This blog is a chronicle of my life as a female athlete; the hardships, hurdles, and adventures... Here, I share personal bests and worsts with my biggest supporters (my husband, family, coaches, and friends) and pay homage to all the amazing female athletes who charged forward before me to sit boldly in seats usually reserved for men. Hard work works! Here's why:
On Saturday I went to a running clinic to get more information about the pose method from a coach who has been running the track workouts for OTC since March (Aaron Castillo). He had some good things to say and some drills that helped the group get faster and possibly prevent some injury. There was ten of us and we all had a really great time and learned a lot!
Here's what I got out of it (hopefully I'm not butchering the ideology too bad - haha!):
1. Relax upper body completely (this is a huge challenge for me IN LIFE not just in running)
2. 90 degrees arms (pocket to chin) with loose fists
3. Pull knee up vertically on recovery
4. Foot strike directly under center of gravity
Here's a picture of me running using the pose method:
Apparently, it's supposed to be "good form" that my entire body is in the air... and I'm pretty sure it's bad form to run with your eyes closed no matter what. Eyeye - haha! :)
Oh my goodness! I finally get to share some rare footage of me in the wild! Haha... Billy took this video during our game against Rennes Etudiants Club on Feburary 9th. Rennes is the capital of Brittany (far northwest France) and Tours is the capital of Pays de la Loire (central northwest France), so it's kinda like a regional rivalry... This team is so fun to play against because, even though they aren't very tall, they are dynamic and energetic and go after every ball. Here are a few clips Billy caught from our match against them:
Haha - did you like that premature celebration?? This game (which we lost in four sets (22-25, 17-25, 25-13, 18-25)) marked a five week break from league matches. So, after a little Spring break action, we got back in the gym full throttle this week.
Our next official match is away on March 23rd against Vie au Grand Air de St Maur (a suburb outside of Paris). Hopefully by then my ankles (yes - still sore!) will feel better and I'll be jump serving again.
The husband of my coach
is the Head Coach of the National-Championship-winning professional men’s team in Tours and also Head Coach of the Female French National team (who has been
practicing here this week to prepare for their World Championship qualification
matches against Bulgaria, Croatia, and the Netherlands). So, I spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday watching
the women’s French National team trainings that have been open to the public at
the Palais des Sports in downtown Tours. These ladies totally rock and inspire me by the way they play the
game. Their power and speed is just astounding! They don’t make mistakes. Here is me with my two favorite powerhouse players, both outside
hitters:
I was riding home from a record-speed shopping stop today and a nicely dressed older woman stopped me to ask where the nearest Picard (French frozen foods store) was. After barely containing my excitement about being asked for directions by a (possibly senile?) native French speaking person in the first place, I apologized that I wasn't sure, wished her a fine day, and pedaled ahead. Sure enough, less than a minute later I spotted the Picard. I wasn't going to miss this opportunity to help someone in need (it's a very rare role reversal these days...). So, I pulled a uey to let her know that it wasn't much further up ahead on her right. Nothing like a French Milestone and a good deed all rolled into one to make today a great day!
Yep! This is pretty much how I feel about my game right now!
I am so thankful to be here improving my game with such an amazing group of people. My coach is so incredible. My team is - day by day - making me a better volleyball player, and I hope that by the end of this year they can say that I did the same for them. Oh man - good things are happening! Every practice is getting a little bit better! Getting so much better all the time! :)
We were on the beach and this huge humpback whale was coming up close to the shore and turning over and for some reason I had an exacto knife. A long narrow part of the whale came crashing down on me so that, for a moment, my world shrunk down to (from the ground up): sand, exacto knife, the left side of my face, the rest of my head, a very heavy whale part. I wasn't scared. Instead, I felt pure shock, followed immediately by complete curiosity. I found a way to relax there and to signal to everyone on the beach that I was alright. It wasn't long before I was in front of a mirror in a nearby beach house putting the finishing touches on my white linen outfit. Tim Kelly from Bring It Promotions came in to announce the details of our evening outing (French reality TV show style). Haha - so weird!
It's such a relief that this milestone has been reached. Dream in French. Check. :)
PS - I forgot to mention in my Day 3 post that when I wasn't thinking about Gordon Ramsay's encouraging words, I was actually belting out bars from Sound of Music's "Climb Every Mountain"... (So funny how things come full circle because Heidi Bell taught me to play volleyball and if I recall correctly, she played Mother Superior in her high school play - ha!)
After yesterday's let down of not making the top 14, I woke up determined to play my best today... I was so jazzed that at 6am I was lacing up my shoes to go for a jog through the hilly paths just south of Hotel Dras. The forest here is dense, but the early morning light was cutting through the trees in fabulous shades of pink and gold. I actually stopped and stared - no, not to catch my breath! wink wink - to admire many of the little details about this place... The wildflowers are in full bloom. I spotted two deer and whole duck family (they "kvak" here - ahah!)...
In addition to the ski runs here (which double as mountain biking paths in the summer time), there is a ropes course, a golf course, a slide down the mountainside, two gondolas, a soccer field, an outdoor bounce house, a resort with yoga, swimming pools, a spa, and bike rentals... Oh my gosh - this town has so much to offer! Blah blah blah - Maribor is great!
After doing some yoga on the edge of a little reservoir outside our hotel, I went into the hotel restaurant for an early breakfast. (Have I mentioned how amazing the food is here??) I knew this would be my first morning that required coffee because I was up SO LATE and then woke up SO EARLY last night - I think my brain just needed to process the reality of hanging out at the bottom of this incredibly impressive lineup of skillful players/leaders, and thinking about how I've got to be ready for my close up today! :)
Right after breakfast, we said goodbye to two of our roomies - and five became three. Such mixed feelings!! I'm so excited for them and the adventures they are about to embark upon, I'm jealous of their success, I'm so so sad to see them go... Ahhh! It's so confusing... One second we're picking a girl up off the floor and telling her she has the next ball - the next second you're fantasizing about breaking her legs - haha!
ANYWAY - got ready really really carefully just to be sure my pre-game routine was done to a tee. It was. Unfortunately, we arrived in the gym to some bad news - that is - no more coaches are coming here to watch us... The bright side??
1. We are going to get some much needed down time tomorrow
2. We will receive more personalized attention from our agents/coaches at trainings
3. While we continue to improve, we buy time for the agents to drum up the best jobs that are still out there
4. We might be embarking on a little road trip of our own to visit them
Even with this disappointing news, I felt good as soon as I stepped on the court. No joke - I played the best volleyball of my whole entire life for the next two hours! I know the other girls noticed, and of course, ha! I could barely recognize myself, so I noticed, but it's really hard to say if anyone else noticed... My mission over the next week is to just keep doing things that get attention for the right reasons, and to continue to forge bonds with this incredible group of women... Oh man, I am impatient for the fulfillment of all of our dreams of making a team.
In the afternoon, we practiced again and after lunch, I rented a bike and ventured into Maribor on my own. It felt so so great to be on the bike... (More on this later - hehe!)
It's only the fourth day here and I already feel like I have truly experienced a lifetime range of emotions. I have laughed till my face is sore... I've shouted "let's go" more times than I can count... Sang "Climb Every Mountain", sat quietly, meditated, sobbed like a baby, and screamed YAY! like, well, like a school girl - which is how young I feel to be playing the highest level volleyball I've ever played right now. This experience is like a roller coaster off the tracks...
It's very late, so I must be going to bed now... More tomorrow! Good night!
I wanted to let you know that you will not be on the travel roster this year. I thank you for playing in the few practices and exhibition that we had and hope you continue to work hard to make the travel team in the future. I had to make my decision based on what the needs are for this team and the limited amount of practice we will have before leaving for Kentucky.
From: Amy Moor <tastelifetwice@gmail.com> Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2012 09:47:45 -0700 To: Greg Gibbons <ggibbons@pacific.edu> Subject: Dream Team Hopeful Amy Moor (#23) Request for Feedback
Hey Greg,
Thank you for the opportunity to try out with the Northern California Dream Team this weekend.
I am hungry for feedback that will raise my level of play. Here's what I was wearing both days:
Saturday, March 24th - Gray V-neck and glasses
Sunday, April 15th - Hot pink tank top and black head band
I am prepared to work tirelessly on my own time to improve. I care deeply about people and I am a natural source of confidence and positive energy. If I make the team, I will be your ultimate team player.
Thank you for your time and attention to my request.
Thanks for the email. I won't be able to get to your video until this weekend, but will get back to you next week. I think you are very athletic, but not quite at the level you need to be to make a roster position for this year's team. I will send you some specific feedback and please keep training and come out for next season's team.
How are you? Sorry I have taken so long to get back to you. Like I said before, you are a very good athlete in great shape. Some of the things to work on are your platform on passing. Work a bit more on getting it out early and setting the angle to the target. We are also looking for our passes to go high middle (15 – 20 feet high 5 feet off the net). Work on getting more consistent in that area. The other key area is attacking. Work on contacting the ball at your highest point. You have a tendency to hit the ball on the way down. Also, work on hitting the whole court. In looking at your videos, you had a tendency to hit one area and got stuck outside of that area. I think the best way to improve your game is to just play the game. I think you are talented, but need some more experience to get to the next level. I look forward to seeing you next season.
