This was our final event in the qualification period.  By this time Rach and I are both pretty beat up.  Poor Rach has been dealing with multiple injuries, but still hanging in there.  Yes, hanging was a perfect choice of words.  She strained a tricep in her hitting arm, but the injury seems to be moving upward causing neck pain as well as upper back and shoulder spasms.  We just need a week off, but there’s no time for rest.  We needed to take a podium finish to remain in the Olympic hunt.  Boss/Ross was knocked out by the pesky Brazilian team and we were up against Ey and Nicole.  We won the first convincingly and then fell apart the last 2.  Ey and Nicole took the podium finish we needed.  Disappointed is a complete understatement.   I could write about it, but it would take 10 more pages and someone might try to admit me to a clinic.  So, on to the next funny Russia picture.    I always wanted to sit in a Mercedes Benz, I just never thought it would be during a time out?????  There was so much more to this journey and I hope you have enjoyed my little tid bits.  Traveling the world playing the sport I love is such a blessing and I look forward to more adventures.  Many thanks to my husband Chad as well as my family and friends who have offered continuous support while I’m off playing in the sand.  I love you all.

TEAM USA @ THE RED  SQUARE (Matt, Rosie, Kelly, Jake, Jane, Rachel, Tyra)

 

  Our Favorite team to train with. The Brazilian sisters Maria and Carol Salgado.

 

 

So, I am still getting pics from my last month's excursion to Beijing....here are my personal fave's...Look for a new photo album to be added with even more quirky pics....hahaha...A Thank you to Sandra Beckman, Sandra Golden, Scott May, and Leanne Schultheis for your pics!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 To see Stacy's entire blog click here

 

 

 

2008 Silver Medalists! YES! YES! AND YES! That is all I can say....FINALLY! Finally we got what we deserve, A MEDAL. I do not care if it was brown with flies on it, as long as it was a medal. We worked so hard, went through so much and came through when it counted. We were the underdogs going into the Quaterfinals against the Italians, down 2-1, yet we won a 5 game nail biter. Then, went up against the Cubans in the Semifinals who had beaten us 3-0 pretty badly just a week before. I guess you can say we returned the favor when it counted. Then came the Finals. Against undefeated Brazil who had not lost a match nor game the entire Olympics. No matter what, we were going to medal, but we wanted that Gold. Though we fell short, we did manage to take a game off of them, something no other team had done. So much hype is put into a Gold Medal. When you fall short it seems like you have failed, you didn’t win the Gold so you have won nothing. Yes, we wanted to raise our flag higher than all three flags. Yes, we wanted to hear our Star Spangled Banner. Yes, we wanted a Gold Medal placed around our necks. But we simply got second place. Yes. Second. But our flag got raised second highest. We got Beautiful Silver Medals placed around our necks. We stood tall on a medal stand that had not seen Americans for 20 years. We are now among only 24 American Volleyball players to ever accomplish such a feat. I got to stand there with my sisters, my friends, my family and celebrate a moment that few people will ever experience. Yes we lost to Brazil. But we won a Silver Medal. ...and to us Silver is “as good as Gold.”

 

Since volleyball is the one of the only sports that goes from start to finish in the Olympics, there was no time to go and sight see or see other events. We were fortunate to have televisions in our common area so that we could watch all other sports going on during our off time. I did get to experience the Great Wall. It was beautiful and such an amazing thing to actually see with my own eyes. I could not believe that each one of those bricks was hand laid by Chinese people. Incredible. We took a lift up, walked a portion of the wall, returned and then got to toboggan down. It was so fun. Although this was the only "sight seeing" I was able to do, it was totally worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sooooo, after we returned to American soil, all of the Olympic Medalist were invited to Chicago to film Oprah’s season premier. It was so great! We stayed at the Hilton in downtown Chicago and rode on Chicago Double Decker buses, into Millenium Park, where we were greeted by hundreds of screaming fans. We then filmed the show, got to meet Oprah, took pictures with her and then all went our separate ways. It was great to see, talk and hang out with other Olympic medalists. I also got to give Oprah a big hug that was pretty dope. Since Volleyball is one of the only sports that goes from start ‘til finish in the Olympics, there was no time to go and sight see or see other events. We were fortunate to have televisions in our common area so that we could watch all other sports going on during our off time. I did get to experience the Great Wall. It was beautiful and such an amazing thing to actually see with my own eyes. I could not believe that each one of those bricks was hand laid by Chinese people. Incredible. We took a lift up, walked a portion of the wall, returned and then got to toboggan down. It was so fun! Although this was the only “sight seeing” I was able to do, it was totally worth it.

 

Well, that is all for now. I am taking some time off, traveling around, seeing friends and family. It has been a little bit hectic recently but when it all calms down I looking forward to relaxing at home for a while. I am taking my life day by day so I have no idea what the next blog will consist of....until next time....

 

 

 

I almost feel like Todd and Phil read my blog following their loss to Latvia. They never wore those God-awful blue shorts again, and Todd’s attitude was surprisingly less critical of Phil’s every move along the net. Granted, Phil was absolutely unstoppable, so if Todd even attempted to flash one sign of disapproval, the green light would have been given for someone, anyone, to immediately sweep in and deliver a swift boot to his balls. And that’s the cold, hard truth.

 

Phil was a God the rest of the way. There’s no other way to describe it. They had one questionable moment against the Swiss when they went down 6-0 to open up the 3rd set, but somehow, after a timeout, they scored the next 5 points to almost draw even. And once they retook the lead, they never looked back. The quarters was close for a set, the semi against “Georgia” was an absolute joke, and the finals consisted of some seriously sick volleyball until our main man, the “Beast,” decided to make it his own Gold Medal to win, by blocking 27 balls in the 15 point, 3rd and final Olympic set.

 

Congrats to both Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser for their epic, once in a lifetime, Olympic beach volleyball tournament. Their legacy is set, and nobody in America was disappointed watching them reclaim the beach gold medal from Brazil.

 

Well, maybe not everybody. I’m not sure if Jake and Rosie were that stoked with 5th place, but in all honesty, that’s one of the best matches I’ve ever seen Ricardo and Emanuel play. Blocking, digging, siding-out, serving; they seemed to have it all that night in Beijing. And Gibb/Rosenthal didn’t even play poorly. They just seemed to lose every big point, and then couldn’t find a way to make them up in the end. I, for one, desperately wanted them to win that match and get into the medal rounds. In fact, I was actually nervous going to sleep that night as they were about to play, knowing that when I woke, their destiny would already be completed, good or bad. As fate would have it, my anxiety was appropriately timed, and after watching the match on tape delay, I understood why. Brazil was going to do everything in their power to win that match, and America just caught them on the wrong day. 

 

Without a doubt, a large congratulations also goes out to my good friends, Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal. They hopefully will not forget they are still Olympians, an honor bestowed upon only the greatest athletes in the world, and that they represented an entire nation who had their backs every time they stepped foot on the sand. I have a feeling they might both be back in London, possibly on separate teams, in another Olympic Gold medal run. I hope to be there as well; watching, of course. This thing is too good to just watch on TV.

 

And last but not least, congrats to both American Women’s teams. I sometimes forget to pay tribute to the ladies and just how incredible their achievements are as well. Misty and Kerri are an anomaly. They did everything they needed to do in order to be successful, all the while not letting one single ounce of pressure get to them. I envy their amazing ability to perform as if no one is watching; it’s seriously incredible. And you can’t honestly tell me there is one single cooler individual than Misty May. I mean, really, how sweet is that girl? She rocks. That’s it. Case closed. Kerri is awesome as well, but I just can’t seem to get enough of Misty wearing that classic Chinese brimmed hat or her dancing to her own beat following the second biggest win of their careers.

 

USA GOLD. 2 Times. What a great Olympics.

 

On to the indoor. What if? Huh? What if we go home with 4 Golds? I can’t even imagine!

 

 Hey Dr. C here!!!

I have been working with a bunch of young up and comers in the volleyball world. Many of the young athletes are competing for college scholarships and are looking for the edge when it comes to developing hitting power!!!! Well it boils down to mechanics. So many of us are arm swingers. You feel like you have to throw out your arm first and spank that ball. Great, you are hitting the ball hard but guess what happens? That darn shoulder injury. So to be an efficient and powerful hitter, you must break down your swing into its components. The components are hips, shoulders, arm and finally hand.

 

So what initiates your swing. If you said arm, you are wrong!!! When in the air, your hips initiate. You have to develop a stretch between your lower body and your upper body. So your hips fire first by rotating, your upper body lags behind creating a stretch. When your hips stop rotating, you shoulder and mid section begin to rotate creating a stretch in your arm. When your shoulders stop rotating, your arm extends and your hand hits the ball. 

 

Sounds easy right? Not even close. To train that sequence, it requires a lot of repetition. You have to untrain your old mechanics retrain your new ones. I have included some video of those exercises.

Remember practice does not make perfect, practice make “Permanent”

 

Yours in health and sport,

Dr. C

President of Volleyball-Power.com