Kind of out of nowhere, but with Middelfart losing last night, the slutspil is done. We finish first no matter what happens in Gentofte and we play them in the semi-finals starting next weekend. I was skeptical that Middelfart would lose again to HIK but clearly, they have their issues with the team from up north. I guess it will be interesting to see what happens in their semi-final as well, especially considering that HIK was the only team this year to have an overall winning record against Middelfart... I guess in the end it doesn't really matter who plays who, anyone can win.
Tomorrow's match is interesting to me because it means nothing whatsoever. Absolutely nothing. I don't know if I have ever played in that kind of match before, frankly, I don't know how to feel about it. I mean, we learn that it is important to win when we play sports, that wins and losses add up to eventually mean something overall. But in this case, our fate is decided, we have no role to play, winning is irrelevant and losing is irrelevant. One could make the case that it is a kind of test for the semi-finals, to see where both teams stand in comparison to each other, but that only really means something if both teams are trying their hardest to win. And I'm not sure that we both will be.
This subject gets debated quite a bit in the US, especially around NFL playoff time, because most of the time the best teams are guaranteed their position in the playoffs. People spend lots of time debating whether it is better to rest their starters and not "give anything away" for the playoffs or if it is better to just keep playing like they have all season. Can a team interrupt their rhythm by taking out all of their normal starters? Is it really important in volleyball to rest and be fresh for the playoffs? In our specific case, will Gentofte have a better read on our players if we play like we normally do this weekend? Will they be able to use that to their advantage when we play in the semis?
I personally think it doesn't really matter. There is plenty of tape out there from us playing this season, we've already played Gentofte three times, so I don't think there are a whole lot of surprises left, but who knows? I guess we'll see what happens tomorrow and figure it out from there.
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- Jordan
- Odense, Denmark
- My name's Jordan Hove, I play volleyball then I write about it.
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2 comments:
I say play the bench. How many players practice hard all week, all year round and get no playing time? If this isn't a perfect opportunity to reward these players I don't know what is. Semi's do not start for another week, your starters will have plenty of time to get in game form. One night off a week before the next match won't harm anything.
In a related topic...any thoughts on taking the day off before a match? We have had days off before our last two matches and come out flat in both of them.
Yeah, I agree with you, it would also be dumb to have someone get hurt or something like that when the match means nothing. But there is also something to be said for keeping a rhythm in your starting lineup, not messing with things and trying to be too cute. The more I think about it though the less I believe it will affect anything, like you say, it is still a week away.
As far as having a day off before a game, this happens quite a bit if we play on a Sunday, I haven't seen many bad results. I don't think it's optimal, the day before a game is perfect for a quick passing practice with maybe a little hitting thrown in., but in general one day doesn't seem to make much difference to me. But different teams react differently, I would imagine that a more veteran team would more easily be able to cope with missing practice days before matches. I'm sure you guys have had days off before other matches and not come out flat afterward earlier in the season...
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