In the Gym

Hope you had a great weekend.  I spent it in Anaheim in the Convention Center coaching volleyball at the Junior Olympic Qualifier.
Here is my team. They're an under 12 year old team and this is their first year together.  The man on the left taking a picture of the parents is my friend and head coach Nick Fotias.  Our team finished second in San Diego County and sixteenth over all in Southern California.  Being a new team, this is an amazing accomplishment.  All of the higher ranking teams come from established veteran programs.  I am very proud of them! 

 Casey's team went too, so I got to see her briefly throughout the weekend.

It's so rewarding to work with these wonderful girls and watch them grow and develop into exceptional young ladies on and off the court. 

They aren't just learning the game of volleyball, they're learning life lessons.  Their character is being challenged in only ways that playing on a team can do.  They are learning patience, how to win with grace, how to loss with grace, how to achieve goals, how to handle failure, how to work as a team, and how to have fun!

The pay is little, but the rewards are priceless.

Hope you spent the weekend doing something you love!

Thanks for checking it out.

What Do You Play?

Doesn't just about everyone workout these days? If you don't work out, I'm sure you are planning to start Monday. We run, walk, go to the gym, do PX90, Insanity, swim, treadmill, Kettle Bells, plyometrics, etc.

I'm not talking about exercising.

I want to know, what do you play?

It is a happy talent to know how to play.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
1803–1882
I play 2 on 2 volleyball on the beach. I play with an amazing group of women I'm lucky to call my friends. They are mostly moms now who played in college or professionally for years and still enjoy the game, the workout, and the camaraderie. I have been playing with some of these women off and on, with or against, for the better part of 20+ years.

We laugh out loud at ourselves and at each other. We curse, fight, whine, cry, and cheer each other on. (woman athletes tend to be alphas).  I know that even if I'm having a terrible day, I will feel better after playing volleyball with these ladies, even when I play bad.  A bad day of volleyball is still always better than housework, paying bills, grocery shopping, running errands, you name it. It's an incredible workout, but it's also a way of connecting and sharing with my girl friends.

It's a good week when I get to play once a week.

It's a very good week when I get to play 3 times a week!
Here are some of my friends I play with, Beth Mercer and Lori Kotas- Foresight hiding behind the volleyballs.

Beth is our organizer. She schedules all our foursomes and brings the net and balls. I would not be playing these days if Beth didn't set up our games.  Lori was at one time one of the top female beach volleyball players in the world. 

Thanks Beth!

The essentials... water, sunscreen, towel, sunglasses, bathing suit (on body not pictured)

Here is where we play. We frequently see dolphins swimming by.

Beth and Mary Ann

Tammy and Jeanne.
Tammy (Lilley) Leibl is a three time Olympian with a bronze medal and also at one time one of the top beach players in the world.  Right up there with Misty and Kerri.  Jeanne Reeves was on the 1984 silver medal winning Olympic team. 

Beth recently set up a tournament for us ladies. We played 3 vs. 3 with teams that consisted of a player in her 40's, one in her 50's and one in her 60's. It was so much fun!

These women are all amazing athletes.

Cheri, Linda, and Hillary competing in the final match.

Here we all are at the end of the day. Still smiling after trying to kill each other with the ball.

We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.

George Bernard Shaw/Benjamin Franklin

If I didn't play volleyball, I would take up tennis, or golf, or bunco. 

It doesn't matter what you play, just play something.

 Don't let your kids have all the fun!
You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.
Plato
Greek philosopher
427–347 BC

What do you play?

Thanks for checking it out.