Rachel Holloway Freemyer Talks Setting
It was a joy to do some video work with Rachel Holloway Freemyer, former All American setter from the University of Nebraska. Rachel was at the Front Range club to begin her preparations for her first professional season this fall in Holland. On the VTS site, Rachel and Jim Miret demonstrate some advanced setting moves and some drills to work on these moves. Also, Rachel talks about her setting decisions and technique in live situations. This is something we haven't done before and it came out great. A brief clip of the interview with Rachel and Jim Miret can be found below.
Video Schedule for July/August
I'll be pretty busy with the Youth World Championship preparation and tournament from July 20-August 22. The team will begin preparation in Tucson on July 20, proceed to Lake Placid on July 29th, then off to Ankara, Turkey for the World Championships from August 12-22. The first pool will be challenging with Serbia, China and Puerto Rico as the competition.
Upon return, the normal flow of upload will resume. I will be taking a lap around the country in the fall which I am looking forward to a lot. Hopefully, I can catch some VTS teams in action.
Recommending Good Coaches
If there are top flight high school coaches that would make positive video contributions to the site, feel free to recommend them. I know there are excellent coaches at all levels and I'd like to provide visibility to top coaches of younger players.
Observations from Atlanta and the Junior Olympics
I must be allergic to the ATL. Once again, Big South in April was the first, I leave with some disease. Perhaps it's mental? Anyway, a couple random observations in no particular order of importance:
- Level of play was ok, good athletes for sure, but not great skill, very average defense. The outside hitters were very good. Hopefully, these players can be six rotation players in college?
- The court set up makes quality serving impossible. The courts are waaaay to small. The athletes, especially in the older age groups need more room behind the courts.
- The format makes consistent play challenging. Too many matches, players going from scoring responsibilities to playing inside of ten minutes. Barely enough time for a bathroom break.The fact that players are used to this format doesn't make it right.
