Day 1 / Thursday, May 17th / On our way to
Nationals!
Our flight to Calgary for the Volleyball
Canada 16U Girls Canadian West Open was scheduled to leave at 6:45
pm. Players, coaches and parents started showing up at the Ottawa
International Airport around 5:30. Baggage was checked and off
we went. We all got safely through security with no beeps or
buzzes and then waited in the lounge for our flight to be called.
WestJet sure took great care of us. Players were able to sit
together and we even got to watch television! I know for sure
there were parents glued to the set watching the final episode of
'Grey's Anatomy'. I know for a fact that Laura and Lauren were
watching it, because they were on either side of me and I got to
listen to them freaking out over what was happening.
With WestJet you can actually follow the
flight of the plane and it looked like we were going to land right on
time. We started our descent and the wheels were down, when all
of a sudden the pilot very quickly brought us back up into the air!
It was strange and no one seemed to know what happened. But if you
lifted you legs in the air when it happened, it felt like you were
floating in the air, it was so cool. We then proceeded to fly
over and around Calgary for about 15 minutes when the pilot finally
announced that the reason he didn't land was because the air traffic
controllers had him coming in 'too fast and too close' and he didn't
feel 'comfortable' landing the plane! Thank goodness the next
attempt was slower and more controlled and we landed safe and
sound.
Our shuttle was waiting (it was a bus!) and we headed off to the
University to check in! After we got our first set of keys, we
realized that they didn't work. We couldn't get into the
building with them and therefore we couldn't get into our rooms.
So Marijke, Lauren, Matt and Chris went to get the keys that did
work. When they got back, we headed off to our rooms to unpack
and finally got to sleep.
Day 2 / Friday, May 18th / Practice time and
Opening Ceremonies
Friday morning, we got up and had breakfast
in the cafeteria. After that, we wandered around and found ourselves
walking into the oval to check out the competition. We had practice at
11:00am so we decided to walk back to the rooms to relax a bit
beforehand. We went back to the Oval and practiced until noon
and then picked up the groceries that Paul and Big Red had purchased
and headed back to our rooms to clean up.
We had lunch in the coaches' room and then
walked over to the closest mall (which didn't seem like one) to get
snacks and treats for the next few days. It also gave us a
chance to see more of the beautiful Calgary University
Campus!
Pizza for dinner and then off to the gym to
see the Canadian West Open official kickoff at 6:30pm with a
men's match featuring Team Canada Masters vs Dino
Alumni. The match took place at UC's Jack Simpson Gym and featured
past National Team members - Kent Greves, Bruce Edwards and Tom Elser.
Dino Alumni playing that night included Rob Ellis, Lee Czernick and
Cory Paddock, former Olympians play the Calgary Dinos' Men's Varsity
team. It was good volleyball and congratulations to some of the girls
who caught the little prizes that were thrown into the crowd, most of
which were impossible to catch, might I add.
Since there was no time for opening
ceremonies, the conveners said that the game would substitute for
opening ceremonies, after which you could do as you please. So we
watched the game until the end and then headed back to the dorms and
went to bed.
Day 3 / Saturday, May 19th / Tournament Day
1
Our 'den mothers' Petra and Wendy made
sure we were all up and ready to play in the morning. We had
breakfast in their rooms, running around eating and getting our
uniforms on. We were so excited and nervous for our first game.
We had heard so much about the 'strength' of the teams out west, we
had no idea what might be next on our agenda! We were ready for
anything and pumped up to play our best volleyball of the
season!
Match 1 @ 8:45: CAPS vs Club West
Rage from Virden (MB), with the CAPS taking their first loss of
the day (26-24, 23-25, 11-15).
Match 2 @ 9:45: CAPS vs
Alouettes from Weyburn (SK), with the CAPS taking their first win
in 3 more very close sets (25-21, 21-25, 15-11)!
Match 3 @ 12:00: CAPS vs BCO
Black from Port Moody (BC), and the CAPS came out victorious again
(25-20, 25-20)!
At the end of the day we had placed second
in our pool which was good enough to advance to the 'Power Pools' on
Sunday. We had maintained our status and were still in Division
1/Tier 1.
We went back to the dorm to get cleaned up
and ready to go out for dinner. We waited for our drivers
(thanks to John and Diane and Diane Watt's friend from Calgary) and
we all headed over to Moxie's at Market Mall for a nice dinner.
More pictures and lots of laughs later, we were full to the brim and
ready to take a stroll through the mall while the parents finished off
their meals and drinks.
We thought it would be a simple thing to call for a cab, but
apparently they are short cabbies in Calgary, so we shuttled back and
forth using the same drivers again. One cab (a van) did manage
to come and pick a group of us up and, while waiting, we were
entertained by the mothers left behind singing some of their favourite
songs for us! It was interesting to say the least! Don't
quit your day jobs ladies!!
By the time we got back to the residence, it was close to bedtime!
Pajamas were in order as were a few little snacks and then it was
lights out. We were heading into Day 2 of the tournament with
high hopes and needed our rest!
Day 4 / Sunday, May 20th / Tournament Day
2
Our schedule was exactly the same as the
day before, but now we were playing teams that were also top in their
pool play! What was in store for us today? It was another
great day that saw us playing super volleyball and having a lot of fun
at the same.
Match 1 @ 8:45: CAPS vs Seaside
Black from Surrey (BC). We took this team by surprise and
came out on top very quickly (25-20, 25-17).
Match 2 @ 9:45: CAPS vs FVVC
Force from Langley (BC). This was a very strong team that
really gave us a run for our money. We fought hard and played
well, but came out on the losing end this time (19-25,
20-25).
Match 3 @ 12:00: CAPS vs
Storm from Brandon (MB). This was one of the top teams in
the tournament and, once again, the CAPS battled through.
Although we lost this match, we did take one set from the team and we
were playing super volleyball (23-25, 25-23, 12-15).
Unfortunately, by the end of the day,
despite our strong play, we would be playing in Division 1/Tier 2.
The good news was we could still end up in the top 15 in the country
and that became our goal. We wanted a medal in Tier
2!
Sunday evening saw us going over to the
home of Deby and Paul Hutchin (friends of Connie's from her high
school days). Although Deby was not home, Paul was certainly the
host with the most! My aunt and uncle and 4 cousins from Bragg
Creek were there as well. The kids gave the team some extra
entertainment in the basement, while Paul, my mom and some of the
parents helped put together a wonderful BBQ and dinner for the whole
team, parents and coach Matt. Coach Chris went out for dinner
with a family member and Diane Watt took a break from the crew and
visited with her friends for the evening. Once everyone had
enough to eat, the girls went downstairs to watch a movie and the
parents visited upstairs while sharing in some liquid refreshments.
My Uncle Todd, Jim and Diane, and Paul and his daughter Elyse drove
everyone home after the team meeting! What a great night and a
nice break from hanging around the school or going to a restaurant for
dinner. Thanks Paul!
Day 5 / Monday, May 21st / Tournament Day
3
We had an early start this morning to have
breakfast by 6:45. Matt and Chris wanted us at the gym by 7:00
for our first game of the day which was at 7:30 and, believe it or
not, we were actually awake and ready to rumble!
It was going to be a long day if we wanted to make it into the medal
round, but we were ready for anything.
Match 1 @ 7:30: CAPS vs Queens
Extreme from Red Deer (AB), where the CAPS came out on top!
(25-11, 19-25, 15-8)
Match 2 @ 9:45: CAPS vs Bobcat
Fury from Brandon (MB). We did not fare as well with this
team and unfortunately we lost a tough second set. Going into
the third set we were neck-and-neck with the Fury all the way through,
losing the 3rd set 14 - 16. This knocked us out of gold and
silver medal contention, but we could still win a medal and that
became our goal.
Match 3 @ 2:30: CAPS vs
Alouettes from Weyburn (SK) for the bronze medal! We proved
the stronger of the two teams and beat our opponents to win the
bronze. The National Capitals 16U Girls were officially #11 in
the country!
That night, some of the players headed off
in different directions. Teal went out for a nice little family
reunion and my mom and I went out to Bragg Creek for dinner with Uncle
Todd, Aunt Helen, Emma, Evelyn, Ethan and Eli! Diane headed out
with her friends, the rest of the crew went to Boston Pizza and then
everyone ended up back at the residence by the end of the evening.
It was a great way to wind up the tournament.
Day 6 / Tuesday, May 22nd / Trip to the
Rockies
We were a bunch of tourists today!!
Chris and Diane headed out in the morning to get the vans that were
rented for our trip to Lake Louise and Banff! As soon as
breakfast was over and the bookstore was open, the team headed over to
buy some University of Calgary wear. When we got back to our meeting
spot, we got ready to head to the mountains to see the beautiful sites
of the Canadian Rockies. A big, THANKS, to Chris, John, Diane and my
mom for hooking the team up with those sweet rides.
The ride up was great; we stopped and took
some pictures at some random little lake that had a great view of some
of the mountains in the background. We drove for a bit longer and we
got to see some wildlife, including a group of mountain goats that
were jumping right across the road and a big Elk that we saw right on
the side of the road. We drove for a bit longer and decided that we
should stop for a little washroom break as some of the passengers and
drivers were going to explode. When we finally reached Lake Louise we
took the traditional photo right on the edge of the dock. After we
spent some time at Lake Louise, we decided it was time to head out and
spend some time in Banff.
Banff was great - we didn't get to
experience the gondola ride - but we did get in some prime shopping.
We got to roam around downtown Banff and, while walking around, we
were still able to see all the mountains around us. After the
shopping, we went to see the hot springs. Some of the team
thought that it was supposed to be literally coming out of the ground,
but, it was just a hot pool. We then went into the gift shop and
goofed around with the hats and made fools out of ourselves ...
typical!!
On the way home we stopped at a Subway for
some great food. We arrived back at the dorms and finished
packing our bags to get ready for the trip home. Snack time and
then bedtime!
Day 7 / Wednesday, May 23rd / On the way home
again!
We woke up around 8:00am on our last day
in Calgary. The gang did some last minute packing and cleaned up a
bit. Then we started our departure home. We stopped for breakfast at
the airport, and then grabbed our spots on the plane and headed
home.
Thanks to all the parent volunteers for spending that time organizing
and planning our trip out west. Thanks to Marg who made all the flight
and dorm reservations. We missed you! Thank you to Petra
and Wendy, our 'dorm Moms' who had to sleep in those little beds and
who took such great care of us! Thanks to Matt and Chris for all
their hard work and dedication to our team this year. Also
thanks to all the families and friends that live in Calgary that
supported the team by coming out and cheering us on and helped make
our stay so wonderful!
THANKS AGAIN!!
- Jorie #12
Mom's (Big Red's) perspective on the
tournament:
It was very difficult to recap each and
every match/set, (there were just too many of them) but it is so
important for everyone to know that it was a complete and total team
effort. First, the fact that Brittany was not there did not stop
the girls from thinking about her! Brittany, you were missed!
As for the girls that went on the trip, speaking for all of the
parents and coaches, I want to start off by saying we are so very
proud of all of you.
Both of our middles, Robyn and Rebecca
had some fabulous blocks throughout the tournament and really shut
down some big strong hitters at key times. They both made some
important kills when needed too! Our outside blocking by
Kathleen, Jorie, Laura, and Marijke was consistently strong as well.
The girls hit the ball hard sometimes and other times they just played
it smart and looked for that hole! Lauren played Libero with
conviction and had a lot of help from Jorie digging up some crazy,
hard hit balls! Marijke varied her sets and everyone got a
chance to hit the ball. She was steady and dependable over the
whole tournament and never wavered! For someone who had to touch
the ball every play she was tireless. Leah stepped up to the plate and
played her heart out when the time came for her to be in the games,
especially after Laura was injured on Day 2. Teal and Kaleigh
came with their game faces on and played hard over the three days.
Every single girl contributed! This tournament saw the girls
come back from a loss and take a win, beat some of the best teams from
the West, regroup after making a mistake, improve their court
communication, and win a medal in the biggest tournament in Canada!
They have become better, stronger, and more confident volleyball
players and I am sure are even better friends now than before we
left! They represented the city of Ottawa and the National
Capitals Volleyball Club with pride and showed the western teams that
we can battle it out with the best in the west. What more could
we ask of them?
