At the Convention

[Phaedrus]

A lot of coaches are here already, the restaurants and taverns in Bricktown are quite happy about now.

I saw Stanford and Penn State here so I assume BYU and Texas are also here.

Practice schedule order tomorrow, as relayed by the AVCA staff is: Texas, BYU, Stanford, and Penn State.

[Wolfgang]

Give us daily reports. I love these AVCA convention play-by-play details! These first-hand eye witness posts have always been my favorites, whether they're from an arena during a match or at the convention.

[gophergal]

Yes, please do! Do they have instructional sessions? I'd love to hear some of the suggestions or methods that are presented, especially any appropriate for young players and inexperienced coaches. Hate to illustrate my stupidity but the AVCA is for college coaches, right? Not JO or HS?

[beesknees]

The AVCA is for all levels and I would suggest that all coaches try to go to the convention whenever possible. It is a great way to learn from other coaches in both formal and informal settings. It is also great for all the volleydorks out there who love being around all aspects of the game and getting a chance to talk with some of your favorite coaches.

[vbcoachsouth]

agreed, it's for all levels of drinking and socializing, if we could get a play by play, that would be great - who is drinking what, the latest gossip, you know, the important stuff

[MsRSV]

I have been to convention a dozen times, but only as a real attendee once. I think it's fun to kick around and say hello to folks, even if you're just there for the day. Last year I did attend one session and it was awesome, I learned something new about serving!

This year, I am looking forward to the matches and sleeping in. It's been a long fall!

[MsRSV]

Dec 17, 2014 12:11:47 GMT -5 @edge8 said:

Dec 17, 2014 11:31:49 GMT -5 MsRSV said:

I have been to convention a dozen times, but only as a real attendee once. I think it's fun to kick around and say hello to folks, even if you're just there for the day. Last year I did attend one session and it was awesome, I learned something new about serving!

This year, I am looking forward to the matches and sleeping in. It's been a long fall!

Now you have made me curious.   What session and what did you learn about serving.   OKC is a little far but maybe next year we may attend.

I don't recall the name of the session, I was dropping off a package with someone at the session, and ended up staying for most it. The premise was that the most important factor in serve effectiveness was the time from service contact to serve receive contact. They looked at speed as well as time, and I think the top servers were at something like .7 seconds.

It was then fun to watch the college game and see how this played out - sometimes it was pretty obvious.

My personal takeaway was that I don't have a fast arm and don't generate a ton of speed on my serve, but I can reduce the time in the air by serving close to the line and serving low and short, as hard as my wacky arm swing and old shoulder can muster.

[Mocha]

The marketplace is the best part, I loaded up on free SWAG last year.

[bigfan]

How many coaches show up? 500+, 1000+ or more? Does this include all coaches from D-1, D-2, D-3 and NAIA?

[vboldskool]

Dec 17, 2014 13:18:53 GMT -5 bigfan said:

How coaches show up? 500+, 1000+ or more? Does this include all coaches from D-1, D-2, D-3 and NAIA?

Everyone...high school, club, former coaches, future coaches, Olympians. It is so much more than just a Coaches Convention. Registered probably 1000+, add another 250+ in unregistered folks. There is also the PAVO (officials) convention, add them to the mix, and the fans....its a whoooooollllllleeeeee lot of volleyball.

[Wolfgang]

Someone from VT should give a talk about VT (or the perils of online activity).

[Phaedrus]

Dec 17, 2014 13:55:57 GMT -5 Wolfgang said:

Someone from VT should give a talk about VT (or the perils of online activity).

I nominate Wolfgang!

There are a myriad of activities oging on. PAVO, the Professional Association of Volleyball Officials have their annual meeting, they even let them bring their guide dogs into the building. I kid.

USAV CAP has a huge number of CAP, IMPACT, BCAP clinics going on as well. I think there are five or six parallel sessions, two sport courts for the court sessions and a sand court all in the convention center.

Today started with the Pre-convention seminar. The four semi final teams practiced at the venue and the practices were open. There was a time that these practice sessions were pretty informative, many teams now just opt to serve and pass and then play a little bit to work out some issues. They have already installed their offense and defensive game plans while earlier offsite. It is still interesting to look at the styles of the practices.

Tonight is the opening reception and welcome party. The vast majority of the coaches will be there to socialize and imbibe massive quantities of adult beverages. It is time for the women's program coaches to let their hair down after a long season and chill a bit.

Thursday is when the full blown program starts with all the parallel sessions and the opening of the exhibition.

By the way, I am not one to complain about the locale of the AVCA convention, but the weather here has been cold, wet, and extremely unpleasant. I am not looking forward to Omaha next year, just hoping that it doesn't repeat my previous experience with the AVCA convention in Omaha, that slide down the ice covered hill was no fun. It was even less fun trying to walk up the damned hill after the match.

[Deleted]

Any word on the Oklahoma City streets about coaching gigs across the country? Come on Phaedrus, carry the ball out there for the rest of us who have to work.

[bigfan]

Dec 17, 2014 16:54:17 GMT -5 Phaedrus said:

The vast majority of the coaches will be there to socialize and imbibe massive quantities of adult beverages. It is time for the women's program coaches to let their hair down after a long season and chill a bit.

Open Bar?
Is Marijuana legal in the state?

[Mocha]