Adventures: Spring Break

Shortly after I got back from Colorado my roommates headed to Las Vegas for spring break and to see Chantel's sister play tennis for North Dakota State. I, however, had to report back to work, but luckily all the teams were on spring break trips, so no one was playing at home making my schedule pretty flexible! So I ventured out with some optometry friends who had stayed in Forest Grove for the break.

Waterfalls

The sun finally showed up in Forest Grove for longer than an hour, so a car load of us decided to head to the Columbia Gorge area to hike. We took the scenic highway and made a quick stop at Vista point and then headed on with the intentions of stopping at all the waterfalls along the way and ending at Multnomah Falls.

Our first stop was at Latourell Falls, we hiked to the top and then down to the base. It was a rather quick stop, but got us warmed up for the rest of the falls. The second stop was at Bridal Veil, which required a bit more hiking because it was off the main area. This waterfall wasn't as tall as the others, but it was significantly wider. The third stop was at Wahkeena Falls, this waterfall did a bit more winding on it's way down than the others did and didn't require much hiking to get to.

The final stop was at Multnomah Falls and amazingly it wasn't that busy! We started the 1.25 mile hike up...a very steep 1.25 miles, with 11 switch backs. But once we made it to the top the view was kind of cool from the observation deck. When hiked back up river for a while before heading back down. Once we reached the ground level we luckily were able to get some pictures of the whole falls without anyone walking or standing on the bridge!

Voodoo Doughnuts

On the way back from the falls, I suggested we stop at Voodoo Doughnuts. I guess the place is well known and it's something you must do in Portland. To be honest I had never heard of it before coming here and only noticed it because people will stand in lines that wrap around the block for hours to go in. When we got there the line hadn't turned the corner, so we waited for about 30 minutes to go in. There famous doughnut is the maple bacon bar, which is a maple doughnut with bacon strips on top. I was told by one of my 14s parents that I had to try it, so I did. It was very interesting, but not something I need again. They also had doughnuts with fruitloops, captain crunch, oreos and other random stuff on top. Waaay to much sugar!

Saké Tasting

Unbeknownst to me, Forest Grove has 1 of 5 saké breweries in the United States. However, the optometry students know it and a couple of them were heading for a tasting on Thursday, so I headed along. Wasn't too bad, plus because we were the only ones there at the time (but who really goes saké tasting in the middle of a workday afternoon), we got to ask a bunch of questions. This brewery is the only American owned saké brewery in the US and the first to make flavor infused saké...probably will have to get some to bring back to Iowa.

NCAA Brackets

Not going to say much, mine was a bust. No final four teams & only 3 elite eight teams. However, I did beat David and that gives me bragging rights for at least a year.

Book Review: Wooden

I finally got my hands on a John Wooden book! Or I guess I should say my mom did and sent it to me for Valentine's Day.

The book did not disappoint. It was an easy read and written in a conversational tone. It was also written in segments, making it a quick and enlightening read. John Wooden was very set in how he did things and it stemmed back to the days of his childhood. He did not let others influence his beliefs or define his success for him, he was a knowledgeable confident person who defined success in his own way.

In the book he discusses where his beliefs stem from, the values he had and worked to instill in his life and his players' lives. While basketball was an important part of his life and the platform he had that brought his ideas out to the public, it was just a small part of his life. In his high school years, a teacher gave out an assignment asking the students to define success. Wooden reflected on the term for years and came up with a definition and a pyramid of success, which encompasses everything he felt is necessary for an individual to become successfully in life.

Wooden's definition of success: "Success is peace of mind that is the direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best become the best that you are capable of becoming."

A few other thoughts I found interesting:

"Know that when you are through learning, you are through."

"You never fail if you know in your heart that you did the best of which you are capable."

"You are in the presence of a true competitor when you observe that they are indeed getting the most joy out of the most difficult circumstances."

"There is a choice you have to make, in everything you do. And you must always keep in mind the choice you make, makes you."

"If we magnified blessings as much as we magnify disappointments, we would all be much happier."

The book was great and I wish I could assign it to my 18s team to read, because I think it would help. But as I would guess none of them would read it, so I took many pages of notes and hope that it will inspire my coaching over the next month.

Adventures: Colorado

Last weekend I headed to the Colorado Crossroads with the 18s team and let me tell you it was a bit more than I bargained for, but I got to see Central people and visit the Garden of the Gods.

We flew to Denver on St. Patrick's Day, after over a 4 hour delay and getting our connection held for us in Salt Lake. Luckily, it was the first day of the NCAA tournament so we could sit and watch the games. Secondly, for St. Patrick's Day Southwest airlines gives free drinks for the holiday!

Additionally, when we got to our hotel in Denver we discovered that we were staying at one of the NCAA Tournament host hotels, with Gonzaga. In my family, my dad would be going crazy because of his small obsession with the school for a reason unknown to anyone, probably even him, and my mom and David would be in search of John Stockton for an autograph.

Anyway, as I was sitting in the lounge area after the had made their entrance after winning and messing up my bracket, I scanned the group of parents and Gonzaga fans and found John Stockton. Yes, in person. After encouraging of Athena coaches I finally walked over and asked for a picture. He politely denied my request because he didn't want to start something and have to take a ton a pictures. I understood and settled for a handshake and a discussion about club volleyball, because his daughter plays in the same region. But it was pretty cool and we ran into him several times in our hotel over the three days.

Garden of the Gods
After the first day at the tournament the other 18s coach and I headed to Colorado Springs to visit the Garden of the Gods. It was a bit longer of a drive than anticipated, but we got a good hour to walk around and enjoy being outdoors rain free in the sun! If I would have had longer I would have loved to sit and just enjoy being outside or maybe climb a bit more. But we had to get back to the team.

Colorado Crossroads
The tournament did not go so well. The team I am working with lacks competitive nature and enjoying the game and if you know me, I am very competitive and playing volleyball is very enjoyable to me. It killed me to watch them play on the first day, no one smiled or celebrated a great play! It was painful, but the other problem was how disrespectful our team was to those working our court. This team has had ongoing problems with respecting their teammates and others at tournaments. It peaked at the tournament and parents and players revolted.

On Day 2, the head coach decided to walk away from the team for the rest of the tournament. This left me... Yep, not the greatest situation to be in, but Lena, the club director sat with me during the day and while the still didn't look like they were enjoying the game it went okay. Day 3, was all me and it was single elimination. With the lack of competitiveness we couldn't take advantage of the weaknesses of the other team and win, so our tournament weekend ended early in the day.

I stuck with them all weekend, because I don't give up, especially when the going gets tough. I have been on teams that have had their share of drama, but nothing to this level. My goal for the final month of our season is to make a change even if it's only a small change in one person I will feel satisfied. I want these girls to appreciate the opportunity they have to play and to use it to better themselves not only as a volleyball player, but also as a person. I have several ideas, I just don't know what will sink in. Wish me luck or send me ideas!

Book Review: Sundays at Tiffany's

Back to the fiction books. This is the book my aunt Pam got me for the flight back to Portland after Christmas and I am a bit behind and just read it, in approximately 4 days. So it was a page turner, plus the 3 page chapters made me feel like a speed reader, which I am far from being!

Anywho, Sundays at Tiffany's is written under the name James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet. The story starts when Jane is eight years old and has an imaginary friend. Her mother, Vivienne has been successful and and is more concerned with her looks and tangible items that say she is rich. She's not the best mother and Jane find comfort in imaginary friend, Michael. The book then jumps ahead 20 years, Jane has found herself successfully working in her mother's production company and has written a hit Broadway production about a girl and her imaginary friend. But her life takes a turn when she runs into Michael again.

Like I said it was a page turner and it's a short book. While not very realistic, but of course I realize it is fiction, it was still a tear-jerker. So if you need a light read, check it out.

New Pacific Website

At work we have been focused on website migration pretty much since I got back after Christmas break. The plan was to update the website to a more easily accessible website for those who work on it (me & my boss) and to make it standout to prospective student-athletes. The design was done by a company, but all the data had to uploaded from the old site to the new site and it took a long while. Three of us worked on it over the last 2.5 months to get it loaded and yesterday was the official launch date. There are many new additions including getting to add action shots to game stories, video to the pages and fun facts about Pacific athletics. However, I am not thrilled about having a headshot up there now..

So, it is now live and yes there are still several things we will be tweaking and several things I have noticed that aren't linked right. But it is a major step up from what we had and I think it looks sharp, so check it out: http://goboxers.com/

Adventures: Discovering Oregon Treasures

I haven't been able to go to a ton of new places lately with volleyball and work taking most of my time, but that is part of life I suppose, but this past week I got go to a couple new places.

Columbia Employee Store
I know it doesn't sound thrilling by the title, but it is a big deal. In the Portland area there are headquarters for several big businesses such as Nike, Adidas, Columbia and several others. Every one of these places has an employee store and every once and a while friends are invited to come in with passes.

Well at our tournament in Seattle, one of the 14s team moms offered me a pass to the Columbia employee store and of course I took it. Last week on the way to practice I made a quick stop at the store. It was awesome because everything was at least 50% off of the regular price. I was able to use some restraint and keep myself from over buying. :) However, I am quite pleased with my new fleece and pants.

Funny thing happened the next day at practice, one of the 18s team dads came into practice and gave me and another coach a pass for the Columbia store...I guess I am coaching the right people!

Spruce Goose
On my day off last week, I headed to McMinnville, Ore. to visit the Evergreen Aviation museum with Kat, who holds the same job as me at Linfield College. The museum is home to the Spruce Goose, which is one of the largest planes in the world and was initially built during WWII to transport soldiers to Europe. Unfortunately, it was not done in time to actually help during the war and has been on just one flight, which it was not suppose to do. The flight came after the war and the designer took it on a small flight just to prove it worked. The movie Aviator is about the building of the Spruce Goose.

In the museum there are planes that show the history of flight, the first commercial planes and planes that were used in the WWII by several different countries including the US, Japan and Germany. We also got the pleasure of hearing stories from a war vets that now volunteer at the museum. Everyone of them had a different story on what a plane meant to them.

Winning The Tourney
One other very special adventure for me and my 14s team this weekend was winning our first tournament! This was the first tournament we had that we only had to travel about 20 minutes for as opposed to the 3 hours we have gone for all the rest. And it ended up being a great thing for us.

The 14s I have are considered the third team, because there are 2 alpha teams ahead of us, but our improvement has shocked many in the club. This weekend we won our first two matches in two sets, then lost our final match in pool play in three sets. It was a battle, but due to points we still won the pool! We headed into bracket play with the No. 1 seed and were able to take care of business and win the tournament and of course the girls got the first place prize of nalgene waterbottles (that we have been informed glow in the dark by the girls). It was the first time Alix and I were at the same tournament and we may have celebrated and screamed more than the girls when we won. We were so proud of their efforts and loved seeing the improvements they have made over the past three months, it will be excellent to see how they finish in the next two months!

Book Review: Counting Coup

Counting Coup by Larry Colton was a book brought to me by one of my 14-year-old player's mom. She asked me at one of the tournaments if I liked reading and what type of books I read, because she felt she had a book I may enjoy. So at the next practice she plopped a book in front of me.

Larry Colton is a freelance journalist from Portland, Oregon. He ventured to Hardin, Montana in the 1990s to observe how basketball and life work in a heavily populated Native American culture, a Crow reservation in this instance.

His intention was discover why good Native American athletes never make it in college. He headed to Hardin, a town known to have done well in boys high school basketball, but his story ended up being about the girls' team which made a run at the state tournament.

Basketball in the Native American culture was popular and many of the athletes were very talented and did it to bring honor to their clans. However, despite their talent they were often overlooked by colleges and many had no desire to go to college. Colton hoped Sharon LaForge, the very talented leader of the girls team would break that stereotypical behavior and go somewhere with her talent. He learned a lot following the team and getting to know the area and families in the year he spent in Hardin.

Throughout the book, Colton expresses the culture as he saw it; the tensions between whites and Indians, the poverty and laziness of the culture and the poor coaching strategies. I found it to be an interesting book, definitely interesting to learn about a culture I knew very little about. Even more interesting for the fact that Hardin, Montana was one of the places we stopped on the drive out here.