Ciao!

Since my last update, which was the night of the match, we had a day to practice from noon to 2pm primarily to give the players who didn't play much the chance to pass and serve some balls as well as hit some balls off the setters so they could maintain some rhythm with each other. It was a very productive hour in the gym.  We headed back to the hotel in our bus and a few guys took naps, some played cards, a few went downtown to sightsee and a few took a train into Amsterdam.  Going into Amsterdam is what the staff chose to do although we didn't leave 'til about 3p.m. 

Amsterdam was wild! We got to cruise the city and see the canals and the infamous...Red Light District. WOW! Anyhow, we made it back to the train and we were headed back to Rotterdam for an early flight to Rome then it was off to Florence.

 Arrived in Florence with no problems...the weather has been HOT! After checking into the hotel, we made our way to the Nelson Mandela Hall for a practice on the competition floor. It's a cool little place that seats about 5000. The match is a sellout!  Practice goes smoothly with one exception, we had a minor issue as Alfee Reft went down with a rolled ankle while setting an out of system ball. The doc, David Dyck from Kansas City, and Aaron Brock were all over it and have since gotten Alfee back on the court less than 18 hours later. Our interpreter, Lucy, has been wonderful...she and Rob Browning have arranged for us to all go into the city that evening to walk around and see the sights for a couple hours and then eat at a traditional Italian Trattoria. On the menu: Steak Florentine after a dish of pasta. Truly Magnificent!  The city is unbelievable...a must for everyone.  On the way back we grabbed some Gelato and took a cab. These trips can be hard...we're in such a beautiful city and you want to sight see and be a tourist all day but we're not here for that...we're here to win two tough matches against a team that finished 4^th at the Olympics and is currently the 6^th ranked team in the world.

June 18^th, 2009-  Woke up and had the same meal again...this is the only bummer and a big reason I lose weight on these trips...I skip on the runny eggs, greasy sausage and go for the more appetizing fruit and toast with a hard-boiled egg. Went to practice and the guys played real well today...highly competitive. Serve and pass with a wash drill at the end and a game to 25. We're ready for Italy on the 19^th. Return to the hotel and grab some much needed vitamin D out by the pool for about 45 min before heading to lift weights with the guys. Video at 6:30pm-we watch Italy by rotation and go over the game plan...the guys have plenty of input as some of them play in the Italian pro league. Our plan is to bunch fairly tight to allow for some help on the back row attacks and when we make a move to the pins...stop short and give some line...they will set Martino #9 and Gavatto #3 a good share of the balls and love to get the ball to their leading point scorer, #11 Savani. We feel we can drive them off the net by serving Savani #11 with the ball. Free balls, we want to send to short 2/3 seam and disrupt the 40 route. Offensively...it's simple. Set the quicks and set them a lot! We have recently had great performances on the pins and especially the bic that there is no way they can pop on our quicks...should be open season for our middles.

 That's it for now...game day tomorrow.  I'm going to bed. Arivé-derchi!

John