Having just read the latest Evening Standard article on beach volleyball i have come to the question of why do most journalists seem to make us out to be a nation of perves. It is slightly embarrassing to be honest....
As a GB athlete trying to get to Rio 2016 for beach volleyball I challenge all those journalists who have criticised beach volleyball over these Olympics to take part in one training session of ours and learn what we have to do on a daily basis at our training base at crystal palace sports centre and see how difficult it really is to become a professional beach volleyball athlete, I can guarantee you will go away with a different point of view and hopefully start to show some respect for the sport that we train day in day out for to fullfil our dream of competing for OUR country in the Olympic Games, maybe then you will start to see it for the sport it really is and not just the outfits, which by the way are extremely similar to those of athletics.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Thursday, 9 August 2012
Tuesday, 17 July 2012
Margate VEBT 2012
Margate hosted the best stop of the tour in 2011, and this year the atmosphere didn’t disappoint, with great sands and great crowds, the first days play saw some great moments.
Centre court beckoned for the first clash against two well-known names of the tour, Christoph Datler and Bjorn Karstens. We were weary of Datlers infamous cut shot wonder we had experienced so many times on the training court. Karstens also brought the signature jump serve that had seen the team through difficult patches in the past. However, we applied the pressure in defence, produced some rhythmic side-out, and went through 2-0.
Renato and Silva tested us as they had Watson/Smith in the semi! They had proved they could play around a big block. They were fearless, lashing at the serve, committing to every shot with great poise and vision at the net. They brought defensive magic, keeping the impossible alive, they weren’t going out without a fight. With some unbelievable form Renato and Silva took the first set 21-18, the first we had conceded for 2 tournaments. Feeling uncomfortable, we had to come up with a solution fast! In the second, nothing had changed, they continued to question our side-out and grinded the ball back into play on transition. We were down, we were losing, the final slowly slipping away. Time-out was called! Our last chance to save the set and maybe the title came with a change of tactics. We had to change the momentum and pushed to close the gap and save the second. Somehow we pulled through with some daring attempts at the net to turn it around and win the second 21-16. Now the chance came to seal the third and take the Masters title. With momentum on our side we were confident but weary. We started poorly, but belief, desire, and a local support wagon of men from the blood of Saint George gave us the pride and power we needed to close the third comfortably at 15-6! It was a victory for the red cross of England!
Centre court beckoned for the first clash against two well-known names of the tour, Christoph Datler and Bjorn Karstens. We were weary of Datlers infamous cut shot wonder we had experienced so many times on the training court. Karstens also brought the signature jump serve that had seen the team through difficult patches in the past. However, we applied the pressure in defence, produced some rhythmic side-out, and went through 2-0.
Before our second clash of the day, disaster struck. MIGRAINE! Jake quickly became very fragile. With blurred vision and Thors hammer bearing down on his head, he decided to battle through like a true solider. In my partners state I knew I had to step up and make his life as easy as possible, we manage to keep Ramses Ballesteros and Jan Kucherko at arm’s length, with the majority of ball coming my way. Then, disaster struck again! HEART PROBLEMS! Before the end of the first set my rapid heart rate had come on. With only a limited time for a medical time-out there was pressure and a decision to be made on whether the game could continue after Jakes valiant effort battling through the agonies of the migraine. With rest, fluids, and a bit of luck, the heart settled and I was ready to chase the win. Feeling as fragile as each other, we closed the first by a small margin. Making a strong start to the second, to Jakes relief the game was over in good time. The next stop for Jake was bed to rest the head and hopefully recover in time for the quarter final, and last match of the day.
Premier Inn, bed, closed curtains, dark, fan, and silence set the scene for Jakes next moments. Vomiting, sleep, medication and an hour later, we were due to warm up on centre court for a match that would see us through to the Sunday, and semi-finals. I stood alone of centre, with the Lithuanian Italian pairing of Davide Grandolfo and Vytenis Suklys we had met in the final at Weston not weeks before. ‘Will he, wont he?’ was going through my head. The fate of our campaign in the Masters lay with Jake. The toss had been done; warm-up had been called, with only seconds to go until the first whistle, automatic forfeit was in sight with Jakes absence. ‘He’s here!’ shouted an on-looking spectator, now one last effort at grinding through pain and adversity!
Vytenis started the first by bring power and pressure on the serve. On a 3rd time of asking we converted play into point and sprung into action in defence. We were split on 2 ends of the spectrum, Jake feeling like Bambi on ice, me, fresh and ready. Although Migraine and pain had struck, Jakes defensive flare had not vanished completely, he created one transition opportunity after another. We managed to stay close with the talented Lithuanian Italian pairing taking the first set 21-15, the second 21-18. Relief overcame all other emotions as we managed to be successful through the physical and mental strains of the day.
Sunday! The semi finals made for an interesting encounter. The two infamous names of Rob Flay and Richard Payne stood between us and a place in the final. We had witnessed Flay and Payne plough through the losers’ bracket of the draw, encountering some chronic physical problems of their own. Cramp struck for every other point, but defensive flare and talent had seen Flay/Payne through to the Semis. Rob, my partner of the 2011 season, and Richard, was Jakes partner for the previous stop of the tour not a week before. We knew each other only too well before this clash between great friends and athletes. We knew we had to play well, the margins remained close throughout. Flay produced some impossible touches in defence as always, while Payne proceeded to execute the first class trade-mark jumbo into the deep corner. However, we overcame the pressure and produced some quality of our own taking a place in the final at 21-17, 21-14.
We were convinced we would get the opportunity to avenge our loss in the final at Great Yarmouth against rival Phil Smith and Russell Watson. However, the other semi produced a Rosol/Nadal style upset! 10th seeds Renato Silva and Ivan Vatolik overcame the 2nd seed and favourites in a 3 set thriller!Renato and Silva tested us as they had Watson/Smith in the semi! They had proved they could play around a big block. They were fearless, lashing at the serve, committing to every shot with great poise and vision at the net. They brought defensive magic, keeping the impossible alive, they weren’t going out without a fight. With some unbelievable form Renato and Silva took the first set 21-18, the first we had conceded for 2 tournaments. Feeling uncomfortable, we had to come up with a solution fast! In the second, nothing had changed, they continued to question our side-out and grinded the ball back into play on transition. We were down, we were losing, the final slowly slipping away. Time-out was called! Our last chance to save the set and maybe the title came with a change of tactics. We had to change the momentum and pushed to close the gap and save the second. Somehow we pulled through with some daring attempts at the net to turn it around and win the second 21-16. Now the chance came to seal the third and take the Masters title. With momentum on our side we were confident but weary. We started poorly, but belief, desire, and a local support wagon of men from the blood of Saint George gave us the pride and power we needed to close the third comfortably at 15-6! It was a victory for the red cross of England!
The sands of Margate have seen the heroes fall, but steadfast in the face of defeat we come home with a win.Thanks to our coach Amanda Glover, DrunknMunky, Dirty Dog and GLL for supporting us this season.
Wednesday, 11 July 2012
Weston Super Mare VEBT 2012
Weston-super-mare saw the tour and its athletes at a new and interesting venue! With firmer sands there were bigger blocks, and bigger swings than we had seen at Great Yarmouth previously. Some struggled with windy conditions, however Jake and I managed to retain reasonable control and grind out 2-0 results against 3 teams on the first day of play.
We were fortunate against rivals, and fellow training amigos Richard Payne and Tommek Lasoki! This third round encounter was an epic neck-and-neck battle against the South African and Polish duo. Both teams put the ball in the net at crucial times, frustration quickly mounted in the windy conditions! With some fortune and high swinging we closed the set at 28-30 carrying the momentum into the second for a 2-0 victory!
The Sunday was finals day and an all centre court affair! We took refuge in the one man team tent with the wind and rain beating down on the Weston front! Puddles formed on centre court, and firm sand turned to sludge! However with the amazing work from the local council and volunteers and a bit of help from the sun the centre court was returned to its former glory. We brought the heat against Mark Garcia Kidd (Magic) and Carl Butcher in the semi-final! With some great swings on the cross court from Magic, our defensive form was tested. After a combination of crushing blocks and intense defensive pick-ups we managed to come away with a 2-0 win after a well fought contest and a place in the final!
Before
After
There was no surprise on meeting our Lithuanian/Italian rivals in the final! They were a hot favourite following great performances earlier in the season. A lethal left arm from Lithuanian Vytenis, and a crafty touch from Italian Davide proved a tricky combination. We had to play well and dominate at the net. The first set was a close fought battle, trading point for point we managed to seal the win by the smallest of margins. Momentum on our side, we managed to seal a straight sets tournament win and the title of Weston-super-mare Champions!
Thanks to DrunknMunky and Dirty Dog for the great gear that kept us in check during a harsh weekend of weather and match play.
Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Great Yarmouth VEBT 2012
First tournament of the year and we were travelling up to Great Yarmouth for the first Volleyball England Beach Tour event. We went into the tournament confident and was looking forward to our first tournament together.
After getting roped into reffing the first game we were to face the Turner twins. We had a very "rusty" start and this continued throughout most of the match, but we got the job done 21-18, 21-12. However we have to give credit to the Turners as they have improved there game alot throughout the off season showing very good ball control.
The second game saw us up against Martinez/Stroo to get into the quarterfinals. A good game on the outside court and we were starting to find our rhythm as a team. Both guys played some great points and we just overcame them by 21-18, 21-15.
The next game was the big one, the one we had been looking forward to since we found out the draw. We had Smith/Watson on centre court on the Saturday evening which felt like about 8 degrees at the time. Definitely took a while to warm up. Some of Great Yarmouth's finest came out to watch who had clearly sampled some of the local beverages (quickly being escorted out by security). We went in with a solid game plan and sure enough it worked, winning us the match 21-12, 21-16. Some huge blocks by Chris helping us on our way. This took us straight into the semi finals on Sunday, and as our coach always says "Sundays the funday".
In the semi-final we had the team from Poland of Wojtek and Irek (not even going to try spelling there surnames!!). Again with a solid game plan we dominated the match and came away with the win at 21-15, 21-15.
Next was the final and it was Smith/Watson again, our game plan was the same and after Perko created a great vibe on centre court we were thriving. The match went right down to the wire in the third set and after we lost 4 match points Phil and Russ took the match at 21-14, 13-21, 15-17. A gutting second place for me and Chris after we put ourselves in a great position to win being 14-11 up in the third. Oh well they say you learn more from your mistakes and we are now putting our weaknesses onto the training court.
A big thankyou to all the VEBT team for another great tournament and we will see you all in Weston-super-mare!
After getting roped into reffing the first game we were to face the Turner twins. We had a very "rusty" start and this continued throughout most of the match, but we got the job done 21-18, 21-12. However we have to give credit to the Turners as they have improved there game alot throughout the off season showing very good ball control.
The second game saw us up against Martinez/Stroo to get into the quarterfinals. A good game on the outside court and we were starting to find our rhythm as a team. Both guys played some great points and we just overcame them by 21-18, 21-15.
The next game was the big one, the one we had been looking forward to since we found out the draw. We had Smith/Watson on centre court on the Saturday evening which felt like about 8 degrees at the time. Definitely took a while to warm up. Some of Great Yarmouth's finest came out to watch who had clearly sampled some of the local beverages (quickly being escorted out by security). We went in with a solid game plan and sure enough it worked, winning us the match 21-12, 21-16. Some huge blocks by Chris helping us on our way. This took us straight into the semi finals on Sunday, and as our coach always says "Sundays the funday".
In the semi-final we had the team from Poland of Wojtek and Irek (not even going to try spelling there surnames!!). Again with a solid game plan we dominated the match and came away with the win at 21-15, 21-15.
Next was the final and it was Smith/Watson again, our game plan was the same and after Perko created a great vibe on centre court we were thriving. The match went right down to the wire in the third set and after we lost 4 match points Phil and Russ took the match at 21-14, 13-21, 15-17. A gutting second place for me and Chris after we put ourselves in a great position to win being 14-11 up in the third. Oh well they say you learn more from your mistakes and we are now putting our weaknesses onto the training court.
A big thankyou to all the VEBT team for another great tournament and we will see you all in Weston-super-mare!
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
Welcome
Welcome to the first official blog from Chris and I. This blog enables us to share all of our experiences as we compete around the UK and the globe for Great Britain with the goal of reaching the Olympic Games in 2016 in Rio De Janeiro.
Stay tuned as we have our first tournament this weekend in sunny Great Yarmouth on the Volleyball England Beach Tour.
Jake
Stay tuned as we have our first tournament this weekend in sunny Great Yarmouth on the Volleyball England Beach Tour.
Jake
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