SillY Volleyball Tryout

On Saturday the 10th, I had a SillY Volleyball Clinic/Tryout. I would've blogged about this earlier, but I had a school trip and did not have time before we left. At the clinic, we relearned the basics briefly, after warming up by running many laps around the gym. We passed in partners, did setting, serving, and more. We split into groups and did some passing with three people on one side to a setter who would set to the hitter, who would spike it over. We also did some "Queen of the Court", a game where there are three people on each side of the court along with one coach or professional player who would be the setter. We were set up into the three positions with three different calls for getting the spike, "A" for the left, "Pipe" for the center, and "D" for the right. We would volley the ball until someone dropped it or the volley was over, and if the people on the "Queen" side won, they would stay, but if the new group who were on the other side won, they would move to the other side and be the "Queens" until they lost. The clinic was very fun and I felt like I did a good job and improved a lot. When I find out what group I will be in for January, I will let you know. I think I'll be in the "Intermediate Group", which I think would be a very good choice for me. The season, when I'll be starting playing every Saturday, starts on January 14th. For more information or to look at the SillY Volleyball Website click here.

Last Stanford Volleyball Game

The last Stanford Volleyball Game was a while ago, but I went to it with my family. We went and saw the game, and it was amazing. Stanford vs. Cal. Stanford lost the match, but it was a well-played game, and Stanford was amazing, as usual. It's really fun to see such great players and watch their technique and skill. Also, one of the players on their team has the same kind of ankle brace that I have, so I feel better about having to wear it while I play, knowing it should work really well! :)

Stanford Women's Volleyball

Want to learn something new?

About the Stanford Women's Volleyball Team (2011):

There are 14 players on the Stanford Women's Volleyball Team.

Did you know that the tallest player on the team is 6'6? Did you know that shortest player on the team is 5'7?

The average height of a player on the Stanford Women's Volleyball Team is almost exactly 6 feet.

Did you know that about 79% of the Stanford Women's Volleyball Team is from California?

Only about 21% of the team is NOT from California. 11/14 players are from California, 2/14 players are from Texas, and 1/14 player is from Nevada.

The shortest player on the team is a Libero/Defensive Specialist and the tallest player is an Outside Hitter. A Libero/Defensive Specialist is someone who plays in the back row and is usually an excellent passer and a very good defensive player. They do not necessarily need to be tall, because they never play in the front row, which is why shorter people on the team are often placed in this position.

If you want to learn more about volleyball or even about the Libero/Defensive Specialist, this is the website I looked at.

If you want to see the Stanford Women's Volleyball Team page or learn more about the team or the players, this is where you should go. Check it out!

Volleyball Practice 11/19/11

Hey, everyone. Today I practiced volleyball on my own. I'm planning to do this as often as I can, homework and weather permitting, but hopefully once a week or so.

Today I practiced for 40 minutes, and I did a little of all the basics.

I practiced some hitting (aka spiking), bumping, setting, and a little back and forth passing with my dad. At the end, I recorded how many in a row I could do of each of these skills.

I did 35 fist bump things, which I will call fist bumps for the moment, but I don't know an official name yet, if there is one, but I'll keep you posted.

I did 30 consecutive bumps.

I did 7 consecutive sets.

I feel like I can definitely improve a lot on setting, and probably bumping and ball control too. The fist bumps are for working on ball control. I also practiced for a little bit a skill I learned at a volleyball camp last summer called the pancake. It's for saving the ball when it's really close to the ground.

I'll keep you all posted on when I do this, hopefully it will be often, but I will write it briefer. In the future, most likely I'll just write an overview of what I did, my score on the bumping, setting, and fist bumps for the day, and possibly something I could improve on.

Also look forward to more pictures.

Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone, and play volleyball!

SillY Volleyball

Today I went to a volleyball clinic at De Anza College with SillY Volleyball. It was really fun and I learned a lot! We started by running 10 laps around the gym, and then stretched. Then we warmed up with partners and they went over how to do the platform and other basics. I actually think I learned the most from that, and from the support we got while practicing, because one of the most important things to know how to do, and do well, is bumping the ball. Passing is very important. I definitely think I improved on my passing and my ball control. Then once we did some partner passing and ball control, we served over the net with our partners. Serving is another thing I found they helped me with, although less than the passing, because I know how to serve overhand, I just need to practice. What I think is important for me is that I get enough time to practice, and that I don't practice it wrong, because if I practice it wrong, it will be harder for me to learn to do it right, and unlikely I'll serve right during a game if I'm not corrected. Then we practiced in more of a game setting and putting together all the skills we learned and improved on earlier. Overall, it was really fun and I think I learned a lot, and improved on my skills!

Here's the link for SillY Volleyball. It's a really great program, and for teens and preteens who love volleyball and want to practice or get better, it's perfect. Check it out!

My Volleyball Story

The first time I ever played volleyball was in 4th grade. I played in a local recreation league with my friend. We went the first day and they taught us the basics. Bumping, setting, spiking, but nothing too fancy. The next couple of days we continued to learn things like that, and they split us into teams. I was put on team that didn't have a coach, so we were passed around from group to group and worked with other teams' coaches. They gave us different instructions, and even told us to bump the ball in different ways. This experience was very frustrating and confusing for me as a beginner at volleyball. At the end of the season I was unhappy with the sport in general and decided never to play it again.

Then, years later, once I was in 6th grade, volleyball was one of the sports that my school offered. Since everyone who wants to can get on the team at my school, I decided to try volleyball again. I practiced with my 6th grade friends and had coaching and games, and it was actually a lot of fun! I fell in love with volleyball after that, and decided that I did like it after all.

That next summer I went to a volleyball camp at San Jose State University. I liked it a lot. I learned much more and improved my skills. Then, in 7th grade, once volleyball season came about, I tried out for the Varsity A team and was one of only 4 7th graders to make the team! I was so excited. My volleyball skills grew a lot with that experience as well, and gave me more confidence in my abilities. The next summer I went to two volleyball camps. The first was at De Anza College with a program called SillY Volleyball, which I did with 2 of my friends, and learned a lot. The second one was at Santa Clara University, and I learned a lot, but didn't enjoy it as much as the first camp, because none of my friends went with me.

And that brings us to now, with me working on my volleyball on my own, for my personal odyssey. I am looking forward to getting started and sharing my journey with you!

Hello World!

Welcome to my blog. I'm Ashley and I love volleyball! At my school, we have a project called Personal Odyssey, in which you choose a topic that you really love. Something you want to spend time doing, or discover more about. For my topic, I chose volleyball. I really enjoy playing volleyball, and I wanted more time to do it. My goal with this project is to practice volleyball and improve enough that I can be on the team in high school. I hope to learn a lot and enjoy my time playing volleyball!