls are missing their team mates and my eldest told me she even misses practice. That tells you what a great sport this is when kids start missing practice.

Special thanks to all of the great parents that I had the pleasure of meeting and working with on several stories this past club season.

As my families season comes to an end many of you are will be continuing towards Regionals in Orlando next week and beyond. Please feel free to keep all of us informed. We are always looking for guest writers.

HOPE TO SEE YA OUT THERE ON SOME COURT PLAYING FROM SUN UP TIL SUN DOWN!

PALM BEACH CLASSIC - TOURNAMENT

We wish all South Florida teams the best of luck at the Palm Beach Classic this 18th and 19th of April. This is the last of the Tri-County tournaments and we wish all players and parents to have a very positive experience.

POOL Play can be seen by clicking on the title of the post or by visiting the Palm Beach Jrs. site.

NOTE: For the most part this has been a very positive season where most parents have displayed good sportsmanship towards parents of other teams. I've noticed that a "few" parents are wound up a bit to tight. I know it's easy to get cought-up in the moment of experiencing a close match but please remember to show the same sportsmanship and class that you would like others to show you. Lets make this last Tri-County tournament a special experience for all.

Palm Beach Classic
Palm Beach County Convention Center
650 Okeechobee Blvd.
West Palm Beach, FL 33401

Directions: Take I-95 to Okeechobee Blvd exit. Go East (right) on Okeechobee Blvd. 1.3 miles. Convention Center will be on the South (right) side of the road after the railroad tracks & S. Tamarind Ave.

The Florida Turnpike: Take Okeechobee Blvd. Exit (West Palm Beach). Go East on Okeechobee Blvd go over I-95 and follow directions above.



Spectator Admission: $5 per day

Wave times: AM – 8:00 am & PM – 2:30 pm

AM Wave: 12’s, 13’s, & 17/18’s

PM Wave: 14’s, & 16’s

AM or PM Wave: 15’s

Coach Tomic's FIU Summer Camp

Today we profile the summer camp of FIU. My girls have personally attended this camp and have not only sharpened their skills but have also had a great time. In addition to receiving great instructions and placing those instructions in motion through various drills and game play the facility is A+. The U.S. Century Bank Arena has six courts available to it which allows for ample space for instructions and play.

Coach Tomic made herself available to us to go into further detail about this years camp. I think you will be pleased with everything she is doing to help improve the ability of the players that attend the camp and at the same time give the campers a unique opportunity to learn and practice from many of the top players in our state.

FOR THE FULL STORY - PLEASE CLICK ON THE SUMMER CAMP LOGO WHICH WILL GIVE YOU INFO. ON THE FIU CAMP AS WELL AS OTHER GOOD CAMPS IN THE SOUTH FLORIDA AREA.

Improving your Skills over the Summer

Is it to early to start thinking about summer camps? As the club season starts winding down and parents look forward to sleeping later on weekends; the thought of what to do during the summer months might just creep in.

I've been asked by several parents what to do to keep the players volleyball skills sharp. Here's a few idea's:

I'm a strong believer of keeping your kids busy, making sure the activities are fun and when it comes to Volleyball - help them improve and become better players. The best way to achieve the above is through a combination of Community Pick-Up Games, Beach Volleyball and Superior University and Club Summer Camps.

Community Pick-Up Games: As a parent - Volleyball is an expensive sport to teach your kids. Club, Beach, summer camps all have a cost. Not that I'm complaining because I truly see a value in each. But, what happen to the days that a kid can go to a park and play competitive pick-up games for free?

During the summer I try to organize a few days where girls can go to a safe environment and play competitive games. I call these Volleypalooza Jr's and they are held at North Trail Park, 780 NW 127Ave - near the Turnpike and SW 8 Street exit. The park has two NEW hard courts and is located in a good safeneighborhood. I will post these days on the site and hope you can all bring a few players to have a fun and FREE volleyball event.

Please let me know if you like to organize similar events in your community. I will post them and do my best to get many players to attend.



Beach Volleyball: Beach Volleyball is a must for any developing player. Especially if your currently not a very aggressive player or if you wish to become an elite Libero. Beach Volleyball can improve your overall game but can make a timid player more aggressive because instead of six players covering the court, only two players cover (smaller) the court. The sand tends to slow down the player which forces a player to read and react quicker to get to the ball. Once the player goes back to the indoor game they move quicker to the ball and the inside game becomes a bit slower thus allowing the player to become more confident and more aggressive.

NOTE: There are several South Florida Tournaments that will be posted on the SUN w/ Volleyball logo on the side bar.

PET PEEVE: There are not enough 12U teams showing up to play so 10 and 11 yr old kids are forced to play up against 14 and 15 year olds. There isn't much the tournament people can do about it unless enough 12U teams are made up to make a pool or two. Contact me at volleyballreport@gmail.com to let me know if you have a 12U team so that I can coordinate a tournament that several younger girls can fairly compete.

University Summer Camps: Are a great opportunity to learn from many of the top Volleyball minds in Florida. If the player is involved in beach volleyball activities a July camp comes in great so that the player and the parent can start measuring the quickness that the beach brought about. In addition, specified training in a certain skill are also offered by the universities on separate dates.

In addition If you're going to attend two camps I suggest that you mix it up a bit so that your kids get different experiences being at different Universities and working with different coaches.

If your 16 and over - participating in two or more summer camps hosted by a University would be a good way to showcase the player before the coach. If this is your goal, please call the person on the camp brochure and make sure that the Head coach will be present.



I can personally vouch for the FIU camps. Coach Tomic takes an active role with each and every camp as do her players.





Coming Soon - I will be creating a logo entitled "SUMMER CAMPS" that will also be located at the side bar - just click into that logo and get info on the following university summer camps:

* Florida Atlantic University (FAU)in Boca Raton
* Florida International University (FIU)in Miami next 2 the Turnpike
* Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in Ft. Myers
* Nova SouthEastern (NSU) in Davie
* Lynn University
* University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando
* University of Miami (UM) in Coral Gables

In addition several USAV Clubs offer summer camps wich will be posted in the "SUMMER CAMP" section on the sidebar.

Contact us to post your events!

Best Of Luck to Our South Florida Teams at the Big South Qualifier in Atlanta, GA.

Best of Luck to many of our South Florida Teams as they travel to Atlanta for the Big South Qualifier. Below is a bit of information about the tournamentas as more than 800 teams compete for Bids to the Junior Olympics later this year.

The site for all tournament play during the Big South National Qualifier is the Georgia World Congress Center located at 285 Andrew Young International Blvd., N.W Atlanta, GA 30313.

The event will be held in Building C; Halls C2-C3 & Building B; B1-B5. Click here to get a Campus Map. Please understand that the GWCC is a huge building -- you will have a significant walk no matter where you stay or park.

Playing Divisions & Bids:
The tournament will offer competition in all age divisions -- 18 Open, 18 Club, 17 Open, 17 Club, 16 Open, 16 Club, 15 Open, 15 Club, 14 Open, 14 Club, 13 Club, 12 Club.

Bids will be offered in accordance with the Qualifier Manual Specifications. Space is planned to accommodate the maximum number of teams to award all possible bids.

All Open Divisions if over 16 teams / 3 bids

13-18 Club Divisions if over 64 teams / 2 bids (1 National & 1 American)

12 Club Division if over 12 teams / 1 National Bid

Club & Open Division Outline:
The CLUB division for each age group is for those teams wishing to earn a bid into the National and/or American Club Division of the USA Junior Olympic Volleyball Championships.

The OPEN division of each age group is for those teams wishing to earn a bid into the Open Division of the USA Junior Olympic Volleyball Championships.

Teams may choose in which division to register for the Big South National Qualifier -- competition is somewhat stronger in the Open divisions and entries are limited to a smaller number of teams.