2010- Chicago and Hawaii????

Venice invited back to Asics Challenge in Chicago and also considering Maui Invitational in 2010. (Sigh..........) What to do ? What to do? Have a great New Year! Look for me at the Outback bowl on New Years Day. Go Tigers!

AVCA convention

What a great National Championship it was with Penn St defeating Texas 15-13 in the
5th. It does not get any closer. While that was going, the coaching staff was enjoying the American Volleyball Coaches Association. It is a 4 day convention where college and high school coaches from all over the country meet for seminars, banquets, and also discuss issues concerning our sport. It is a great way to meet up with old friends and to bring new ideas back. Day 1 was pretty cool as we were able to sit and watch the teams in the Final 4 practice in the Forum. How cool is it to see Texas' Destiny Hooker make contact with the ball 1 foot over the top of the antennae. Day 2, I went to a mental practice and attention seminar, creating a positive culture in your program put on by the Michigan Coach, and one of my favorites by a UCLA professor on understanding personality styles. That night we sat in a luxury suite with the guys from Tampa to watch the semi finals. Day 3 we learned about defense, training the outside hitter, and ways to increase the speed and efficiency of the transition game which I think is so important at the high school level. In other words, how fast a team goes from defense to offense. Day 4 was interesting as I was able to sit and talk with former Nebraska coach, Terry Pettit. In my opinion, he is one of the best marketers of the game of volleyball. Not only did he have tremendous success, he is the orchestrator of producing the only womens team where people actually scalp tickets outside to get in to see his teams play. He gave me some great ideas to see the TeePee become even a more potent home court advantage then it already has become in the state of Florida. Also, some setting clinics were excellent put on by the Iowa State coach and I was able to sneak in on a volleytotz seminar as I will be coaching Brooke's Venetian Bay 9 and under team this spring.
It is great to be off for the holidays as our family will be traveling and I am sure to find a fishing pole at some point and see the Outback bowl. Have a great Christmas and don't forget to celebrate the reason for the season.

Div. 1 Final 4 in Tampa!

If you did not already know it, the Div.1 National Championships are in Tampa this week. On Thurs, there will be 2 final 4 matches at the St. Pete Times Forum. Penn St. will face off with Hawaii and Minnesota will play Texas. Saturday is the Final. It is a true treat that this type of volleyball will be played in our own backyard. If you would like to go, you can find out more info at www.ncaa.com/volleyball Here you can find ticket information, scheduless, and everything you want to know about the teams.
This will be an excellent event for all of our volleyball families as some of the best volleyball players in America will be right there. If you haven't seen the outside for Texas who touches 11 foot, you do not know what you are missing. My prediction is that the Longhorns will put up a good fight but will lose in the championship to Penn State.
The coolest thing about this week for the Venice coaching staff is not only the matches but the AVCA convention that also takes place this week. Its important for a coaching staff to continue to be students of the game. This week we will hear some of the best volleyball coaches in the game discuss coaching philosophies, different techniques, and different ways to make our team better. It is also a great place to make new contacts with college coaches as the recruiting process continues to develop. This will be my 3rd AVCA convention. I traveled to Cleveland and New Orleans a few years ago. It is an awesome experience and we always bring new innovative ideas back to Venice High School.
I want to encourage you to make the drive up to Tampa this week and see it live. It will be an excellent experience!

2009 Season Recap

Great Banquet last night! These seniors accomplished some amazing tasks. 4 year record of 97-22. All losses were to a top 10 state team or Nationally ranked opponent except one. 4 straight District Championships, 1 Regional Crown, 1 trip to the Final 4. Gold Bracket finishes this season at Berkeley Prep Premier and Chicago Asics Challenge this season. Undefeated all 4 years against all Manatee, Sarasota, and Charlotte public and private high schools. Undefeated in 4 years of District Play. 4 year home record in the TeePee was 42-1. Finished in the National rankings twice. I would also like to recognize Margurite Costanzo for putting together our amazing program and Patty Daniels for organizing the banquet. Good luck seniors in college. We will see the underclassmen a couple of weeks after the Christmas holidays for workouts. Dare to Dream!

INDIANS ITINERARY

The Venice High volleyball team will have an Indian Walk through the campuses at the high school and Venice Elementary School beginning at 1:15 p.m. today before heading to The Lakeland Center, home of the FHSAA Final 4.

The Indians will walk through the center of the campuses before boarding a bus for Lakeland Today.

Today in Lakeland, the Indians will tour The Lakeland Center, have dinner and attend a practice session from 7 to 9 p.m. at Florida Southern College.

Before playing Tallahassee Leon in the State semifinal at 6 p.m. Wednesday, the Indians will eat breakfast, pass and serve at Florida Southern, told a team function, eat lunch and rest before taking the court.

If the Indians win, they will play the winner of the match between Lithia Newsome and Stuart Martin County for the Class 5A State Championship at 7 p.m. Thursday in Lakeland.

Taylor Capasso

I received a really nice email that I thought I would share with you all. It's from a friend of mine who is the head coach at a Division 1 school. I got their pemission to put it on my blog but I have concealed the school and the coach's name as I am sure they would not want the whole world to know that their team is struggling right now. The email is obviously talking about Taylor but it might as well be talking about any of our players and the grit that our team showed in Chicago.

Brian -

Congrats on a great showing in Chicago. My assistant was there and saw your team play.

We are struggling right now and she sent this to one of our players in hopes of encouraging them and demonstrating what our expectations are.....

"On Saturday I got to watch some of the best high school teams in the country. My favorite player to watch was this 5'2" setter for Venice (a Florida school). Her team wasn't the most talented team in that tournament but she made that team look good. She was defending balls all over the court, jump setting every ball, and was the hardest worker in the entire tournament! In between plays she was talking to each player individually telling them what to expect from the other side or just picking them up after a missed play. One of my favorite things I saw from her was her reaction after getting nailed on the head from an overpass attack. She turned to her teammates and said "that was a nice hit but I'll make sure to get that one up next time!" The most impressive part was her face the entire time. She didn't even look fazed and kept pushing forward! Even when her team was losing and didn't really have a shot! at making a comeback, she was still working hard and leading her team through hard work and determination. They ended up finishing in the top five! "

My assistant didn't know that I knew you but I thought you might like to see what our staff thinks of your team and your player.

Good luck the rest of the season!

Chicago update

Tonight, Venice beat Downers Grove South from Chicago and beat one of the hottest teams in the counrty tonight, Notre Dame Academy from the Louisville, KY area, to win the pool and get to the gold round and the top 8 of the 24 team tournament. This tournament is tabbed as America's most prestigious high school tournament. Notre Dame Academy is one of the top ranked teams and also one of the hottest teams in the country. This week, they beat Mercy Academy and Assumption. (Mercy beat us in 4 last weekend) They have also beaten this seasons Pre season #1 ranked Sacred Heart. Tomorrow morning, the Indians will face #2 ranked Joliet Catholic and the #1 seed in the tournament. It was fantastic to see this team scrap and fight against an awesome team. Last weeks Berkeley Premier definitely played a part in tonight's big wins as they fought hard all night. Our team is really starting to come together and believe in one another. All our matches tomorrow, we will see the absolute best volleyball teams in the country. Our team has nothing to lose and all to gain as we just need to go out and let it ride.
Last night, the team took the L train to Wrigley Field. The train was an intersesting experience. We had to have a talk w the team that we were not in Venice anymore and to not look anyone in the eye as we came across some different characters on the train. Wrigley field was also an awesome experience. We sat right behind the cubs dugout and just enjoyed the atmosphere of one of the best baseball stadiums in the country. Even though the game got called after 3 innings bc of rain, it was still alot of fun. Did I mention that it was 40 degrees? I think it was a night that our players will never forget.
Today, we all slept in and went to breakfast at Maples. Now, I am not a breakfast guy but this was the best breakfast i have ever eaten. French toast, bacon, and these hash brown things. Also, the classic hot chocolate was awesome. All of the chocolate was at the bottom and you had to stir it to get through the cream. we were there for about 2 hours. There was a waiting line out the door the entire time we were there. One guy asked me if I was from Chicago. I said "NO". He said he didn't think so. Hmmmmmmmm.........
We play 3 matches tomorrow and the team flys back to Florida on Sunday morning.
War Eagle!

Green out for Wednesday Night Showdown!

District foe Gulfcoast from Naples will bring their undefeated record into the TeePee on Wednesday night. We will GREEN OUT the gym for this match up so make sure that you wear your forest green to the game.

Upcoming week for Nationally Ranked Venice

The Venice Indians coming in at #82 in the Nation has a full week ahead. On Monday, we are home against a tough Northside Christian team from St.Petersburg. This game will follow the JV match who will be battling against Sarasota Christian's Varsity squad. On Wednesday, Bree Scarbrough and the Riverview Rams will make their way into the TeePee after a 4 year absence. On Friday and Saturday, the Indians travel up to the the best tournament in the state at Berkeley Prep. Leading the pack up there will be the defending National Champs from Louisville, KY (Mercy), Baldwin HS from Pittsburg, PA, and a team out of Atlanta , GA. The 5 remaining teams all hail from the Sunshine State; Venice, Berkeley Prep, Tampa Prep, Buccholtz,and Leon. This tournament is so demanding because all matches are 3 out of 5. It should be a challenging week of volleyball with many tests for our veteran squad.

Big weekend for Indians

The 2009 team had an excellent start to the season by starting out 3-0 with wins over Braden River, Southeast, and Riverview. We will be on the road at District foe, Manatee. Then on Friday, Leon from Tallahassee will be in town. Leon is ranked as one of the top 5A teams in the state and they also have a National ranking. It will be a great test for our team. This has become an excellent rival over the years as Leon beat us in 4 last year in Tallahassee and we beat them the year before in the TeePee. This game is a FREE event if you have a football ticket to the game that night. Match time will be 5:30 PM. You can buy your football ticket at the Volleyball game. So plan this Friday night to see a great volleyball game then head over to the 1st home Football game of the year all for the price of 1.
On Saturday, the 12th, the Indians will head up to Tampa for the Tampa Twice tournament to play in the Florida High School Showcase. This will be an awesome event as Venice will play the 12th Nationally ranked Berkeley Prep Buccaneers in the Sun Dome. Game is scheduled for 3:00. After our match, 4th ranked University of Washington will take on the 6th ranked Gators. After that, USF will take on 13th ranked University of Minnesota.

Thoughts on Pre season

Firstly, I would like to thank all of the teams involved. I believe it was the most competitive pre season classic in the state. All 4 teams; Berkeley Prep (3A) , Ft.Myers (4A), Venice (5A), Plant (6A) have a legitimate shot to win their classification. I would also like to thank all of you who came out to support the Indians. We had an almost packed gym for the Plant/Venice game for a pre season contest!
Secondly, I believe Pre season is a great time to experiment with new things, play tough competition to see your teams weaknesses, and get a feel for where your team is at in general. We could have easily scheduled easy competition and won outright but we would have a false sense of security of how good our team really is. Its like I told the team yesterday (before I gave them their 1st day off since we began) that we do not have to play the State Championship this week.
We have many things to work on throughout the season but all a coach can really ask of his team is that they care and work hard. We DEFINITELY have that on our 2009 team. It was very obvious how much better we played from Tuesdays game to Thursdays. We cut our unforced errors in half because we were much more disciplined.
I am looking forward to the regular season starting next week. We have a full week. The varsity opens up at Braden River on Tuesday which I think will be one of the most competitve teams in the area and that is why I wanted to play them. Former district foe, Southeast will be at home on Wednesday with an early start of 5:00, and then we will travel to Sarasota Riverview on Thursday. This will be an exciting game for a few reasons. 1) Venice and RHS will renew a rivalry match bc these two teams have not played in quite a few years 2) RHS has one of the most talented players in the area with Bree Scarbrough and 3) This match will be the 1st ever athletic contest in the New Riverview gym so I am sure it will be filled to capacity and we need the Venice supporters and the Wheatley Wackos to show up in their Forest Green apparrel.

EXTRAordinary effort

"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results."

11-19-09

"Play like you are in 1st place. Prepare like you are in 2nd"

2009 Freshmen and JV Teams

Practice for the freshmen and JV team is wed and Fri from 10am -12. Thurs will be from 3:30 - 6 with a mandatory parent and players meeting @ 6PM in the North Gym.
Also, as usual, there will be another tryout for the freshmen team during the 1st week of school.
We are looking forward to another exciting season of Venice Volleyball!

Congrats to the following:
JV

Hannah Revels
Bianca Echtler
Lauren Neilson
Naomi Skopec
Yazmin Velez
Holly Mattmuler
Heather Parrish
Danica Yoder
Ashley Keith
Danya Cemovich
Taylor Jais
Abby Carlson

Freshmen

Taylor Chase
Emme Zastempowski
Victoria Kaiser
Mandy Warner
Crystal Coluzzi
Elena Erez
Heiley Hanrahan
Kennedy Garcia
Nichole Fortunato

Alumni win streaked snapped!!

The streak is over and the '09 team broke the 4 year win streak in another 5 game marathon with a 2 point win in the end. Current players defeated alumni 30-32,22-25, 25-21, 26-24, 15-13. Player of the game honors go to Danielle Durham, an '05 graduate and former 5A Player of the Year. She starred at Florida Southern the last 4 years. Alumni team was coached by former VHS volleyball assistant for 12 years, Jose Velez.

Alumni Game

We are tenatively planning our Annual Alumni Game for Fri. Aug 7th at 7:00. This is always a fun and competitive match. The last 4 years have ended in a 5 game match. VHS alumni are on a 3 match win streak but I have a feeling that the win streak will end this year.

Camp News

Venice defeats Pelham HS 25-21 to win Auburn Team Camp Championship! Taylor Capasso wins MVP

Recent Photos from Auburn!

A word from guest coach at Team Camp

Hi guys, my name is Yana. I am the court coach for Venice High volleyball at Auburn team camp. I was born in Bulgaria and played volleyball in the United States a few years ago. Last year I played the FIVB pro-beach tour in hopes to qualify and represent my country in the Olympics. I am currently coaching at the University of South Alabama. Well, I did not make it to the Olympics but made it to team camp at Auburn where I met the Venice High Volleyball team. I have enjoyed every moment coaching them and look forward to seeing them excell at the college level. I feel that their determination will take them far and as a coach I saw it in all they do, even last night when they had to eat a whole watermelon without using hands to get second in the Auburn Amazing Race out of 22 teams. Good luck this fall lady Indians !

Auburn Amazing Race

Tonight at the Auburn Team Camp, Venice placed 2nd out of 22 teams in the Auburn Amazing Race. . Teams had to get clues around the campus of Auburn and solve the riddle to get to the next clue. Stops like Jordan Hare stadium, Samford Hall, Toomers corner, etc. When a team would roll (toilet paper) Toomers corner, they were finished. But there were roadblocks along the way like eating a watermelon as a team. Teams had a great time bonding w/ one another and havin fun. Pictures to follow

MTXE

Mental Toughness Extra Effort

What is a good team player at Venice?

A good team player at Venice is......
1. Gives 100%
2. Shows courage off the court
3. Makes no mental mistakes
4. Cares about the team above all else
5. Demonstrates loyalty to all

"Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is a process; working together is success" Henry Ford

You know it when you see it

It. Some teams have it. Some don't. Most teams want it. Few have it. When a team has it. EVERYONE can tell. And when one doesn't........everyone can tell.

Success

Do you have the "it" factor?

Big news!!

Big news is on the horizon for Venice Volleyball in 2009. Details are still in the works but a press release will be announced soon. All I can say is that it involves the Sun Dome in Tampa, UF and USF, and National primetime exposure against another top High school Florida team.

16th Annual Wild West Camp

Save the date for the 16th Annual Wheatley's Wild West Volleyball Camp. June 1st-4th. This year will feature a brand new exciting format! {Click Here}

Some High school news

The Venice faithful got some good news today on the '09 High school season front. We found out a few weeks ago that our 5A district will be VENICE, Manatee, Charlotte, Pt. Charlotte, and Gulf Coast (Naples). Today was the district meeting where we decide how many times each team will play each other and where the District tournament will be held. By a vote of 3-2, District teams will only be required to play each other once. Also, the team with the best District record will host the District tourney at the end of the season. This also means that VHS could possibly host the next 2 years. It really makes a lot of sense to do that for financial reasons as the top seed will most likely be in the championship. Now, the only thing we are waiting for is the Board of Directors at the FHSAA to vote on whether or not our match limit will drop from 25-20 matches.Many coaches around the state, including myself, have written letters to the FHSAA to oppose this motion. More on that at a later time. Our bid to attend the Nike Invitational is moving forward. It will be on tap at the next school Board meeting.

Final results from Basic Training

6 weeks ago, I told you that I wanted to become a better coach by relating more with my players in their off season workouts so I joined a Basic Training class at the YMCA. I went one step further and went to the the 5:30 AM class. My goal was to not miss a class (which I accomplished and I even went when we had 2 days off from school and the day after the superbowl. No Excuses! ) . I also told you that the instructor gives everyone a nickname after a few weeks in the class. I am now known as "SPIKE". We really dont know people's real names in the class but we are made to know everyones nickname otherwise the class pays for it with scissor kicks. My partner most of the time was "RESCUE" because she is in the medical field. Some people take the class over and over again. For example; a former (and future) players parent was in the class. Terry Ream A.K.A. "Bulldog" has lost over 40 pounds since last March. Today was graduation where we had to do testing to see how far we have come. Here are my results.
I lost 12 pounds (180 to 168) and 2.5 % of body fat.
pushups went from 85 (in 2 minutes) to 102
sit ups went from 75 to 92
mile time from 7:40 to 7:16
So there you have it. I would encourage you to all do it as there were many different shapes and sizes in the class and if you have an athlete in the program, you will be able to relate with them on a more personal level. I have been brainstorming about the possibility of even a mother/father and player basic training class for our summer workouts. Stay tuned on that one. I will say that we finished with a lot less people then when we started. The next class starts March 9th. I would probably take the class again but my wife has banned me from getting up that early. It was a great experience and it taught me a little discipline with getting up early and I now eat salads for lunch. I feel a lot better and have a ton more energy then before.
Over and out,
Spike
Phil 4:13

Vision

Championships are won in the off season.

2009 Districts Released

Here is the new 2009 volleyball District has been released. This is still tenative.

DISTRICT 12(9 schools): Baker (Cape Coral) * Cape Coral * Charlotte (Punta Gorda) * Gulf Coast (Naples) * Lakewood Ranch (Bradenton) * Manatee (Bradenton) * Palmetto Ridge (Naples) * Port Charlotte * Venice

Here are a few notables: Plant has moved to Class 6A and Ft. Myers has dropped down to 4A

Sir, yes sir!!!

I thought to myself a couple of weeks ago, "what could I do to become a better coach"? I thought, "go to a clinic and learn something new". Then I said to myself, "How can we make 2009 THE YEAR? Then it finally hit me. "Experience the same pain that our players feel during workouts" So I did the unthinkable. I signed up for a basic training class at the YMCA" I had 2 choices. Either go at 5:30 AM or 5:30 PM. Now, anyone who knows me knows that mornings are not my thing. I am a night owl. I am actually writing this at 12:15 AM on a school night. So I said to myself again, "Do what I would normally not do" so of course I joined the morning session. I am now in my 3rd week and let me tell you something. I cannot believe how happy people can be at 5 in the morning. It has been a very interesting experience with the running, torturous ab workout and millions of push ups. I was suppose to take this class with 2 other coaches but they backed out at the last minute. I will not mention their names so I dont embarrass them but I will say that their initials are JP and CF. Figure it out.
The first week, everyone who has not taken the class is named "recruit", the drill sargeant yells and you have to take a test. number of push ups and number of sit ups in 2 minutes as well as the mile run. I had 75 sit ups, 88 push ups, and a 7:40 run. I will admit to you that I practiced for about 2 weeks prior. Anyway, I will keep you updated on our teams off season progress and my fight to get up in the mornings. There are also a couple of things in the works that I am excited about for next year but cannot say exactly what it is just yet. And dont forget that Pain is weakness leaving the body, sir.

New Wellness Center set to open!

Dear VHS Volleyball Parents and players,

(See pictures on front page of website)

As you may or may not know, our brand new wellness center at VHS is ready. Over $250,000 worth of equipment will arrive at VHS on Saturday, Jan. 24th. This facility will be state of the art and will tremendously help not only our volleyball team but all of our athletic teams at the school. Larry Sandburg is asking that all teams help out in the assembly of the equipment this Saturday. Even if you can come to VHS for a little while this Saturday, it will be a tremendous help as we strive to work as a family at VHS. Below is a letter from Coach Sandburg as well.

The day we have all been waiting for is almost here. Saturday a truck will arrive at 7 am and must be unloaded immediately. We need all VHS athletic teams to get involved along with as many other people as we can get. All teams will be expected to attend since all are expected to use the facility. Only let me know, if for some reason, your team cannot be here.

Attached is the tool list for putting the equipment together. Anyone that has these tools at home are asked to bring them with you. If nothing else this project will be interesting. See everyone Saturday morning around 6:45 am.

Thanks Larry W. Sandburg
Athletic Director-VHS

Tools Needed

Combination Wrench 9/16; ¾
Sockets 9/16; ¾
Ratchet
Cordless drill w/ socket adapter
Tin snips
Tape measure
Chalk Line
Utility Knife
Two wheel carts
Four wheel carts


ALLEN WRENCHES

Off season plans

On Tuesday, all players will meet in the new wellness center immediately after school. We will have a meeting with Vern and the rest of the coaching staff to discuss our off season workouts. Vern will discuss in detail our goals and vision for our 2009 workouts. We will be breaking our team up into 3 different skill level groups. As we enter 2009, the bar will be raised and we are certain that our committed players will have a great time rising up to the expectations during this critical time of the year. War Eagle!