by Tim Cowie, Head Coach, Davidson College
It’s Day 10 of our Euro tour and at this point everyone has become acclimated to each other, shared a number of experiences and created new found friendships. As I reflect on the past few days, I think of how many of us (players and coaches), had questions as to our schedule, practices, food and hotel accommodations. The key thing to learn is that everyone needs to relax and let the tour evolve around him or her.
For most of us, our arrival in Munich last Thursday was uneventful. Within a couple of hours everyone had met each other, had our first practice, visited a concentration camp, played our first match, enjoyed some great Italian food and in bed for our first bit of sleep in about 24 hours. Unlike the others, my day started out a little differently. Being Canadian, I was required to have a visa to enter the Czech Republic. Since I was unable to attain the visa in time in the US, I left for the Czech Consulate immediately upon my arrival at 8 am. A quick lesson in the Munich train and taxi system, I was off. Day one was unsuccessful achieving the visa, meaning back to the consulate the next day.
Day two started the same as day one, back to the consulate. Coming away empty handed today was not an option. Without the visa, I would not be able to cross the border and stay in Prague. The rest of the crew was off to Austria to play that evening, while I begged and pleaded to obtain a visa (normally a 5-7 day process). Although the consulate closes at 11 am, I walked away at 2 PM with visa in hand (essentially, they locked the doors and turn out the lights and I wouldn't leave until the consular would see me). I made my way to the central train station in Munich to catch a train to Innsbruck where Cory was to meet me to take me to the match. After a pleasant 2 1/2-hour train ride (much more scenic than on the bus), I arrived in time for our matches.
After going through the painful process of obtaining my visa here in Europe, I was finally able to sit back and watch some volleyball. Our team would practice and play over these next few days in Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and the Czech Republic.
As I watched our team of Americans playing and adjusting to volleyball in Europe a few things stuck in my mind. First, forget the finesse. The Euros throw the ball up high at the pins and swing away. The game is not about running a fast offense or for that matter a lot of combinations. Committing to their middle tends to be a waste of time, as they become nonexistent in the offense after 12 or 15 points.
Although we played some younger teams, most of the players tended to be bigger and more physical than their same age counterparts in America. With this, we were impressed by their ability to take big swings. I was happy with our ability to block effectively against the various teams that we played. Since none of our players had played with each other before this week and the fact that blocking tends to be one of the individual and team skills that takes the longest to master, our blocking was not all that bad. Some of this can be attributed to the fact that our middles could leave their assignments and had plenty of time to close the block due to the high sets. Whatever the case, we did a decent job in this department.
Defense is another story. On our side of the net, it was sporadic at best. Some of this can be attributed to the fact that our players had not played together in the past. Our European counterparts on the other hand were pretty proficient defensively. Although I got the impression that they liked to play defense selectively, when they turned the switch on, they were very good, frustrating our players on numerous occasions.
All in all, I think the trip has been an eye opening experience for players and coaches alike. The players tended to come in on the first day somewhat apprehensive about their own abilities relative to the rest of the US contingency and eventually the European players they would face. As the week progressed, individually the players gained more confidence and team play picked up. The group dynamics were interesting for this tour and their expectations for the tour varied. Of 20 plus players, 5-7 of the players viewed the trip as an opportunity to see Europe and play a little volleyball. Another 5-7 players definitely came in hopes of being picked up immediately and staying in Europe for the remainder of the European season. The rest of the group of 10 or so players either realized that they wanted to return in August and hopefully play for a team next season, while the others found that their exposure to Europe should remain simply as a tourist.
Whatever the case, the Bring It Promotions Exposure tour was simply what it was meant to be; providing American players with a sense of what living and playing volleyball in Europe would be like. Hopefully as each of our young ladies return home, they will realize that this is a dream they should continue to pursue, or for them to move on to new adventures in their lives. The women on this adventure are all bright, personable and beautiful young ladies that have bright futures ahead of them, no matter what direction they go upon their return to the states. |
