Teacher Getting Hit By Culture: Junior Girls Volleyball: SCISAC

[Taken from the end of the senior volleyball entry]

While perhaps lacking the star-power and offensive firepower of the first generation of junior girls players, this group has done something the first generation hadn't. Relying instead on good teamwork and a resilient defense, this yet unestablished team draws some resemblance to a certain championship winning ACAMIS team. For them, the ultimate challenge awaits them in February 2015 in SCISAC hosted by... you guessed it HKA. It is a tournament where the Tigers have not dropped a match in over 2 years. While SCISAC is certainly quite some time away, big things do have small beginnings. Plus, you know what they say, "Offense wins games, but defense wins... [to be continued]"

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... Championships. When things settled back down to the point of only coaching the junior, there was an increased drive to realize the potential this team had.

This year marked the fourth season working with the junior volleyball team and there was definitely a sense of familiarity with the whole process. To put frankly, last year's edition of the SCISAC had championship team engraved in the team's identity right from day one and it was simply a task of living up to the hype and potential, a goal that was cleanly accomplished. Such a sentiment could not be expressed about this year's team. In fact, it could be argued that HKA was the team to beat at SCISAC this year. HKA's juniors were runner up last year and had their core group return take another run at the title. Only this time, they would have home crowd support and the experience to make a championship run a reality. By contrast, our team had a near complete turnover of players and most of the girls had not trained for volleyball longer than two years.

Helping last year's group achieve their goal was rewarding and satisfying but to repeat as SCISAC champions for a third straight year, would have been even more meaningful to me. This group having only started training for volleyball last year, have only ever been under my tutelage. While it's true that you can't always measure your abilities based on results, I felt that this year's results would be a fairly concrete reflection of my coaching abilities.

Before long, the SCISAC tournament came along and we found ourselves at HKA. The girls went in well prepared but quite nervous nonetheless. However, there was no time for nerves as we were scheduled to play the first match of the tournament against XIS. Shaking off the early nerves, the team settled into their usual strong defense and opportunistic offense to win the match 2-0.

The second day of preliminary round play saw the girls fight an ongoing battle against not just their opponents but also their nerves. Despite some adversity, the junior girls rolled off two more victories before squaring off against HKA for the final preliminary round game. Aided by the most boisterous crowd support I've ever experienced at SCISAC, their team hung in the rallies a bit longer than ours and ultimately came away with the 2-0 win. Due to a complex three-way tiebreaker for 1st place, HKA landed the top spot and a bye to the second round of the playoffs, while XIS was seeded 2nd and we had to settle for 3rd.

Playoff Saturday began with the Tigers squaring off against XIS for the opportunity to earn a right to face-off against first-seeded HKA in the tier one semifinals. The XIS Dolphins came out with revenge on their minds and ran their up-tempo offense to take a sizable opening set lead. To make matter worse, we had major injury scares when we had to cart off both our team captain and also our best hitter for portions of the first set. Despite dropping the first set, the team's resiliency and composure elevated our defensive play in the second set to allow us to square the match at 1-1 and force a decisive third set. Taking the second set allowed for more confident plays in the third set. The Tigers didn't allow XIS to start any lengthy point streaks and dictated the rallies to suit our defense oriented style of play. Eventually, the team gutted out a hard-fought 2-1 victory.

Round two against HKA saw the Tigers fix the mistakes that cost them the first encounter against the HKA Dragonflies. We allowed only one small point streak in each of the two sets in our first match against HKA but the streak was the margin of victory for them each time. Before the playoff match against HKA I reiterated a saying I had for the girls during practice which I knew would be key to winning, especially in a noisy and hostile gym. I reminded them that more than any volleyball specific skill, communication was going to be the most important skill in determining the outcome of this second match.

The Tigers jumped out to a big lead in the first set before HKA clawed back. A small momentum swing at the end of the first set helped the girls take the 1-0 lead. HKA battled back to take the second set, setting up another 3 set match. In the 3rd set, the Tigers relied on consistent serving and strong net presence to take the set and match, granting them a place in the finals and a chance to three-peat as SCISAC champions.

As it turned out, it was vital for the Tigers to secure the first spot in the finals as the remaining teams from XIS, HKA, and ICA each put up a titanic effort in trying to secure the only other berth in the finals. All the matches between the other three schools went to a 3rd and decisive set, and when the dust finally settled, HKA prevailed from the pack to set up the 3rd and final showdown against our Tigers for SCISAC gold.

Despite home court advantage, it was apparent that HKA was running out of gas. The Tigers showed no mercy, building a huge first set lead before trading points to close out the first set 25-12. In the second set, HKA launched a renewed effort to square up the match. The Tigers played with great composure and stifled all of HKA’s attacks with a well coordinated defense. Towards the end of the set, the Tigers strung together a long string of serves to put the game all but out of reach for HKA. HKA made one last desperate push at the very end, only to be undone by a service error to hand the Tigers the 2015 SCISAC girls volleyball championship, and a third championship in as many years. The final match score was 25-12, 25-22.

Now, I've reached crossroads with my coaching. I've done my part to help the junior girls volleyball team develop into the SCISAC dynasty that they are now and have proven just about all I can prove at this level. With only 2 returning players to the SCISAC team next year, it is an ideal opportunity have a fresh voice fill the coaching duties for the junior girls team and continue building the legacy that we've started. It has been an unforgettable experience piloting the junior girls team the past 4 years and undoubtedly the foundation is set for more success moving forward.

On the other end, 8 SCISAC graduates plus the remaining 11 girls from the senior group are looking for their own restart. The SCISAC graduates are looking to establish their presence with the senior group. The returnees are looking to finally reach the summit of the ACAMIS division. SCISAC success has not translated into ACAMIS success and there is a sense of dismay to see our SCISAC rivals of HKA in a place that we thought would be ours this year. We placed better this year than any other year and yet still we aren't satisfied with the results. We have skill and the right pieces to finally claim that elusive ACAMIS title. So despite the junior season having ended not that long ago, the seniors have asked for additional spring training time to be better prepared for the 2015 ACAMIS tournament. Our SCISAC dynasty will always remain as a successful and meaningful first chapter of my coaching experience. Breaking HKA's grasp as 2 time reigning ACAMIS volleyball champions will be a formidable challenge during this new stage of coaching. As you can tell, the girls and I can't wait to start working towards this new goal.

A moment to remember for the rest of their lives.

Though rivals on the court, I have enormous respect and admiration for HKA players and coaches. They epitomize the spirit of competition and sportmanship. Playing them always makes for fun and exciting matches. Talking with their coaches it was clear that our teams drive each other to train harder and play better.