District Champs!!!!

District Champs, District Champs, District Champs!!!!!!

Preseason to real season

On Thursday night, the Indians traveled to one of our rival schools, Ft. Myers HS, where it is usually a very difficult atmosphere. The last time we won in there was in '04 to claim the Regional Championship and head off to the final 4. Thursday night did not disappoint as I witnessed one of the best comebacks in a long time out of a Venice squad. Down 2 to 1 in games and down 17-9 in the 4th game, it was all but over except for the VHS players who still believed. They came back to win 25-23. Spirits were high as we entered our 7th fifth game match of the year. Result.......Venice over a stunned Ft. Myers crowd 15-13. Now that everyone in the state has 0 wins and 0 losses, this is when it get really fun! Its called Playoffs. We will play a tough young Charlotte team Monday night at 7:00 in the TeePee. See you there.

Teacher Appreciation Night

No Senior Night because we have no seniors so lets have the next best thing. Teacher Appreciation Night. All teachers from Venice HS , Pineview, Laurel, Venice Middle, and all area elementary schools are invited. We will recognize these people who have impacted our players lives this Wednesday against Perennial powerhouse Berkeley Prep. The game is slated for Wednesday night at 7:00. We don't want to embarass anyone so we will have all teachers stand up in between games 1 and 2. Also, our vhs drumline will be in attendance on Wednesday to give the Buccaneers of Berkeley Prep a little lovin in the TeePee.

Venice VB goes Primetime!

I know that you are probably wondering what to do with yourself on a Friday night since the football team has a BYE week. Yes, its date night at the TeePee as the Indians will square off with the Big dogs from Tampa Prep! It should be a good one as VHS and TP have split this year. So come out and bring that special someone for the 7:00 start against the turtles, oops I mean Terrapins, from Tampa Prep.
Thurs, Oct. 16 is Dairy Queen night for the Venice volleyball team. 10% of all of their proceeds from 5-8 PM go directly to the Spiker Booster Club. Eat at DQ!!!
Lastly, it looks like the "Who is the greatest setter ever at VHS" poll is heating up. The two front runners, '94 Briana Sandburg-Peacock and '07 Nickie Halbert have emerged. This polls will end sometime during our playoff run so keep the votes coming in.

3 C's

Calm, cool, and confident. Do you think that only players learn from their coaches? I want to tell you what I have been learning as a coach over the past couple of weeks. I am learning that this group is willing to do what it takes to be successful and they are proving that to me over and over again. Some days we are very hard on them and others we are not but they are trying and that is all that matters. There has not been one eye roll, shoulder shrug, or question about what or why we are doing something. As of last Wednesday, we had not had ONE day off since the beginning of the season. We felt like for us to just have a chance to compete we had to teach, teach , and teach but you can only go to the well so many times w/out it drying up. After we lost to St. Thomas Aquinas last Wednesday night, I wanted to see what the attitude was the next day. I knew our team was physically and mentally exhausted but they came in the next day willing to do whatever was needed to correct the mistakes from the night before and in my book, attitude is everything! That showed me how special this team has become. Bottom line, we gave the kids off for 4 days and this week they have come back recharged and ready to go. It is a fine line with the difficult schedule we play because we are not going to have the best record that we have ever had but we want to keep their confidence high too. I think our players know that without that schedule, we would not really know where we stand. A team that comes into districts with a 25-0 record doesn't truly know how they will react under pressure. The more times a team is in the pressure cooker, the higher chance that they will get used to it and like it. The players and coaches just need to let the learning process run its course and be calm, cool, and confident.

Expect to Win

It's hard to believe that we have just completed over half of the season. Although the time has gone by quickly, I feel like it has been productive in many different areas. The number of days that we practice are so limited now because of games during the week so we have to utilize every day we can and try to improve and maximize every practice or scrimmage. The volleyball staff has been pleased with the progress of several players and encouraged by the commitment of the team. One player in particular, Autumn Duyn, has been on a tear and she does not even realize yet the impact she has on our opponents.
One of our goals heading into the season was to serve tough to force teams to get out of system so we have an opportunity to compete against the bigger and more experienced teams. With big wins against Aquinas, Tampa Prep, Bucholtz, Manatee, and Jensen Beach, we all have been encouraged by the grit that our team has shown this year. Playing in what I think was the toughest field since I have been around (which is a long time) at the Berkeley Premier, our team is finally realizing that nobody is going to feel sorry for them after a mistake and every point must be played with passion. I feel these next two weeks will be a turning point for the rest of the year. It will give our players an opportunity to work on skills again and regain some rest from the last 3 weekends on the road. Our players understand (i think) that practices must duplicate the atmosphere in the Berkeley gymnasium to compete at that level. The last two practices were full of intensity and enthusiasm as players are happy about this months home stand against Aquinas, Berkeley and Tampa Prep, Winter Springs, and Southeast to clinch the #1 seed in the district tourney.
We appreciate your help and support and look forward to the challenges that lie ahead for this club. As the sign reads, "Expect To Win".