Thursday June 3, 2010 visit friends

The picture is of Mango Dog with his dog and home in the background.

Today we spent the day traveling around the Island, visiting friends, and then went to Vincennes, where Nanan is from, and spent the evening playing cards (All Fours) with his friends. They made a big pot of Oil Down and the entire neighborhood came by to eat, visit and enjoy the day. It was a nice evening and very relaxing.

Friday, we have a meeting with Mr. Patrick Simmons, Minister of Youth Empowerment and Sports to discuss my report and review the events of my visit. This was truly an incredible trip and I feel we have accomplished our mission. I look forward to visiting friends today and we have a cookout at Nanan's brother's home Winston (Cokie) later today.

This will be my last writing from Grenada.

God Bless.

Respect and Love.

Wed June 2nd, 2010 Senior vs Junior men's scrimmage

Today was a big day. We played the much anticipated scrimmage match between the Senior Men's National team and the Junior Men's National team. The Junior team is comprised of secondary school athletes 19 years of age or younger. At least three members of the Junior team will make the Senior National team (and likely 4) and three may start! The Junior national team is very talented and athletic, but not big or experienced.

The Senior National team, however, is experienced, intense and although not what I would call a tall team, we have good size.

There was a good crowd in attendance (maybe 150 people) and much excitement. We played at the outdoor hardcourt at the Carenage. It seemed the crowd favored the underdog Juniors at the start of the match.

The Seniors won the match 4-1 with scores of 25-23; 25-18; 25-21; 21-25; 15-10.

The Seniors utilized a 3-person serve receive all night and player specialization and switching. There was some confusion, as expected, but more because we kept switching up the lineup so everyone got a chance to play. For the most part, the switching (Outsides always swing from the outside, etc.) went well and I was impressed how quickly we have learned this.

The Seniors ball control was very good and we were able to effectively run our middles at will. We ran mostly 1s in the middle and they were pretty much unstoppable. Adam Laffeuillee was tremendous on the outside and from the back row and in my opinion our MVP. Donovan Burke, setter, also had a tremendous match and could also have been named our MVP. He made good decisions, jump set everything, kept the team calm under pressure, and helped direct the offense on the court. Now if we could only get to play "defense first!" and stay down on defense!!!

Alex, our Cuban outside hitter also had a tremendous match and is a difference maker not only from the front row, but also the serving line. He has a blistering jump-topspin serve. Peter, our right side and libero on occasion played consistent and had tremendous diving saves on several occasions (on the cement!). W also had surprisingly good performances from middles Kimon, Pastor John, Andy, Jensen, and Shak. All ran very quick 1s and blocked well. Outside hitter "Underdog" passed exceptionally well in serve receive and actually moved up in my books as a potential defensive candidate. Solomon (libero) played well as did Patrick on the right side and Junior on the outside.

For the Juniors, their starting six of Greg (setter), Josh and Arnold (outsides), Steve and Darrin (middles), Akim (right side), and Kevin (libero) played tremendous. They seemed confused and disorganized at times with some switching, and other times not switching. They have the talent, now they simply need to learn how to 'play' together.

It was really a great match and the local television station (GIS) was there throughout. I'm not sure they video recorded the entire match, but they were there the entire match and video recorded the majority. Afterwards, Nanan and I had television interviews with Trevor, the announcer. By the way, Nanan coached the Juniors and I coached the Seniors.

After the match, the men made Oil Down (the national dish) and it was delicious! We ate, drank juice and caribs, and visited for an hour. I was presented with a couple of very nice gifts that mean a lot to me because of who they were from. I have made great friends while here and they have made me feel appreciated, respected, and like I sincerely helped them with volleyball. Do you ever feel like words cannot completely express your thoughts....that is how I felt last night with these guys. Shaking hands, pounding fives, hugs, and saying "Thank You" just didn't seem enough from me. But that is all I have and I think the guys understood. I have tremendous respect for this group and wish I could travel with them to the tournament to join in their battles. I'll keep in touch through Nanan though and will be there in spirit.

Sidenote: Skoal is $13.00 (U.S) a tin here!!!! Holy Cow!!!

The next two days I am told we will be visiting friends and eating all day. Nanan said that is how Grenadians say Goodbye to friends. Hearing that made me smile.

Respect and Love.

Tuesday June 1, 2010 Women's national team

One picture is of the Women's National Team (missing 3 starter) and the other is of the indoor practice facility.

On this date, I began my day with a morning swim. It rained most of the morning so it was actually overcast and cool. The rainy season has completely changed the appearance of Grenada. Everything is green and lush, and truly beautiful. It is a good way to see Grenada before I return home.

I returned to my guest house after my swim and began work on my reports. I finished my report to the IOC and now have only my Strategic Plan to complete. It is half done and I hope to finish it this morning. Thursday, Nanan wants to take me around the Island and visit family and friends and we will probably go from cookout to cookout. This will be our Lime day. Thursday is a holiday in Grenada (Corpus Christi) and everyone is off work. This will be a good day to bid farewell.

Tuesday, we had the women's national team practice at the indoor facility in Lacerne. I had no idea what to expect. The picture actually makes it look much different that how it looks in person. First impressions are lasting....and I remember my first impression when I entered the building. It was somewhat dark in there as it is enclosed, however, there are no windows. The walls are made of "holey" brick which provides ventilation. The ceiling is high and there are cement bleachers. The court is recessed with seating high above. The court itself is also made of cement, however, it is painted green. It is a nice facility and the paint gives the illusion of a 'softer' surface and it is fairly smooth. Wind is not a factor in here and that is a different experience. Sand players understand how wind affects the ball and actually the game, but indoor players will not understand as much. I learned the OECS competition will be held indoors on a wood court surface. I'm excited for the athletes to compete on that type of surface and feel we will adjust well. Better to practice in tougher conditions than vice versa.

Tonight we had a limited showing of athletes for practice. We started at 5pm with only 6 athletes. Two more arrived at 5:30 and then another two arrived at 6:00pm. We worked on ball control, team transition, and then serve receive sideout options. We introduced 3-person serve receive formations, but it was difficult because we were missing three starters. They had a championship Netball competition and were unable to attend. I was a bit sad to not see everyone because this was my last practice session with the ladies, however, I understand.

The players presented me with a thank you card and gifts. It was a nice evening and I appreciate their generosity. The gifts were a computer mouse pad of Grenada, and a small tile of Grenada.

After practice, we went to Nanan's house where we had prepared one of my favorite dishes, Crayfish soup. It was delicious. I returned home and sat on my porch for a bit and looked at the night sky and harbor. It was a good day.

I wanted to tell you a bit more about Mango Dog, because he fascinates me. He is an older 'gentleman' and I must admit, when I first met him, I thought he was homeless and a wanderer. He has no teeth, is about 65 years old, very thin, a beard, and greying, longer hair. He talks with a strong Grenadian dialect and I could understand maybe one out of every four words he spoke. Nanan said he comes from a wealthy family and owns several nice homes in Grenada. He has 10 children, a wife and keeper and all live in the U. S. He also has several brothers and sisters that live in the states, as do his children. They all want him to move there, or at least move into one of the nice homes. But Mango Dog says NO. He lives alone in a one room shanty with his dog. He says he's not going anywhere and will die in Grenada. He is well respected for willingness to lead a simple, old-school Grenadian life. One man and his dog....that is his motto. A very unique individual indeed.

Today is a big day as the Junior National boys scrimmage the Men's national team. I am excited for the match tonight and am anxious to see how we perform.

Respect and Love.

Monday 5-31-10 Report and Men's National Team

The picture today is of my buoys. The first bout seemed like miles away when I first arrived. After reaching the first buoy, I would look at the second one, but would easily become intimidated. For some reason, it is a bit intimidating to me to be out 'that' far. The third bouy was not even a possibility...I saw other people swim there and was impressed...but not something I wanted to do. So I suppose, this trip has been about doing what I thought I could not, conquering fears, setting high goals, adjusting goals, learning to stay calm when it would be easy to panic, facing challenges forthright, and overcoming.

Today, Nanan let me spend most of the afternoon working on my report. I finished a major part of it, only to find out I included too much detail....not typically a problem. However, he said they prefer a more general, narrative report and so I will redo that today. In the evening, we had Men's National team practice from 5-7:30p and used this time to prepare for the practice match on Wednesday. I am very excited for this match and am anxious to see how we perform. Last night in practice with worked on serve receive options, calling out the hitters when we are serving, play calling in serve receive, and transition offense and defense. We have spent considerable time on that and I am hopeful it pays off. We are trying to focus on defense with this team and learning how to better the ball and play a very disciplined, intelligent game.

Respect and Love.