Badger Region VolleyBlog

Wisconsin Volleyball Conference (WVC)-Women's 3rd Playdate

2012-03-03T09:10:00.000-06:00

"The purpose of the Wisconsin Volleyball Conference is to promote quality and competitive Men's and Women's Volleyball in Wisconsin"

Good luck to all women's teams competing in the 3rd Playdate in the WVC today (March 3rd) in LaCrosse. The teams that will be participating today are: UW Green Bay, UW Stout, UW Stevens Point, UW Oshkosh, UW Eau Claire, UW Whitewater, UW LaCrosse, UW Platteville & UW River Falls.

The first two playdates saw two different champions crowned.

1st Playdate in River Falls
Champions - UW Eau Claire
Runner ups - UW LaCrosse

2nd Playdate in Oshkosh
Champions - UW Green Bay
Runner ups - UW Eau Claire

Thank-you to UW Stevens Point for sending this picture of their team.

Check out the WVC website to find out more about the conference and all of the wonderful Men's & Women's teams that compete in it. http://www.wvcweb.org/

Reach for the Stars Tournament Photos!

2012-02-28T15:21:00.003-06:00

A big thanks to Patti Dawson for providing some photos from the Reach for the Stars tournament hosted by Muskego Stars last weekend.

West Allis Lightning 12s - Gold Champions

West Bend Power 13 Black - Second place

Midwest Penguins 13-2s - Silver Champions

Muskego Stars 14 Blue - 15 Champions

Milton Aces 15 Elite - Second place

Congratulations to all of the teams!!

If you'd like to see your team here, email an update or photo to colleen@badgervolleyball.org or jarmsondyer@badgervolleyball.org and we'll get it posted!

Badger Power League 14's & 16's Championship Weekend-Feb 25/26

2012-02-28T11:45:00.000-06:00

On Saturday play went long at both the 14's & 16'slevels because plain and simply each team spent the day playing opponentsof like abilities. That makes for a long day-- like it or not. 49/92 matcheswent to 3 sets and with-in those sets there were numerous times when scores weregoing 25-23 or 26-24. If you are a true volleyball enthusiast would you want itany other way?

Sunday’s pools, as expected were also very evenly matched.

At the 16's level, the final field of eight was extremelystrong as was witnessed by the crowd during the quarter and semi-final matches.Both teams that arrived in the finals did it in different fashions. TheChampionship went to Muskego Stars 16 Blue who proved that they were acontender right from the start as they only dropped two matches during all ofleague play (4 dates). On the other hand, Fox Valley Thunder 16-1 proved that even a teamthat found themselves on the losing end of eight matches during league play,could still fight for that Gold medal on the final day because they won thematches that were important along the way. The Stars team was quite enjoyableto watch throughout the weekend as they are a team with few weaknesses. Theirserving game is better than most but it's their exciting style of defense thatkeeps rally's going just long enough until their offense has a chance to shine.

At the 14's level Southwest Milwaukee 14-1 & MidwestPenguins 14-1 earned the 1 & 2 seeds going into the final Gold bracket onSunday. Southwest made it to the finals by defeating Trailblazers 14-2 &East Troy Heat 14 Red along the way. Penguins had a strong 1st match and defeated avery scrappy Fox Valley Thunder 14-1 team but succumbed to the strong serve/passgame of Wisconsin Volleyball Academy 14 Black in the Semis. The Gold medal andChampionship t- shirts were earned by Southwest 14-1 in a match that had momentsof greatness by both teams.

I would also like to mention that the region is very excitedabout the coaching that is displayed at our BPL. The following coaches shouldbe commended on their positive and unique styles of coaching:

1. Al Capps (Eclipse 16 Solar)

2. April Pichelman (Wisconsin Ice 16 Black)

3. Elizabeth Kubiszewski (Muskego Stars 16 Blue)

4. Lauren Ditscheit (Milwaukee Sting 15 White)

5. Jeremy Weis (East Troy Heat 14 Red)

6. Joel Golsteyn (Southwest 14-1)

7. Darrin Matthies (FC Elite 14-1)

8. Eric Brandenburg (Wisconsin Volleyball Academy 14 Silver)

The Badger League has one more weekend until completion. The 13's & 15's Divisions will finish up on March 10/11.

Campbellsport HS To Hold Memorial Tournament

2012-02-23T14:05:00.000-06:00

My name is Heidi Olson and I am the head varsity volleyball coach at Campbellsport High School. Waupun Breakout and Ripon Riptide club teams both had the great experience of getting to know Caitlin Scannell. I have coached Caitlin in some capacity, basketball and volleyball, since she was in 7th grade. There is really not another person in the world like her and I miss her everyday. Losing her wasn't only difficult for me, but also for our volleyball program. The two other girls that passed away were also volleyball players. We all suffered such a horrific loss and would like to honor Caitlin, as well as Sabrina and Katie, by having a volleyball tournament in their honor. We have an open weekend on September 29, 2012. If you could please pass the word to any high school coaches and see if anyone has this weekend open, I would greatly appreciate it.

Anyone interested can get a hold of me via email at olsondh19@gmail.com.

(Click here for more information on Caitlin, Sabrina and Katie, and the Memorial Scholarship Fund set up.)

Milwaukee Sting 12 Gold Swarms to Indy

2012-02-16T14:19:00.000-06:00

It was an exceptional weekend for Sting 12 Gold at the Central Zone Championships in Indianapolis. The Sting swarm overcame a blizzard on the way down, some excellent competition on the other side of the net, injuries to teammates, and learned "how to win close matches." The girls also learned that they have a much higher ceiling than their own levels of play and that their parents generally cannot dance. We appreciate their efforts though!

In the semi's and finals, highly ranked clubs, Circle City and KIVA both tried to adjust to the Swarm attack but got stung by the Front Line who made the opponents pay for low shots over the net. The defense was relentless and the serving was killer! It was truly a weekend that will not be forgotten and one that illustrated the meaning of TEAM.

BPL Update G17/18s

2012-02-13T12:29:00.003-06:00

We loved talking with club directors, coaches, parents and players. Nancy spent both days scorer monitoring and was very impressed with the thoroughness and accuracy of the scorers. It was evident to her that coaches and club directors made the effort to accurately teach their athletes to score and to do it responsibly.

The Dells Center is a very nice facility, a bit cold, but a reality with the roof structure.

The Site Directors: Michael Schmidt and Sandy Schmidt were very thorough and a pleasure to hang out with.

My kudos to our Officials Assigner, Larry Schoenick, for securing a top notch officiating crew.
- By Terry

Badger Power League 17s/18s Division Winners:

Gold: Wisconsin Ice 18 Purple - First Place (photo below)
Gold: FC Elite 18-1 - Second Place
Silver: Wisconsin Ice 17 Purple
Bronze: Eau Claire Air 18-1

Click here for full results - and email us your photos!

Wisconsin Ice 18 Purple - 2012 17s/18s BPL Winners!

From left: Coach Kaitlin Wolfe, Anna Sudbury, Savanah Vera, Kaylin Byer, Kellan Flynn, Tiffany Stargardt, Brittany Zblewski, Emily Thomas, Jess Sabey, Coach Elizabeth Lange

Caitlin Scannell Memorial Scholarship Fund

2012-02-09T11:06:00.000-06:00

In the early morning hours of Saturday, February 4, 2012 a car accident claimed the life of Riptide 17 White and Badger Region member Caitlin Scannell, as well as Campbellsport High School classmates - Katie Lynn Berg and Sabrina Renee Stahl.

Caitlin is the daughter of Tim and Jelaine Scannell, and is also survived by her two brothers, Ryan and Neil, and her sister Sheena. Caitlin was a member of the Campbellsport High School volleyball and soccer teams. On the soccer field, Caitlin had the joy of playing for her father, who serves as the varsity coach at Campbellsport. She was in her first season with Riptide Volleyball Club, after spending time previously with Waupun Breakout.

In addition to her atlhetic successes, Cailtin was a leader in the classroom and the community. She was ranked second in her class at Campbellsport High School, was a member of the Youth Leadership Program of Fond du Lac, and a Life Teen member at Shepard of the Hills Parrish. She volunteered much of her time in the community, including as an assistant coach for a fourth grade girls youth basketball team.

Please click here for Caitlin's obituary. And please click here for a newspaper article that details how lives were touched by these three girls.

Below is an email from Riptide club director Craig Madson, which he has given me permission to share. It is my hope that together with Riptide, Badger Region and the volleyball community can come together to raise money to honor Caitlin's memory:

Riptide 17 White, with #3 Caitlin

The athletes on Riptide 17 White, their coaches, Sarah and myself would like to support the newly established Caitlin Scannell Memorial Scholarship Fund. The fund was established by Caitlin's brother, Ryan. He had saved $10,000 to help her pay for college, instead he has opened an endowment fund to distribute scholarships in her memory. Here is the link with more information on Ryan's story and the scholarship fund: http://www.wisn.com/news/30384366/detail.html.

In an endowment, the principal is never touched. This allows the fund to continue indefinitely by making disbursements from earnings off the endowment's investments. Ryan will be establishing a non-profit organization to accept donations to the fund. This will allow any contribution to be tax deductible.

Riptide Volleyball Club would like to support Ryan, his family, and Caitlin by raising money to contribute to the scholarship fund. Click here for a pledge form for those interested in contributing. Those families who wish to contribute to the Caitlin Scannell Memorial Scholarship Fund can do so by completing this form, enclosing a check, and mailing it to:

Caitlin Scannell Memorial Scholarship Fund

C/O Riptide VBC

429 Sandmar Drive

Ripon, WI 54971

Why send your donation to Riptide? In an effort to make our contribution meaningful to the Scannell family and the Campbellsport community, Riptide Volleyball Club will be matching the first $1,000 in donations. As an extra incentive, if we are able to exceed that goal I will personally match the next $500.

In addition to donation efforts, Riptide 17 White has asked me to design and provide silicone bracelets (think LiveStrong) in Caitlin's honor. We are in the process of identifying a vendor and ordering a supply of bracelets. The bracelets will be in Caitlin's favorite color, pink. It will be inscribed with one of her favorite Bible passages, Phillipians 3:14 - "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." At this time, I do not know what the resale price will be or the quantity we will be purchasing. However, proceeds from the sale of these bracelets will also be donated to the scholarship fund.

In addition to the efforts of Riptide 17 White and Riptide VBC, the Badger Region, USA Volleyball, and a number of other volleyball clubs throughout the country have contacted us to extend their sympathies and support. Some have shared stories of similar tragedies, others have offered ideas for honoring Caitlin's memory, another has offered to share their experience and offer a friendly ear to parents or athletes that are struggling with how to cope, while some have made financial commitments to the scholarship fund. It has been amazing to see the youth volleyball community reach out. There are so many wonderful people across the country who commit their time to the growth and development of youth student athletes, and a tragedy like this strikes close to their hearts.

If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to contact Sarah or myself. If you want to get involved in activities to support Caitlin's scholarship fund, make a financial contribution of your own, lend your time to support our athletes who are grieving the loss of their teammate and friend, or offer support in any other way please let me know. I am happy to help coordinate your efforts.

Thank you all,

Craig and Sarah

920.602.6577

riptidevb@gmail.com

http://www.riptidevbc.com/

Here is the Badger Region Facebook page with the link information: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Badger-Region-Volleyball/144504375636264

UPDATE: This year at the Badger Region Championships, Badger Region will be organizing a fundraising effort called Dig for Caitlin - much like the Dig Pink drive that was done last year. Since Caitlin was a libero and her favorite color was pink, we still ask that all of the teams on Sunday (both weekends) wear pink and collect funds for the above-mentioned scholarship fund. More details will be forthcoming.

Badger Power League Excitement-February 5

2012-02-08T17:43:00.001-06:00

Teams entered in the 13’s and 15’s Divisions began theirquest for the BPL Championship this past weekend at the Wisconsin Dells Center.

There were some great match-ups but none more interestingthan: FC Elite 15-1 vs FC Elite 15-2

An intra-club match-up between FC Elite 15-1’s and 15-2’sproved to be one of the most anticipated matches on Sunday. When this happens,a “1’s” team vs a “2’s” team, it is never easy for anyone involved; though it alwaysproves to be entertaining. As a coachfor a “1” team, you know, that your players will be motivated to the max (theyneed to prove that you made good choices). As a coach for a “2” team, you know,that your players are going to do everything in their power to prove that theyare every bit as good as the “1’s” players.

This time around the 15-1’s did win the match-up inconvincing style. The “1’s” began the 1^st set with a 6-0 run. The“2’s” did whittle that lead away to draw within three points twice during theset before losing 25-14. Set 2 proved to be almost a carbon copy when the “1’s”jumped out to a 7-1 advantage and then went on to finish with a final score of25-17.

Many players from the “1’s” stepped up throughout the matchand that is why their team left the Dells Center on Sunday as the #1 seed goinginto the third day of the Power League. Both Mallory Dixon & AmaliaJereczek, setters for the “1’s” kept all of their hitters involved with keencourt sense and good decision making at just the right times. Middle Blocker Margaret Wolowicz took over offensively in both sets as she seemed extremelycomfortable running both in front and behind her setters. She hits a heavy ballthat proved to be impossible to defend especially when running the slide. OutsideHitter Heather Kocken also got into the act when she and Wolowicz teamed up onthe right side for a block that was almost impenetrable.

The “2’s” made runs midway through both sets, as both AutumnRisch and Taylor Falck served aggressively with either a jump float or a zonethat kept the “1’s” from running their 1^st option on a number ofoccassions. Sabrina Vandenheuvel also contributed with a few blocks at just theright time to keep their hopes high.

These two teams will get arematch on the third day of the league as they fight their way through a fiveteam pool that will decide which bracket they end up in for the finals on March11^th.

Don’t Tell Her SheCan’t Play Middle

If Hannah Wirag from Stoughton has anything to say about it,the Class of 2020 will be one of the finest that the Badger Region will everhave. Hannah is a Giant in her Heart;however her stature says otherwise. The Wisconsin Performance 13-2 playerclaims that Libero is her favorite position; though Middle Blocker couldpossibly run a close 2^nd if she keeps getting a chance to proveherself there.

It was quite obvious to me as I watched Hannah and her teamplay against WI Performance 13-1 that there could not possibly be another playerthat exudes more enthusiasm and passion for the game. Not only does Hannah know at all times whereshe is supposed to be on the court but she also knows where everyone else issupposed to be. There was not a moment that she wasn’t encouraging her teammates and letting them know that they could “do it”.

As Hannah stood at the net with her arms up and ready, Iwondered if the ink on the two-color #27 that takes up the entire front and backof her jersey might just be weighing her down. I did take a moment to informClub Director, Toby Parker that the four numbers on her jersey may be preventingher from getting up and roofing her opponent (as she strived to do on each andevery play at the net). Hannah has enjoyed emulating her sisters, Katlynn and Maggie(WI Performance players also) since before she could walk and now that she is ona team of her own she strives every day to show them a thing or two about thegreatest game ever invented. If you geta chance, please check out where Hannah and her team are playing as you will besure to leave the match with a grin from ear to ear.

-By Colleen

What Pump-Up Songs Does Your Team Like?

2012-01-31T10:26:00.001-06:00

I made a stop at Center Court onSaturday-Jan 28 to watch the Penguins hosted 11’s & 12’s League and thePenguin Freeze II tournament for 14’s and 15’s. During my time walking around,I thought a good idea might be to ask teams what their favorite pre-match “Pumpup Song or Cheer” was. I quickly found out—as if I didn’t already know; therewere as many pre-match Cheer/Songs as there were teams there. Here is just asampling.

Midwest Penguins 15-2 favoritesong: “Push It To The Limit” from the movie Jump In.

Penguins 15-2

Ozaukee Wave12-1 favorite cheer: “1-2-3-4 Everybody Hit the Floor” (done with megaenthusiasm-especially by Riley #9 & Erika #5).

Ericka (#5)

Riley (#9)

Ted Schulte(referee)-Yes, refs need pump up songs too: “New Divide” by Lincoln ParkIndiana. Ted showed us a few of his moves as we listened to this awesome song.

Ted reffing (not dancing, however)

Eclipse 12Solar favorite cheer: “Pump it Up” (there was no team louder in the gym).

Eclipse 12 Solar

MilwaukeeSting 10 Gold favorite songs (different songs for different games): “Black& Yellow”, “I Like to Move it, Move it”, I’m a Gummy Bear” and Coach Kateadds; “PB & Jelly Time”.

Sting 10 Gold

I also enjoyedwatching the Penguin 12-1 team celebrating an ACE!

- Colleen

UW Eau Claire Women Win First Tournament Of The Year!

2012-01-30T11:07:00.002-06:00

(The Wisconsin Volleyball Conference, or WVC, is run in conjunction with Badger Region for many of the collegiate club programs in the state. It is an outstanding conference that makes a major impact throughout the year in collegiate club world. Click here to learn more about the WVC.)

UW Eau Claire Wins UW River Falls Tournament!
We went 7-1 in pool play, defeating Whitewater (B), River Falls, & Platteville, while splitting with Green Bay. In the bracketed playoffs we defeated Whitewater (A) (25-16 ; 25-18), Stevens Point (25-17 : 25-9), and La Crosse (25 - ? ; 25- ?), to win the tournament. Drew Doughty (37 digs) had a strong day passing while Molly Collman (30 kills), Leah Klink (29 kills) & Karen Sueppel (28 kills) provided a powerful offense. Emily Feiner lead in assists with 127 on the day. Outside hitter, Karen Sueppel was named "Most Outstanding Player" of the tournament with 28 kills, 35 digs, coming through when EC needed to rally.

Ashley Howard
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Women's Volleyball Club President
Kinesiology Major-Human Performance
University Honors Program

UW Eau Claire Women

UW Eau Claire vs. UW Green Bay

Playoff Bracket

Tournament Champs!

Celebration!

Good Information For Athletes & Parents Regarding College Coach Communication at Tournaments

2012-01-29T21:13:00.001-06:00

The AVCA has put together a very good video outlining what is and is not allowed at junior tournaments regarding college coach communication - when they can talk to you, what they can say, why they're not blowing you off even though it may seem like it!

Check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I34DWqDV5Qw&feature=share

Penguin League

2012-01-29T20:45:00.004-06:00

The Penguin 11's and 12's league each has 8 teams competing over 3 days. The volleyball has been great. We are in the 3rd round of power bracket play and will finish up on 2/19 with challenge matches and finals. Today all 160 kids recieved cool saftey yellow T-shirts and many have their names put on them. It looked pretty cool. We also served a pasta dinner for the athletes and coaches tonight and showed a power point with over 1,000 pictures of the teams playing today. Colleen from the region office stopped in and dropped off cool bumper stickers also!
Anne

What I Love Most About Volleyball and the Badger Power League

2012-01-23T15:28:00.000-06:00

1.      Watching my daughter have a great time with herfriends and no parking fee at the Wisconsin Dells Center. Mary fromthe Northshore

2.      It's so exciting to watch our team perform sowell this early in the season. All of our players were fantastic! Don't slipon the Ice Johnsons

3.      Coming to the "Dome" to play with ourteam, staying at Chula and going to the waterpark afterwards. Hannah,Caity, Sammy-We want a Milton Ace

4.      Getting to ref one high energy match afteranother, resulting in five out of six of them going three sets then going outwith my friends to unwind at Porta Vista for the best prime rib in the Dells. AnonymousHungry, Hungry Ref

5.      Watching my daughters’ team in the 2nd set oftheir first match of the day down 22-24; my daughter serves them out for thewin and then they go on to win the match. I was just shaking so much I couldbarely hold the camera still. The Starsare shining bright for this Muskego mom

6.      We love volleyball tournaments in the"Dome". All of us have played here lots of times, except one (sheraises her hand sheepishly). We are on fire when we play here. Then we go toMoose Jaw for dinner and we always stay at Comfort Inn. In fact, last year weput something on the ceiling in one of the halls and it's still there. Isn'tthat cool (yeah, way cool). You’re thecool ones, FC Elite 14-1 or should we say you are "En Fuego"!

- Compiled by Colleen

Identifying Great Officiating Teams

2012-01-18T15:21:00.003-06:00

I had fun officiating at the Badger Power League for the 18s division this past weekend. There was some great play and awesome teams displaying their talent over the weekend. I would like to give a shout-out to the Eau Claire Air 17-1s, Wisconsin Select 18-1s and the Midwest Penguins 17-1s for doing an awesome job on their officiating duties. It makes an official’s job so much easier, and more enjoyable, when the officiating crew takes pride in their jobs.
Patti Dawson, Badger Region Official

My Last Match Of The Weekend

2012-01-18T13:17:00.003-06:00

My Last Match of the Weekend at the Dells

....had to wait around a little before my previous match...........those dreaded tiebreakers! Packers are playing. I really don't want to miss them (little did I know). Now coming to the last match. Everybody's tired. This is not going to be pretty. But I've got a work team and even though they lost their last match, they look like a good group. Okay, we'll see what happens.

Coin flip goes well, didn't drop the quarter. Both teams want their full warm-ups....hmmmm... maybe we're going to have a good one. Lineups are in, teams line up for the greeting, everybody's waving, handshake goes well, let's get 'em going.

The play is very competitive.....wait.........I heard a whistle It was my R2 making a center line call and I actually heard her whistle. This is great! Let's keep going. A couple more points, good rallies. Here comes a sub, okay, player's in and .........hold on.........I'm getting a ready signal from my scorekeeper.......this is nice! ...set is coming to an end....it's over. Hope the rest of the match goes as well.

Second set starts well, more good rallies. The coaches are coachin' up a storm....oh no....a girl goes down......official's time-out......what's that?.......she can't continue and you've used all your subs?.....good thing you can make an exceptional substitution. Let's teach the work crew how to put this on the scoresheet. Done. Coach looks very grateful. Play continues.......getting near the end..........that's it. End of match in two sets. I don't think I would have minded if it went three.

My last match of the weekend......my best match of the weekend.

Thanks to Southwest G15-1, PoWer VHawk 17 white, and Eclipse 17/18 Solar. You made my drive home a pleasant trip.

An anonymous official

VolleyParents

2012-01-14T11:09:00.000-06:00

VolleyParentsare the backbone of the sport. They don’t get nearly the recognition theydeserve, at least for the good reasons. They’re the ones who hustle thebleary-eyed athlete into the car at 5am and drive safely to the gym. They’rethe ones who do the numerous water-bottle-filling runs, who shag stray ballsthat always go three courts over, who run to the car to search for the straykneepad or sock. They come armed with their coffee mugs, sport chairs andiPads/books/newspapers to fill the warm-up time.

“I lovethis!” one mom tells me. “The first tournament of the year is so exciting!”

“You don’tmind getting up early in the cold, spending your day in a gym?” I ask.

“Well, thosearen’t that fun,” she responded with a laugh. “But just watching the girls getout there and play and have a good time doing it, I love it.”

TheVolleyDads have a soft spot in my heart because I have one, with my mom beingthe coach. The VolleyDads on the first day of the Badger Power League in theDells are much like my dad. Dressed in team gear, shouting encouragement like “niceand easy girls!” and “you can do it!” I also love watching the VolleyDads, especiallyduring tight matches. By watching two from the Madison area, you would swearthey controlled the ball by their body movements, sucking their breath in at a tightserve, jumping at a joust ball, leaning left and right to help will the ballover the net.

“I can’ttake this,” said one of them, after a close second set.

“It’sJanuary 14,” I told him.

“Yeah, I know. It’s going to be a long year,”he said, shaking his head and laughing.

I talkedwith some parents and asked them why they liked being volleyball parents.

“It’s truly ateam sport,” said a VolleyMom named Janet from the Appleton area. “Inbasketball or softball or track, one person can take over game if they’re good enough.You can’t do it all by yourself in volleyball. And I love that. Teamwork andfiguring out how to work together is so important for these girls.”

“I wasn’t abig fan of my daughter playing basketball,” a VolleyDad named Jim from theMilwaukee area told me. “It’s my little girl and watching her get pushed aroundand elbowed under the hoop, I didn’t like that too much. I didn’t tell herthat, but when she decided to play volleyball, I like that much better. Yeah,she’s still getting a ball hit at her, I don’t know, it just seems like a betterfit for her. More civilized or something. More girly, which is perfect for her.”

So, armedwith their video cameras, their digital cameras, their phones to text results,their knitting and Sudoku books, their walking shoes to do laps between matches,let’s take some time to send a little love to the VolleyParents. Players, makesure to thank them for all they do for you. Even if you don’t appreciate it now,in 10-15 years you’ll look back and go “wow, why did you do that for me?”

Janet’sanswer sums it up nicely.

“I do itbecause she loves it,” indicating her daughter who is stretching on the court,laughing with her teammates. “As a parent, you want to see your kids happy, andplaying volleyball makes her happy.”

- Jen

Coulee Crush 15s Wins First Tournament Of The Year!

2012-01-13T10:19:00.000-06:00

The newly established ‘Coulee Crush 15s’ team, created thisyear in the Badger Region to allow an opportunity for girls in the Black River Falls area toparticipate in higher level club volleyball competitions. On the team are; AllyW., Hailey C., Lauren H., Erin R., Jenny T., Jenny M., and MacKenzie H., allfrom Black River Falls. Coulee Crush is coached by Jenna Mickelson and JillCollins.

The Coulee Crush team traveled to Rochester’s NationalVolleyball Center for their first tournament, a 16’s tournament with seventeams registered. The team arrived early to play a 16s team from Albert Lea,MN, the Tigers 16 White team. Coulee Crush defeated the Tigers, 25-15 and 25-13in the first match of pool play. Several ace serves, sound passing, great sets,and numerous kills led to another win when the team played a 16s team fromMenomonie, taking the match, 27-25, 25-15. With their confidence building, theteam finished pool play against a strong 15s team from Menomonie, ending withanother win, 25-23, 25-21, which advanced them to the Gold bracket and seededfirst in their pool in play-offs. Meeting the second place team of the other pool,the Tigers 16 Blue team from Albert Lea, the Coulee Crush played a strongoffensive game once again, taking the match 25-9, and 25-19, taking them intothe championship game of the day. Here they met a strong team from Monticello,MN, Club Liberty. Adjusting to Liberty’s short, middle game, the Coulee Crushdefeated Club Liberty, 25-16, 25-20, winning their first tournament of theseason.

Coulee Crush travels to the Wisconsin Dells Center for anothertournament Saturday, January 14^th.

(Article by Tracy Hoeschele)

Coulee Crush, Winners of theRochester MN. 16s Tournament, held this past weekend.

Pictured in front,are: Coach Mickelson, Ally Waughtal, Lauren Helstad, Erin Roou, and CoachCollins; Middle row: MacKenzie Hoeschele, Jenny Malchow; Back row: JennyTaylor, Hailey Collins

Opening Weekend!

2012-01-09T12:31:00.000-06:00

What a great opening weekend! We had 10 juniors tournaments and one adult tournament this first weekend of the New Year and from what I saw, everyone was really excited and happy to be playing!

I want to start off by giving a shout-out to two officials who were recognized by a club director for doing an outstanding job at the NSMVC G13 Invite on Sunday: Brittany Baxter and Michael Schneck. Said Dante from Ozaukee Wave: "Just saying it was a 13's tournament gives you a clue to how difficult it can be to ref that age level. They were very consistent in making calls or not making calls. They understood it was the first tournament for all the teams and let the kids play without making a lot of calls that would have been made at a higher age level. After the tournament I told them what a great job they did. Somehow I was hoping they could be congratulated by more than my captains and me." Well there you go - GOOD JOB Brittany and Michael and keep up the good work!

On Sunday, the first adult tournament of the year took place at Arrowhead High School (a report will come later!) and we posted a bunch of photos from the event on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.214676185285749.54200.144504375636264&type=1 - it's a public page so you don't even need an account to look at it. There were five men's teams there and even though they were competing against each other, there was a great sense of camaraderie between all of the guys. Julie Voeck was on hand to work with the officials and Nancy Paulson ran a scorekeeping session, and tournament director Terry Paulson was buzzing around like normal. If you haven't been to an adult event, it's very low-key and laid back, but a lot of fun, and some pretty good volleyball too! If you're an adult, grab six of your friends and talk to the Region office about how to start a team!

Sunday afternoon I stopped out at the Let The Games Begin II tournament at Center Court to talk with some parents and coaches and to take some photos. Those are also posted on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/media/set/?set=a.214685418618159.54208.144504375636264&type=1

I saw some really good, active coaches giving constructive instruction, which was awesome to see - especially when the players responded! It was a G13, 14, 15, 15 tournament but I want to give a special shout-out to the B12s teams that were playing, and doing a great job! I saw the Southwest Milwaukee team play and coach Chris Reininger was doing a fantastic job being active and keeping his kids focused and offering instruction - and the boys were having fun as far as I could tell!

There were several close matches and some up-and-down matches, but that's to be expected this early in the year. But I was so excited to see all of the passion that the players, coaches and parents had - it was invigorating! By watching Eclipse's Alan Capps, you would never be able to tell it was Jan. 8!

Also a special recognition to the R1s at the tournament (both professional and coaches) who were helping the teams with the correct pre-match protocol that Badger Region is using. A video of the procedure can be found on http://volleyballreftraining.net/indoor_modules.php - it's the second red from the bottom. At the fall meeting of all of the junior club directors, they decided to stay with this USA Volleyball standard pre-match protocol (the entire team stands on the sideline, walk to the center of the court, wave, shake hands, huddle) to keep it consistent when teams go to other regions or national events.

All in all, it was a great weekend of volleyball! If you'd like to submit your thoughts on anything Badger Region-related, please just email jarmsondyer@badgervolleyball.org with VolleyBlog in the subject and I'll get it posted. Also, please remember to email your photos to us at badgerregionphotos@gmail.com and we can use them on the main header of our website and on Facebook. Be sure to also tag Badger Region Volleyball in your photos on Facebook!

Keep up the great work Badger Region!
Jen

Welcome to the Badger Region VolleyBlog!

2012-01-06T16:16:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the Badger Region VolleyBlog! What's the VolleyBlog you ask? Well, it's anything you want it to be. We wanted to create a place where our wonderful members could share their experiences, tell their stories, explain what goes on at practices, tournaments or in between, gush about a wonderful scorekeeping/officiating performance by a team - or anything else you want to write about!

We want to hear from you! Junior, collegiate or adult players, coaches, parents or siblings, officials, tournament directors, club directors - anyone! If someone wants to write up an entry about a cool team bonding experience - perfect. If an official wants to comment on a great job officiating by a team - wonderful. If a tournament director wants to go into what REALLY goes into putting a tournament on - great! There really is no structure to this, just for people who like to write or like to see what is going on around the Region. Please pass this around to your coaches and teams - or it's a perfect "team parent" activity! You can email with anything you'd like to submit - photos too. If you don't want to post your name, we can also work around that - as long as we know it's a legit person!

"This sounds pretty cool," you're thinking. "I wonder how I can submit something?" Well, Badger Region friend, let us tell you. Just write up your piece (it can be a one-time thing, or it can be weekly/monthly, it's up to you) and email it to jarmsondyer@badgervolleyball.org with the subject of "VolleyBlog" and your name and it will get posted!

We can't wait to see what's going on around Badger Region!

Badger Region VolleyBlog

Wisconsin Volleyball Conference (WVC)-Women's 3rd Playdate

Reach for the Stars Tournament Photos!

Badger Power League 14's & 16's Championship Weekend-Feb 25/26

Campbellsport HS To Hold Memorial Tournament

Milwaukee Sting 12 Gold Swarms to Indy

BPL Update G17/18s

Caitlin Scannell Memorial Scholarshi​p Fund

Badger Power League Excitement-February 5

What Pump-Up Songs Does Your Team Like?

UW Eau Claire Women Win First Tournament Of The Year!

Good Information For Athletes & Parents Regarding College Coach Communication at Tournaments

Penguin League

What I Love Most About Volleyball and the Badger Power League

Identifying Great Officiating Teams

My Last Match Of The Weekend

VolleyParents

Coulee Crush 15s Wins First Tournament Of The Year!

Opening Weekend!

Welcome to the Badger Region VolleyBlog!

Caitlin Scannell Memorial Scholarship Fund