Rottenburg

The Map24 printout said that the trip to Rottenburg would take about four hours. Apparently, the computer didn't adjust for Friday afternoon traffic...

Rottenburg is a college town with a lot of things going for it. The location is excellent, deep in the South of Germany, reasonably close to the border and surrounded by natural scenery.

The club is also fairly impressive. As one of the worst teams in the league, they average 2500 spectators per home game. The gym is a perfect place to play volleyball: the right size, high ceiling, nice atmosphere...and covered in pink paint. In my opinion, it's the best gym in the league.

Unfortunately for them, all of this hasn't been enough to create any success on the court.

Our guys came into this one with a slight tinge of urgency. We've lost two straight away matches and neither of those were pretty games. We all knew that if we played the same way we had we'd be looking at another disappointment. Besides that, we're in a dogfight for a good seed in the upcoming playoffs. The match against Rottenburg represented the last "easy" match of the year as we have Friedrichshafen, Dueren, Berlin and Eltmann remaining on the schedule. Two points were an absolute must.

To our credit, we came out playing well. Surprisingly, Rottenburg didn't just lay down in the face of the Wuppertal juggernaut, they decided to play a good match as well. We weathered their first set assault and won a close one.

As we have done so many times before this season, we lost intensity in the second set, and ended up losing that one without putting any real pressure on them.

After a little talking to in the locker room we got our game together and figured out a way to win the last two sets.

Overall, the game was fairly unremarkable. We played fairly well in the three sets that we won and we have to be happy with that. But, this was a match that we had to win so there can't be too much celebrating about it. I think we're satisfied and happy enough to move on towards what is going to be a hard final stretch of the season. If we can get a few wins we'll be in great shape for the playoffs. If not, it's going to be interesting to see how it all shakes out.

Matches

Two wildly different results in the last couple of weeks. And I think that the difference illustrates the importance of the home crowd to our team.

Last weekend we played in a small town called Delitzsch and lost an ugly match 1 - 3. They are currently one of the worst teams in the entire league and losing to them is nothing less than a catastrophe. From the very first ball we played poorly. We hit a ton of balls out or into the block and we didn't do anything positive to make up for the bad stuff. We saw a quick edited compilation of all our mistakes in a row yesterday - it wasn't pretty.

Matches like that are the hardest to figure out. You can always look back and think about how poorly we practiced the week before or look at the problems we ran into when both of our opposites weren't fit to play, but that doesn't really give any answers for why we played so weakly in the actual match. The guys who were there shouldn't have been affected by any of that stuff. It's kind of like, immediately after the match, you understand what you did wrong and if you had another chance to play the same game the whole thing would happen differently. I don't know if that makes sense, but I am 100% sure that we would play an entirely different game if we had another chance to play them. It's like a lesson in instant wisdom.

I guess the trick is figuring out how to change the bad vibes during the match and not have to wait for the 20/20 rearview vision. Sometimes I think we should have little cheat notes that we could refer to during the games. Several lines of text tattooed right on our forearms: Stay Aggresive. Play with heart. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Etc... Maybe that would help. Anyways, the whole thing was embarrasing and hopefully we won't have to deal with anything like that again.

Yesterday, we played VCO Berlin at home and the outcome was completely opposite. I wouldn't say that we played a whole bunch better, and this is where the home crowd comes into the argument, but we did enough to get out of there with a 3-0 win. And it looks like when everything is all settled at the end of the season, set score is going to be pretty important so 3-0 is also big for us.

There wasn't anything too remarkable that happened during the match so I don't want to spend more time on it.

Off the court we've had some...ahem...interesting things happening lately. Starting with the league's top blocker and one of our co-captains breaking his shoulder trying to do a judo roll for a university test. Sometimes that Fortune lady is a bitch. He's basically out for the year and it's not so much that I don't trust his replacement, it's more that we now only have two real middles. Nathan is actually our new backup middle blocker. No matter how well he bounces balls out of the position, it is asking quite a bit to have him learn to play middle in the space of two months. Just a negative development in so many ways. But, we'll see, maybe it will force us to pick up our game in different areas. I should also say that I feel terrible for Dirk, he's a great guy and it always sucks to see someone injured like that. Hopefully he'll be back and ready to go as soon as possible.

Otherwise, it was fun this weekend to have a visit from some of the people from Amager Volley. Always nice to see some people from Denmark and to get a chance to show off a little for them. I guess this weekend wasn't too bad of a choice considering that it is Karneval here in Germany!

This weekend we're off to Rottenburg and another win is absolutely necessary. Apparently they have one of the best fan bases anywhere in German volleyball - around 2500 people at every match - so it should be fun to see what it's all about down there.

To the East again.

One more time headed east towards Berlin and Leipzig. This time we're going to Delitzsch to play one of the lowest ranked teams in the league. Needless to say, we have to win. Delitzsch though? Isn't that a weird name for a city?

Anyways, at some point soon I'd like to reflect a little bit on the differences that we see when we leave the comfortable confines of what used to be West Germany. Maybe when we get back on Sunday...we'll see.

Moers

This weekend it was Moers at home in the Bayerhalle. For reasons I talked about in an earlier post, there was little room for a bad performance from our side in this one. Fortunately, it turned out to be a positive experience for everyone.

Moers is kind of an enigmatic team. They've got arguably the best attacker in the league - Georg Grozer Jr. - and a pretty solid supporting cast around him. They played themselves into the Cup finals recently after beating Dueren and SCC Berlin in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively. But they've also been inconsistent in the league. Currently they are sitting eighth in the standings.

When you're playing a team like that, you just have to be more solid than them. Don't give them the chance to get hot. Don't give them any reason to elevate their game or get excited. Keep constant pressure on them and they will eventually crack. I think that we did all those things and it resulted in a good win for us.

We served well, they did not. We passed well, they did not. I've said it before and I'll say it a million times more before I die. When you win the serving and passing battle you will almost always win the game.

Some notes from the match:

Apparently, Moers' libero was sick and did not play in the match. This forced one of their back-up outsides to play the libero position which in turn forced their coach, none other than, Georg Grozer Sr. to suit up. He was very good back in the day. Also pretty crazy. But he is, shall we say, slightly past his expiration date now so it was kind of weird to see him sub himself into the match. At one point I realized that it was the first time I had ever played indoor volleyball against a father/son pairing. I started thinking about what I would say to my dad if he just kept shanking passes and I couldn't really come up with any ideas. It must have been awkward for them though.

The sets to Grozer Jr. were beyond high balls. I can't imagine what he would do if he was going one on one instead of the normal three man block that he sees.

Peter was really good when he came in for us. Ended top scorer and therefore justified the awkward picture above...

Handball

I got to sit down with the rest of our team last night and see the second half of Germany vs. France and then the entire Denmark vs. Poland match afterwards. Our team, of course, is made up mainly of German players but, and it's kind of funny, we also have Danes and Poles. So, three out of the four semi-final teams were covered. Both matches were obviously exciting. Too bad that Denmark couldn't pull out the victory, a Denmark vs Germany final would have been a lot of fun to watch on Sunday. I haven't had a chance to really process everything that happened but it turned out to be a truly interesting night.

Just seeing the difference between the way Germans and Danes approached the two matches was riveting. You could almost sense the way the Germans sat back and expected to win in the end. Obviously, they were nervous and excited, just like any sports fan would be. But, there was a distinct difference from the way the Danes acted. I don't know if you can call it arrogance, confidence or just a more "been there, done that" attitude. It was weird. Their team played solid, didn't make mistakes (except on that one play where the guy lost the ball in the backcourt) and won in the end. It was like their fans knew it would happen and therefore they were more calm.

The Danes on the other hand were all over the place. They played amazing at times, made some terrible mistakes, couldn't score for long periods even though they had plenty of chances. The fans were positive that Denmark couldn't win. They expected losing and they seemed afraid to really believe that they could win. And in the end, they didn't.

I wonder if this kind of thing means something deeper. Does it mean that Danes have been burned so many times with their teams that they have a hard time really putting their hearts behind them? On the other hand, Germany has had so much success on the international scene, football, handball, etc... that it is easy for a German fan to root for their team. Or does it mean that Germans just have more of a winner mentality? Or maybe, since Denmark is smaller, these kind of events mean a lot more to them then they do to Germany. When a Danish team makes it to the Semi-FInals of a major tournament that means so much more than when a German team does.

I could just be making this stuff up in my own mind. But it seemed to me that there was a real difference in the way the two groups of people approached the match. Sometimes I wonder if that is a reflection of the players on the court or if the players on the court reflect that nervous energy from their fans. Does the confidence of 19,000 fans rub off on the team they are rooting for? Or, by the same logic, does the refusal to believe in your team make a difference to the players on the court?

That relationship between players and fans seems kind of like a real relationship between any two people. The fans want to support their team and they want to believe that the team they root for is the best. The team on the other hand agrees to always do their best and to give the fans something to be proud of. If either side doesn't fulfill their resposibility then problems happen. If the team keeps losing and not playing well, then the fans have a hard time giving everything to the team because they, understandably, don't want to put in so much effort to a lost cause. Ironically, if the fans are dead and they don't create a great atmosphere for the players then that will negatively affect the way the team plays.

I don't think it can be argued against that some teams benefit from playing in front of their home crowd. I guess my question is whether some teams can be negatively affected by their fans and whose responsibility is it to make sure that that never happens?

I kind of ended off on a little tangent, but I think the question is an interesting one. Originally, I just wanted to say I thought the games were exciting and I'm a little disappointed we won't be seeing a Germany vs Denmark final. But I guess I'll still have the opportunity to be nervous and pessimistic when Denmark is playing against France for third place...

Let me start with a little explanation for what’s been going on here on the site. I’m not sure there are any people left checking in anymore, but if people are like me with blog reading, they probably look in every once in awhile and see if there is anything new.

Obviously I haven’t been updating. There are a few reasons. One, and the most significant, I’ve been writing a lot, but not about volleyball, and I just haven’t had the extra will power to write for this site. I may start a different blog at some point where I’ll post the short stories, etc… I’ve been working on but first I’ll have to write something that I think is good… Second, and I’m going to talk more about this below, volleyball has taken over a large part of my brain. Even when I’m not at practice, I still think about it a lot, so writing about it also can be a bit tedious. Third, I’m a little lazy. Fourth, our schedule can be hectic sometimes, that means little time left over for blogs!

So, if there are still people out there checking in, hopefully I’ll update a bit more often. I could imagine a few posts finding there way online at some point; however, I can’t guarantee anything.

Now to the volleyball:

As a team we’ve just been through a really interesting time. Starting before Christmas we were in what has been referred to as a “crisis” of sorts. We lost a few matches in a row. More importantly, we lost badly. Even more importantly, when we played, it didn’t really look like any one of us cared that we were losing.

Needless to say, it wasn’t a good recipe for success and it wasn’t a fun time for any of us.

Since then, we’ve done quite a few things to turn things in a new direction. We’ve had multiple meetings, with coaches, without coaches, with administration, etc… And I think, in the end, and without going into detail as to what was said, the meetings were very positive. It’s a good thing to be able to honestly express yourself in front of your teammates.

This is also where volleyball kind of takes over your life. Not that it isn’t huge for all of us, it is what we do for a living, but it can be hard when you feel terrible all the time because you know you’ve been underperforming. It’s a double-edged sword, you love the game and you get to play it as a professional, but when you lose and you don’t play well, it’s depressing. Fulfillment in your job comes down to tangible wins and losses. Two points in the fifth set can be the difference between a good week and a bad week. Kind of a bitch sometimes.

But all the meetings in the world couldn’t guarantee anything. We also had a lot of work to do on the court – just straight technical stuff – in practice in order to really develop ourselves.

As soon as league play resumed in January we saw a difference in our game. We beat a good Unterhaching team 3-2 and followed that up with a 3-2 win over Eltmann. Both of those matches were huge as far as the standings go because both those teams figure to be close competitors when we come down to the end of the season. We also beat a team that has been dangerous on their home floor, Koenigs Wusterhausen, 3-1 at their place. Three wins out of three chances, all in one week, pretty good right? Well…Yes. But…

We followed it up by catching an absolute beating in Leipzig last weekend. And I’ll be honest here, this weekend we’re playing Moers (better known as this guy and six other guys who hope to touch the ball every once in awhile) and we pretty much have no choice but to play well.

I do think that the game in Leipzig was a hiccup. I think that we are a better team and that we are headed in the right direction. I heard someone saying that every time we have a real chance to move forward and break through that we always end up taking a step backward. I don’t think that’s true. I’m choosing to look at it from the viewpoint that sometimes you have to take a couple of steps backward before you can move even farther forward. Because we are a better team right now then we were three months ago. I can only hope that we are a better team in two months than we are now.

Personally, I’m getting some playing time. I’ve played quite a bit. There hasn’t been a game in recent memory where I didn’t get a good chunk of playing time. And I’m doing pretty well. You don’t believe me? Well, as we all know, statistics are the only thing that really matter in sports, I mean, they never lie. So check this out. It pretty much means that I am the best setter in the world. Possibly ever.

Read Blocking

One of the biggest differences in style of play that I've noticed between what I've learned in the States (particularly during my time in University) and what I've experienced here in Europe has to do with blocking.

Read blocking seems to be the key word throughout international volleyball right now. Everyone is doing it because it seems like the most effective way to block. Of course teams are running extremely fast offenses as well in an attempt to beat the bunch read blocking system. And basically, a good read blocking team has a great chance to beat almost any offense. Even if the passing is pretty good.

But, what I've noticed is that most teams don't really read block. In most cases, when you see good passing, the middles jump with the middles trying to take away the quick attack. It doesn't matter if the setter on the other side has not set the middle in the entire match. Somehow, taking away that quick hitter becomes the most important thing to do. Discard the fact that almost any setter will NOT set the ball to the middle when the pass is perfect, (this is another topic that I would like to discuss in detail in another post) why do middle blockers do this?

In college, we spent lots and lots of time on blocking. And I think the result was a group of much better blockers than the average. We were also smaller than most other teams so we were forced to be better disciplined. We were a true BUNCH READ blocking team. That means that you read and REACT to the other team. The idea was to never decide before the setter sets the ball where he is going to set it. Just read him, read his hands, look if he is leaning one way or the other and then react when he sets the ball. DO NOT GUESS.

Needless to say, this is easier said than done. But since I have been in Europe, all of my coaches have said that we are going to read block, and I truly don't think any of the middles I have played with have done that. And I don't think that any of said coaches have ever really attempted to force them to do it. I remember hearing, "DON'T GUESS!" or "WATCH THE SET!" over and over again. Middle blockers would be drilled over and over again. If they leaned the wrong way or left too early from their spot they would be out to the side to do push-ups.

I understand that this was really hard training and not an easy skill to master, but in the end, it really paid off. And I think that most of the teams I have played on could benefit from implementing the system. Because honestly, right now, too many middles just jump blindly with the middle. As a setter, this is exactly what you want, because then you don't have to do anything hard. All you have to do is set the ball to the outside or behind you every time and you will almost always have a one on one situation.

I don't know, maybe it's better to go on gut instinct sometimes and just do what you feel is right as a blocker. But I think being disciplined will get a lot more touches in the end.

Bodensee - A Nice Place to Be!

The German Cup tournament finally opened up this weekend for us with a match in a little city named Konstanz. Located on the border with Switzerland, the city is home to a lot of students who come to enjoy the incredibly nice, laid back atmosphere. Lake Bodensee, one of the biggest lakes in the area, is also close.

As it turns out, the gym was located right on the shores of a quiet river that flows into a bigger lake just nearby. One of the smaller halls actually had a huge windowed façade facing the flowing water. After a short walk and a bite to eat I was ready to proclaim the city of Konstanz as the nicest in all of Germany.

The team from Konstanz was not particularly impressive. They weren’t supposed to be, playing in the third division, but I expected them to come with a little bit more than they did. The match was nothing too spectacular - we played fine and that was plenty to win. The most memorable moments were Dirk helping a serve that wouldn’t have gone over the net by bouncing it off his hand at the net and the referee not calling anything, Dirk also made a nice play when he had a short joust with the setter then proceeded to hold the ball in one hand after the setter let go (the referee failed to call this a lift, choosing instead to call a replay) and of course the Konstanz middle who had red contacts which made his eyes look exceedingly weird.

The biggest news came from the drawing of lots for the next round of the tournament which took place directly after our match. In probably the best scenario possible, we drew SCC Berlin at home on the 22nd of this month. I wrote last time that we would have to wait quite a long time to prove that we are a better team than Berlin. Well, it looks like that won’t be the case! I think everyone is excited for the match-up and hopefully we’ll be able to come out of this one with a big win.