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Post by foreignball on Nov 16, 2023 19:45:17 GMT -5
I'll +1 onto the positive experience and the weather was great compared to last year. 18 Open is going to be interesting this year. Lot's of three set games in the gold bracket and Balboa Bay 18's got knocked out by Pulse in the quarterfinals. My only issue was that T-Mobile internet service was non-existent in the hall. I was able to stream games on Saturday/Sunday because the convention center had an open wifi for one of the conventions. Unfortunately, that got turned off just after 9AM on Monday and at that point, my phone was in SOS mode until I walked towards the front door. Thankfully, we were able to get minimal signal on a Verizon phone so we could stream our last game. Even then, that wasn't very stable. We've ben to McCormick a bunch of the past 3 or 4 years and it's never been that bad. This was worse than the Orlando convention center and it's always bad. Absolutely the same thing with me when it comes to in-net. I'm practically local and have been to McCormick dozens of times for all kinds of reasons. This place mildly put "sucks". Clarification - it is the place, nothing to do with JVA. Highly overpriced and hitches everywhere. Last year it was $25 admission for the event, now - $35. Parking used to be $20 per day, now - $25. I decided to prepay the parking because I'm handicapped and can't walk long distances. I wanted to be sure I would be able to park. They charged me $100 for the event provided the daily charge was $25. Go figure - one would think it should be the other way around??? Anyway: Monday 9'15 am. I dropped a few boys at the building entrance and went back to park. Surprise, surprise: A huge sign "Full. Do not enter" hanging right at the street corner. What??? I got really mad. Went over the curb, through the sidewalk and presented myself at the parking gates. They looked at me like I had two heads.  An attendant came and asked me not nicely what I was doing there. I explained, doing my best to stay cool. He said that even though I prepaid for the whole event it didn't guarantee me parking space (they did charge me 25% extra, right) They called the police!  A couple of minutes later a police cruiser showed up. A very polite female officer. I got my receipt ready, together with my "trump card" - the handicapped placard. The problem was resolved in 30 sec, the barriers went up... It turned out the top level 6 was practically empty - 20/30 cars there at most. A piece of friendly advise - stay away from this place if you don't really have to go there. |
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Post by BlackAce on Nov 16, 2023 23:05:50 GMT -5
1 of the final 4 16 open teams were from north carolina not california! Oops! My bad. Not sure what I was looking at to make that error. 3 out of 4 from So Cal. LOL I just think it’s cool that a team of that caliber came out of North Carolina. The game is growing! |
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Post by foreignball on Nov 17, 2023 1:41:45 GMT -5
I know most people would take this this post as an advertisement, but to me it is actually a pure emotion: In the 14 Open division the Gold Bracket had 7 teams out of CA and 1 from a NW suburb of Chicago: BVA Lions. The club was founded in the fall of 2019 more like a recreational for both adults and underage. Currently it has a total of 6 teams overall (4 boys and 2 girls). That's it. Our 14 Elite team finished tied for 5th together with teams like Balboa Bay, Surf Asics, Legends, etc. During the road we defeated Miami United, Balboa Bay, MKE Sting and others. We lost a heartbreaking quarterfinal against MVVC (15:13 in the tiebreaker).
A couple of details:
a) I have been around junior vball in the USA since 1999. I have never seen before such behavior from the coaches and team staff like what MVVC people have done. They were all over the place. I assume their bonuses were staked against the outcome. Yellow and red cards flying out, game interrupted for over than 5 min in the tiebreaker. The referee just didn't have the balls to send their coach out. What these people were trying to prove, what coaching philosophy they believe in - it is a pure mystery to me. Even a bigger mystery is who let them teach & coach young teenagers.
b) Team Rockstar was definitely the best one. I had a chance to get acquainted with their head coach. A Brazilian. Cool as a cucumber. In the final they lost the 1st set by a lot. He never raised his voice. He made a couple of subs, he changed a couple of rotations and ... won the title.
Putting A and B together: these kids are not playing in the WCH or OG final. Give them a break... or you can burn them out.
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Post by gofaster88 on Nov 17, 2023 3:16:22 GMT -5
I know most people would take this this post as an advertisement, but to me it is actually a pure emotion: In the 14 Open division the Gold Bracket had 7 teams out of CA and 1 from a NW suburb of Chicago: BVA Lions. The club was founded in the fall of 2019 more like a recreational for both adults and underage. Currently it has a total of 6 teams overall (4 boys and 2 girls). That's it. Our 14 Elite team finished tied for 5th together with teams like Balboa Bay, Surf Asics, Legends, etc. During the road we defeated Miami United, Balboa Bay, MKE Sting and others. We lost a heartbreaking quarterfinal against MVVC (15:13 in the tiebreaker). A couple of details: a) I have been around junior vball in the USA since 1999. I have never seen before such behavior from the coaches and team staff like what MVVC people have done. They were all over the place. I assume their bonuses were staked against the outcome. Yellow and red cards flying out, game interrupted for over than 5 min in the tiebreaker. The referee just didn't have the balls to send their coach out. What these people were trying to prove, what coaching philosophy they believe in - it is a pure mystery to me. Even a bigger mystery is who let them teach & coach young teenagers. b) Team Rockstar was definitely the best one. I had a chance to get acquainted with their head coach. A Brazilian. Cool as a cucumber. In the final they lost the 1st set by a lot. He never raised his voice. He made a couple of subs, he changed a couple of rotations and ... won the title. Putting A and B together: these kids are not playing in the WCH or OG final. Give them a break... or you can burn them out. Unfortunately, too many youth coaches think their entire identity rests on Won Loss Record and miss the overall picture of what and how they can affect the lives of the players they coach. |
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Post by wilbur on Nov 17, 2023 23:32:06 GMT -5
I know most people would take this this post as an advertisement, but to me it is actually a pure emotion: In the 14 Open division the Gold Bracket had 7 teams out of CA and 1 from a NW suburb of Chicago: BVA Lions. The club was founded in the fall of 2019 more like a recreational for both adults and underage. Currently it has a total of 6 teams overall (4 boys and 2 girls). That's it. Our 14 Elite team finished tied for 5th together with teams like Balboa Bay, Surf Asics, Legends, etc. During the road we defeated Miami United, Balboa Bay, MKE Sting and others. We lost a heartbreaking quarterfinal against MVVC (15:13 in the tiebreaker). A couple of details: a) I have been around junior vball in the USA since 1999. I have never seen before such behavior from the coaches and team staff like what MVVC people have done. They were all over the place. I assume their bonuses were staked against the outcome. Yellow and red cards flying out, game interrupted for over than 5 min in the tiebreaker. The referee just didn't have the balls to send their coach out. What these people were trying to prove, what coaching philosophy they believe in - it is a pure mystery to me. Even a bigger mystery is who let them teach & coach young teenagers. b) Team Rockstar was definitely the best one. I had a chance to get acquainted with their head coach. A Brazilian. Cool as a cucumber. In the final they lost the 1st set by a lot. He never raised his voice. He made a couple of subs, he changed a couple of rotations and ... won the title. Putting A and B together: these kids are not playing in the WCH or OG final. Give them a break... or you can burn them out. You have a good eye, Anjinho is the best coach in 14s, he has been coaching that age for at least 7 years now and develops players like few others. His teams are frequently in gold and 2021 & 2022 national champs. He played at the highest levels, BRA nat team indoor and has won AVPs. You would never know it talking to him, ery humble. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2023 15:48:04 GMT -5
I think the Q for C2 18-1 is setting. It looks like they returned pretty much everyone from last years team. So we will get a chance to see how they do without Blanchette running the offense. Even without him, they were a really solid team. Yup, that makes sense, didn’t actually realize he was gone. I’m sure it’ll all shake out either way. It sure did! So Cal came in and sweeped the board |
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Post by coy on Nov 20, 2023 10:08:07 GMT -5
Yup, that makes sense, didn’t actually realize he was gone. I’m sure it’ll all shake out either way. It sure did! So Cal came in and sweeped the board But couldn't pass their ACTs, if your grammar is any indication of So Cal! |
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Post by nakedcrayon on Nov 20, 2023 21:15:08 GMT -5
I was primarily on the 17 – Open courts but I watched some 17 - Premier and I am curious whether there was a point of emphasis for the referees in that division to let a lot of doubles go. I am not a purist, and I recognize the game can evolve, but there were a lot of uncalled mishandles in my opinion. There weren't many called on 17 Open either. I watched at least 10 games and maybe saw 3 calls and all on middles and opposites. Saw a really bad one by a setter and he basically stopped playing and started laughing when the ref didn't call it. Directive was made to allow more play, some officials took that at heart and changed a line a bit, some didnt. Had some courts that required "sun" rules as well where the teams switched sides between sets and if a 3rd set at 8. I thought the officiating was well done for both sides of the court by the matches i saw, whether you liked the line is a different story but the same on both sides of the court |
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Post by foreignball on Nov 23, 2023 9:38:28 GMT -5
There weren't many called on 17 Open either. I watched at least 10 games and maybe saw 3 calls and all on middles and opposites. Saw a really bad one by a setter and he basically stopped playing and started laughing when the ref didn't call it. Directive was made to allow more play, some officials took that at heart and changed a line a bit, some didnt. Had some courts that required "sun" rules as well where the teams switched sides between sets and if a 3rd set at 8. I thought the officiating was well done for both sides of the court by the matches i saw, whether you liked the line is a different story but the same on both sides of the court What I didn't like: a few refs tried to establish themselves as the "main characters" in the game up to the point I was expecting them to get on the court and make some show. They were stopping the game every other play - calling the team captains, reprimanding the linesmen, checking the game records twice per set. I think junior players have to be allowed to play a little "loose", especially in the lower age groups (12-14). The funniest: a ref made a couple of weird calls. After the game he came to the coach and apologized, explaining he was fairly new to the game because ...he used to be in baseball!  |
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Post by nakedcrayon on Dec 29, 2023 21:03:02 GMT -5
Heard that this tourney will move to mid Dec and only be two days but adding a tourney in Nov in Indy
Can anyone verify this with dates or am i mistaken
It seemed hugely popular as a three day tourney in early NOV to kick off the season
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Post by gemstones on Dec 29, 2023 21:43:21 GMT -5
11/16 JVA newsletter "We are thrilled to announce a new three day boys event in Indianapolis the weekend before Thanksgiving in 2024, and the Chitown Boys Challenge will now be a two day event taking place in mid-December of 2024. More information and exact dates will be released soon. Follow the JVA on instagram jvavolleyball for the latest updates." |
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Post by jackson5vb on Dec 30, 2023 22:01:24 GMT -5
11/16 JVA newsletter "We are thrilled to announce a new three day boys event in Indianapolis the weekend before Thanksgiving in 2024, and the Chitown Boys Challenge will now be a two day event taking place in mid-December of 2024. More information and exact dates will be released soon. Follow the JVA on instagram jvavolleyball for the latest updates." wouldn't it be better to just keep Chicago where/ when it is, and then slowly grow Indy in December from a 2 day to a 3 day? Or just make December either SoCal, Vegas, Norcal, Phx or Florida? December in the Midwest could be a weather nightmare. |
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Post by volleynerd21 on Dec 31, 2023 0:01:42 GMT -5
Heard from an official that with the growing popularity of the event they felt Indy would provide room for more courts than Chicago did
not sure how well the tournament will carry over with the change in venues
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Post by gemstones on Dec 31, 2023 0:27:55 GMT -5
Indy is also so so so much cheaper and just easier to get around (unless you're lucky enough to get a McCormick connecting hotel). I know a lot of midwest parents are happy about the change! As long as the California teams go to Indy, all the midwest teams will go. Most only go outside the midwest for one socal tourney (the Open Championship) and nationals. So, December would be tough for most teams. Plus, we can only have so many 3 day tournaments that require missing school in that short period of time (currently that's november chicago, socal, and saint louis).
I'm assuming they'll no longer have the January Chicago tournament, which is dying already. It's the same week as SoCal Open and currently open divisions have anywhere from 6-15 teams registered. For a 3 day tourney.
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Post by MVBFAN on Dec 31, 2023 3:19:44 GMT -5
Indy is also so so so much cheaper and just easier to get around (unless you're lucky enough to get a McCormick connecting hotel). I know a lot of midwest parents are happy about the change! As long as the California teams go to Indy, all the midwest teams will go. Most only go outside the midwest for one socal tourney (the Open Championship) and nationals. So, December would be tough for most teams. Plus, we can only have so many 3 day tournaments that require missing school in that short period of time (currently that's november chicago, socal, and saint louis). I'm assuming they'll no longer have the January Chicago tournament, which is dying already. It's the same week as SoCal Open and currently open divisions have anywhere from 6-15 teams registered. For a 3 day tourney. Chicago January will continue as a USAV qualifier. Or they’ll move it out of McCormick |
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An attendant came and asked me not nicely what I was doing there. I explained, doing my best to stay cool. He said that even though I prepaid for the whole event it didn't guarantee me parking space (they did charge me 25% extra, right)
They called the police! 
A couple of minutes later a police cruiser showed up. A very polite female officer. I got my receipt ready, together with my "trump card" - the handicapped placard. The problem was resolved in 30 sec, the barriers went up... It turned out the top level 6 was practically empty - 20/30 cars there at most. A piece of friendly advise - stay away from this place if you don't really have to go there. 
