Regis University has been on a tour of Denmark and Sweden – they came, they saw and they conquered.!!
My good friends from Denver, Colorado came for a 10 days visit as part of their preparation for their season which starts this coming weekend.
I will spare you the details of the “tourist” part of the trip and just give you a recap of their volleyball performance here…
Day1 – Fortuna were taught a lesson in organisation and efficiency as they lost big in 3 fast sets on the night of Regis’ arrival.
Day2 – Brøndby were the opponent and again Regis proved to be the better of the two sides denying Brøndby any chance in the first 3 sets, but Brøndby showed strength and squad depth by winning the extra 4th set where both teams played some of their back-ups, but Regis took care of business in 5th set which they won pretty comfortably.
Day3 – Another trip to Copenhagen and a match against Frederiksberg. Regis won all 5 sets pretty easy and again a demonstration of organisation, great leadership and a strong level in ability to convert defensive plays into points made the big difference.
Day5 – The team had a day off from volleyball on Saturday just to prepare for 4 matches on Sunday against Skovbakken, Brøndby, Fortuna and Vordingborg on Sunday. All 4 matches was won pretty comfortably, but both Vordingborg and Brøndby managed to take a game off Regis to force them to a deciding 3rd set. In both matches Regis showed true colours in the 3rd set and won them with ease.
Day6 – travelling to Sweden to play Lindesberg and Örebro.
Day7 – It was time for my team to get their fingers stuck in the well-oiled Regis motor and even though we forced Regis to play some of the best they had done on the trip so far, we still lost the match 3-1. In the 5th set Regis won again without too much struggle.
Day8 – Örebro came to Lindesberg to play against Regis but unfortunately I was unable to see the match. However Örebro did perhaps the best job pushing Regis in their 3-1 loss. Örebro won the 1st game and kept pushing Regis in the rest of the match.
9 matches played in 8 days and with 9 wins as a result. The biggest difference between the Scandinavian teams and Regis seemed to be organisation and discipline which the Americans showed several levels higher class in than what we normally see. I would also like to bring out the Setter from Regis who as a Senior in college is at her highest level yet, and she really gave show of her skill in several occasions.
On behalf of Regis University I would like to thank all the teams in both Denmark and Sweden for picking up weapons and fighting… You were all great hosts.
Back to reality…
After Regis went home last Thursday I have been back in Lindesberg and picked up the work on my own team and all our preparations.
Pre-season has picked up the pace and we have been on our first trip. The team is pretty set for now, unfortunately we lost one of our middles, Sara T., so we are in need of a middle blocker pretty badly.
Our first trip took us to Denmark where we played against Hamburg and Fortuna in Odense. 2 matches Saturday and 2 matches Sunday would be our first real tests on squad depth, top and bottom level and how resilient we are as a team at this point.
We lost both matches against Hamburg but managed to take a set from them and pushed them in a couple more.
Fortuna has still a long way to go before reaching the level that brought home double gold last year, but the girls work hard and the new coach seems set on making it work, so I am sure they will get there. In this weekend however, they had no real chance against neither teams and we won 3-0, 3-0 in those 2 matches.
During the 4 matches we showed a really high top level, but it also came to show that when we are pushed consistently we struggle to push back, and it is still obvious that we are a new team with 8 new players compared to last year so organisation and chaos walk hand in hand…:0)
The girls all work really hard at practice and we are all very mindset on getting to a high level before our first big test which will be Nordic Championship group stage. Lady luck had a sense of irony when the groups were found. We are playing against Team BK(Iceland), Stavanger(Norway) and HolteIF(Denmark). It will be a very special experience to play against Holte again. Many friends on the other side of the net and it will be a very emotional match for me in so many ways. I am sure we will face a top tuned Holte team who would love nothing more than a chance to pay back for the lost Championship finals last season, but of course we will do everything we can to make sure that exactly that will not happen.
The Norwegian champions from Stavanger have 2 players on their team who I have signed in my job as an agent, and one of them, Robyn Devlin is a close friend of mine on top of that. All in all a very tough group where I expect a full weekends work to promote to the final round which is a big goal for us this season.
That’s all for now, we continue building on the “team” in the team, and we have our eyes on the prize…
Michael
“It takes a lot of hard work to be able to sit back and be satisfied… we don’t sit back because we are not satisfied”
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Player presentation of Lindesberg Volley 2010/2011 season…
Setters:
Matilda Wikander(age 27): Matilda is a tall and physical setter with a great technique. She joins our team this year from Aachen in Germany where she has played the last 2 years. Matilda has played 29 matches for the Swedish national team.
Josephine Tegefalk(age 22): Josephine is a smaller and faster setter. Jose played on the team last year where she lead them to Swedish cup championship. Josephine is a setter of the future and her drive and ambition will take her far this season.
Erika Larsson(age 23): Erika is the 3rd setter on our team. She starts for the clubs 2nd team and has been part of the elite squad for some time now. She will help push our 2 other setters and bring more squad depth at practice. The goal is for Erika to develop her setting skills even more so that she in the future can join the elite team for full real. She is a hardworking setter who reads the game really well.
Outside hitters:
Margie Giordano(age 23): Margie joins us from America where she graduated in 2009 from Arizona State University. Margie played and started all 4 college years for her team in the Pac10 conference which is considered the best in the US. Margie is an amazing passer and has a great mind in offense. She will be a big help for us in reaching our goals as a team.
Samantha Williams(age 23): Sammie joins the team from Pittsberg State University in Kansas where she graduated in 2009. Samantha has been recruited for her hitting abilities. She is a tall and physical player with great potential to be a big player in Sweden in the future.
Kaisa Wallin(age 23): Kaisa is joining us from last seasons Swedish champions Katrineholm where she had a big influence on the team reaching last years finals. Kaisa is a shorter outside with amazing passing and defence abilities. Kaisa is brought in to complete our outside position where we will have 3 potential starters with her addition to the team.
Therese Granlund(age 21): Therese played on the team last year as well. She a very talented all round player who will help the team as an outside as well as back up libero. Therese has an extremely fast arm swing and is one of the best defensive players on the team.
Rightside hitters:
Anna Sörensen(age 27): Anna is the 3rd Swedish national team player joining the squad this year. Last season Anna played for Örebro in the Swedish league, but we are very excited that she has decided to continue her career in Lindesberg. Anna brings a lot of experience and her natural calm attitude will have a good effect on our young players on the team.
Middle blockers:
Anna Rönnbäck(age 29): Anna joins the team from Aachen where she played with Matilda. Anna is a very experienced middle player who is considered one of the absolutely best in Sweden. She has played 51 matches for the Swedish national team and we are very sure she will do great things for us in Lindesberg.
Crystal Palmer(age 26): Crystal is our 3rd American player. She played on the team last year as well and was a dominating middle in the Swedish league. We are very happy Crystal has decided to come back and a huge goal for her this year is to further develop her passing since she dreams of becoming an outside in the future. Crystal has a lot of energy on court and will contribute a lot to the positive overall atmosphere on the team. Crystal will also back up the squad on the rightside hitter position where her hitting and blocking abilities will be very valuable.
Sara Thörnberg(age 22): Sara is another players who was on the team last year. Sara is a middle blocker in development. She has a lot of potential and will work hard this season to reach that potential. Lisa is a great addition to our two profiles on the middle position and she will see a lot of court time this season to help her improvement.
Kristin Sörman(age 22): Kristin is our 4th middle player. She played on the team last year as well and will complete the competition on her position. Kristin has the level to compete for a starting job on the team, and her young age gives her a bright future as well. Kristin is the shortest of our middles but she reads the game very well and she is super fast at the net.
Libero:
Jeanette Ellekjær Hansen(age 24): Jeanette is joining the team in Lindesberg coming off a championship season in Denmark with Fortuna. She was one of my most important players on that team and I am extremely happy she has decided to follow me to Sweden. Jeanette got MVP of the final series in Denmark last year and is one of the fastest and most stabile on the libero position. Jeanette has been around the Danish national teams several times and she will be of big importance for our team this year.
That is how our team looks for next year and what a team it is. We have been able to bring in a lot of talent combined with some national team experience and that will put us side by side with the best teams in Sweden. We realize that is will require a full season of hard work and a little bit of luck to make it all the way, but the goal is set and we are willing to put in the hours at the factory…
For myself I am getting ready to move out of my place in Denmark… Putting the last things in boxes I came to find a speech I wrote last season to my team after having lost the 4th final. It made me remember so many things from the past year and even though I am moving on to new and very exciting times, I found myself missing all the players, the club and everyone around Fortuna.. It was a great year… So here is a final SHOUT OUT to; Dorthe, Katie, Kristen, Lise, Katherine, Caley, Julie, Maja, Juliane, Jane, Jette, Lotte, Jeanette, Mille and Eva.
“It is in these hours after defeat that we lick our wounds, we regroup in the name of our pride and we thank God that we survived the battle, and that we STILL have a chance for glory… I urge all of you to find every bit of strength, every bit of courage and all of your pride – bring it to the gym tomorrow and let us prepare…Together! I have an answer and the price is nothing less, but I need all the hearts on this team to make a stand… Come tomorrow and expect to be enlightened, expect to be motivated and I promise you all … TOGETHER WE WILL MAKE READY.! The gold is what we want, this win is our way to get it and our hearts, skills and courage will be our means of weapon… I BELIEVE..!”
Michael
Matilda Wikander(age 27): Matilda is a tall and physical setter with a great technique. She joins our team this year from Aachen in Germany where she has played the last 2 years. Matilda has played 29 matches for the Swedish national team.
Josephine Tegefalk(age 22): Josephine is a smaller and faster setter. Jose played on the team last year where she lead them to Swedish cup championship. Josephine is a setter of the future and her drive and ambition will take her far this season.
Erika Larsson(age 23): Erika is the 3rd setter on our team. She starts for the clubs 2nd team and has been part of the elite squad for some time now. She will help push our 2 other setters and bring more squad depth at practice. The goal is for Erika to develop her setting skills even more so that she in the future can join the elite team for full real. She is a hardworking setter who reads the game really well.
Outside hitters:
Margie Giordano(age 23): Margie joins us from America where she graduated in 2009 from Arizona State University. Margie played and started all 4 college years for her team in the Pac10 conference which is considered the best in the US. Margie is an amazing passer and has a great mind in offense. She will be a big help for us in reaching our goals as a team.
Samantha Williams(age 23): Sammie joins the team from Pittsberg State University in Kansas where she graduated in 2009. Samantha has been recruited for her hitting abilities. She is a tall and physical player with great potential to be a big player in Sweden in the future.
Kaisa Wallin(age 23): Kaisa is joining us from last seasons Swedish champions Katrineholm where she had a big influence on the team reaching last years finals. Kaisa is a shorter outside with amazing passing and defence abilities. Kaisa is brought in to complete our outside position where we will have 3 potential starters with her addition to the team.
Therese Granlund(age 21): Therese played on the team last year as well. She a very talented all round player who will help the team as an outside as well as back up libero. Therese has an extremely fast arm swing and is one of the best defensive players on the team.
Rightside hitters:
Anna Sörensen(age 27): Anna is the 3rd Swedish national team player joining the squad this year. Last season Anna played for Örebro in the Swedish league, but we are very excited that she has decided to continue her career in Lindesberg. Anna brings a lot of experience and her natural calm attitude will have a good effect on our young players on the team.
Middle blockers:
Anna Rönnbäck(age 29): Anna joins the team from Aachen where she played with Matilda. Anna is a very experienced middle player who is considered one of the absolutely best in Sweden. She has played 51 matches for the Swedish national team and we are very sure she will do great things for us in Lindesberg.
Crystal Palmer(age 26): Crystal is our 3rd American player. She played on the team last year as well and was a dominating middle in the Swedish league. We are very happy Crystal has decided to come back and a huge goal for her this year is to further develop her passing since she dreams of becoming an outside in the future. Crystal has a lot of energy on court and will contribute a lot to the positive overall atmosphere on the team. Crystal will also back up the squad on the rightside hitter position where her hitting and blocking abilities will be very valuable.
Sara Thörnberg(age 22): Sara is another players who was on the team last year. Sara is a middle blocker in development. She has a lot of potential and will work hard this season to reach that potential. Lisa is a great addition to our two profiles on the middle position and she will see a lot of court time this season to help her improvement.
Kristin Sörman(age 22): Kristin is our 4th middle player. She played on the team last year as well and will complete the competition on her position. Kristin has the level to compete for a starting job on the team, and her young age gives her a bright future as well. Kristin is the shortest of our middles but she reads the game very well and she is super fast at the net.
Libero:
Jeanette Ellekjær Hansen(age 24): Jeanette is joining the team in Lindesberg coming off a championship season in Denmark with Fortuna. She was one of my most important players on that team and I am extremely happy she has decided to follow me to Sweden. Jeanette got MVP of the final series in Denmark last year and is one of the fastest and most stabile on the libero position. Jeanette has been around the Danish national teams several times and she will be of big importance for our team this year.
That is how our team looks for next year and what a team it is. We have been able to bring in a lot of talent combined with some national team experience and that will put us side by side with the best teams in Sweden. We realize that is will require a full season of hard work and a little bit of luck to make it all the way, but the goal is set and we are willing to put in the hours at the factory…
For myself I am getting ready to move out of my place in Denmark… Putting the last things in boxes I came to find a speech I wrote last season to my team after having lost the 4th final. It made me remember so many things from the past year and even though I am moving on to new and very exciting times, I found myself missing all the players, the club and everyone around Fortuna.. It was a great year… So here is a final SHOUT OUT to; Dorthe, Katie, Kristen, Lise, Katherine, Caley, Julie, Maja, Juliane, Jane, Jette, Lotte, Jeanette, Mille and Eva.
“It is in these hours after defeat that we lick our wounds, we regroup in the name of our pride and we thank God that we survived the battle, and that we STILL have a chance for glory… I urge all of you to find every bit of strength, every bit of courage and all of your pride – bring it to the gym tomorrow and let us prepare…Together! I have an answer and the price is nothing less, but I need all the hearts on this team to make a stand… Come tomorrow and expect to be enlightened, expect to be motivated and I promise you all … TOGETHER WE WILL MAKE READY.! The gold is what we want, this win is our way to get it and our hearts, skills and courage will be our means of weapon… I BELIEVE..!”
Michael
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