Thursday, March 1, 2007 -  About 6:30pm - Big storm coming through Ontario, with freezing rain pouring down in Toronto ... Linden Leung and Matt Harris stand outside of Matt's house, debating the timing of leaving Ottawa to head to McMaster University in Hamilton for the 2007 CIS Men's Championships & OVA Coaching Symposium - Should they try and drive through the freezing rain, or wait till morning, when the storm was to hit Ottawa?

7:00pm - Still talking - (Athletes: Coaches are much more decisive when dealing with on-the-court situations!) ... Eventually they decide to wait till morning - In retrospect, a great decision, as they made it to Hamilton without problems, not missing any of the games.

It was a who's who of the volleyball community in Hamilton for the weekend, with some great presentations from big name coaches - Highlights included: passing and digging tips from Lucas Snider (former Team Canada libero, Laurier Golden Hawks Head Coach), a breakdown of the Men's World Championship final (won by Brazil) from Team Canada Men's Head Coach Glenn Hoag, an inspirational and entertaining presentation from Merv Mosher (former York University head coach) relating to game sense, and, lastly, a great talk with John Cook, Head Coach of the NCAA Champion University of Nebraska Lady Cornhuskers (you might have heard of this team, as Ontario's own NCAA Player of The Year Sarah Pavan is part of this team).  Coach Cook focused on blocking, as well as team play, and then answered questions... So if you have Matt or Linden as a coach, and they ask you to try what seems like a crazy drill or play, just go with it ... They were around some amazing coaches, who may or may not have given them some new ideas!

In between all of these workshops, the duo did manage to catch some exciting volleyball games with CAPS Alumni Tess Edwards (and Dad), who had also made the trip down ... and found the best wing deal in Hamilton: The Thirsty Cacutus' Full Moon Special - $2 a pound!!!!

Congrats to former Ottawa Kangaroos Ryan DeBruyn and Paul Kjos, now members of the National Champion Winnipeg Wesman, who pulled out a thrilling 3-2 win against the Alberta Golden Bears in the gold medal final!

Thanks to Cathy O'Doherty and the club (and the CAPS Fund of Excellence) for supporting and encouraging us to attend this event to help us continue our coaching education (and watch some amazing volleyball games).  Can't wait to get in the gym to share what we learned!