Another busy week is over and we have paid the price to the fullest.
The week started with our 2 Danish outsides, Charlotte and My calling in sick and they ended up missing all week from practice. Sanna(rightside) is still suffering from her ankle injury so she has been limited in practice and Bix(rightside) is still not available due to a back and neck injury.
A small roster played the match on Thursday against Lyngby, but as I always say "it is better to bring 5 Lions than 500 Sheep" and the 8 girls available for the match started out great bringing us to a 19-10 lead in the 1st set. Having that big a lead we started trying out different things in offense, but as some of those things failed and we added to that a streek of serving errors, Lyngby found their way back in the set stealing a 23-25 win completely stunning the home crowd.
2nd set continued with the bad finish to the 1st and we quickly fell back 5 points. However, after a time-out and a series of points from Noelle at the net we found our way back and grabbed the set win by 25-21
From then on our ways was set and we blew Lyngby off the court in the 3rd set with great serves, minimal amount of errors and great offense. 25-8 win in the 3rd, and eventhough Lyngby put up a fight in the 4th we showed great resilience to pull off a 3-1 win with 25-21 in the last set.
Another injury and then a loss..
Thursdays game was over and we had practice Friday before our long trip to Aarhus on Saturday to play AarhusVolley. 1 hour before Friday's practice Jeanette(libero) called in with a sprained ankle after a school tournament and suddently we were down to 7 players available for the match Saturday. We managed to get My(Outside hitter) up and running Saturday morning and inspite her influenza she showed up to help out the team by filling in on libero.
We started the match against Aarhus like the group of hurting and sick we actually were. With the score tied at 4-4 Aarhus pulled away 12-4 after we struggled greatly in passing, and when we finally got the set up there we managed to make an error in hitting or touching the net in blocking. 25-19 to Aarhus.
In the 2nd set we pulled ourselves together bringing us to a 2-8 lead early in the set. Fighting to keep that lead for the rest of the set we again found ourselves struggling in the same rotation as in the 1st set. Aarhus grabbed the set win 25-22.
With our back against the wall we started the 3rd set with more determination, but we were still making the errors that has been with us since Thursday match at home, but with a solid streek of points from Noelle at the end of the set, we managed to take the set 22-25 bring a small hope back that we could actually still win this one.
4th set and we are now in the lead.. We struggle in all parts of the game still but the girls fight hard to bring it back. At 17-19 in our favor the same serve that has caused us problems all game long again strikes holes in our passing line, and added to that we tip 2 ball into the net handing Aarhus the setwin at 25-20 and thereby the match 3-1.
A tough loss leaving us trailing the other 2 top teams.. Aarhus played as we expected them to, but we had no chance to resist in a game where we failed to meet our own level and our own expectations, and we will spend the rest of the weekend doing some soulsearching and recovering mentally as well as physically.
Season is long still and there is always a new battle to win. This coming Friday we play Gentofte at home and we need to find our game before then. 4 matches left before Christmas, 3 of which is against top4 teams including a semifinal in the Cup tournament against the only undefeated team in Denmark - HolteIF.
Michael
"We win and we lose together... that is what makes us a team.."
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Up and running once again..
Ok so it has been a while since I wrote anything last on this blog.. However, I have decided to pick it up once again and still bring some of my own thoughts about volleyball in general, my team(Vordingborg VK) and the competitions we are part of.
As I said I am now coaching Vordingborg VK’s elite women’s team in the Danish top league – “Volleyligaen”. I live in Præstø which is about 20min. from where we practice and play our home games, and I live here with my girlfriend, Ingrid who also plays on the team.
Where are we at...
Season is already 1/3 of the way and we have started out 6-1 in the league putting us in 2nd place at the moment, and we have qualified for the ½ final in the Danish Cup tournament. All in all a good start on the season, and we are working hard on getting the team settled after having a few players joining us just recently.
I will give a presentation of the team player by player in my next article, but to round this little teaser off in a good way, I will give you my views on the competition in the league this year;
There are 8 teams in the top league out of which 7 teams has at least 3 pro foreign players. All teams play each other 3 times in regular season before the start of playoffs.
The teams..
The current number 1 seed is HolteIF
Holte has started the season 7-0 and they will be our opponent in the ½ final in the cup tournament. The teams holds several Danish national team players and they have added 2 Canadian girls(setter and middle) as well as an Australian middle and an Icelandic National team outside to the mix.
Holte is expected to make the playoffs as well as a final as they always are, but this could be the year where they will face the toughest competition ever, as many teams have made a move for the playoffs. However, Holte is undefeated so far and they play a very consistent level with great block/defense.
My guess is that Holte will finish regular season in 3rd place.
The current number 2 seed is VordingborgVK
My own team is in 2nd place right now. We have had some player changes right as regular season was about to start, but we managed to come out of it with 6 wins and only 1 loss so far. We have 5 American girls on the team, 4 local Danish girls and 3 Danish imports from Copenhagen and Odense. Our goal is to play an aggressive and opportunistic offense, while being very disciplined in block/defense.
My guess is that we will finish regular season in 2nd place.
The current number 3 seed is BrøndbyVK
Brøndby is in my eyes the strongest team in the league this far. They have 4 pro American girls, 1 pro Scottish player as well as last year’s league MVP(their Danish setter) and 5 other Danish national team players. The team has currently a 5-1 record and they are in the ½ final in the cup tournament.
Brøndby have big blockers on all positions and they have a very strong passing line. This makes them capable of running a very fast offense as well as giving them great chance to play transition with their big blockers making it hard for the other team to make points.
My guess is that Brøndby will finish regular season in 1st place
The current number 4 seed is FrederiksbergVK
This team has 4 pro foreign players on the team, 3 American girls and recently added a Canadian middle. They also have our national team backup setter. They have a 3-4 record at the moment.
We have played this team 3 times already and won all 3 times(one of them in the cup tournament). They struggle a lot in their passing line with 2 very young liberos and I see that as their biggest weakness. They are in 4th place right now and that is why I am guessing them to finish 4th in regular season, but if their passing does not get better then I see other teams as a potential threat to that 4th place and the last spot in the playoffs.
The current number 5 seed is Fortuna-Odense Volley
Fortuna has a tradition of making the finals the past many years, both in the championship and in the cup tournament. So far they are in the ½ finals in the cup where they play Brøndby, and they are in 5th place in the league after a very slow start on the season leading them to a 2-4 record.
Fortuna lost in their season opener to the only team without pro players, and that loss is currently what is keeping them out of the playoff picture. Furthermore they have lost to Frederiksberg who is the team they need to pass to get in to the playoffs.
This team has an American coach and it has been inspiring to watch what he is trying to do with the girls. They have their own unique style of passing and blocking especially. However, this is also the smallest roster in the league with only 8/9 players, but they have 2 pro American girls as well as an Estonian pro outside hitter. Also on the team is the Danish national team captain.
My guess is that Fortuna will finish regular season in 5th place, but I am not ready to cut them out of the race for 4th just yet.. A lot of answers will be given over the next 3 weeks.
The current 6th seed is AarhusVolley
Aarhus is the only team in our league who has a team with only Danish players. They started the season with a big win 3-2 against Fortuna which was an upset to most people. Since then they lost 4 of their past 5 matches taking them to a 2-4 record. The only other team they have beaten is the bottom team, and I have a hard time seeing Aarhus playing more tricks on any of the top teams.
They have big roster, but many of their players are former national team girls who is no longer practicing a whole lot, and that shows in their matches. They have a top level which allows them to compete in a set or two each match, but keeping the level is where they struggle.
My guess is that Aarhus will finish regular season in 8th place.
The current 7th seed is LyngbyVolley
Lyngby is a team of 3 pro players(2 Americans and 1 Brasilian), then they have 4 very young and very talented players at the ages of 15/16 and to that mix they have added 4 girls who have all had their prime some years ago, but who can still contribute with experience and consistency.
Lyngby started season with their American outside hitter who is also coaching the team breaking her ankle, and she has not yet played a match for the team. They are at a 1-5 record and they struggle trying to run the fast tempo offense that half the team can master, but the rest can’t.
This team also has problems with the fundamentals of the game, but with 4 young girls working hard to get better I have a small hope that Lyngby will surprise a few as they also will get their coach/outside back on court soon.
My guess is that Lyngby will finish regular season in 6th place. They still have a small chance making playoffs as they are only 2 wins away from 4th spot and those wins may very well come as they get their full team back, but until we have seen what difference the American coach/outside can make I have them in 6th place.
The current 8th seed is Gentofte Volley
Gentofte aimed high from the start of the season hiring coach of the year 3 years ago and former men’s National team setter, Søren Hansen, but the results have not gone their way this year.
Gentofte has 3 pro Polish girls on the team, but one of them is yet to play her first match sitting out with an injury, and the players around the remaining 2 Polish girls are just not performing consistent enough to win matches. Gentofte has lost 2 times 2-3 and has also played some close games against Holte and Brøndby, but each time they fall on inconsistency.
Gentofte has a lot of young players who all have good ball control, but the lack of experience is hurting them a lot it seems, and to top that off their passing line is in my eyes the worst in the league.
I do however see them getting things right later in season and with just 2 or 3 wins they can find themselves in 6th place quickly, but I guess them to finish regular season in 7th place.
Those were my thoughts on each team in the top league this year.. Soon I will give a presentation on each player we have on the team in Vordingborg, but for now this was all.. I am excited though, to start up the blog again and I hope people are still following it..
Michael
As I said I am now coaching Vordingborg VK’s elite women’s team in the Danish top league – “Volleyligaen”. I live in Præstø which is about 20min. from where we practice and play our home games, and I live here with my girlfriend, Ingrid who also plays on the team.
Where are we at...
Season is already 1/3 of the way and we have started out 6-1 in the league putting us in 2nd place at the moment, and we have qualified for the ½ final in the Danish Cup tournament. All in all a good start on the season, and we are working hard on getting the team settled after having a few players joining us just recently.
I will give a presentation of the team player by player in my next article, but to round this little teaser off in a good way, I will give you my views on the competition in the league this year;
There are 8 teams in the top league out of which 7 teams has at least 3 pro foreign players. All teams play each other 3 times in regular season before the start of playoffs.
The teams..
The current number 1 seed is HolteIF
Holte has started the season 7-0 and they will be our opponent in the ½ final in the cup tournament. The teams holds several Danish national team players and they have added 2 Canadian girls(setter and middle) as well as an Australian middle and an Icelandic National team outside to the mix.
Holte is expected to make the playoffs as well as a final as they always are, but this could be the year where they will face the toughest competition ever, as many teams have made a move for the playoffs. However, Holte is undefeated so far and they play a very consistent level with great block/defense.
My guess is that Holte will finish regular season in 3rd place.
The current number 2 seed is VordingborgVK
My own team is in 2nd place right now. We have had some player changes right as regular season was about to start, but we managed to come out of it with 6 wins and only 1 loss so far. We have 5 American girls on the team, 4 local Danish girls and 3 Danish imports from Copenhagen and Odense. Our goal is to play an aggressive and opportunistic offense, while being very disciplined in block/defense.
My guess is that we will finish regular season in 2nd place.
The current number 3 seed is BrøndbyVK
Brøndby is in my eyes the strongest team in the league this far. They have 4 pro American girls, 1 pro Scottish player as well as last year’s league MVP(their Danish setter) and 5 other Danish national team players. The team has currently a 5-1 record and they are in the ½ final in the cup tournament.
Brøndby have big blockers on all positions and they have a very strong passing line. This makes them capable of running a very fast offense as well as giving them great chance to play transition with their big blockers making it hard for the other team to make points.
My guess is that Brøndby will finish regular season in 1st place
The current number 4 seed is FrederiksbergVK
This team has 4 pro foreign players on the team, 3 American girls and recently added a Canadian middle. They also have our national team backup setter. They have a 3-4 record at the moment.
We have played this team 3 times already and won all 3 times(one of them in the cup tournament). They struggle a lot in their passing line with 2 very young liberos and I see that as their biggest weakness. They are in 4th place right now and that is why I am guessing them to finish 4th in regular season, but if their passing does not get better then I see other teams as a potential threat to that 4th place and the last spot in the playoffs.
The current number 5 seed is Fortuna-Odense Volley
Fortuna has a tradition of making the finals the past many years, both in the championship and in the cup tournament. So far they are in the ½ finals in the cup where they play Brøndby, and they are in 5th place in the league after a very slow start on the season leading them to a 2-4 record.
Fortuna lost in their season opener to the only team without pro players, and that loss is currently what is keeping them out of the playoff picture. Furthermore they have lost to Frederiksberg who is the team they need to pass to get in to the playoffs.
This team has an American coach and it has been inspiring to watch what he is trying to do with the girls. They have their own unique style of passing and blocking especially. However, this is also the smallest roster in the league with only 8/9 players, but they have 2 pro American girls as well as an Estonian pro outside hitter. Also on the team is the Danish national team captain.
My guess is that Fortuna will finish regular season in 5th place, but I am not ready to cut them out of the race for 4th just yet.. A lot of answers will be given over the next 3 weeks.
The current 6th seed is AarhusVolley
Aarhus is the only team in our league who has a team with only Danish players. They started the season with a big win 3-2 against Fortuna which was an upset to most people. Since then they lost 4 of their past 5 matches taking them to a 2-4 record. The only other team they have beaten is the bottom team, and I have a hard time seeing Aarhus playing more tricks on any of the top teams.
They have big roster, but many of their players are former national team girls who is no longer practicing a whole lot, and that shows in their matches. They have a top level which allows them to compete in a set or two each match, but keeping the level is where they struggle.
My guess is that Aarhus will finish regular season in 8th place.
The current 7th seed is LyngbyVolley
Lyngby is a team of 3 pro players(2 Americans and 1 Brasilian), then they have 4 very young and very talented players at the ages of 15/16 and to that mix they have added 4 girls who have all had their prime some years ago, but who can still contribute with experience and consistency.
Lyngby started season with their American outside hitter who is also coaching the team breaking her ankle, and she has not yet played a match for the team. They are at a 1-5 record and they struggle trying to run the fast tempo offense that half the team can master, but the rest can’t.
This team also has problems with the fundamentals of the game, but with 4 young girls working hard to get better I have a small hope that Lyngby will surprise a few as they also will get their coach/outside back on court soon.
My guess is that Lyngby will finish regular season in 6th place. They still have a small chance making playoffs as they are only 2 wins away from 4th spot and those wins may very well come as they get their full team back, but until we have seen what difference the American coach/outside can make I have them in 6th place.
The current 8th seed is Gentofte Volley
Gentofte aimed high from the start of the season hiring coach of the year 3 years ago and former men’s National team setter, Søren Hansen, but the results have not gone their way this year.
Gentofte has 3 pro Polish girls on the team, but one of them is yet to play her first match sitting out with an injury, and the players around the remaining 2 Polish girls are just not performing consistent enough to win matches. Gentofte has lost 2 times 2-3 and has also played some close games against Holte and Brøndby, but each time they fall on inconsistency.
Gentofte has a lot of young players who all have good ball control, but the lack of experience is hurting them a lot it seems, and to top that off their passing line is in my eyes the worst in the league.
I do however see them getting things right later in season and with just 2 or 3 wins they can find themselves in 6th place quickly, but I guess them to finish regular season in 7th place.
Those were my thoughts on each team in the top league this year.. Soon I will give a presentation on each player we have on the team in Vordingborg, but for now this was all.. I am excited though, to start up the blog again and I hope people are still following it..
Michael
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Life... you never know where it takes you
Principles are made for a reason...
About 1 month ago I made a deal with Lindesberg about coming back next season and I settled to that idea pretty fast. The city, the club and the people around the team have all been super great all year and I liked the challenge of coming back trying to do better..
Little did I know that only 1 week later I had a meeting with the club again to talk about which players to bring back and which to change to bring the right squad for next season. After that meeting it was very clear that we could not agree at all and instead of trying to force anything through on either part, we decided to split ways without any drama or anything like that.
I want to send a huge thank you to Lindesberg Volleyball and the city of Lindesberg for the great year I have had there. We had a great season, made things happen for the club and the team which we set out to do. I will always be greatful for Lindesberg for contacting me and I believe we have started something which will take Lindesberg even further next year, and that is always fun to be a part of.
What now...
Parting ways with Lindesberg opens a door of options and let me say right now that I have not yet decided what to do with it all..
I have a dream of being part of changing Danish volleyball to something better than what it is today... To do that I need to be there or at least be the coach of Danish players, but I am not sure I fit in the traditional Danish "way of doing things"...
It is no secret that I am not great friends with many "important" people within the Danish National Team and the Danish Federation, mainly because I do things differently than what they have been doing the last 100years..:0/
I have be given the opportunity to help a relatively new team in the league in their efforts to make a name for themselves as a top team in Denmark.. Not just for potentially winning a gold medal, but for the way it will be won.
The club is Vordingborg VK and we share the same vision for Danish volleyball.. We want the quality to be spread out in more than one club, and to do so we need to make sure that more than one club offers the high quality of both physical, techniqual and tactical practice and environment which is a demand from the Danish players.
As part of figuring out where do coach next year I decided to "investigate" the market of Danish players joining Vordingborg with a serious project, good environment and the addition of high quality of foreigners, and to make it all really good the Danish players I talked to all were offered very nice contracts to join the team.. The result of the "investigation" was that inspite of a certain level of interest the step to actual make the move to a different club was too hard to take and as of now the season in Denmark looks to be a copy of the last 2 years.. The best Danish girls(nationalteam players) all play for the same team under whatever conditions they can get, two or three other teams then shop foreigners who by the end of the year will be strong enough to win the finals..
I am not sure that is what I want to be part of in my next years as a coach.. I had hoped to move some things in the league but for that to happen we need a few more teams that are attractive to the handful of Danish girls who wants elite and who has what it takes. The league is stronger year by year but it is because of the foreigners in the league.. The Danish girls are stacked up in one team only with each other to put pressure at practice.. All I hope for now is that some of them decides to take a chance on themselves.. Dare to get more than what you have now by investing just a little bit more.. take the step, make the move, see what else is out there because I guarantee that there is nolonger only 1 club and 1 coach working hard and dedicated.
I fully understand that players want what is best and the last many years that has only been possible in 1 place, but things are changing and the past 5 years several clubs and coaches have taken the next step.
When will we know..
I will make my decision on where to play within a few days and it will be a choice between France, Sweden or Denmark. I have a good feeling about a couple of teams right now and I am leaning towards Denmark for sure but nothing is certain at this point.
No matter where I end up I feel really good about what I have learned after this past season in Lindesberg, and I have a good feeling regarding winning more medals and gaining more experience as a coach, and agent and a person.
Michael
About 1 month ago I made a deal with Lindesberg about coming back next season and I settled to that idea pretty fast. The city, the club and the people around the team have all been super great all year and I liked the challenge of coming back trying to do better..
Little did I know that only 1 week later I had a meeting with the club again to talk about which players to bring back and which to change to bring the right squad for next season. After that meeting it was very clear that we could not agree at all and instead of trying to force anything through on either part, we decided to split ways without any drama or anything like that.
I want to send a huge thank you to Lindesberg Volleyball and the city of Lindesberg for the great year I have had there. We had a great season, made things happen for the club and the team which we set out to do. I will always be greatful for Lindesberg for contacting me and I believe we have started something which will take Lindesberg even further next year, and that is always fun to be a part of.
What now...
Parting ways with Lindesberg opens a door of options and let me say right now that I have not yet decided what to do with it all..
I have a dream of being part of changing Danish volleyball to something better than what it is today... To do that I need to be there or at least be the coach of Danish players, but I am not sure I fit in the traditional Danish "way of doing things"...
It is no secret that I am not great friends with many "important" people within the Danish National Team and the Danish Federation, mainly because I do things differently than what they have been doing the last 100years..:0/
I have be given the opportunity to help a relatively new team in the league in their efforts to make a name for themselves as a top team in Denmark.. Not just for potentially winning a gold medal, but for the way it will be won.
The club is Vordingborg VK and we share the same vision for Danish volleyball.. We want the quality to be spread out in more than one club, and to do so we need to make sure that more than one club offers the high quality of both physical, techniqual and tactical practice and environment which is a demand from the Danish players.
As part of figuring out where do coach next year I decided to "investigate" the market of Danish players joining Vordingborg with a serious project, good environment and the addition of high quality of foreigners, and to make it all really good the Danish players I talked to all were offered very nice contracts to join the team.. The result of the "investigation" was that inspite of a certain level of interest the step to actual make the move to a different club was too hard to take and as of now the season in Denmark looks to be a copy of the last 2 years.. The best Danish girls(nationalteam players) all play for the same team under whatever conditions they can get, two or three other teams then shop foreigners who by the end of the year will be strong enough to win the finals..
I am not sure that is what I want to be part of in my next years as a coach.. I had hoped to move some things in the league but for that to happen we need a few more teams that are attractive to the handful of Danish girls who wants elite and who has what it takes. The league is stronger year by year but it is because of the foreigners in the league.. The Danish girls are stacked up in one team only with each other to put pressure at practice.. All I hope for now is that some of them decides to take a chance on themselves.. Dare to get more than what you have now by investing just a little bit more.. take the step, make the move, see what else is out there because I guarantee that there is nolonger only 1 club and 1 coach working hard and dedicated.
I fully understand that players want what is best and the last many years that has only been possible in 1 place, but things are changing and the past 5 years several clubs and coaches have taken the next step.
When will we know..
I will make my decision on where to play within a few days and it will be a choice between France, Sweden or Denmark. I have a good feeling about a couple of teams right now and I am leaning towards Denmark for sure but nothing is certain at this point.
No matter where I end up I feel really good about what I have learned after this past season in Lindesberg, and I have a good feeling regarding winning more medals and gaining more experience as a coach, and agent and a person.
Michael
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Season ended...
So...
After a loooong time since my last update I feel like I am ready to reflect a bit upon the last part of season.
Losing out in the semifinals 1-3 in matches(3-0, 2-3, 2-3, 2-3) was the last stop on our journey this year, and as the results show there is a long and deep story behind it all with a lot of drama and intensity..
First of all let me say that we finished the regular season in 3rd place losing the last match 3-1 away to Sollentuna. Maybe that loss was a sign to us of what was to come. It was not so much the fact that we lost, cuz Sollentuna played the best we have seen them play, but it was the fact that we entered the match thinking that a decent effort would be enough to win it... We thought wrong.!
After that loss we had a good talk about our mental state and we entered the 1/4 finals with a lot of confidense playing the #7 seed from Falköping. Unfortunately that confidense resulted in the exact same mistake as we did against Sollentuna, and our home crowd got to see a hometeam without the usual resilience and confidense on court when things got rough.. We lost the first 1/4 final by 3-2 at home and suddently our season had turned upside down in just 2 weeks from having a chance to finish 2nd in the regular season winning homecourt advantage all the way through possible semifinals and being undefeated at home, to now finishing 3rd losing that homecourt advantage and our Linde Arena was nolonger an sieged fortress.
In retrospect that may very well have planted some seeds in our mentality and I am sure - now more than ever - that it took a big bite from our confidense in our own style of play. We have all season played an aggressive style of play with much discipline in block and defense, but the loss to Falköping told us a story of giving up 16 block kills to the other team and 39 errors on top of that in 5 sets... If anyone is wondering - YES that is how you ensure to lose a match.
Picking up our game we won the next 2 matches 3-0, 3-0 giving us a chance to finish off the 1/4 finals in 4 and regain all confidense. The 2 wins was secured with smart offence avoiding the big blocks from Falköping and that gave us an advantage.
The 4th match started out perfect and we ran them over in the 1st set, 2nd set same story until we reach about 20 and then we start to lose focus, laughing of our own mistakes and maybe trying too many things when not needed. We lost the 2nd set. 3rd set we are back on track after having talked with big letters in the time between the sets and we run them over again. 4th set is tight all the way but Falköping took it at the end bringing us to another 5th set against this team. In the 5th set it is again the young girls from Falköping who has the edge and they play without fear of losing which is the opposite of what we are doing and they win the set and thereby the match.
Driving home from Falköping one of my players was interviewed by the loal news and she spoke very responsably and calm with all the confidense in the world that if we just play our own game we will win easy.
We did in the last match at home and took it big 3-0 and thereby made the semifinals.
Playing our own game...
Entering the semifinals playing the #2 seed we had a belief that we could win and we were hungry for revenge after having lost to this team the last 2 times we played them.
We played the 1st match away and took a huge 3-0 win where our serving pressure was unstoppable and everything went our way.
We brought that level to the 2nd match at home winning the first 2 sets huge and leading 16-13 in the 3rd... I am going to let that sit for a while... 5 sets in a row crushing this team and 6th set up by 16-13...
And then something happened that I had not seen coming.. We lost our lead in the 3rd set with a series of bad passes and Katrineholm took the set 25-22 and from then on they never looked back winning the match 3-2 in our gym.
We were all in a state of chok after that loss but had a good talk about it and our hunger for revenge grew again..
The next match was moved up 2 days from a Sunday to a Friday leaving only 1 day between the 2 matches but all that did was to make us want it even more, and as long as the physical level could be held high we knew we could do it..
It was another match of ups and downs.. We won the first. lost 2nd and 3rd, won the 4th only to lose out in the 5th set and another 3-2 defeat..
Suddently we were down 2-1 in matches and needed to win the next one at home to stay alive.. We had plenty of rest and it felt good going in to the game.
Again a very clear memory for me was our tactical meeting before the match, one of the girls said that she was not worried because now we were all feeling strong and rested so now we would win, and she was just speaking out the feeling we al had.. Again in retrospect I feel we forgot everything we talked about after those words came out.. We spend the rest of the meeting talking about why we all played volleyball, what made it fun, what is our style of play and how we needed to stick to that when it got touch and tight, yet it seemed to have no effect in the match just 2 hours later..
We crushed them in the 1st, had an 8 point lead in the 2nd only to throw that away giving them the 2nd set. 3rd set we stormed away and won it by 10 points only to lose out in the 4th after another series of unsuccessful passes.
So here we were at the beginning of the 5th set.. our 5th 5set match of the playoffs having lost the 4 before this one.. This time however there was no doubt, Katrineholm took a solid lead after we switched sides and they never stopped putting pressure, didn't give away errors and we unlike most of season we unable to convert to points.. the 5th 3-2 loss in just as many tries leaving us with a feeling that we had the level to win but lacked ability to believe in it when it got close..
The aftermath...
Ending it all this way has left what they in Sweden call Silly Season(the time between season where players and coaches har hired and fired) in a bit of a chaos... We all feel like we could have ended season with a better result and there will always be a ton of people on and outside the team with claimed knowledge of what should have been different and who did what wrong, but at the end of the day it is always so easy to sit back after everything is done and point fingers and we will not be doing that in this club... We know that only 1 team will sit with the gold in the end and if everyone but them did a bad job because they didn't win the gold then the rate of success in this business is so small that it id hardly worth doing...
In Lindesberg we believe in the development of the club and the culture of how we want to do things and there is a lot of reflecting going on right now within the club and coaches and all the players are being involved as well.. We want to come out of this stronger than 1 season ago and that is exactly what we will, but you do not want to built a new house with a new foundation and 3 levels just to pick it down after a year and build a new one.. You can change a windowframe, a doorknob but the foundation needs to stay the same year after year to get the most out of the investment made in the house..
That is why we will not be changing 12 players, 2 coaches and 3 board members just because we lost in the semifinals.. Overall we had a good season for Lindesberg Volley and our values have been clear to our crowd and our sponsors all year long and they love what they see.. That brings us further and gives us more opportunities to invest further and develope more on our foundation..
At the end of it all I want to say a big thanks to the girls for the many experiences we have shared this season, the club and board for the hard work they have done to make this a special season for us, the crowd for our home matches and the atmospheare they help create around our team and the endless support, and last but not least our sponsors who with their involvement and support has made everything we have accomplished this season possible to begin with... You har a HUGE cornerstone in our foundation and we are forever greatful that you believe in us.
Michael
After a loooong time since my last update I feel like I am ready to reflect a bit upon the last part of season.
Losing out in the semifinals 1-3 in matches(3-0, 2-3, 2-3, 2-3) was the last stop on our journey this year, and as the results show there is a long and deep story behind it all with a lot of drama and intensity..
First of all let me say that we finished the regular season in 3rd place losing the last match 3-1 away to Sollentuna. Maybe that loss was a sign to us of what was to come. It was not so much the fact that we lost, cuz Sollentuna played the best we have seen them play, but it was the fact that we entered the match thinking that a decent effort would be enough to win it... We thought wrong.!
After that loss we had a good talk about our mental state and we entered the 1/4 finals with a lot of confidense playing the #7 seed from Falköping. Unfortunately that confidense resulted in the exact same mistake as we did against Sollentuna, and our home crowd got to see a hometeam without the usual resilience and confidense on court when things got rough.. We lost the first 1/4 final by 3-2 at home and suddently our season had turned upside down in just 2 weeks from having a chance to finish 2nd in the regular season winning homecourt advantage all the way through possible semifinals and being undefeated at home, to now finishing 3rd losing that homecourt advantage and our Linde Arena was nolonger an sieged fortress.
In retrospect that may very well have planted some seeds in our mentality and I am sure - now more than ever - that it took a big bite from our confidense in our own style of play. We have all season played an aggressive style of play with much discipline in block and defense, but the loss to Falköping told us a story of giving up 16 block kills to the other team and 39 errors on top of that in 5 sets... If anyone is wondering - YES that is how you ensure to lose a match.
Picking up our game we won the next 2 matches 3-0, 3-0 giving us a chance to finish off the 1/4 finals in 4 and regain all confidense. The 2 wins was secured with smart offence avoiding the big blocks from Falköping and that gave us an advantage.
The 4th match started out perfect and we ran them over in the 1st set, 2nd set same story until we reach about 20 and then we start to lose focus, laughing of our own mistakes and maybe trying too many things when not needed. We lost the 2nd set. 3rd set we are back on track after having talked with big letters in the time between the sets and we run them over again. 4th set is tight all the way but Falköping took it at the end bringing us to another 5th set against this team. In the 5th set it is again the young girls from Falköping who has the edge and they play without fear of losing which is the opposite of what we are doing and they win the set and thereby the match.
Driving home from Falköping one of my players was interviewed by the loal news and she spoke very responsably and calm with all the confidense in the world that if we just play our own game we will win easy.
We did in the last match at home and took it big 3-0 and thereby made the semifinals.
Playing our own game...
Entering the semifinals playing the #2 seed we had a belief that we could win and we were hungry for revenge after having lost to this team the last 2 times we played them.
We played the 1st match away and took a huge 3-0 win where our serving pressure was unstoppable and everything went our way.
We brought that level to the 2nd match at home winning the first 2 sets huge and leading 16-13 in the 3rd... I am going to let that sit for a while... 5 sets in a row crushing this team and 6th set up by 16-13...
And then something happened that I had not seen coming.. We lost our lead in the 3rd set with a series of bad passes and Katrineholm took the set 25-22 and from then on they never looked back winning the match 3-2 in our gym.
We were all in a state of chok after that loss but had a good talk about it and our hunger for revenge grew again..
The next match was moved up 2 days from a Sunday to a Friday leaving only 1 day between the 2 matches but all that did was to make us want it even more, and as long as the physical level could be held high we knew we could do it..
It was another match of ups and downs.. We won the first. lost 2nd and 3rd, won the 4th only to lose out in the 5th set and another 3-2 defeat..
Suddently we were down 2-1 in matches and needed to win the next one at home to stay alive.. We had plenty of rest and it felt good going in to the game.
Again a very clear memory for me was our tactical meeting before the match, one of the girls said that she was not worried because now we were all feeling strong and rested so now we would win, and she was just speaking out the feeling we al had.. Again in retrospect I feel we forgot everything we talked about after those words came out.. We spend the rest of the meeting talking about why we all played volleyball, what made it fun, what is our style of play and how we needed to stick to that when it got touch and tight, yet it seemed to have no effect in the match just 2 hours later..
We crushed them in the 1st, had an 8 point lead in the 2nd only to throw that away giving them the 2nd set. 3rd set we stormed away and won it by 10 points only to lose out in the 4th after another series of unsuccessful passes.
So here we were at the beginning of the 5th set.. our 5th 5set match of the playoffs having lost the 4 before this one.. This time however there was no doubt, Katrineholm took a solid lead after we switched sides and they never stopped putting pressure, didn't give away errors and we unlike most of season we unable to convert to points.. the 5th 3-2 loss in just as many tries leaving us with a feeling that we had the level to win but lacked ability to believe in it when it got close..
The aftermath...
Ending it all this way has left what they in Sweden call Silly Season(the time between season where players and coaches har hired and fired) in a bit of a chaos... We all feel like we could have ended season with a better result and there will always be a ton of people on and outside the team with claimed knowledge of what should have been different and who did what wrong, but at the end of the day it is always so easy to sit back after everything is done and point fingers and we will not be doing that in this club... We know that only 1 team will sit with the gold in the end and if everyone but them did a bad job because they didn't win the gold then the rate of success in this business is so small that it id hardly worth doing...
In Lindesberg we believe in the development of the club and the culture of how we want to do things and there is a lot of reflecting going on right now within the club and coaches and all the players are being involved as well.. We want to come out of this stronger than 1 season ago and that is exactly what we will, but you do not want to built a new house with a new foundation and 3 levels just to pick it down after a year and build a new one.. You can change a windowframe, a doorknob but the foundation needs to stay the same year after year to get the most out of the investment made in the house..
That is why we will not be changing 12 players, 2 coaches and 3 board members just because we lost in the semifinals.. Overall we had a good season for Lindesberg Volley and our values have been clear to our crowd and our sponsors all year long and they love what they see.. That brings us further and gives us more opportunities to invest further and develope more on our foundation..
At the end of it all I want to say a big thanks to the girls for the many experiences we have shared this season, the club and board for the hard work they have done to make this a special season for us, the crowd for our home matches and the atmospheare they help create around our team and the endless support, and last but not least our sponsors who with their involvement and support has made everything we have accomplished this season possible to begin with... You har a HUGE cornerstone in our foundation and we are forever greatful that you believe in us.
Michael
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Quick update
We've played 2 matches since our win against Engelholm at home..
Last weekend we played away in Falköping and after a week with only 2 practices due to cancellation in the Arena and a big team metting, we still managed to get a quick 3 - 0 win in their Gym.
Falköping has a lot of potential, but the lack consistancy and struggle to find answers once pushed in their passing line, so it was a good win for us.
After the match I went for a small visit in Denmark and got to hang out with a couple of players from my team last year, and that was really great.. We had a fun party and then back to Sweden the next day.
This past weekend we played Örebro at home.. The local rivals and a big deal here in the small town we live in... Örebro has always been a "big sister" to Lindesberg since they have been a dominating team in swedish volleyball for a while now and Lindesberg has only played in the elite for 4 season(this being the 5th.)
Last year Lindesberg won both matches against Örebro but still finished the season behind them.. This year we won the first match in Örebro and now we've won the 2nd one as well... let's not hope history repeats itself and sends us packing in the quater finals.
We played at home in front of about 500 people and much like last time we played Örebro it was a match full of errors and lack of attitude on our part, but the girls fought their way through it and came out on top in another 3 - 1 win.
With this win we are now only 2 matches away from finishing in top3 in the regular season, and we are still with a chance to get 2nd place which will give us homecourt advantage in the play offs.. at home we are 7 - 0 in matches with a setscore of 21-4 so obviously we would like to play at home in the play offs as well.
To finish 2nd we need to win the last 2 matches against Svedala away on Saturday and the week after it is Sollentuna away. Both are teams we beat 3-0 the first time we played them, but they have both also showed much improvement since then and we know we will have our work cut out..
We are working hard at practice these weeks getting ready for the quater finals and our focus is to make our own points and not rely on the other teams to give us them.. We want to have a "you only get what you take" attitude as we approach the big matches coming up...
Michael
"Give a man a fish and you'll feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you'll feed him for a lifetime"
Before I finish let me just send a quick shout out to Coach Mizuno, my assistant from last year, Coach Klaus also assistant from last year - both of them are headcoaches this year(Mizuno in Poland and Klaus in Denmark).. I hope you guys rock!!
Last weekend we played away in Falköping and after a week with only 2 practices due to cancellation in the Arena and a big team metting, we still managed to get a quick 3 - 0 win in their Gym.
Falköping has a lot of potential, but the lack consistancy and struggle to find answers once pushed in their passing line, so it was a good win for us.
After the match I went for a small visit in Denmark and got to hang out with a couple of players from my team last year, and that was really great.. We had a fun party and then back to Sweden the next day.
This past weekend we played Örebro at home.. The local rivals and a big deal here in the small town we live in... Örebro has always been a "big sister" to Lindesberg since they have been a dominating team in swedish volleyball for a while now and Lindesberg has only played in the elite for 4 season(this being the 5th.)
Last year Lindesberg won both matches against Örebro but still finished the season behind them.. This year we won the first match in Örebro and now we've won the 2nd one as well... let's not hope history repeats itself and sends us packing in the quater finals.
We played at home in front of about 500 people and much like last time we played Örebro it was a match full of errors and lack of attitude on our part, but the girls fought their way through it and came out on top in another 3 - 1 win.
With this win we are now only 2 matches away from finishing in top3 in the regular season, and we are still with a chance to get 2nd place which will give us homecourt advantage in the play offs.. at home we are 7 - 0 in matches with a setscore of 21-4 so obviously we would like to play at home in the play offs as well.
To finish 2nd we need to win the last 2 matches against Svedala away on Saturday and the week after it is Sollentuna away. Both are teams we beat 3-0 the first time we played them, but they have both also showed much improvement since then and we know we will have our work cut out..
We are working hard at practice these weeks getting ready for the quater finals and our focus is to make our own points and not rely on the other teams to give us them.. We want to have a "you only get what you take" attitude as we approach the big matches coming up...
Michael
"Give a man a fish and you'll feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you'll feed him for a lifetime"
Before I finish let me just send a quick shout out to Coach Mizuno, my assistant from last year, Coach Klaus also assistant from last year - both of them are headcoaches this year(Mizuno in Poland and Klaus in Denmark).. I hope you guys rock!!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Ending a tough month with a big WIN...
So..
This Sunday we were to finish off a very tough start to 2011 hosting Engelholm at home in Linde Arena.
We expected them to come wanting a rematch and we have been spending the week preparing on how to play that game best way possible.
For us it was a chance to get a little "play-off mentality" into the season before we actually get to them... Playing a top team 2 times in 1 week and having to win them both.. We chose an aggressive aproach and wanting to come out firing at will.. We did just that and killed off the will in the Engelholm players from the beginning to the end.
After a close start to the 1st set we got a better hold of our serves and we took the lead from the middle of the set and kept it to the end.
2nd set and the picture was reversed.. We started out tight but Engelholm took a big lead in the middle where we struggled in passing. We made a few subs. to try to turn it back around and we managed to go from 11-18 to 19-18 and suddently we had the upperhand. We took the set 25-21 and that seemed to take the last of Engelholms will to fight.
3rd set started with and Engelholm lead, but after first time out at 6-8 we rallied to a big lead and kept it with high pressure in serve and transition, and effective side out to take the set 25-21 and the match 3-0.
The crowds went crazy after what they had just seen and not many had expected us to send Engelholm packing that fast. We made a plan before the match and we stuck to it throughout the match, and that made the big difference comparing to earlier matches against them. Engelholm has a very consistant level and never stops putting pressure, but with a mindset of "fighting fire with fire" we managed to get them out of their comfort zone and that gave us the edge.
With the win we are back in the race for 2nd place and we have a big task ahead of us trying to win the remaining 4 matches and thereby put pressure on Katrineholm for 2nd place.
You are never as good as you think after a big win and you are never as bad as you think after a loss... With that knowledge we will continue working hard trying to develope our game inch by inch making us as strong as possible for play off time..
Michael
"Rise and Rise again until Lambs become Lions..."
This Sunday we were to finish off a very tough start to 2011 hosting Engelholm at home in Linde Arena.
We expected them to come wanting a rematch and we have been spending the week preparing on how to play that game best way possible.
For us it was a chance to get a little "play-off mentality" into the season before we actually get to them... Playing a top team 2 times in 1 week and having to win them both.. We chose an aggressive aproach and wanting to come out firing at will.. We did just that and killed off the will in the Engelholm players from the beginning to the end.
After a close start to the 1st set we got a better hold of our serves and we took the lead from the middle of the set and kept it to the end.
2nd set and the picture was reversed.. We started out tight but Engelholm took a big lead in the middle where we struggled in passing. We made a few subs. to try to turn it back around and we managed to go from 11-18 to 19-18 and suddently we had the upperhand. We took the set 25-21 and that seemed to take the last of Engelholms will to fight.
3rd set started with and Engelholm lead, but after first time out at 6-8 we rallied to a big lead and kept it with high pressure in serve and transition, and effective side out to take the set 25-21 and the match 3-0.
The crowds went crazy after what they had just seen and not many had expected us to send Engelholm packing that fast. We made a plan before the match and we stuck to it throughout the match, and that made the big difference comparing to earlier matches against them. Engelholm has a very consistant level and never stops putting pressure, but with a mindset of "fighting fire with fire" we managed to get them out of their comfort zone and that gave us the edge.
With the win we are back in the race for 2nd place and we have a big task ahead of us trying to win the remaining 4 matches and thereby put pressure on Katrineholm for 2nd place.
You are never as good as you think after a big win and you are never as bad as you think after a loss... With that knowledge we will continue working hard trying to develope our game inch by inch making us as strong as possible for play off time..
Michael
"Rise and Rise again until Lambs become Lions..."
Monday, January 31, 2011
Update with Grand Prix and Nordic Championship
It has been a while since my last article and for those who follow I appologize..
January has been an extremely long month with no less than 8 matches out of which 7 was against top teams.
We have played Hylte/Halmstad, Gislaved and Katrineholm in the Swedish elite series where we beat Hylte/Halmstad and Gislaved at home but lost to Katrineholm away. We have played Sollentuna and Engelholm in Grand Prix where we won the semifinal against Sollentuna but lost the final to Engelholm.
Finally we have played Katrineholm, Brøndby and Engelholm in Nordic Championship and it ended up with a loss to Katrineholm but a win against Engelholm and Brøndby.
Grand Prix...
It is the 2nd most prestige full event in Sweden only outranked by the Swedish Championship and we went there with hopes of another gold medal.
On day 1 we faced Sollentuna who we have beaten 3-0 in the league but they played better this time and pushed us more in their serves. We ended up winning though, 3-1 and thereby qualified for the Final on day 2.
In the final Engelholm was waiting after they beaat the home team Katrineholm in the semifinal, and after a close 1st set where we lost by 2, Engelholm ran away with the titel after a 3-0 win.
We left Grand Prix with a little less confidense and we had expected more from ourselves. You can't always win but you can always be a part of how you lose a match and that final was one where we never gave everything we had.
So Engelholm took their 1st gold of the season and proved that they are the team to beat in Sweden.!!
The league...
In the league we have played 3 matches in January and after finishing in 2nd place at Christmas time with 7 wins and 2 losses we had hopes of improving that record since the only 2 losses we have had has been away from home after many hours of driving.
1st chance to improve was at home against Hylte who beat us in the first match of the season, but this time we took no prisoners and gave them a big 3-0 beating. So off to a good start in the league.
wnd match of the year was against Gislaved who is last in the league and the difference between the 2 teams was very clear throughout the entire match. Another big 3-0 win at home and confidense was growing.
3rd league match was against Katrineholm away and they never really gave us a chance. We took 1 set from them, but in the end we never played the level we know we have and therefore they could hand us the 1st loss in the league since nov. 14th 2010.. With that win Katrineholm also took the 2nd place in the league for now.. The importance of 2nd place is due to the fact that should a team reach the semifinals then it will be the highest seed who has homecourt advantage.
With that loss we are now forced to go through the rest of the season without losing to have a chance to get 2nd place and we have many tough matches to come.. 1st one is this Sunday where Engelholm is visiting.
Nordic Championship(Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Iceland)..
In the resent weekend we played Nordic Championship Finals in Engelholm. A tournament with the 4 best ranked teams after the group stage of the tournament and those 4 teams was; Katrineholm(SWE), Engelholm(SWE), Lindesberg(SWE) and Brøndby(DEN).
Day 1 we faced Katrineholm again with a chance to take back the pride we lost after the match in the league on Wednesday.. But Katrineholm wanted something different and after we beat them big in the 1st set we eased up the grip on the match and let Katrineholm take control.. They thanked us by taking the next 3 straight sets to win it 3-1 and give us the worst possible start to the Finals.
Day 2 was time for a war against the only Danish team in the tournament and of course a special match for myself and Jeanette since we know all the players and coaches on the other team so well.. We took an early lead in the 1st set but again failed to maintain focus and Brøndby came back in the end.. It was a nerveracking last 10 balls of the 1st set because we knew that a set loss here would basically take away our chances of gold. We kept cool though and won it by 2 points and took the next 2 sets to win it 3-0.
Day 3 and a win against season undefeated Engelholm to have a chance for gold.. We prepared as well as we could and off we went.. Losing the 1st set 25-21 after we had an early lead but failed to close the grip.
After that we went off on a killing spree and basically handed Engelholm the biggest loss I believe they have received in a loooooooong time against a Swedish team. Unfortunately we needed 4 more balls against Engelholm to win the gold.. But no matter how we twist and turn it there is no way we could have hoped for a better finish than what we gave/got/TOOK.. A 3-0 win would have gotten us the gold, but beating Engelholm by 16points is close to the best one can hope for..
Looking back I guess we can be sad about losing to Katrineholm but then again they played much better than we did.. We can also be sad about not beating Brøndby big enough but I feel sad that it is the team that loses everything 3-0 that ends up with the deciding piece.
All in all we took Silver at Nordic Finals and that is of course worth taking back home. Engelholm won their 2nd gold medal this season and they are doing an amazing hob staying consistant and not giving anything away for free.. They fully deserve so be the number 1 right now.
We will go back home and remember the things we learned this weekend.. about ourselves and our closest opponents. Next challenge is AGAIN Engelholm this Sunday the 6th at 14.00(2pm) at home.. SUPER BOWL Sunday by the way..
"I don't know what to say really.
Three minutes to the biggest battle of our professional lives.. all comes down to today.
Either we heal as a team or we are going to crumble.
Inch by inch... play by play... till we're finished.
We are in hell right now, gentlemen believe me...
and we can stay here and get the shit kicked out of us... or we can fight our way
back into the light.
We can climb out of hell... One inch, at a time.
Now I can't do it for you... I'm too old.
I look around and I see these young faces and I think... I mean, I made every wrong choice a middle age man could make.
I uh.... I pissed away all my money believe it or not.
I chased off anyone who has ever loved me... And lately, I can't even stand the face I see in the mirror.
You know when you get old in life things get taken from you.
That's, that's part of life... But you only learn that when you start losing stuff.
You find out that life is just a game of inches... So is football.
Because in either game, life or football, the margin for error is so small.
I mean... one half step too late or to early, you don't quite make it.
One half second too slow or too fast, and you don't quite catch it.
The inches we need are everywhere around us. They are in ever break of the game
every minute, every second.
On this team, we fight for that inch
On this team, we tear ourselves, and everyone around us
to pieces for that inch.
We CLAW with our finger nails for that inch.
Cause we know... when we add up all those inches... that's going to make the fucking difference between WINNING and LOSING... between LIVING and DYING.
I'll tell you this.. in any fight it is the guy who is willing to die
who is going to win that inch.
And I know, if I am going to have any life anymore it is because, I am still willing to fight, and die for that inch... because that is what LIVING is.
The six inches in front of your face.
Now I can't make you do it.
You gotta look at the guy next to you.
Look into his eyes.
Now I think you are going to see a guy who will go that inch with you.
You are going to see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this team because he knows when it comes down to it, you are gonna do the same thing for him.
That's a team, gentlemen
and either we heal now, as a team, or we will die as individuals.
That's football guys.
That's all it is.
Now, whattaya gonna do?"
January has been an extremely long month with no less than 8 matches out of which 7 was against top teams.
We have played Hylte/Halmstad, Gislaved and Katrineholm in the Swedish elite series where we beat Hylte/Halmstad and Gislaved at home but lost to Katrineholm away. We have played Sollentuna and Engelholm in Grand Prix where we won the semifinal against Sollentuna but lost the final to Engelholm.
Finally we have played Katrineholm, Brøndby and Engelholm in Nordic Championship and it ended up with a loss to Katrineholm but a win against Engelholm and Brøndby.
Grand Prix...
It is the 2nd most prestige full event in Sweden only outranked by the Swedish Championship and we went there with hopes of another gold medal.
On day 1 we faced Sollentuna who we have beaten 3-0 in the league but they played better this time and pushed us more in their serves. We ended up winning though, 3-1 and thereby qualified for the Final on day 2.
In the final Engelholm was waiting after they beaat the home team Katrineholm in the semifinal, and after a close 1st set where we lost by 2, Engelholm ran away with the titel after a 3-0 win.
We left Grand Prix with a little less confidense and we had expected more from ourselves. You can't always win but you can always be a part of how you lose a match and that final was one where we never gave everything we had.
So Engelholm took their 1st gold of the season and proved that they are the team to beat in Sweden.!!
The league...
In the league we have played 3 matches in January and after finishing in 2nd place at Christmas time with 7 wins and 2 losses we had hopes of improving that record since the only 2 losses we have had has been away from home after many hours of driving.
1st chance to improve was at home against Hylte who beat us in the first match of the season, but this time we took no prisoners and gave them a big 3-0 beating. So off to a good start in the league.
wnd match of the year was against Gislaved who is last in the league and the difference between the 2 teams was very clear throughout the entire match. Another big 3-0 win at home and confidense was growing.
3rd league match was against Katrineholm away and they never really gave us a chance. We took 1 set from them, but in the end we never played the level we know we have and therefore they could hand us the 1st loss in the league since nov. 14th 2010.. With that win Katrineholm also took the 2nd place in the league for now.. The importance of 2nd place is due to the fact that should a team reach the semifinals then it will be the highest seed who has homecourt advantage.
With that loss we are now forced to go through the rest of the season without losing to have a chance to get 2nd place and we have many tough matches to come.. 1st one is this Sunday where Engelholm is visiting.
Nordic Championship(Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Iceland)..
In the resent weekend we played Nordic Championship Finals in Engelholm. A tournament with the 4 best ranked teams after the group stage of the tournament and those 4 teams was; Katrineholm(SWE), Engelholm(SWE), Lindesberg(SWE) and Brøndby(DEN).
Day 1 we faced Katrineholm again with a chance to take back the pride we lost after the match in the league on Wednesday.. But Katrineholm wanted something different and after we beat them big in the 1st set we eased up the grip on the match and let Katrineholm take control.. They thanked us by taking the next 3 straight sets to win it 3-1 and give us the worst possible start to the Finals.
Day 2 was time for a war against the only Danish team in the tournament and of course a special match for myself and Jeanette since we know all the players and coaches on the other team so well.. We took an early lead in the 1st set but again failed to maintain focus and Brøndby came back in the end.. It was a nerveracking last 10 balls of the 1st set because we knew that a set loss here would basically take away our chances of gold. We kept cool though and won it by 2 points and took the next 2 sets to win it 3-0.
Day 3 and a win against season undefeated Engelholm to have a chance for gold.. We prepared as well as we could and off we went.. Losing the 1st set 25-21 after we had an early lead but failed to close the grip.
After that we went off on a killing spree and basically handed Engelholm the biggest loss I believe they have received in a loooooooong time against a Swedish team. Unfortunately we needed 4 more balls against Engelholm to win the gold.. But no matter how we twist and turn it there is no way we could have hoped for a better finish than what we gave/got/TOOK.. A 3-0 win would have gotten us the gold, but beating Engelholm by 16points is close to the best one can hope for..
Looking back I guess we can be sad about losing to Katrineholm but then again they played much better than we did.. We can also be sad about not beating Brøndby big enough but I feel sad that it is the team that loses everything 3-0 that ends up with the deciding piece.
All in all we took Silver at Nordic Finals and that is of course worth taking back home. Engelholm won their 2nd gold medal this season and they are doing an amazing hob staying consistant and not giving anything away for free.. They fully deserve so be the number 1 right now.
We will go back home and remember the things we learned this weekend.. about ourselves and our closest opponents. Next challenge is AGAIN Engelholm this Sunday the 6th at 14.00(2pm) at home.. SUPER BOWL Sunday by the way..
"I don't know what to say really.
Three minutes to the biggest battle of our professional lives.. all comes down to today.
Either we heal as a team or we are going to crumble.
Inch by inch... play by play... till we're finished.
We are in hell right now, gentlemen believe me...
and we can stay here and get the shit kicked out of us... or we can fight our way
back into the light.
We can climb out of hell... One inch, at a time.
Now I can't do it for you... I'm too old.
I look around and I see these young faces and I think... I mean, I made every wrong choice a middle age man could make.
I uh.... I pissed away all my money believe it or not.
I chased off anyone who has ever loved me... And lately, I can't even stand the face I see in the mirror.
You know when you get old in life things get taken from you.
That's, that's part of life... But you only learn that when you start losing stuff.
You find out that life is just a game of inches... So is football.
Because in either game, life or football, the margin for error is so small.
I mean... one half step too late or to early, you don't quite make it.
One half second too slow or too fast, and you don't quite catch it.
The inches we need are everywhere around us. They are in ever break of the game
every minute, every second.
On this team, we fight for that inch
On this team, we tear ourselves, and everyone around us
to pieces for that inch.
We CLAW with our finger nails for that inch.
Cause we know... when we add up all those inches... that's going to make the fucking difference between WINNING and LOSING... between LIVING and DYING.
I'll tell you this.. in any fight it is the guy who is willing to die
who is going to win that inch.
And I know, if I am going to have any life anymore it is because, I am still willing to fight, and die for that inch... because that is what LIVING is.
The six inches in front of your face.
Now I can't make you do it.
You gotta look at the guy next to you.
Look into his eyes.
Now I think you are going to see a guy who will go that inch with you.
You are going to see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this team because he knows when it comes down to it, you are gonna do the same thing for him.
That's a team, gentlemen
and either we heal now, as a team, or we will die as individuals.
That's football guys.
That's all it is.
Now, whattaya gonna do?"
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