News & Events

OVC ended their regular season with a roar during the Emerald City Classic.   "What a great tournament WVBA puts on there at the UW Campus", said Coach Joe.  The Willamette Valley Classic @ Oregon State University has been our favorite tournament over the past few years; but this year’s ECC was one of the best ran tournaments of the year.   It's set up great with the team camping areas up in the Bank of America Arena, where everyone gets to be steps from viewing the main courts, as well as the facilities.   Another great feature is how the Directors and Coaches get to socialize with all the recruiters in the best stocked coaches/referee lounge around.   Parents where commenting how nice it was to have the venders right there along the main walkway from the Arena to Dempsey, where most of the action took place, and the atmosphere was electric.  OVC is proud of all the players that put forth so much effort working together and maximizing their teams potential to achieve at the highest level.
Without the services of their star setter, the OVC 15 RoShamBo team came together and fought a tough Excel 16 team from Columbia Empire Region.   Coach Ron was really proud of how the girls circled the waggons and left it all on the court.  There is some amazing talent in that group. 
The OVC 14 RoShamBo team did even better by winning the Silver Bracket of the 14 Open Division.   Additionally, Riley Podowicz was selected as part of the All-Tournament Team.  Great job everybody for having such a great work ethic, and putting forth so much effort.  You can truly be proud of your season.  OVC 14 RSB used this tournaments’ competition to sharpen their skill in preparation for their final tournament of season, the USAV Junior National Championships, held this year in Reno, NV.  This is an amazing group of girls, and it's a pleasure watching them come together over the years under the mentorship and guidance of Coach Joe Cruz, and this year’s Assistant Coach Julie Ash.
Extraordinary effort and amazing performance are what comes to mind when I think of the OVC 18 RoShamBo team.  Coach Brian McClaflin and Asst. Coach Kayla Owens has got this group firing on all cylinders.  After 2 days of incredibly tough pool play and an amazing cross-over victory over a great Webfoot 18-1 team, they were guaranteed top 8, Gold in 18 Open.    They fought their hearts out  but came up short (25-27, 18-25) to an amazing 18-1 Nike Air Elite team that is one of the top teams in the Nation.
Coach Brian was heard saying "I'm so proud of these girls, they were amazing!”  He told me that this year’s team has been one the nicest collection of girls he's ever coached.   He praised their maturity and said it's amazing how there is no Drama among the girls.  All these girls want to do is work hard together and achieve at the highest level.   It was a strange year in that several of the girls fought through persisting injuries.  The recent addition of Katrina McClaflin and Cara Olden was a huge bonus, they both fit right in.  It seems each year, we do a little better.  It's looking like next year's OVC 18 RoShamBo team will again be one of the top teams in the entire Puget Sound Region.  It's an exciting time to be part of the Olympia Volleyball Club.

14-1 RoShamBo "Shock" Team takes 2nd Place in Gold at PNQ National Qualifier, Spokane, WA.

OVC's 14-1 RoShamBo "Shock" team captured 2nd place in Gold at the March 19-21, 2010 PNQ National Qualifier in Spokane, Washington.  This great achievement resulted from the combined effort & contribution from all 12 of the team's players - from the first match on Friday (3/19) to the gold championship match on Sunday (3/21).  All players executed well and fought hard with confidence & determination to the very end.  And this drew praise & admiration from people in the crowd all weekend long.  "It's 'mind-bending' to know that our team came ever so close to winning the championship" at this National Qualifier", said the team's Coaches.  Special thanks to all OVC team parents, players, family & friends, (who were in attendance) during all the 14-1s matches, including the semi-finals match and gold championship match for all their tremendous cheerleading and awesome display of encouragement & support.     

You are the best!

Again, Thanks.

Coach Joe & Coach Julie

The Las Vegas Classic sure challenged the OVC 17 RSB team.  Just hours before the flight to Vegas, it was realized that starting Opposite Tyana Andrews was unable to participate due to a lower back injury.   Additionally, Micheala Berendt and Maryann Bringhurst are both recovering from their own physical ailments.   As if this wasn't enough challenge for the team, Alyssa Kellar and Gabbi Vega collided while diving for a ball in the 2nd match of the tournament.  Alyssa spent the day in the ER, then the rest of the tournament next to Ty with their clipboards taking stats.   
Fighting to the end, the girls rallied together and put up one heck of a fight.  It was great to see people perform well in different positions.  Ashley Bent did great as an Outside Hitter and Amber Tran performed wonderfully as Libero.  The team came together, played with the heart of a lion.  They fought tough, scrapped for every point, and earned impressive wins over tough opponents like Adam Johnson VBC, Santa Monica Beach Club and South Bay VBC.  
Even though their circuitous journey through the weekend wasn't exactly what they had planned on, they still had multiple opportunities to be seen by College Coaches and Recruiters.  Thanks in large part to the efforts of Coach Brian & Libbie McClaflin, who not only brought in a professional college counselor; but spent many hours helping girls get their player profiles, and Resumes together.   Thanks Beth & Jen for orchestrating: planning & executing food, rental cars, hotel reservations, flight reservations, carpools, etc.   Thanks to all the parents for chipping in, working together and being so supportive.  (Please forgive me if I've not recognized someone I should have.)        
The parents and players I spoke with all said the experience was great, and they feel like a stronger team after going through this challenging weekend.  Coach Brian said: "This team has such a great spirit, they're a great group of girls, I'm very proud of them."   
Olympia Volleyball Club is proud of you all:  Gabi Vega, Christi Colasurdo,  Maryann Bringhurst, Michaela Berendt, Ashley Bent, Lyndsey Kellar, Amber Tran, Alyssa Kellar and Tyana Andrews.   Thanks Coaches Brian & Kayla for all you do for the girls. 
They are having a great year, now if they can just get healthy, they'll start to achieve their potential as a team.

The OVC 17 Black Team went to the Yakima Jamboree last weekend, and really represented Olympia VBC well.  At the end of the two-day 18u Tournament, they finished in Gold, 5th Place overall.   Coach Amber said:  “When we’re playing together as a team, we can hang with anybody.  We have some very talented players, who play with a lot of heart”.  They should be proud of their 5th place finish.  
Several of the OVC coaches have commented on the wonderful talent on that team, and how they’re fun to watch when they’re hitting on all cylinders.   Of course when you ask the players they want to finish #1; but 5th overall is a very respectable showing, and one they can be proud of.   Great Job Players, Parents & Coaches of OVC 17 Black.

Please join us in congratulating Paul Berendt and Joe Cruz as new Board Members for the USA Volleyball, Puget Sound Region.  Recently, Paul Berendt was elected Board Member for the Puget Sound Board of Directors; and Joe Cruz was nominated to serve as Board Member for the Junior Advisory Board.
Both their desire to represent all the volleyball communities in the Puget Sound Region greatly reflects a shared commitment, dedication, & devotion towards strengthening all relationships between all volleyball communities and the Puget Sound Region.      

Best wishes and good luck to both.

OVC 

The Olympia Volleyball Club is proud to announce its second annual 'All Club Photo Day & Winterfest Celebration' on Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at Washington Middle School from 6:00pm - 9:00pm.

The purpose is to create & promote the best possible Club dynamics for success this season & beyond.  And build, develop, & foster the relationship between Coaches, players, parents, & family.   
 
Careful consideration was made using the following criteria before selecting the date for this event.
a.  Winter-break schedule
b.  Family vacations
d.  Delivery date for team uniforms
e.  Teams tournaments schedule
 
In the end, the January 6th date ended up being the the best possible choice for the Club to select. 
 
OVC had reserved the Commons area at WMS starting at 6:00pm for all teams to enjoy.  And the following potluck type meals (serving portion enough for 12 people) were identified.
 
a.  Main Dishes (Crock Pot/Simple):  i.e. Baked Chicken (eg. Costco), Chicken Teriyaki,
    Meatballs (Veggie,Beef); Ravioli (Butternut Squash, Spinach & Cheese, etc),
    Spaghetti w/meat sauce, Lasagne;
b.  Side Dishes:  i.e. Sweet Dinner rolls, Garlic Bread; Green Salads; Baked Chips & Dips;
c.  Desert:  i.e. Fruits, Baked pies (pumpkin, sweet potato, banana cream); 
d.  Hot Beverages:  i.e.  Coffee (Reg/Decaf), Chocolate, Tea;
e.  Cold Beverages:  i.e. 100% Fruit Juice, Water,  
 
To help orchestrate the logistical planning, set up & execution for this event, the Club
is requesting the help and assistance from its most valuable asset - TEAM PARENTS!
 
The Club is requesting that each Team's Coach appoint one or two parents to help serve as
food coordinators for this event only.  Each team food coordinator is asked to then circulate a menu sign up sheet to identify which of the above food items each player had signed up to bring.
And each team food coordinator is asked to then advise the executive board at a general idea of how many of each dish your team is going to provide. 
Please use info@olympiavolleyball.com.            
 
The following would be the proposed schedule & itinerary.
 
6:00pm - 8:00pm:  Announcements/Dinner in Common Area/prizes
 
8:00pm - 9:00pm   All Club photos in the gym  (All 7 teams together)

Creating, fun, joy, & great memories is our goal for this event.  And to help achieve this goal, 100 percent Coach, Player & Parents participation is paramount.
 
Thanks to all Parents for helping to make this second Winterfest celebration both eventful and memorable.
 
OVC 

Let your family doctor advise you as to whether or not your daughter should wear ankle braces. 

We're asked all the time:  Should my daughter be wearing ankle braces?  

That's a tough question because each player is different.   That's why we say seek the advice of your personal medical professional.  The attached article reflects proper use of ankle braces reduces the likelihood of ankle injuries.    I have seen a myriad of articles that have differing opinions; but there's a common thought that even though braces mitigate ankle injuries, braces may reduce a player's natural ability to strengthen their ankle.  

If you decide to purchase ankle braces, you can again contact your medical professional for advice.  Our doctor gave us lace up braces, but there are also more ridged braces that go into your shoes,  To find out different options, you can either google "volleyball ankle braces", or look in the Volleyball USA magazine that comes along with your USAV registration.  

Good luck with your decision, seek out as much objective information, and make the best decision you can. 

Here's the article I found at a website earlier tonight: 

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Ankle braces can help protect collegiate female volleyball players from sprains, a new study shows.

After University of Pennsylvania volleyball players were mandated to wear a padded brace on each ankle, just one ankle injury occurred in the course of seven seasons.

"From our data, it appears that the use of such a brace is an effective way to decrease the incidence of ankle injuries in this active but vulnerable group of athletes," conclude Dr. Brian J. Sennett of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia and colleagues.

Ankle injuries are common among female volleyball players, accounting for up to 36% of all injuries in these athletes, Sennett and his team note in their report in the American Journal of Sports Medicine.

Penn players have been wearing the Active Ankle Braces, made by EBI Inc. of Parsippany, New Jersey, since 1998. To evaluate whether the braces had actually been effective, the researchers compared rates of ankle injuries at their university to data from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for female volleyball players.

There were 797 ankle injuries during 811,710 NCAA practices or games from 1988 to 2005, translating to an injury rate of 0.98 for every 1,000 exposures. For the Penn players, there was just a single ankle injury during 13,500 games or practices during those seven seasons, for an injury rate of 0.07 per 1,000 exposures.

Nearly half of the 132 Penn players in the study had suffered ankle injuries before starting to play college volleyball, Sennett and his team note.

"Although our data are statistically significant and may change current thinking about orthosis use in these elite athletes, further investigation is warranted," they write. This research could include comparison of the effectiveness of various types of braces, the researchers add, as well as how they affect performance.

SOURCE: American Journal of Sports Medicine, February 2008.

Olympia Volleyball Club is proud of our local High Schools that made it to the Washington State Championships.    Whether  at the 2B, 2A, 3A or 4A, the competition was extremely tough, and you can all be proud of the effort you displayed.   

For those of you who didn't see our announcement in the WIAA Volleyball Championships program, a copy can be seen here:

                           Congrats current/past OVC players.

In case you didn't see the story, or the photos in The Olympian online, they can be viewed here:  The Olympian. 

Kudos to the Players & Coaches--you did great, you can be proud.   Now, what are you going to do to get ready for 2010?      

The Olympia Volleyball Club (OVC) is proud to announce the return of Gold Medal Squared (GMS) to Olympia on December 12 & 13, 2009. 

This will be OVC's 3rd consecutive season teaming up with the staff and trainers of GMS, arguably the best coaching minds in volleyball.  OVC stands alone as the only Premier Club in Olympia whose membership includes the GMS instruction. 

All OVC Players and Coaches, please clear your calendars for this special training event! 

Feel free to contact Executive Co-Directors Joe Cruz (360) 259-6807 or Ron Kellar (360) 970-6701
with any questions.