Sad to say that the summer is coming to an end. I had many fun times over the summer, including my most recent trip to California to play in the AAU Beach Junior Olympics. (I had also earned a bid to play in the AVP First Championships but due to time & partner constraints I decided to play in the JOs.) My mom and my partner, Elise, accompanied me on the trip. Elise had never played in the deep California sand before and I think we did well for two Utahan girls getting used to the California elements and plays. Utah beach volleyball is so different from the California beach volleyball!!
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| Training with Beach Elite |
Rick Reeve from Beach Elite BVC in Huntington Beach reinforced a tactic we used called "out-of-the-box", meaning hitting the lines on the court and not hitting to the middle of the court where the players are. (That means I got to use my favorite Crossbody/Cutty shots and "Jumbos"!) And we got used to blocking, something you don't see a lot from our competitors in Utah.
Elise was such a fun girl to take on the trip. We went in the ocean after matches, in the evenings before bed we'd swim in the pool, we ate at Ruby's Diner on the Huntington Beach pier, and shared our love for orange Lifesavers mints.
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| This makes the 5th year in a row I've attended an AVP event!! |
We ended the trip by attending the AVP Hermosa Beach. Unfortunately we couldn't stay for the Final Sunday play but we had a blast watching all our favorite Pros! Overall it was an enjoyable and educational trip for beach volleyball.
Since returning from California, I attended the Westminster College indoor volleyball camp. It was very fun and I learned a lot after having my toes in the sand for three months. The week of the camp my family and I were talking about the upcoming high school season and tryouts. Last week I announced that I am not going to be playing high school volleyball this year. The whole reason I play volleyball is because I enjoy the sport and love playing, talking about, and watching all things related to volleyball. At PCHS I have never felt welcome by the other players (with a few exceptions of course). I've discussed my problems with my club coaches, some of the players, and my parents but I still feel leftout and not needed. I still support my high school and friends playing for Park City. I will take the first two months of my Sophomore year to train as much beach volleyball as I can here in Utah and to focus on my education/grades and getting a part-time job so I can save money to live in California next summer and train beach volleyball there. I still plan to play indoor club volleyball season and can't wait for tryouts in November!
Tomorrow starts the two day Utah State Beach Volleyball Championship tournament. I am super excited to maintain my title with Elise as UT State Beach Volleyball Champs!!
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| Elise & I playing at the AAU Beach Junior Olympics 2017 |
Until next time~ Brie
P.S.!!!! I almost forgot the best part!!! This week Rox Volleyball announced that I was the recipient of their #LivePlayInspire scholarship for 2017! Thanks so much Rox Volleyball and all the Pro Athletes and Rox corporate who picked me and thank you to all my friends and family who voted for me!! #BrieROX
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