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Thoughts from an Olympian about Athletic Excellence

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As the Olympics wind down and the U.S. had mixed results in the volleyball, it seems timely to reflect on a webinar hosted by USA Volleyball several months ago featuring Tom Hoff and John Kessel. Hoff was a 6′ 8″ middle blocker for the 2008 USA Olympic team and Kessel oversees grassroots development and disabled volleyball for USAV.

Key points from the 1 1/2 hour discussion follow:

Coaches
• A good coach does more than call balls in and out.
• Good coaches set their players up to be successful over a long period of time.
• A good coach will empower players on the court.  Good players will take the coach’s lead and own what they do on the court.

Playing
• Many people want to be the best player on the court. I always wanted to be the worst player. When I first started playing that was often the case. I always liked being challenged to improve.
• I was only 6’8″ and could touch 11’9″. At the top level that meant I had average talent. To counter that, I studied the statistics of rotations. It helped me be successful as a player and develop my IQ as a player.

Skills
• At the top level the best players are those who eliminate errors. They are the players who passed the ball the best. They are very selective in choosing when to take chances.
• Watch what the ball is doing on the other side of the net – track the ball.
• Great players have great court awareness.

Goal Setting
• The way to accomplish goals is to successfully execute simple actions more often than the opponent.
• The pursuit of goals may seem maniacal. Players who remain focused and determined in the pursuit of a goal will find the journey of pursuit rewarding enough.

Mental toughness
• The toughest hitters are the ones who want the ball on big points and take tactful swings on tough balls.
• Great players will showcase the areas where they can eliminate errors. They will walk the walk.
• Great players play in the moment. They don’t get flustered. They focus on the task at hand and aren’t worried about what has happened in the past or what might happen in the future.

Practice
• Never say “No” to a setter who wants to practice. Hitting will get to practice hitting and timing and improve their ball-handling skills.
• During season we practice 20-32 hours a week, volleyball specific. We spent 6-10 hours a week in strength and conditioning. We spent several hours a week watching video. The most underrated aspect of a training schedule is rest and recovery.
• It is imperative to train at full speed.

Stretching
• The Center for Disease Control has done over 300 studies on stretching. Not one of them shows that stretching prevents injuries.

Cross Training
• If younger players are going to play other sports, soccer is a good complementary sport. Soccer players must be good at tracking the ball. That is a skill essential to volleyball.

Sports Career
• Time works against you as an athlete. Use your time efficiently.
• Everyone wants to be successful, but many people are not willing to do what is necessary to achieve the desired results.
• Focus on the journey, not the end results.

Blocking
• Blocking is the toughest skill.
• In theory a middle blocker has to be at the opponents’ point of attack on every ball.
• The purpose of blocking is to lower the kill efficiency/percentage of the other team.

Time Spent Hitting the Ball
• In 2008 the Olympic team spent about three weeks in China practicing and playing matches. Even though they hit thousands of balls during this period, on average, the players actually spent a total of about 27.4 seconds hitting (contacting) the ball for that entire period.

The Six-Pack, Airball, and Pileup with Four Laps to Go

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Which of the following is the most appealing aspect of sports – the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, or the crash on the back turn with four laps to go? If you aren’t sure, keep reading.

On May 7, 2012 the Daily Camera published a tongue-in-cheek response from race car driver Tony Stewart to fans who cried for some knock-down, crash-’em up driving at the Spring Talladega. In that particular race, ten drivers were eliminated because of mechanical problems and another ten drivers were eliminated by accidents. The latter group included a nine-car pileup that swept up Stewart with four laps to go. Only 23 of the 43 drivers were around when the checkered flag was dropped.

Stewart’s response was, “Honestly, I think if we haven’t crashed at least 50% of the field by the end of the race, we need to extend the race until we crash at least 50% of the cars. …I’m upset that we didn’t crash more cars. That’s what we’re here for. I feel bad if I don’t spend at least $150,000 in torn-up race cars going back to the shop. We’ve definitely got to do a better job at that.”

Have you made your decision yet – thrill of victory, agony of defeat, or the crash with four laps to go?

• Why are the crashes that Stewart alludes to more anticipated and exciting to some fans than the race?
• What causes fans to go wild when the defensive back hits the wide receiver so hard that he knocks him into the third row of the bleachers, just shy of the hospital – and the wide receiver struts back to the huddle as if nothing has happened?
• Why do fans remember Bill Buckner for the easy grounder that bounced between his legs and not his overall career?
• What caused fans to sit in anticipation for the next Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, or Ilie Nastase temper tantrum? (These bad boys were actually outstanding tennis players).
• Why do hockey fans exit an arena talking more about the fight in the second period than the outstanding play of the goalie?
• What is so exciting about two baseball teams clearing the benches after a bean ball has been thrown – most players rush the infield only to stand around and avoid a fight?
• Why do players go “Oww and Ahh”, when a volleyball defensive player is six packed?
• What is so heartwarming about a slam dunk off the back of the rim or a free throw air ball?
• Why was Vinko Bogataj one of the most recognized skiers during the 1970s? (Bogataj was the ski jumper from Yugoslavia who was featured on the ABC Wide World of Sport intro video. He was shown losing control on a jump and crashing into a group of spectators?
• What makes boxing fans enjoy a heavyweight match more than a match in a lower weight class? Why does the potential of a knockout have more appeal that the finesse and speed required in the lower weight classes?
• Why do some people cheer for the bull and not the matador?

It is understandable to see why people can identify with the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. What does it say about sports and its role in society when fans long for misfortune rather than the spirit of the competition?

 

Will Mobile Application for Golf Eliminate Beer Cart Women?

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Mondays are slow days for the printed media. and April 16, must have been the slowest in the history of the Daily Camera.

The front page articles discussed Hessie Trailhead parking, the war in Afghanistan, 4/20 at CU, homeless housing,

Earth Day, closing day at Eldora Ski area, and a golf application for the Indian Peaks Golf Course. The latter two sports-related articles, with pictures, filled over half of the column inches on the page. If hiking and pot smoking are considered as recreational activities then about 80% of the front page was related to sports.

Focusing on the golf app…

While the article, “There’s an App for that Golf Stroke,” was interesting, it was essentially a free front-page advertisement for golf, Indian Peaks, and the application.

The main benefits of this app are that it allows golfers to pinpoint their GPS location on the course, determine yardage to the green, and alert the user of any hazards between their position and the green. Many other products provide some of these services – one of them is called a scorecard.

In addition, users will also be able to use the app to pull up canned tips from the golf pro for each hole, order food, schedule tee times, and sign up for golf lessons. The article did not state whether the app would eliminate the need for beer cart women, say a prayer prior to shots out of a trap, locate balls lost in the rough, or retrieve them from the water hazards. For many golfers, these are the essentials of the sport.

I lacked a full appreciation for the cell-phone game application Angry Birds when it first came out. Unfortunately the value of this application is also lost on me.

 

Baseball, Drugs, and NAFTA

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Jose Canseco is one of baseball’s most colorful, talented, flamboyant, and troubled athletes. Originally from Havana, Cuba, Canseco was at one time the leading Latin home-run hitter, with 462 dingers.

He is most notorious for his steroid use and tell-all book, Juiced, Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits and How Baseball Got Big. Canseco’s passion for the spotlight is matched by his love of playing baseball, i.e. his unwillingness to retire as a player. Since stepping down from the big leagues Canseco continued to play in the minors for teams ranging from the San Diego Surf Dawgs to the Worcester Tornadoes.

On February 15, 2012, the Daily Camera included a blurb quoting Brad Dixon of the Omaha World-Herald. He made the following comments about Canseco’s plans for the 2012 season as a 48 year-old player. Dixon stated, “Jose Canseco announced he’s making a comeback and joining a baseball team in Mexico. Mexican officials reacted by calling for an end to NAFTA.”

Wikipedia reports that Canseco actually joined the Quintana Roo Tigres, but was later banned for reported use of testosterone. The online resource did not mention whether Mexican officials were successful in repealing NAFTA.
 

U.S. Juniors Have Mediocre Showing at Wimbledon

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After solid performances in the French and Australian Opens, the American juniors had a disappointing performance at Wimbledon. Through the first three Grand Slams, the two strongest performers have been Mitchell Krueger and Taylor Townsend.

The girls and boys singles events were won by a pair of Canadians. Eugenie Bouchard defeated Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) in the finals of the Girls’ singles. In the Boys’ event Filip Peliwo upset Luke Saville of Australia.

Eight Americans Boys represented the U.S. in singles. Their results are listed below.

Round of 64
The boys had a combined record of 3-5 in the first round.
Winners: Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, Stefan Kozlov and Mitchell Krueger.
Losers: Noah Rubin, Alexios Halebian, Connor Farren, MacKenzie McDonald, and Spencer Papa.

Round of 32
The boys had a strong second round, 2-1.
Winners: Thai-Son Kwiatkowski and Mitchell Krueger.
Loser: Stefan Kozlov.

Round of 16
The boys split their matches in the third round, 1-1
Winners: Mitchell Krueger.
Losers: Thai-Son Kwiatkowski.

Quarterfinals
Only Krueger advanced to the semifinals, 1-0.
Winner: Mitchell Krueger.
Loser: None.

Semifinals
The journey ended in the semifinals for the boys, 0-1.
Winner: None
Loser: Mitchell Krueger.

The boys had a combined record of 7-8 at Wimbledon. Krueger, the top American, also lost in the semifinals of the French Open. At the French Open, the American Boys were 9-6. Down Under they were 4-3, and McKenzie McDonald led the way, bowing out in the semifinals.

Eight girls represented the U.S. in the singles draw. Their results follow.

Round of 64
The girls had a modest showing in the first round, 4-4.
Winners: Taylor Townsend, Alexandra Kiick, Sachia Vickery, and Kyle S. McPhillips.
Losers: Christina Makarova, Catherine Harrison, Chalena Scholl, and Jennifer Brady.

Round of 32
The girls had a solid second round, 3-1.
Winners: Taylor Townsend, Alexandra Kiick, and Sachia Vickery.
Loser: Kyle S. McPhillips.

Round of 16
The girls had a disastrous third round, 0-3.
Winners: None.
Losers: Taylor Townsend, Alexandra Kiick, and Sachia Vickery.

Overall, the girls had a disappointing showing at Wimbledon, with 7 wins and 8 losses. At the French Open the American girls had 10 wins and 7 losses, although nobody advanced past the round of 16. Down Under, the American girls had 18 wins and 6 losses. Taylor Townsend won the event and Krista Hardebeck was ousted in the semis.

There will like be a larger contingency of American juniors at the U.S. Open. With a little luck and some good home cooking, a strong showing should be on tap.

With the Exception of Serena, Americans Have Mediocre Performance at Wimbledon

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Tennis at the 2012 Wimbledon tournament was fabulous, with a surprising mix of results.

None could be more bizarre than the third round match between Sara Errani, French Open finalist, and Yaroslava Shvedova. Errani didn’t win a point in the first set.

From the American perspective Serena Williams demonstrated that she continues to be a dominant player when she is healthy. She captured her fifth singles title, set a record with 102 aces in singles, and won the doubles title with her sister Venus. Her win also begs the question, “What happens when she and her sister finally get too old to win tournaments?”

There are about a half dozen American women under the age of 24 who have demonstrated they can win Grand Slam matches. Unfortunately, they demonstrated that they are only capable of winning one or two rounds. The most impressive are Sloane Stephens and Taylor Townsend. Stephens is 19 and Townsend is still playing juniors.

Hopefully, Serena and Venus can stay healthy for a long, long time.

Murray lifted the spirits of Brits who have been humiliated recently by Barclay’s LIBOR rate fixing scandal and Rupert Murdoch’s less than ethical behavior. Despite Murray’s loss to Roger Federer, who won his 17th Grand Slam, the Brits can take solace in knowing they are slightly more fortunate than the Chicago Cubs (Fred Perry was the last British man to win the title in 1936 and the Cubs last won the World Series in 1908).

The win by Federer makes this the 33rd out of the last 37 Grand Slams to be won by the big three.

The American men had their strongest Grand Slam performance of the year as 30-year old journeymen Mardy Fish and 27-year old Brian Baker bowed out in the round of 16. Nine of the 12 American players who contended at Wimbledon are 25 years old or older. That means they are the same age or older as Nadal and Djokovic. While they are wonderful players, they have demonstrated they are not consistent “world-beaters” and they are not likely to win a Grand Slam event as long as the top three are at the top of their game.

Ryan Harrison is the most promising up-and-coming player along with junior Mitchell Krueger and McKenzie McDonald. In other words, the dry spell in American men’s tennis is likely to continue for awhile.

 

The singles results for Americans are listed below.

U.S. Men’s Results
Round of 128
The 12 U.S. men players had strong start – 8 wins and 4 losses.
• Winners – Ryan Harrison, Michael Russell, Ryan Sweeting, Andy Roddick, Sam Querrey, Jesse Levine, Mardy Fish, and Brian Baker.
• Losers – James Blake, John Isner, Donald Young, and Wayne Odesnik.

Round of 64
Half of the remaining American players lost in the second round – 4 wins and 4 losses.
• Winners – Andy Roddick, Sam Querrey, Mardy Fish, and Brian Baker.
• Losers – Ryan Harrison, Michael Russell, Ryan Sweeting, and Jesse Levine.

Round of 32
At the Australian Open 1 of 11 American men made it to the round of 32, while none of 8 American men made it to the round of 32 at the French Open. At Wimbledon, the remaining four American men split their matches – 2 wins and 2 losses.
• Winners – Mardy Fish and Brian Baker.
• Losers – Andy Roddick and Sam Querrey.

Round of 16
Both players lost in the round of 16.
• Losers – Mardy Fish and Brian Baker.

At Wimbledon, the 12 American men won 14 matches and lost 12.
At the French Open, the 8 American men won 3 matches and lost 8.
At the Australian Open, the 11 American men won 7 matches and lost 11.

U.S. – Women’s Results
Round of 128
The 10 U.S. women players had a comparatively weak first round – 5 wins and 5 losses.
• Winners – Sloane Stephens, Christina McHale, Jamie Hampton, Serena Williams, and Varvara Lepchenko.
• Losers -. Vania King, Venus Williams, Melanie Oudin, Coco Vandeweghe, and Irina Falconi.

Round of 64
The women fared well in the second round – 4 wins and 1 loss.
• Winners – Sloane Stephens, Christina McHale, Serena Williams, and Varvara Lepchenko.
• Losers – Jamie Hampton.

Round of 32
With the exception of Serena Williams, the American women lost – 1 win and 3 losses.
• Winners – Serena Williams.
• Losers – Sloane Stephens, Christina McHale, and Varvara Lepchenko.

Round of 16
Serena William remained on the winning track – 1 win and 0 losses.

Quarterfinals
Serena continued to play well – 1 win and 0 losses.

Semifinals
Serena won a tough two-set match against Azarenka – 1 win and 0 losses.

Finals
Serena wins in three sets – 1 win and 0 losses

The 10 American women won 14 matches and lost 9, although Serena won half the matches.

At the French Open the 12 American women won 15 matches and lost 12. At the Australian Open, the 10 American women won 9 matches and lost 10.

Additional results and discussion about the performance of American players is available at posts summarizing the French Open and Australian Open tournaments.

This year there is a bonus. The Olympics will be played between Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. We can only hope for the best for the red, white, and blue in these upcoming events.

Jay Berger will be coaching the men’s team. Singles players will include Andy Roddick, John Isner, Ryan Harrison, and Donald Young. If Roddick or Isner get hot or lucky, they might be in line for a medal. The two doubles teams will feature Bob and Mike Bryan and Isner and Roddick. The Bryan Brothers should be medal contenders.

Mary Joe Fernandez will be coaching the women’s team. Singles players will include the Williams sisters, Christina McHale and Varvara Lepchenko. If Serena remains healthy she will be favored to win a singles medal. Both doubles teams, Liezel Huber/Lisa Raymond and the Williams sisters are medal contenders.

Tennis became an Olympic medal sport in 1988. Since then, U.S. players have graced the award podium on 17 occasions. It will be disappointing if four additional medals aren’t added at this year’s event.

 

Sixpeat for Chestnut

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The 97th International Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island is a Fourth of July competition that has a “sporting event atmosphere”, even though it is not an athletic competition.

Joey Chestnut took home $10,000 and a mustard yellow belt for eating 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes – six better than last year. The nearest rival trailed by 16 franks, or about three packages.

Some interesting trivia about the event includes:
• Chestnut is not a big man. He is 6’0″ tall and a toned 200+ pounds.
• His consumption of 68 franks was equivalent to 20,000+ calories and enough salt to choke a horse.
• The AMA has released a statement opposing competitive eating contests – because they are harmful to the human body. (Hopefully they don’t watch professional football.)
• An animal rights group protested the event, displaying a 10 foot long inflatable puppy inside a hot dog bun. The puppy was topped with ketchup, mustard, cheese, and lettuce. Adjacent to the “hot dog” was a piglet and a sign that said, “Why Love One but Eat the Other?”

This was the second year that a women’s event was held. Sonya Thomas, aka the Black Widow, was the repeat champion. She downed 45 dogs and was rewarded with $10,000 and the pink champion’s belt. She plans to eat 46 franks next year in honor of her 46th birthday.

 

How is Power Generated on a Volleyball Spike?

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Have you ever wondered how a 4’8″ 11-year old girl can hit a more powerful volleyball spike than a junior high player?

John Kessel, USA Volleyball, provided answers to this and other questions as part of the junior clinic at 40th Annual King of the Mountain Tournament in Vail on Father’s Day weekend. The coaching team, which included top players from the men’s and women’s open draw, showed the youngsters how to hit everything from the bear claw, cobra, and misdirected overhead to the sky ball and topspin serve.

As part of the instruction, Kessel raised a question about the source of power on the spike. He stated that there are four sources of power when hitting a volleyball spike:
• Core –  Stomach and back muscles.
• Torque – Hip and body rotation.
• Arm swing/arm speed.
• Wrist snap.

Players were asked to assign 100 points between these four potential sources. Better players were asked to explain their allocation of points.

Long story short, the responses and justifications were varied, particularly among the better players.

How would you answer this question?

Based on research conducted by USAV, 17-18% of the power is generated by core strength, 37-38% torque, 42-43% arm speed, and 2-3% wrist snap.

For more words of wisdom from Kessel, check out his blog – Growing the Game Together by clicking here.

U.S. Juniors Have Solid Outing at French Open

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At this year’s French Open, the American Men failed to advance a player out of the round of 64. The women fared better with Varvera Lepchenko and Sloane Stephens advancing to the round of 16.

Fortunately, the results were better on the junior side. In total the 13 American boys and girls posted combined winning records.

At the French Open, the Williams sisters showed that they were on the downhill side of their careers with Serena exiting first round and Venus following in the second round. Some of the other players showed that there is reason to be optimistic that replacements are on the horizon.

Six Americans Boys represented the U.S. in singles. Their results are listed below.

Round of 64
The boys had a combined record of 3-3 in the first round.
Winners: Spencer Papa, Noah Rubin, and Mitchell Krueger.
Losers: MacKenzie McDonald, Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, Alexios Halebian.

Round of 32
The boys had a strong second round, 3-0.
Winners: Spencer Papa, Noah Rubin, and Mitchell Krueger.
Losers: None.

Round of 16
The boys had a solid third round, 2-1
Winners: Noah Rubin, and Mitchell Krueger.
Losers: Spencer Papa.

Quarterfinals
The boys split the quarterfinal matches, 1-1.
Winner: Mitchell Krueger.
Loser: Noah Rubin.

Semifinals
The journey ended in the semifinals for the boys, 0-1.
Winner: None
Loser: Mitchell Krueger.

The boys had a combined record of 9-6.

Seven girls represented the U.S. in the singles draw. They built on their strong showing at the Australian Open. Their results follow.

Round of 64
The girls had a strong showing in the first round, 5-2.
Winners: Taylor Townsend, Jennifer Brady, Kyle S. McPhillips, Alexandra Kiick, and Chalena Scholl.
Losers: Sachia Vickery and Krista Hardebeck.

Round of 32
The girls had a solid second round, 3-2.
Winners: Taylor Townsend, Alexandra Kiick, and Chalena Scholl.
Losers: Jennifer Brady and Kyle S. McPhillips.

Round of 16
The girls had a solid second round, 2-1, although #1 seed Townsend was upset.
Winners: Alexandra Kiick and Chalena Scholl.
Loser: Taylor Townsend.

Quarterfinals
The girls bowed out in the quarters, 0-2.
Winners: None
Losers: Alexandra Kiick and Chalena Scholl.

Overall, the girls had a respectable showing with 10 wins and 7 losses.

Combined the boys and girls won 19 matches and lost 13. At the Australian Open they were 22-13 and Taylor Townsend was the winner. With a little luck, a strong showing should be on tap for Wimbledon.