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New Years Bash 2006 Volleyball Review
By CJ Sherman (picture below), BIP East Coast and Team Jax Big Boss
 Looking back on the 2005-2006 New Years Bash I can honestly say this was one of the best volleyball tours. The USA teams were matched up against many of “Eastern” Europe’s best. In our first tournament in Izola, Slovenia we were playing teams that served tough top spin jump serves, hit high and heavy and passed with accuracy. The teams we competed against were from Slovenia, Italy, Bosnia, Serbia, and Croatia. One of the best teams was the OK Pula U-19 team from Pula, Croatia. This team had legitimate NCAA I college level players on it. Their strengths were offense in every aspect, (there were no free balls) and serving. The West Coast 18’s and Jax 16’s played this team. Even though the scores were even most of the match the last 5 to 8 points were completely OK Pula. They commanded focus and consistency from the American teams which we were unable to master. Granted the European teams are club teams that play together for 8 months of the year and we put together tour teams that have not played together or even practiced much at all. The younger USA teams, OVA 16 and Jax 14, were welcomed to European volleyball with the same vengeance. Both teams were comprised mostly of players on their first tour. The teams they played challenged their serve receive and defense. Winning a few matches and splitting others were the highlights. The net height at the u14 level is 7’2 ” and this helped our blocking and hitting, but the same advantage goes to the Euros and we had to step up our defense. All in all the entire Izola tournament was exciting and great fun and the opening ceremony is always a really cool thing for our kids to experience.
Our second tournament was in Prague, Czech Republic. There we competed with the top two clubs in the nation; Slavia Praha and Olymp Praha. The older teams West Coast 18 and Jax 16 played in the Olymp Praha gym. This facility is the best in Prague. Our teams were unevenly matched and lost most of the sets. The volleyball in the Czech Republic is very serious business. The level of play was consistently above the US teams. These teams once again jump served and had excellent ball control. The offenses are mostly high sets however they find holes in the opponent’s defense. Our US teams began to jump serve and adapted their game. We became more aggressive with each set we played and we attempted to concentrate on our ball control, serve receive and blocking. Overall the level of the US teams improved and the athletes felt positive about the changes. The OVA 16 and Jax 14 teams also scrimmaged each other and mixed teams on day one in the Slavia Praha gym. This was a lot of fun and helped the teams to relax and practice prior to playing in their tournament. Both teams discovered that serving aggressively and hitting well would increase their chances against the Czech teams. The younger Czech teams were all business, hitting hard and placing the ball well. Once again the ball control and serve receive was at the highest level. Overall the US teams improved and became better teams during the 10-day tour.
The New Years Bash 2006 provided the US teams with excellent volleyball. The competition forced coaches and players to adjust and make changes. This was a positive experience as the players learned to adapt to the competition. The US teams proved to be mentally strong and competent as they had to change and get out of their comfort zones to compete. The parents, coaches and players all enjoyed the tour immensely.
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