THOUGHTS ON VOLLEYBALL IN NZ
I am concerned about where volleyball in NZ is heading at the moment. I am writing this on behalf of the players I have been dealing with this year.
I have just finished a term as the NZ Junior women’s Coach. I also coach the Tauranga Women’s team and the Otumoetai College junior and senior teams. I am really commenting on the state of women’s volleyball but many of the comments could be applied to the men’s situation as well.
I will comment on the various stages of volleyball as I see them developing in the current situation in NZ.
Mini or kiwi volley is flourishing, certainly here in Tauranga, and it is an introduction to volleyball to both very young players and parents. I don’t know how much skill is acquired before secondary school, but it is certainly serving the purpose I have stated here in Tauranga.
Secondary Schools volleyball at junior and senior level is also working extremely well and should not be tampered with. The National Secondary Schools Championship has progressed hugely since it was an elite 10 team tournament many years ago.
Inter-provincial Championships for both Junior and Senior Secondary Schools needs to remain on a zonal basis so the expense of accommodation and travel is minimised, but the players still get to play at the next level with the better players from neighbouring schools. We don’t need huge expense after the players have just paid to attend their Junior or Senior Tournament.
The Quadrangular Tournament (NI, SI, Queensland and NSW) needs to be reclaimed by VNZ as a schools event. There needs to be consistency in the costing for teams, continuity of coaching and coach development and the revenue developed from the Secondary Schools Tournaments needs to be channelled into the event as it is truly a Secondary Schools representative event.
Trials for this event and the U17’s and U19’s need to continue after the Secondary Schools Nationals because virtually 100% of those players eligible can be at the trial.
The U17’s have to give more value for money, $3500 for a trip to Australia is not feasible when a similar sum is being demanded the following year for an Asian or USA experience. The U17’s could be a quadrangular between the top of the NI, bottom of the NI, top of the SI and bottom of the SI. There could also be an 8 day camp where skills are developed and players identified and area teams of older players are invited to a tournament to play these selected teams.
The U19 programme has produced some great volleyball experiences over the last 7 years with 3 Asian Championships, several Test Series against Australia and one trip to the USA High performance Competition. Several of the players in this programme have progressed on to USA Volleyball Scholarships.
There needs to be an U 21 programme developed which could involve overseas trips to Australia, Hawaii, USA west coast or anywhere in Asia. There are teams and clubs in these areas that would be happy to host a team from NZ. There has to be a programme for players progressing out of the Junior Women’s programme. There could be a link into the Universities system here. If we have so many coaches (so I hear) applying for coaching roles, VNZ should be able to staff this.
Club volleyball has really struggled this year and the new structure as far as I can see has completely misfired. Prequalification for Nationals for the top teams has not worked; some of them have got really sloppy in their organisation and commitment to the game. Only having a 12 team Nationals means that some of our younger players, the ones some of us are desperately trying to keep in the game, are not able to attend, as Division 2 players, aspiring to be Division 1 in the future.
I also think that U21 and Senior women’s trials for NZ teams for the following season could be held after the NZ Club Championships. Players could then be identified and targeted for these teams for the following year.
I was very disappointed that there is no senior Women’s programme this year and I fear that regions like South Auckland or the BOP will break away and organise their own tours and tournaments if the National programme is not forthcoming. Programmes have to be worthwhile, sensible and value for money. There has to be a pathway for the very top players such that they can see a future in the game for them.
The indoor and beach programmes need to be fully integrated but each programme able to operate independently, again recognising the worth of the programmes to the athletes.
I would like these thoughts to be circulated around the volleyball community and feedback both positive and negative supplied. I really feel something needs to be done as there really seems little for our players to aspire to past U19 level.
Stewart Henderson.
5/8/2011.

Posted by Stewart Henderson, 27/08/2011 1:58pm (5 months ago)

The third day started well for us with a very tight match against USA Sect C Red (!). We were lethargic and slow to start the game but as play progressed we were by far the most attacking team, with the opposition hitting a lot from 3m and off speeding the ball over our blocks. All the sets 25-23, 28-26, 23-25 and 25-23 were very tight! The third set was very disappointing as we were well in control at the start but lost our pass and gifted the opposition the chance to get back in the game. Katie Adamson (12-2) and Melissa Cairns (16-0) played outstandingly in this game.
I think the intensity of the USA teams and the way they play the game shows up our kiwi laid back attitude to volleyball and this is why we appear sometimes to be slow starters.
The second game of the day was against Ohio and we suffered a 3-2 loss (22-25, 17-25, 25-17, 25-17, 11-15). Again we started slowly (notice a trend!) but played some excellent volleyball in the 3rd and 4th sets before succumbing in the 5th. Again a poor start on receive in the 5th set could not be recovered from. Katie Adamson and Andrea Tauai stood out in this game.
The 4th and last day of competition saw us playing off for 12th-16th. Injuries have now taken their toll on us. Beniece Douch turned her ankle in the first game of the day against Badger (!). We lost 3-1 (15-25, 23-25, 27-25, 19-25). Again Melissa Cairns (14-1) was a standout stats wise in the game. Shin splints and a knee problem saw her invalided out of the next game. The last game was against the Baja region of Mexico. Another 5 set loss saw us finish 16th out of 24 teams from our original seeding of 22nd. The scores again indicate a very close game (22-25, 22-25, 25-20, 25-20, 9-15). A poor start in the 5th (8-1) down at the turn around was our downfall. Andrea Tauai (23-8), this despite sore hamstrings and Katie Adamson (11-1) were the standouts in this game. Shaunna Polley also stepped up in this game to play brilliantly as passer/outside hitter.
Impressions:
The teams get very excited about their volleyball over here and it would be good for some of our junior players to see the way the teams react to winning a point.
Our 3 win/ 5 loss record was probably disappointing, although 3 of the losses were 5 setters. I felt we were very competitive for what I consider to be part time volleyballers, in terms of the way we play our sport in NZ.
Our serving, middle attacking, outside hitting is as good as any over here. Our passing is not bad and got better as the games wore on, we just need more confidence and practice against the tough serving we encountered. The other aspect is defence and going to ground, most of our players are to upright on defence, although again after playing and watching over here that aspect of our play improved. Aneta Buckley (from libero) did a lot of excellent close cover work.
It was good to play the USA teams with their driven attitude and the South Americans with their fire and flair.
All teams struggled to pass some very fast float serving, particularly tough on the women’s net. I notice a lot of the boys players reverting back to very heavy top spin. This meant that there was a variety of serving which meant receivers had to be really on their toes-literally!
The floor certainly took its toll on us injury wise. It was excellent having Debbie Glen Vile with us as physiotherapist.
The main driving force behind this trip has been Jenny Kirk and I’d like to thank her for giving us all the American experience. Language wise and playing level I think this is the way to come, especially if the experience is on the West coast of the States, just in terms of flying and expense. It has certainly been value for money in terms of playing and the life experience.
I hope the girls who could end up with scholarships playing and getting their education over here enjoy the experience, because I’m sure more will follow you.
This is the finish of the coaches blog for this trip, please check with me if there is any further information you want to know about our US experience.

Posted by Stewart Henderson, 31/07/2011 4:56am (6 months ago)

The 2nd day of competition started with a game against the Dominican Republic, a young but athletic Caribbean (11th seeded) team. This match would prove crucial in our final standing in pool play although we didn’t realise it at the time. We were seeded 22 out of 24 from when the team played 4 years ago. We won the game 25-20, 25-14, 19-25 and 29-27. We started the game well in control and with only 6 errors in the second set were cruising. As normal when this happens we started the 3rd set with poor decision making and our error rate jumped. This gave the opposition a sniff and they took full advantage of our lack of focus! The next set was a real arm wrestle and we showed a great deal of fortitude to prevail in the 4th set. Stephanie Pierce, Melissa Cairns and Katie Adamson played very well in this game.
The 4th game against the 6th seeds USA White was the best so far despite us losing 20-25, 14-25, 25-22, 25-15, 14-16. The opposition was close to the best we have played, although they lost to the Arizona Selection (the team we played first, 21-19 in the 5th). Despite losing the first set, we played some good volleyball. The second set started disastrously with a real receive problem against a very good server and despite 2 timeouts, substitutions and receive adjustments we lost about 10 points in a row which we could not recover from. Playing with more composure towards the end of the second set we kicked on in the third and 4th sets to play some excellent volleyball. It was obviously disappointing to lose the 5th set 16-14 after switching 8-5 up, but unforced errors near the end of the set was our undoing. Andrea scored a lot of points in this game and has been an excellent contributor in both front and back court and has caught the eye of several coaches and scouts. Melissa Cairns with her hitting and Amy Hunter (blocking) and Stephanie Pierce had their best games so far. Alyse Barclay also worked very hard to set exceptionally well off some variable passing and Aneta Buckley picked up some excellent balls in cover defence.
Points of interest:
6 subs unlimited is an excellent way of substituting and we need to adopt it NZ as soon as possible.
The Chilean girls give each other a kiss on the cheek when they substitute, I don’t think that will catch on!
Only 2 linesperson are used, but they are energetic and have flags.
Some of the USA teams are very coach driven. Coaches telling the players where to serve, tossing balls for hitters, driving balls at players.

Posted by Stewart Henderson, 29/07/2011 11:29am (6 months ago)

Hello! My name is Yelena Druzhinina. I am 22. I am from Kazakhstan. I am national volleyball player, I have been playing volleyball since I was 10 years old. Is it possible to get scholarship or discount to study in the USA in the college you work in and play for it? best result - second place in Republic of KZ/ Unfortunately in KZ universities dont take care about sportsmen, and I always had a desire to play for my university team. Thank you in advance

E-mail: elena.mostcompany@gmail.com

Posted by yelena, 06/05/2011 5:58am (9 months ago)