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Post by stull90210 on Nov 29, 2021 17:58:18 GMT -5
Not that she would ever get served but Alix hitting Sarah's sets. Anything Alix didn't hit out would be a kill THAT would be phenomenal to watch... which reminds me, you wrote that Sponcil is "one of the best setters". Who would be her equal? With deep-dishing, change of direction, and all the other crap the FIVB now permits, Sponcil's mitts are the best out there... and she knows just how farto push the boundaries, almost to the point of that popular beach game "throw ball", before getting called. I hope you are aware of how biased you sound regarding Sponcil (and yes I am a bruin fan too). Maybe that’s why I tend to be overly critical, but let’s not drag Claes down just to raise Sponcil up higher. Claes has shown improvement every year (as others have said) and all the immaturity issues (while a possibility) are all just speculation until one of them clearly says what happened. Regarding Sponcil, I’d like to see her improve her attacking/side out with whoever she plays with next. Also something that hasn’t been noted much, but I thought that in the past year her defense hasn’t been as good. She always makes the crazy athletic plays, but misses so many routine ones. I think the best comparison is anytime she plays TKN, look how Nuss makes reads and picks up digs time and time again while Sponcil stands too shallow, barely has any time to react let alone make a read (her reaction time is still superb, but she could make it so much easier on herself if she just took one step back on defense). |
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Post by robvolei on Nov 30, 2021 20:29:44 GMT -5
I don’t know? Maturity is all relative… how mature is it to call a younger athlete an “immature brat” when, admittedly, what you are repeating is all here say? Claes graduated high school early to attend USC and graduated USC when she was 21 before starting her pro career (a year and a half younger than Hughes). Some of the “ she didn’t take practices seriously” rumors were from the Hughes camp at the time. And yes, Claes probably did miss some practices and may have been a little immature but that doesn’t make her a “brat”. Do you know any of the specifics of the Hughes/Claes dynamics at the time? Missing practices may have been a result of “immaturity” and not knowing how to deal with what may have been a difficult situation. Despite not “taking practices seriously”, Claes managed to put in the work, improve, and become an Olympian. She fell in love with her coach…not sure if that could be considered immature. Did she team up with him against her partner”? Or was it the coach, perhaps, who may have let his personal life interfere with his ability to coach objectively? Say what you will about Claes, I guess, but young players aren’t always “mature”. Sara and Sarah could be considered “immature” in their actions at times. Hopefully, they will all grow from their experiences. As for why pair with Claes? Because she is still one of the best best US blockers. There is ample evidence that all three have some maturity issues, namely that they are all somewhat locked out of good partnerships based on non-volleyball personal reasons, Claes x 2 which shouldn't be overlooked. Claes/Hughes' breakup, both Kelly's practice issues and Sara's bridge burning and Sara's idiotic rejection of Kerri based on now-expired BFFness are also pretty significant indicators of same. That said, Claes has gotten better every year of her career in a way that Hughes has not. Sara got a tough break when Summer was injured but that was two full years ago now and what has she done since? Looked lousy with Brandi on the AVP and stunk with several partners internationally? Compare the way Claes performed when she got dumped to how Hughes performed when Summer had to stop playing. 2021 Claes is far superior to 2019 Claes. Same goes for Sponcil, but imo, Hughes is actually worse. Hughes really shouldn't be playing with Brandie in AVP events. It makes no sense if she wants to compete internationally. I feel like Hughes has stagnated. She should really be trying to find a US blocker to play AVP and WT. Hughes has the skill and fitness to perform but she needs to invest in a good partnership to get better. I wish Sponcil and Claes would choose partners already. Haha |
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Post by tamz on Nov 30, 2021 20:57:42 GMT -5
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Post by guest2 on Nov 30, 2021 21:13:11 GMT -5
Of all the delusional people who claim to be pro beach athletes this woman may actually be preeminent. "I felt awful that money held me back, not talent or a family who believed in me. It was only money." This woman played one FIVB in which she lost 21-4.......in the qualifier.....to an NVL team. Last year she lost to TKN 9,10 in an AVP qualifier (she has never qualified or come close on the AVP). |
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Post by wilbur on Nov 30, 2021 21:28:33 GMT -5
she shouldn't be so glass half empty... I am 100% confident she has the same chance of qualifying for London and Los Angeles as she had for Tokyo. Go get it!
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Post by tamz on Nov 30, 2021 21:39:11 GMT -5
she shouldn't be so glass half empty... I am 100% confident she has the same chance of qualifying for London and Los Angeles as she had for Tokyo. Go get it! Paris 🙂 |
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Post by wilbur on Nov 30, 2021 21:41:16 GMT -5
she shouldn't be so glass half empty... I am 100% confident she has the same chance of qualifying for London and Los Angeles as she had for Tokyo. Go get it! Paris 🙂 thanks, that is what I meant... but London works too,  |
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Post by ajm on Dec 1, 2021 2:18:57 GMT -5
I’m pretty sure this was discussed here at the time, but several countries dropped out of the NORCECA Continental Cup due to the reportedly exorbitant costs, despite being the last chance for the Olympics. I don’t recall if the exact figure was reported, nor whether it is usually picked up by federations or passed onto the players. I believe Cuba won the women’s berth to Tokyo fairly handily and it wasn’t clear that any other team even had a realistic chance of beating them. Tough break for USVI to not even get that chance though. |
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Post by moderndaycoach on Dec 1, 2021 9:35:22 GMT -5
Of all the delusional people who claim to be pro beach athletes this woman may actually be preeminent. "I felt awful that money held me back, not talent or a family who believed in me. It was only money." This woman played one FIVB in which she lost 21-4.......in the qualifier.....to an NVL team. Last year she lost to TKN 9,10 in an AVP qualifier (she has never qualified or come close on the AVP). If she was really that close she would have went and taken out a loan and figured out how to recoup from sponsors later, this is such a wild delusional post. Also if she was smart, she would have started hitting up SoftServe11 to get in on that amazing chasing gold racket (btw the instagram account has been inactive since July 28......) as he probably would have tried to use his "marketing genius" to promote the fund. |
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Post by beachindoor on Dec 1, 2021 10:23:23 GMT -5
Is Duda and AP confirmed when will they make that announcement. And who will then take the second Brazilian spot?
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Post by newbeach on Dec 1, 2021 21:41:27 GMT -5
I know there were some discussions on this, but we should have a thread for ranking the current blockers and defenders (including new to the scene players /college players and older players still in the game)? Maybe a poll…and then people can comment on their strengths and weaknesses and why they ranked a player higher than another…
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Post by houdini on Dec 2, 2021 3:08:42 GMT -5
Of all the delusional people who claim to be pro beach athletes this woman may actually be preeminent. "I felt awful that money held me back, not talent or a family who believed in me. It was only money." This woman played one FIVB in which she lost 21-4.......in the qualifier.....to an NVL team. Last year she lost to TKN 9,10 in an AVP qualifier (she has never qualified or come close on the AVP). If she was really that close she would have went and taken out a loan and figured out how to recoup from sponsors later, this is such a wild delusional post. Also if she was smart, she would have started hitting up SoftServe11 to get in on that amazing chasing gold racket (btw the instagram account has been inactive since July 28......) as he probably would have tried to use his "marketing genius" to promote the fund. |
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Post by houdini on Dec 2, 2021 3:12:25 GMT -5
This IG post was an ad for the Virgin Islands bank wasn't it? #MorganStanleyGSE #ad We all do need financial planning after all. Nice photo.
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Post by guest2 on Dec 2, 2021 6:53:01 GMT -5
Maybe the most amazing thing about this is that tamz's knowledge of VB Instagram is this comprehensive. |
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Post by dunninla3 on Dec 2, 2021 16:11:29 GMT -5
THAT would be phenomenal to watch... which reminds me, you wrote that Sponcil is "one of the best setters". Who would be her equal? With deep-dishing, change of direction, and all the other crap the FIVB now permits, Sponcil's mitts are the best out there... and she knows just how farto push the boundaries, almost to the point of that popular beach game "throw ball", before getting called. I hope you are aware of how biased you sound regarding Sponcil I leave it to others to determine what my bias is... by definition I wouldn't know. To be specific, what about my statement that "Sponcil's mitts are the best out there" is biased? Who do you think sets the ball better than Sponcil? My perspective is informed by watching both eras of beach setting rules... the original AVP rules from late 80's through the early 2010s, and the current interpretation of the rules which I would characterize as "throw ball", or to look at it differently, to apply indoor setting rules interpretation to the Beach. I know good setting when I see it after 35+ years of watching setters indoor and beach. I will share a bias that I know to be a bias. I wish setting rules would go back to what they were 20 years ago. This would make it harder for taller, less coordinated players who cannot set properly to increasingly dominate the current game. Being able to set used to be a requirement. It no longer is. |
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