Sept. 1, 2009

Good month to you all (that means good day but in a new month :-)

The USA Boys' Youth National Team developed a new thrill ride in its first, secondary pool match win over Algeria today - the Bassano del Roller Coaster.  Scores were 25-17, 22-25, 25-17, 20-25, 15-6. After an easy win in game one, the boys lost focus and played poorly. As the U.S. played with no sense of urgency and lack of concentration, the momentum shifted to the side of the gym that had all the wins in the match (note scores); where the Algerians were.  As we lost focus and played down, Algeria gained more and more confidence; and as we were rolling down, they were cranking up. This set the tone for the match as Algeria knew they could play with us.

Then, the roller coaster started all over again. As we picked up intensity and pushed uphill, Algeria took a freefall.  And then, you guessed it, the exact same thing happened again. We lost control and headed down as Algeria stuck around and pulled out the win. The fifth set was all U.S. and we got the win, thankfully.  Coach Read started Connor Olbright at setter, Josh Taylor at opposite Taylor Sander and Jeremy Dejno at OH, Dylan Davis and Spencer Rowe in the middle and Evan Mottram at libero. Once again, Connor distributed the ball fairly evenly as Josh had 18 kills (.460), Taylor S. had 15 K (.420), Jeremy had 9K, and Dylan and Spencer had 8 and 7 kills respectively.

We play Egypt (an 0-3 loser to Brazil) tomorrow at 12:30. We will be in for a long day if we play with the same mindset as today. Egypt is a better club and we have to play with enthusiasm and much more focus. There were some upsets today.  Japan beat France on the other side of our pool and Iran beat Italy over in Jesolo (check out FIVB.org for tournament results).

We have played all of our matches so far in the morning or at 12:30 p.m. and then practiced every afternoon.  Today we took a much needed afternoon off.  We took a bus into the wonderful old city of Bassano del Grappa; much different than the resort town of Jesolo: small winding streets, plazas, fountains. beautiful scenery, and of course gelato.  The town has a glorious mountain backdrop, a river running through it that originates in the Alps and a rich history dating back to the 13th century (see photos).  I understand Ernest Hemingway lived here for a time. It was a very relaxing day and a much needed rest out of the gym.

View Ken Preston's photo gallery.