AWVP

Sunday cowboys day AAR. As you already know Dan pulled a page out of Tbones book and brought the TV. At first there were 3: Dan, Erin, yours truly. But others followed.

Another resident jointed in. Riata Chris Apparently he’s got the apt closest to the pool formerly occupied by Alex/Waffle House.

Another story that is becoming very familiar: has lived at Riata for a couple of years, sitting off the coast and watching our rock and roll.

Which shows we can do better on the inclusion part. I believe Cleveland Chris(Browns fan) has been added to the list. Welcome.

Chris also brought 3 of his friends into the game. You see how that works?

New guy Jan also joined in. First game ever, but I think a previous observer. Well if it’s you’re first day at fight club… he contributed a quote I usually say to the newcomers: “this isn’t as easy as it looks.” Truism that is.

What else is true is that we make it look easy, so kudos to us.

Continuing on the resident front, Riata Paul K had a very good day from the serving position. I think 8 in a row. Had a couple of plays at the net too, when he wasn’t in the net. Based on his previous post, I think the “K” stands for kookie jar. And a new watervolleyball nickname is born?

A rarity, but world class runner and occasional aquatic player Laura joined in.

Even with 5 on 5, which we miraculously achieved, I kept the court 3 bricks short to facilitate learning. Those so don’t like it because they can’t serve as hard, serving is also about placement. See also, Kenny Rogers, who showed up with water panties on this time, can serve hard on the short court. You dip it. It’s called adaptation.

Breylin is turning into quite the star. Your gonna want him on your team if you wanna win. Case in point. My team lost 15-1 in first game of the day. Won when Brey came in. He’s a very intuitive player. Good placement, and started doing give and go to the back row without being prompted. For the uninitiated, that’s where back row hitter passes (low to ensure it can’t go anywhere else) to the front row setter, and setter passes it back usually slightly in front of them (never over their head unless they’re missing because of too much power, little point guard comment there). We did that play about 10 times. It’s a good play. Because it’s very hard to block a back row spike.

I look forward to continued Breylin Dan matchups at the net. Dan has the height and experience advantage(Dan hits harder for the moment) but Brey has youth and athleticism, which means he’s not afraid to move.

Alex got his shirt and tournament award today. Both are important achievements.

Erin was an excellent DJ, motivated people to show up, and was able to dial in her serves. She travels far to do this, which is dedication in and of itself.

Julie did a better job accounting for errant volleyballs and returning them to where they can be used than like 90% of you other lazy pandas.

Did I leave anyone out?

Now you may ask yourself, can these games be competitive? Yes, they can. Last game of the day my team was up 14-9, and lost 17-15. Many side outs involved (which is why I still favor side out vs rally score, especially in the D leagues—blown serve shouldn’t cost your team).

There may not be many more of these AARs this season. I dropped down to 140, so the old pandemic insulation such as it was is gone. I’m starting to shiver. Cold water slows you down and makes every game like twice as hard on the energy you’re burning. So credit to the brave cold warriors that played today.

Next up, instruction on how to play with less than 6 players, which is apparently required…