Back to School...

Training camp is over. It was a short eight days of practice but all 20 girls made it. Not to mention our seven little New Cadets have graduated to Plebes!!! YEAH! Congratulations to Lauren Wood, Margaux Jarka, Megan Wilton, Megan Forbes, DJ Phee, Christiana Fairfield and Kerry Horan! It's only up from here.

Also, a big congratulations goes out to all our Cows (Juniors) for vowing to commit 5 years in the Army once they have commissioned as an officer in 2012! The upper classmen even bought them pizza and ice cream to chow down on afterwards (see picture). Congratulations Rocky Willis, Fabiola Castro, Kristina Keltner and Ali Giraud. We are all so proud of you!

Now that school has started things have slowly fallen into place. The girls attend classes in the morning and early afternoon then head down to practice around 1500. They practice from 1500 to about 1830 and then back to their rooms to study. All in all it makes for a long day but they are all working hard to prepare for our first home tournament on August 27. Only six more practices until we put it all together against FDU! We can't wait! Make sure you come out and support the 2010 Army Volleyball team!

Until next time....

Beast Barracks 2014

The dramas of R-Day have come and gone and now the seven incoming freshman are in full swing with the highs and lows of Beast Barracks. Fortunately, six days into Beast the girls had the opportunity to attend Mass Athletics. Mass Athletics is a time when the girls get to come down to Gillis and hang out with the coaches for a little bit. It's a good mental breather for our soon to be plebes. On Saturday, Alma picked the girls up for their first Mass Athletics. Even after a long hot day here at the Point, can you believe they were all smiles and giggles? We let them rest for a little bit then let them pepper back and forth and get back into touching a volleyball. Nothing strenuous, just something we know they all love.

The most comical thing to watch during Mass Athletics is the girls who have to wear glasses or BCG's (Birth Control Glass, they're THAT ugly) play volleyball. The BCG's are huge and annoying and frankly to an outsider...hilarious. (Note picture of New Cadet DJ Phee, outside hitter). Other than that, the new cadets got to meet all the Yearlings (aka sophomores) and hang out with them, get their advice and tips on how to make it through the next couple weeks of Beast.

For the next four days, the coaching staff will get to see the girls. Mass Athletics this week is every evening from 1630-1800. So we will no doubt be hearing more about who has the hottest squad leader, which person to stay away from and which squad leaders reaps the most respect.

There are sure to be more updates as the week unfolds. Until next time....

Summer Training...

Cadet Leadership Development Training

Cadet Karen Powell (senior and captian the volleyball team) converses with local villagers at the traffic control point outside the combat outpost. During the combat outpost exercise, companies of cadets were tasked with securing their area of operation from insurgent attacks while maintaining good relations with the local villagers. Missions ranged from negotiations with the village sheik, quick reaction team responses to attacks, medical evacuations and route clearing operations. The three-week Cadet Leadership Development Training for rising cows and firsties at West Point, N.Y., included marksmanship training, platoon attack engagements and urban operations to uncover high value targets (insurgent leaders) as the objective. Photo by Mike Strasser, West Point Public Affairs

Rolled and Ready for Graduation

A Class of 2010 cadet’s diploma with the commissioning certificate on top is rolled and placed inside its individual container May 14. Before they are presented to the cadets, each diploma and certificate is cleaned and proofread for accuracy. It takes about two weeks to proofread and another week to package the nearly 1,000 sets of diplomas and certificates. Graduation Week activities start on Tuesday with the Alumni Review and Exercise and culminates on May 22 with the Class of 2010 Graduation

The Terrible TEE's are OVER!

Friday...today is the day that most students have been waiting for since the first day of school, especially the seniors. Today is the last day of finals (or TEE's). That means only a week until graduation and summer. The students are off for the weekend and return to campus Sunday night for graduation preparations. At least the hard part is over! No more studying and stressing about finals. Just parading. :)

On another note, Army Athletics is taking the Patriot League by storm! Lacrosse, baseball, woman's tennis and softball are all Patriot League Champions! Softball and baseball are hosting the Patriot League Tournament here on campus this weekend while lacrosse and woman's tennis begin the first round of the NCAA tournament! Good luck to all the teams! How awesome is that!?

Well the weekend is only a couple hours away and the weather is nice, couldn't ask for anything else. Until next time...

18 days!

Here at The Point, warm weather has invaded the campus with record high temperatures this past weekend. Temperatures are rising as the number of class days here are dwindling. Cadets are itching for the next two weeks to go by quickly and anticipating Graduation Week, especially the seniors. Rumor on the street has it that Obama might be the key-note speaker this year. But I won’t believe it until I see it. As graduation fever engulfs the seniors, sophomores are struggling with the idea of signing their lives away to the Army or returning to the simplicities of being a civilian. Whereas plebes are just ecstatic that they won’t be plebes anymore. No more walking with your hands cupped outside or hugging the side of the hallways in the barracks or only being able to take one pass a semester. Oh yes plebes, I know you can see the light at the end of the tunnel now! So, for most cadets here at the Academy it is an exciting and scary time of year to say the least.

With only 18 days left until graduation, everyone is trying to get that last homework assignment in, study for their TEEs and say their last goodbyes to friends before they head off for their summer assignments. Here’s to hoping these next three weeks go by quickly…

Penn State Scrimmage

As the girls walked through campus, bystanders gawked at the sight of huge, tree-like girls walking around taking in the history of West Point. That only meant one thing...Penn State volleyball team had arrived. The day was a success. On Saturday morning our girls and the Penn State team got together to run a few drills and get some tips from 3-Time Nationals Championship coach Russ Rose. It was a competitive morning filled with intense drills, hard hitting and all out defense. Penn State even got a tour of West Point. They got to see the dorms, classrooms, Cadet Chapel and ]even got to eat in the Mess Hall. Yummy.

Each team was impressed by the other. Our girls were humbled to have the chance to play with 3-Time National Champs and Penn State was humble to learn about what it takes to be a student-athlete at a place like West Point and the commitment our team has not only to volleyball but to their country.

All in all it was a great day, each team learning a lot about the other. An unforgettable Spring Tournament for sure! Now our team has two more practice to get ready for our last tournament at the University of Rhode Island. Bring on the challenge!

Penn State comes to West Point...

The Army volleyball program will offer a free youth clinic on Saturday, April 17, following its spring season practice session with three-time defending national champion Penn State (No big deal). The clinic is scheduled to run from 4-5 p.m. at Gillis Field House with registration beginning at 3:30 p.m. The Army-Penn State scrimmages, which begin with a 9-11:30 a.m. and session are now open to the public. Whooohoooo!!!

The Nittany Lions and Hall of Fame head coach Russ Rose will tour West Point and eat lunch at the Mess Hall in between sessions. The second scrimmage will take place in the afternoon with a target start time of 3 p.m. All scrimmages are open to the public and will take place at Gillis Field House.

Girls from the ages of 8-18 and with all skill levels are welcome to attend the clinic. One of the young, rising stars within the volleyball coaching world, reigning two-time Patriot League Coach of the Year Alma Kovaci and her assistants, Jeremy Sands and Julie Chester will run the clinic. They will be joined by players from the 2009 Patriot League Championship team.

Depending on skill level, clinic attendees will learn the basics of volleyball and/or improve existing volleyball skills, all while gaining exposure to a collegiate environment and hanging out with the Army Volleyball players.

To pre-register for the clinic, email Director of Marketing Elle Nichols at ellen.nichols@usma.edu or call the Army Marketing Office at 845-938-2294. Walk-up registrations will also be accepted the day of the clinic from 3:30-4 p.m.

Don't miss this chance! It should be a fun day down at Gillis!

If Not Now, When?

Friday the Army Volleyball team had the privilege to have lunch with Jack Jacobs. Army First Lieutenant Jack Jacobs was serving as an advisor to the South Vietnamese when he and his men came under devastating attack. Severely wounded, Jacobs took command and withdrew the unit, returning again and again to the site of the attack to rescue more men, saving the lives of a U.S. advisor and thirteen Allied soldiers. Colonel Jacobs received the nation’s highest military award, the Medal of Honor (Show in picture above, receiving a signed ball from one of our seniors Karyn Powell).

While eating lunch with the team he discussed stories of the Army, West Point or as he called it "The School of The United States of America" and his current job as a military analysis on TV. He was humorous, courteous and full of knowledge. It was certainly a treat for the volleyball team to have the honor of talking with such a great ambassador for the Army.

Other than that the girls had a morning lift and the afternoon off so they could start their Easter weekend off early. The weather here is perfect and this week the team is preparing to travel to Hofstra for their second spring tournament.

Until next time...

Recap...

Well this past weekend was filled with tons of volleyball. At the Spring Tournament that Army hosted they lost to Rhode Island, split with UConn and beat Temple and Marist. It was a good "starter" weekend considering we hadn't work on offense one bit.

Now the girls are back in the gym brushing up on some of the skills that lacked this weekend. It has been a rough week for our players. Not only is volleyball a focus for them right now but it is a "Thayer" week. For all of you who don't know what "Thayer" week is, it means it is a week from hell for school. Tests, tests and more tests. One on top of the other. Since it is such a tough school week the girls had Wednesday off to study and get tutoring. Hopefully it pays off!!

Julie returned from MEQ after watching some great volleyball. Indy was cold but it was buzzing with the hype of the Men's Final Four. Alma is lucky enough to have scored tickets to the Final Four and is headed there this weekend to watch some great basketball and hopefully an upset or two! (Go Butler, go!) Jeremy is off to Baltimore this weekend for the qualifier and some quality fun at the Inner Harbor.

Other than that, the weather is finally taking a turn for the better! It's starting to look like spring outside and the sun is shining! Can't complain.

Until next time...

One day close to our 1st Spring Tournament!

After a rainy and cold morning at West Point, the coaches and players hit the court for an intense 3 hours of practice. Conditioning, blocking, setting and team drills galore! The players responded well after a rusty Monday afternoon practice and bounced back with a very high energy and impressive Tuesday.

As Saturday gets closer the girls are getting more excited to finally be back on the court competing against other teams. The action begins at 0900. Get ready for a day full of volleyball, volleyball and more volleyball. We have 12 teams attending our tournament! Temple, Manhattan, UCONN, Fordham, Hofstra, Seton Hall, Dowling, Long Island, Dominican, Iona, St. John and of course Army! It is going to be a long but fun day of some truly awesome volleyball.

Also this weekend, Coach Julie will be splitting her time between MEQ and the Team Indiana Exposure so if you're at those tournaments make sure you look for her in the black and gold Army gear. Alma and Jeremy will be coaching our girls this weekend keeping Julie updated as the day goes on. She is bummed that she will not be able to see the team play this weekend but she'll survive.

As for the rest of the week, the players are just preparing for Saturday! It should be a great weekend and it's almost here!!!

Until next time...

Back from Break

After a very long ten days all the cadets are back at The Point and the campus is buzzing again with craziness. Practiced started back up on Monday as we get ready for our first tournament this weekend here at Gillis. Only four more days to get ready for our first outing as the 2010 Spring Team.

Julie made it back from Texas after a long week of recruiting. She attended the Tour of Texas Finals as well as practices in the area and even got to go to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo one night! Jeremy flew cross country to California to check out the SoCal qualifier and returned after a very long red-eye flight yesterday morning. Alma held the fort down here at The Point and watched her second love basketball (only second to volleyball of course) and cheered on her team. Not going to give away which team that is just yet.

As for the players, they were scattered all over the place. Rocky Willis, Karyn Powell and our Athletic Intern for next year, Malissa Gallini (in the above picture) all went to London for the week. Not too shabby. Ali Giraud explored France to its fullest and Ali McKearn also went out of the country to the Dominican Republic and came back with a nice little tan. Liberty McEntee sailed the sea on her cruise and even got to kiss a dolphin! (See picture). As for the rest of the team, they stayed in the States. Kristina (aka TINA) Keltner went to visit a friend in Houston while Ari Mankus and Francine Vasquez went back to California to hang out with family and lay out on the beach. The rest of the team went home to be with family and chill. All in all everyone came back looking refreshed and ready for the last leg of this semester. (There will be more pictures to come of our girls adventures over Spring Break!)

Practice gears up again at 1530. Another day to get better!

Until next time...

In full swing...

Spring practice is underway and the girls have been working hard these past two days. A lot of ball control, blocking and all out playing! Alma and Jeremy returned from Denver safely and made it back to West Point just in time for practice yesterday. This weekend Julie is headed to Houston for the Tour of Texas as well as attending some practicing in the area that week. Be sure to look for her!

Only two more practices this weekend until all the girls head in their different directions for Spring Break madness. Today we have weights, a team meeting and then practice. Then tomorrow we have condition and practice to finish off our first week of Spring ball.

Stay tuned to see what happens next with Army Volleyball as the Spring season has just started...

Spring Training!

After a beautiful weekend here at West Point, today marks the first day of Spring Training!!! YEAH! The team will lift weights from 3:30-4:30 and then come to the gym for volleyball practice. A coach's dream!

Jeremy and Alma have been gone all weekend recruiting like crazy. Jeremy finished recruiting at Wisconsin Dells and flew to Denver to meet up with Alma because the talent was so good we needed two coaches in attendance to soak it all up. Both of them will return to the Point tomorrow and are ready to be back in the gym with the team.

Although it is the first week of Spring Training, it is cut short due to the beginning of Spring Break. Since the coaching staff is oh so kind and considerate, they gave the girls Friday afternoon off. We have players traveling all over the place. Some are going back home to California while others are headed to London! I am sure there will be plenty of pictures to post of our team and their travels.

Well it is almost time for day one of Spring training! Get excited!!

Until next time...

And then there were four...

As the weekend closely approaches so does the start of Spring Season. We are down to four days ladies and gentleman! Monday marks the beginning of a new phase in our off-season. Weights, conditioning and VOLLEYBALL will all be a part of their weekly routine from now until the end of April.

On a side note, the assistant coaching staff here at Army is participating in a department wide lunch league volleyball tournament. Jeremy and Julie have teamed up with other people in the athletic department, such as the equipment guys (shout out, see the above picture), in order to bring home the championship trophy for the second straight year! So far the Athletic Department Volleyball Team has taken down Math and SOC for a 2-0 record. Pure DOMINATION.

On a more serious note, Jeremy and Alma (the head coach here at Army) will be out on the road this weekend recruiting like crazy! Jeremy flew off to bitter cold Wisconsin this morning for the Wisconsin Dells tournament and Alma leaves tomorrow morning for beautiful Denver, Colorado for the Cross Court Classic. If you are playing in either of those tournaments make sure you look for our coaches in their black and gold Army gear! Good luck to all the teams participating!

Until next time...

Spring Time!

After being hit hard with over 20 inches of snow this weekend it was surprising to wake up to sun and 40 degree weather! A nice brisk day here at the Point nonetheless. Although yesterday was not as weather friendly, we are inching closer to Spring everyday. Not only does that means warmer weather, spring tournaments are right around the corner too!

The count down continues until our first spring practice on Monday...only six more days to go until we hit the court! March 27th is our first tournament and we are hosting it here at Gillis (the monstrous-looking building that sits on the Hudson).It will be an all-day event with over nine college teams in attendance.

We have three straight Saturday scrimmages to put our hard work to the test. The fun begins on April 10 we travel to Hofstra and April 24 we travel to Yale. But in between those two weekends we are hosting a scrimmage with none other than...drum roll please...........

The 3-Time Nationals Champions Penn State!! This would be a great opportunity to come out and watch some amazing volleyball right here at the Point! Be sure to mark it on your calendars.

Remember only six days until Spring season is underway! Monday can't come fast enough.



Until next time...

Hello!

In the past few years Army volleyball has put themselves on the map in the volleyball world! Now it is time to dive head first into the virtual world with not only our facebook fan page and twitter account but now a team blog! (And if you haven't looked us up on facebook or twitter, what are you waiting for?!)

On this blog will we talk about anything and everything from winning the big matches to talking about which player is the most "brutal" on the team. (I'll give you a hint....she's currently a freshman and loves the Beatles.)

So jump onto the blog train and brace yourself for a wild ride with Army Volleyball! It's going to be a fun one.

Until next time....