AWVP

Similar to the white man moving West taking over this continent as the modern nations formed, and the Indians (or native Americans if you prefer) were destroyed, removed, or forced to adapt...Well, that is happening to the AWVP...

Chief has talked much, and I mean much about growing the game...Well, that rarely goes well w/ newbs or buoys that often dont advance beyond "super" buoy status...Edub and I have said for years the real future is sanders finding the water love, and the key to that was instituting "no net"...Well, this early season that vision is coming true...Also, that means adapting to some of the sander variations, in particular setting...And we have to clean up 2 hands underhanding balls if we want Dallas to respect our game and not put asterisks on our wins...I also believe Sanders are the key to beating Dallas more as most of Dallas players were...wait for it...guess what...oh, not yet...okay now: SANDERS...

Many positives from yesterday...1st touch/passing was way better than normal...Overall, the games were almost all competitive...Pippen served well, and held his own in mostly BBGs...Ford set dime after dime...The usual hitters hit very well (TazEdubFordJaviScotty) and George Luke, & Baker brought it, too...Hell, i had a very good day hitting from back row and serving hard...Slim Jim is starting to use his height effectively, too...Chief set well, and directed the poll full of shirts like a great Chief should eliminating any bitching from us or the natives...I think what was really great yesterday, besides influx of new good players, was everyone really tried for legit 3 touch vball...

I dont think anyone really went crazy record wise wins or losses yesterday as I remember most player records being all over the board for most all the way passed 9pm...

Just a good day of ball in the healing waters on a great Sunday Funday...

The line I was going to use was "The Sanders Strike Back"

And high time it is that it is so. Sanders have always had skills. There was just a bit too much disrespect for water in years previous.

They are different games. I will concur that it took a little Dallas beatdown to get us to change our game, largely for the good I think, so that we can earn a little respect on the other side as well.

Jungle was always stupid. It got people hurt. But AWVP started with people who had zero volleyball experience, so the learning curve has been long, and rules are hard to implement.

I once again will emphasize the difference between Dallas and what we do. We play in a public venue. That means we have to share. And we can't just dictate. I'm acutally suprised we get away with what we do.

Also, watch the game film from up there again. I am not 100% in love with their game as LJ is. Maybe it wasn't their A team, but they sat guys in the pool waiting for rotation--a big no no in our world, and lifted more than once--they just didn't call it. That's just home cookin.

They play really tall and really experienced in a small pool. I wonder if there would be more diving scoops if they deigned to show up at a larger venue like Riata? I expect we will never know...

I saw a Sunday AAR, but not one for Saturday. My bad. Many players were missing that day. Their loss, as it was one of the best days for tail that I can recall in my Riata tenure. We also had enough vets and newer players around to play ball and keep order. Barely. By the end of the day, we had to rescind the net rule. Too tough to call due to alcohol and skill levels of opponents. Chaos is still an option up there...

Here's something I can say from Saturday--ballchair was full to the brim, some of the volleyballs were not ours, but they all matched, as in same kind. I wonder how the people who brought the other ones learned the preferred weapon of choice??

At this stage I will point out that, for the purposes of league play in a public venue, the needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.

Thanks for the props, LJ. In the beginning, they said the Riata could never be chiefed. Fish, and Tbone helped to disprove that. Now I try to help out with the project, so residents don't have to, and can have fun instead. But it takes a Panda village...

Suggestions were made that the 3 and out rule for a team be rescinded if there are scrubs involved in one of the games, such that a BBG can be played. Because we brought 3 and out rather than win and stay in to the Riata, so we can break it.

Sadly, I must disagree. I had to do shirt fascist and pull those who were in because there were like 4 that were waiting, and fair is fair. What used to happen is that you could ask the owner of the next shirt if they would sit one to see a BBG. Good luck with that in a larger venue.

LJ suggested how this works. You want BBG? Show up early for invite only (which means don't invite everyone!), or wait until late. Early seems to be out of the picture this year!

Maybe I'm old school, but a certain level of inclusion kept ball alive at the dirty Philadelphia gym. Dry people play is very important. It's how they learn. It's how the league grows. Nate being on a super team being a prime example.

Here are the priorities from a Chief perspective: if everyone is a little unhappy, but no one is so unhappy, especially residents(!), that complaints go to managment, that's a win.

Remember the convo from the Awards Ceremony, people--the issues with this league are largely ours to solve. We've cleaned up the game to some extent, we've put in good administrative rules where they didn't really exist to some extent, we've created order out of chaos to some extent. But how to create BBG when we want it within the rules we created in a public venue? That's entirely up to us, and we're not doing it to the extent that we could.

Call it down, LJ. The weather is hot, and the legions apparently are drunk and bored, and have forgotten the admonitions of the Awards Ceremony.

_________________
Chief

Death from above! Fire down below!

Sanders have skills but they carry a lot. Some of them are catching and throwing the ball, and not just once in a while, but over and over.

Who is this Creepy guy? Is he related to Dan? They bear a striking resemblance.

Whoever he is, what Creepy said. To his credit, LJ warned the new Sanders about "sand sets". But they are new, it was late in the day, I'd been in battle for 2 days (2 days! the weekend lasts 2 days! Not one, for those who weren't there on Saturday), and I expect everyone was being tolerant of new players with good skills.

Next time it will be called.

For the record, though I'm far from an expert, I think the Sander confusion comes from an accusation that the ball has been palmed or there was double contact.

The way a "sand set" was once explained to me was that the ball comes down, even as low as it can go so you can get your hands under it, then it stops--kind of like the Matrix??? And then you use your legs to bring it up again. It never touches your hands. So Sanders can defy physics...

Some rules can be bent, others can be broken. But a water interpretation of a sand set is that you grabbed/caught the ball with your fingers and threw it up in the air. Which is not allowed.

Our rule has always been there needs to be a slap with the palm or a finger pop on fielding, and also serving and spiking actually, for the play to be legal. OJ and Scotty nonwithstanding! And LJ once on his serve on Sunday!

While I realize our rules violate Dallas "lift" rules to a certain extent, especially in fielding, I don't play in Dallas every weekend.

I don't see why one possible annual game "for the championship" means that we can't have slightly different rules that work better for the venue we are in with the aggregrate group of participants we have day in and day out.

And let me ask you this, in a hypothetical Prosper visit to Riata, wouldn't they have to play by our rules, new and improved but still "flawed: as they are?

On that note, let me reference the first road trip challenge to Arkansas that never happened. Do you recall that I found out the host required everyone to serve left handed? Oh shit, better change our rules to reflect theirs!

_________________
Chief

Death from above! Fire down below!

All good pts above...I disagree w/ the Dallas part as we have gone over...IMO they play a "truer" version of volleyball...

The sand setting will not change, as it is basically what yall describe: a quick catch & throw...Watch the Olympics in a month, and you will see the same sets you see in the pool...Im just gonna say if the Olympics allow that I am pretty sure that is just an adjustment AWVP is gonna have to accept, esp for the growth of the game because games w/ sanders who are mostly athletes w/ actual hand eye coordination make for much better games...

I havent called down noon ball yet mainly because my schedule is crazy busy w trips & sand tourneys...Although, we didnt do noon ball til late in seasons previously...Look for those in August, and they will be well planned, good food provided, and damn good Austin versions of BBGs...

Also, Steve Chief and Creepy...What are the proposed wknds for Dallas Sequel?!?!? We need to start discussing...I like the first wknd of August to throw out first as a calendar option...

I am out all this wknd visiting fam in Florida...

Games will be down a little because of this, but yall can still have some decent to good games

Oh, and the sanders are coming, and in greater numbers as stated in the beginning...No net was best change for AWVP...Well, that and Ball Chair induction...

don't worry lip, i will pick it up

i am working with dallas now. prob twice this year with one hopefully being memorial day as the riata is a fucking joke then is.