September 27th, 2010: Langley, BC
This past weekend the 2010-2011 Spartan Men's Volleyball team travelled to the beautiful Okanagan area in BC to play a three game exhibition tour. This is the 9th edition of the Okanagan Tour which pits the Spartans against the Bears as the feature matches of the tour with the third tilt with the UBC-O Heat.
The Okanagan Tour is the traditional "kick off" of the season. Nothing says a new season is about to begin like the van ride to Penticton on a thursday afternoon en route to take on a perennially strong Alberta Bears squad. The history between the Bears and Spartans is stuff of legend and one of Canada West's great rivalries in recent years. The Bears have been in 8 of the last 9 CIS National Finals while the Spartans have been in 3 of the last 6. In the last 9 years these two programs have combined for 14 national medals. Needless to say these early exhibition matches are often a showcase of teams that hope to contend for the championship every March.
This year was to be no different as both teams return the bulk of their core for the 10-11 season. The first match was played in Penticton, BC at Princess Margaret High School. This was the 6th year the kick off match of the tour was played at Princess Margaret and as always they did a great job of hosting. A good crowd was on hand and the environment was great for an early preseason match. Right away it was clear that the Spartans were the more match ready squad as they went out to an early lead of 18-12. In typical OK Tour fashion nothing was going to come easy as the tough Bears team rallied and tightened up the score pushing the Spartans and just narrowly missing out losing 25-23. The first set was highlighted by a couple middle bombs dropped by Daniel Jansen Van Doorn (3rd Middle) and Josh Doornenbal (5th Middle/Outside) late in the set to seal the deal.
Game two was almost a carbon copy of game one with the Spartans going out to an 18-13 lead with the Bears closing the gap late ending in the same score of 25-23. Game two was characterized by some tough serving from Nick Del Bianco (1st Left Side) and Rudy Verhoeff (4th Outside) combining for 4 aces in the set. The Spartans were working on a new formation that featured three middles on the court at the same time. This is something the Langley squad has been working on since early spring in preparation for this coming season. The benefit puts Verhoeff and Doornenbal in position to get more scoring opportunities while allowing one of the young "giants" to patrol the middle of the court and impose their size. DVD (Daniel JVD) got the start in the "Big" spot in the formation and was just that in the second set.
The third set was a reminder that this was still preseason as Coach Josephson made a lineup error. Lucas Van Berkel was inserted into the "Big" position in the formation but instead of Doornenbal, DVD was slotted into one of the "Athelte" positions. Not a huge deal as Daniel is more than capable of playing the spot though he nor the team had never trained in that formation. The initial confusion of the coaching error cost the Spartans a few early points as they tried to figure out the rotations. After going down 4-8 they caught their game rhythm and pushed ahead finishing match with a 25-19 set win and a 3-0 match win to open the domestic preseason schedule.
After the match the two teams had a chance to catch up as there are a lot of preexisting relationships on the two squads. Many of these two teams have athletes that grew up playing club, provincial and national teams together. It is always fun to compete against former teammates in healthy rivalry. This match marks one of the few times the Spartans have beat the Bears in the Okanagan Tour and after the '09 tour's 0-9 set ratio it was good for TWU to get off the schnide on the first night.
After a short sleep the Spartans departed Penticton for Kelowna and another tradition on the Okanagan Tour...Paintball. Every OK Tour the TWU team does some "team building" by shooting eachother with exploding orbs of paint. Nothing brings a team together like inflicting some pain...with love on eachother. This tradition goes back to 2004 when the inagural paintball battle took place on the fields of the Safari Paint Ball complex. As is the case every year many laughs, yelps, cheers and welts were had. While probably not the most effective prematch exercise the enjoyment factor is worth whatever price, financial or physical.
Later that Friday night the Spartans and Bears resumed the rivalry in a match hosted by the UBC-Okanagan Heat. This match was a mirror image of the previous night with the Bears looking strong right from the first serve while the Spartans struggled with execution. The Spartans did not look like they were prepared for the battle the Bears brought. The lesson of the day was that in Canada West every team is good and it is extremely difficult to beat a good team back to back. Once a team loses they get what we call the "skip" meaning they have the added motivation of pride coming from a loss. In order to combat the skip a team must be prepared to play even harder and battle even tougher if they intend to repeat the same outcome. The Bears utilized the skip while the Spartans did not prepare for the battle properly...another coaching blunder most likely. With that said the veteran Spartans, Verhoeff and Doornenbal, played great as the ability to perform on back to back nights is something they have learned to do over previous seasons. The younger Spartans struggled with execution much more and without a full team clicking it is highly unlikely to defeat a team like the Bears of Albera.
A common mantra for the Spartans is that losing doesnt teach anything, it just revels the lessons that need to be addressed to be attempted to learn at a later date. Winning is how learning is done, the ability to succeed shows that a lesson has been learned. This match put some good lessons on the table for the 10-11 Spartans to be learned at a later date, and these Spartans are good students.
The Saturday of Okanagan Tour is about shaping the identity and culture of the team. The team went to the shores of the beautiful Okanagan Lake to delve into what it means to be a Spartan. Coach Ryan Adams took the lead on this phase as he directed the team in a few "ice breaker" games to get the guys to understand the connectedness of a team and how each action affects the other members. The team was broken up into four "mentor" groups that will remain for the rest of the season. The groups chose names and made fight songs that honored their names. The humor and creativity of these lads never ceases to amaze as the Hammer, Humans, Babushkas and Derek Thiessen led Lights Out showcased their songs and...dances???
All joking aside the team got into some great discussion surrounding identity and culture. What a Spartan is, was and what they want this edition of Spartan Men's Volleyball to be. The legacy of this program is deep and the future is bright with this group. The exercises shared on the shore are crutial to the forming of the team. This day was special and was capped off with a Bible study on the Holy Spirit and what it means to be filled with the Spirit.
The spiritual focus that began in Russia has clearly remained a central theme for this team. A number of innitiatives have been laid out by the leaders of the team that will continue to push, challenge, encourage and develop these young men to be better men, teammates and children of God as the season progresses.
The first of these innitiatives began that evening as the team gathered in the team room at the UBC-O gymnasium. The act of communion between believers in rememberance of Christ's sacrifice is one that has been shared by believers since mere days before the beginning of Christianity. This is something that this team has decided was important to share in as they continue to develop the unity that community is based upon. Marc Howatson shared the history behind the tradition and then the team served eachother as Jesus did during the Last Supper. It was a great time of community and unity and set the team in a great frame of mind providing perspective and balance as they prepared for the final match of the Okanagan Tour.
The Saturday match was against the UBC-O Heat who will begin their innagural season in the Canada West the fall of 2011. They are coming off a CCAA National Bronze medal the year before and their team has improved with the addition of former T-Bird Greg (uh-oh) Niemasvadriet (sorry Greg, I tried) and the development of newly named Junior National Team Middle Blocker Chris Howe. These two talents along with 4th year setter Preston Tucker (Team BC Canada Games) and studly outside hitter Nate Speijer make the Heat a tough opponent for the Spartans. This match was to be the first domestic test for the "next" Spartan cycle. The Spartan babies and toddlers got the start: Del Bianco (1st), Thiessen (1st Medical Red Shirt), Schmidt (1st), Van Berkel (2nd), Kufske (2nd) and DVD (3rd). Add in Ben Ball (4th) and the young Spartan lineup got their first match together on home soil. The Heat were just that from the baseline giving the Spartans a lot of trouble in reception. As the young Spartans battled they began to fine their rhythm and Lights Out himself (Derek Thiessen) ended the first set on a brilliant lane fill C Ball kill to end the set 25-21.
Set two saw the Spartans continue to get more comfortable with eachother and their opponents and their play improved. Unfortunately the injury bug followed the Spartans back to Canada but bit the Heat this time. Just after pumping a ball, Chris Howe rolled an ankle and was out of the match. This was a blow to both teams as Chris is one of the main degrees of the Heat. He also is one of those players who is a lot of fun to compete against as his zest and love of...well, everything is infectious. One of the few players who cheers for every good play be it friend or foe. It was too bad he had to leave the match, but as the Spartans know all to well, injuries are part of the game (we miss you Marc...soon). The Spartans finished off the second set 25-21 with some middle dominance by the giants DVD & Berks.
Set three saw freshman setter Micah Jansen Van Doorn get the start. The last in the JVD clan that now has four siblings to have donned the Blue & White. Micah did a great job taking over for veteran (wierd to type) Ben Ball in guiding the Spartan offense. The lads didnt skip a beat and after a few reception issues early found great rhythm and defeated the Heat 25-19 and redeemed a 0-3 beating from last year's tour.
The match concluded with another innitiative this year's team wants to start as all of the Spartan Faithful in attendance joined the team on the court post game for a prayer time of thanks to God for the opportunity to worship through sport. A time of fellowship with some of the Heat players and coaches followed and then it was time to jump into the vans and head back to Langley.
The Okanagan Tour is a time to kick off the season, begin to form as a team, begin to lay the ground work for this year's culture and take the first steps on the journey of a season. It was a great first weekend of the season. The lessons learned and tabled from Russia were still with the team. New ones were learned and revealed. God was glorified and of course...
Go Spartans!!!
2012 CIS National Champs
Monday, September 27, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Spartans: Week 2 - Okanagan Tour Week
September 20th, 2010 - Langley, BC
This marks the beginning of week 2 for the 2010-2011 edition of the TWU Spartan Men's Volleyball Team. Considering the season has been going for 16 days prior to the official week 1 in Russia things are going exceedingly well. The team after coming back from Russia is quite beat up. The 10 matches in 12 days with little to no therapy and no ice (come on, no ice in Russia what are the odds) meant the nagging injuries or hurts went unattended and began to really nag the athletes. A lot of the Spartans were playing during the summer and many picked up "overuse" hurts (are you hurt or are you injured...hurt players can play, injured players cannot) that now have to be attended to.
This is to be a short week with the team departing for the annual Okanagan Tour with the University of Alberta Bears and the UBC-Okanagan Heat. The first game of the tour will be thursday night, September 23rd versus the Bears in Penticton, BC. Game 2 will be Friday, September 24th against those same Bears from Alberta but in Kelowna at the beautiful UBC-Okanagan campus at 8pm. The final match of the tour will be against future Canada West rival beginning fall of 2011, the UBC-O Heat.
This Okanagan Tour is a long time Spartan tradition as the Spartans and Bears have been doing this exhibition tour for around eight seasons with some epic matches being played. This year's edition of the tour looks to be just as exciting as previous years with both Alberta and TWU medalling at last year's CIS National Championship in Kamloops (Alberta 3rd, TWU 2nd). Both perennial contenders for the CIS Title will be in the hunt again this year as the two squads return the bulk of their starting line ups from a year ago.
Adding to the excitement this year will be the match against the Heat of UBC-O. One year ago the CCAA Bronze medalists beat the Spartans in a laugher 3-0. The Heat, who will begin CIS play in the fall of 2011 boast a great CCAA line up that will be able to make the jump to Canada West play quite smoothly under the leadership of coach Greg "Potsy" Poitras. A coach with one of the best down ball arms around has put together a very physical team led by Canadian Junior National Team middle blocker Chris Howe and the BCCAA's most dominant outside hitter Nate Speijer. While the Spartans look to avoid another defeat the Heat will look to cut their Canwest teeth in preparation for their move to the big leagues.
The Spartans, who in recent years, have struggled in the preseason look to start the 10-11 campaign in style. A year ago the TWU squad only won one preseason match against Canadian competition. This year the Spartans head to the Okanagan with a number more matches under their belt from the Russian Tour. That match experience on a young Spartan squad, seems like we say that every year somehow, should allow the Spartans to play beyond their 8 practice experience.
Look for TWU to play a variety of line ups in the matches this weekend as they look to find the right combination of players to fill the gaps left by Steve Marshal & Paul Linemulder's departure from last season's silver medal winning team. The projected left sides Marc Howatson and Brad Kufske are both out with injury and will not be available to play this weekend so the question of left side play will remain open. Mikiah Schalk (5th year), freshman Nick Del Bianco and former middle Rudy Verhoeff will shoulder most of the load in the passing attacker (noosh) role.
The surprise of the preseason training has been the play of Daniel Jansen Van Doorn who put a ton of work into getting himself ready for this season in his off season training. His hard work has paid dividends as his testing numbers were off the charts . DVD, as he is affectionately called by teammates, tied for the hightest spike touch at 11'7 and was half an inch off Spartan legend Chris Meehan's block touch record of 10'10.5". Dan's numbers put him along side many international middle blocker's jump testing numbers. His 6'11 wing span is an imposing figure to go along with a 6'8 frame.
Along with Dan, 4th year setter Ben Ball has been extremely impressive in preseason training and on the Russian Tour. Ben is heading into his 4th year and has started all but his first semester as a Spartan. As one of the most gifted athletes ever to wear a Spartan uniform he is the engine that runs the Spartan machine and he has never looked better than he has this fall. His physical testing numbers were impressive but so too has his playmaking ability. Look for Ben to turn heads this year and the Spartans try to defend their title as the top attacking team in Canada West (1st in Kills/Game).
Finally, the biggest question, both in and out of the Spartan camp has been who will pick up the kills left by departing all conference player and Spartan kill leader Steve Marshall. The easy answer was Marc Howatson but with his ankle injury making him unavailable until at least mid-semester the role goes to fellow National Team member Rudy Verhoeff who looks to make the move to the wing for the first time in his CIS career. Rudy was among the top middles in the CIS the past two seasons but now he must reprove himself as a wing player. For those who know Rudy it comes as no surprise that he has worked very hard improving his physicality, passing and attacking ability. He tested at 11'6, up from 11'4, and has become a very stable passer. His lightning fast arm and aggressive nature make him a very potent offensive force potentially and a more than adaquate replacement for Marshall on the wing.
With their ticket already booked to the National Championship this March by way of the host berth the Spartans have the entire season to find the right combination of players, style of play and mentality to make a run to return to the National Final...this time with hopes of a different outcome.
This quest begins in just three days...the Faithful, Spartans, Bears & Heat are all excited to see what awaits this weekend in the beautiful interior BC towns of Penticton and Kelowna. Stay tuned to this blog & gospartans.ca for match details.
Go Spartans!!!
This marks the beginning of week 2 for the 2010-2011 edition of the TWU Spartan Men's Volleyball Team. Considering the season has been going for 16 days prior to the official week 1 in Russia things are going exceedingly well. The team after coming back from Russia is quite beat up. The 10 matches in 12 days with little to no therapy and no ice (come on, no ice in Russia what are the odds) meant the nagging injuries or hurts went unattended and began to really nag the athletes. A lot of the Spartans were playing during the summer and many picked up "overuse" hurts (are you hurt or are you injured...hurt players can play, injured players cannot) that now have to be attended to.
This is to be a short week with the team departing for the annual Okanagan Tour with the University of Alberta Bears and the UBC-Okanagan Heat. The first game of the tour will be thursday night, September 23rd versus the Bears in Penticton, BC. Game 2 will be Friday, September 24th against those same Bears from Alberta but in Kelowna at the beautiful UBC-Okanagan campus at 8pm. The final match of the tour will be against future Canada West rival beginning fall of 2011, the UBC-O Heat.
This Okanagan Tour is a long time Spartan tradition as the Spartans and Bears have been doing this exhibition tour for around eight seasons with some epic matches being played. This year's edition of the tour looks to be just as exciting as previous years with both Alberta and TWU medalling at last year's CIS National Championship in Kamloops (Alberta 3rd, TWU 2nd). Both perennial contenders for the CIS Title will be in the hunt again this year as the two squads return the bulk of their starting line ups from a year ago.
Adding to the excitement this year will be the match against the Heat of UBC-O. One year ago the CCAA Bronze medalists beat the Spartans in a laugher 3-0. The Heat, who will begin CIS play in the fall of 2011 boast a great CCAA line up that will be able to make the jump to Canada West play quite smoothly under the leadership of coach Greg "Potsy" Poitras. A coach with one of the best down ball arms around has put together a very physical team led by Canadian Junior National Team middle blocker Chris Howe and the BCCAA's most dominant outside hitter Nate Speijer. While the Spartans look to avoid another defeat the Heat will look to cut their Canwest teeth in preparation for their move to the big leagues.
The Spartans, who in recent years, have struggled in the preseason look to start the 10-11 campaign in style. A year ago the TWU squad only won one preseason match against Canadian competition. This year the Spartans head to the Okanagan with a number more matches under their belt from the Russian Tour. That match experience on a young Spartan squad, seems like we say that every year somehow, should allow the Spartans to play beyond their 8 practice experience.
Look for TWU to play a variety of line ups in the matches this weekend as they look to find the right combination of players to fill the gaps left by Steve Marshal & Paul Linemulder's departure from last season's silver medal winning team. The projected left sides Marc Howatson and Brad Kufske are both out with injury and will not be available to play this weekend so the question of left side play will remain open. Mikiah Schalk (5th year), freshman Nick Del Bianco and former middle Rudy Verhoeff will shoulder most of the load in the passing attacker (noosh) role.
The surprise of the preseason training has been the play of Daniel Jansen Van Doorn who put a ton of work into getting himself ready for this season in his off season training. His hard work has paid dividends as his testing numbers were off the charts . DVD, as he is affectionately called by teammates, tied for the hightest spike touch at 11'7 and was half an inch off Spartan legend Chris Meehan's block touch record of 10'10.5". Dan's numbers put him along side many international middle blocker's jump testing numbers. His 6'11 wing span is an imposing figure to go along with a 6'8 frame.
Along with Dan, 4th year setter Ben Ball has been extremely impressive in preseason training and on the Russian Tour. Ben is heading into his 4th year and has started all but his first semester as a Spartan. As one of the most gifted athletes ever to wear a Spartan uniform he is the engine that runs the Spartan machine and he has never looked better than he has this fall. His physical testing numbers were impressive but so too has his playmaking ability. Look for Ben to turn heads this year and the Spartans try to defend their title as the top attacking team in Canada West (1st in Kills/Game).
Finally, the biggest question, both in and out of the Spartan camp has been who will pick up the kills left by departing all conference player and Spartan kill leader Steve Marshall. The easy answer was Marc Howatson but with his ankle injury making him unavailable until at least mid-semester the role goes to fellow National Team member Rudy Verhoeff who looks to make the move to the wing for the first time in his CIS career. Rudy was among the top middles in the CIS the past two seasons but now he must reprove himself as a wing player. For those who know Rudy it comes as no surprise that he has worked very hard improving his physicality, passing and attacking ability. He tested at 11'6, up from 11'4, and has become a very stable passer. His lightning fast arm and aggressive nature make him a very potent offensive force potentially and a more than adaquate replacement for Marshall on the wing.
With their ticket already booked to the National Championship this March by way of the host berth the Spartans have the entire season to find the right combination of players, style of play and mentality to make a run to return to the National Final...this time with hopes of a different outcome.
This quest begins in just three days...the Faithful, Spartans, Bears & Heat are all excited to see what awaits this weekend in the beautiful interior BC towns of Penticton and Kelowna. Stay tuned to this blog & gospartans.ca for match details.
Go Spartans!!!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Spartans in Russia 15
September 11th, 2010: Moscow, Russia
The final day of our Russia Tour and the team was very excited for it. The volleyball portion is over and now it is just the tourist in us left. As usual we started early and we have to just to get anywhere in the chaos that is Moscow traffic. The first stop of the day was a Russian market…aka tourist trap.
There are a lot of questions in this world. One of which that comes to mind is how fly paper works. The coiled, dangling sticky strip of substance that does not replicate anything in nature is something that, apparently, is irresistible for flies. Now why would that be? Does it smell? Is it shiny or sparkly to fly eyes? Or is it one of those forbidden fruit things that’s just too tempting to resist? I think it is door number three and I ask the question because these open air markets are like fly paper for tourists. It smells (usually), there are a lot of things that are shiny ‘n sparkly and it is one of those places where you know what is about to happen, not much of it good, but yet you cannot resist going to “just see what it is.” You know you are about to spend way too much money buying things you don’t need because you talked the vendor down 20% from the asking price when we all know full well its marked up 80% from cost. Even with all of that knowledge we LOVE it and just have to get stuck to it.
As far as tourist fly paper goes, this was as good as it gets. English speaking people everywhere, completely ignorant to the allure of the place. More than willing to open up their waist belts, cleverly hidden underneath their shirts so that no one can quickly steal their stuff but they can slowly and very conspiculously show the world that they haven’t worked out or eaten well while on vacation. Of course by ‘they’ I really mean ‘we.’
This was the Russian mega market. There were four primary categories of what was for sale and each grouping was more tempting than the one before. First you had the Mafia Attire and this included fur hats, leather coats, track suits, watches & jewelry. The next level up were the old things that were being sold to westerners as antiques. Now lets be honest, aren’t antiques just old things everywhere, why is Russia any different. The difference is at this market you can buy authentic Russian old things…sorry antiques. They are much nicer than the non-authentic Russian antiques that immigrated to North America. The third category at this mega market were the things that recalled the Soviet days. This concept is amusing in that the Russian people have come so far and worked so hard to leave the communist regime behind yet they print CCCP and KGB on any and everything they think a westerner will buy. Lighters, flasks, collapsing shot glasses, shot glass sets, cigarette cases, wallets, and on and on. All with the hammer and sickle, all red and all marked up to turn a huge profit. Come to think of it, maybe this really is a sign of capitalist Russia peddling the supply of their history to the demand of the needy…sorry…greedy.
The final category and the one that dominated Spartan shopping bags were the “authentic” Russian souvaneirs. This of course was the famous Russian nesting dolls. The variety of these dolls was mind bottling. The traditional red, shiny dolls were there but so too were the blue, yellow and green ones. All of Roy G. Biv’s colours were represented in force. That wasn’t the half of it though. The themed dolls were the most entertaining. Every sports team in the world it seemed had its own nesting dolls. From the Capitals to the Yankees to Chelsea FC to the greatest franchise in the history of sport…the Green Bay Packers. As the dolls got smaller the star power represented was smaller. Aaron Rogers opened up to reveal Greg Jennings, who opened to Donald Driver who led to Ryan Grant, etc. They even had a nesting doll with the image of the unspeakable name in sports. It starts with a B the middle part is rett Fav and ends in FILTHY TRAITOR. The themes didn’t end with sports teams. These dolls were used for political statements with past presidents and prime ministers of Russia and the USA represented. There was Metallica and The Doors doll sets, Russian hockey sets. You name it and I’m sure you could find a Russian doll set to match. It was a Russian nesting doll smorgosboard.
With all that said it was a lot of fun to search for souveneirs and trinkets to bring back for friends, family and sponsors. The guys had a lot of fun searching for a little piece of Russia to bring back to Canada. Though we are bringing back so many souveneirs that we had to apply for an importer’s liscence they are not the most plentiful thing we are bringing back with us. That spot is reserved for the memories and stories that we’ve picked up along the way. Though we have tried to keep up with the stories through the blog, pictures, video, twitter and email there is really no way of fully communicating all that went on here on this tour.
A phrase we use a lot on our team is stolen from the Friday Night Lights movie and it is “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts.” The line has to do with the way in which we approach each day and each match. With eyes wide open ready to experience whatever God has in store for us. Also with hearts full of love to share with all of those we come in contact with be it friend or foe, Spartan or not, Russian or…well…Russian mostly. As far as I can tell these young Spartan men are returning to Canada with very full hearts and misty eyes which may not be as catchy but is both more accurate and indicative of their hearts’ fullness.
Go Spartans!!!
The final day of our Russia Tour and the team was very excited for it. The volleyball portion is over and now it is just the tourist in us left. As usual we started early and we have to just to get anywhere in the chaos that is Moscow traffic. The first stop of the day was a Russian market…aka tourist trap.
There are a lot of questions in this world. One of which that comes to mind is how fly paper works. The coiled, dangling sticky strip of substance that does not replicate anything in nature is something that, apparently, is irresistible for flies. Now why would that be? Does it smell? Is it shiny or sparkly to fly eyes? Or is it one of those forbidden fruit things that’s just too tempting to resist? I think it is door number three and I ask the question because these open air markets are like fly paper for tourists. It smells (usually), there are a lot of things that are shiny ‘n sparkly and it is one of those places where you know what is about to happen, not much of it good, but yet you cannot resist going to “just see what it is.” You know you are about to spend way too much money buying things you don’t need because you talked the vendor down 20% from the asking price when we all know full well its marked up 80% from cost. Even with all of that knowledge we LOVE it and just have to get stuck to it.
As far as tourist fly paper goes, this was as good as it gets. English speaking people everywhere, completely ignorant to the allure of the place. More than willing to open up their waist belts, cleverly hidden underneath their shirts so that no one can quickly steal their stuff but they can slowly and very conspiculously show the world that they haven’t worked out or eaten well while on vacation. Of course by ‘they’ I really mean ‘we.’
This was the Russian mega market. There were four primary categories of what was for sale and each grouping was more tempting than the one before. First you had the Mafia Attire and this included fur hats, leather coats, track suits, watches & jewelry. The next level up were the old things that were being sold to westerners as antiques. Now lets be honest, aren’t antiques just old things everywhere, why is Russia any different. The difference is at this market you can buy authentic Russian old things…sorry antiques. They are much nicer than the non-authentic Russian antiques that immigrated to North America. The third category at this mega market were the things that recalled the Soviet days. This concept is amusing in that the Russian people have come so far and worked so hard to leave the communist regime behind yet they print CCCP and KGB on any and everything they think a westerner will buy. Lighters, flasks, collapsing shot glasses, shot glass sets, cigarette cases, wallets, and on and on. All with the hammer and sickle, all red and all marked up to turn a huge profit. Come to think of it, maybe this really is a sign of capitalist Russia peddling the supply of their history to the demand of the needy…sorry…greedy.
The final category and the one that dominated Spartan shopping bags were the “authentic” Russian souvaneirs. This of course was the famous Russian nesting dolls. The variety of these dolls was mind bottling. The traditional red, shiny dolls were there but so too were the blue, yellow and green ones. All of Roy G. Biv’s colours were represented in force. That wasn’t the half of it though. The themed dolls were the most entertaining. Every sports team in the world it seemed had its own nesting dolls. From the Capitals to the Yankees to Chelsea FC to the greatest franchise in the history of sport…the Green Bay Packers. As the dolls got smaller the star power represented was smaller. Aaron Rogers opened up to reveal Greg Jennings, who opened to Donald Driver who led to Ryan Grant, etc. They even had a nesting doll with the image of the unspeakable name in sports. It starts with a B the middle part is rett Fav and ends in FILTHY TRAITOR. The themes didn’t end with sports teams. These dolls were used for political statements with past presidents and prime ministers of Russia and the USA represented. There was Metallica and The Doors doll sets, Russian hockey sets. You name it and I’m sure you could find a Russian doll set to match. It was a Russian nesting doll smorgosboard.
With all that said it was a lot of fun to search for souveneirs and trinkets to bring back for friends, family and sponsors. The guys had a lot of fun searching for a little piece of Russia to bring back to Canada. Though we are bringing back so many souveneirs that we had to apply for an importer’s liscence they are not the most plentiful thing we are bringing back with us. That spot is reserved for the memories and stories that we’ve picked up along the way. Though we have tried to keep up with the stories through the blog, pictures, video, twitter and email there is really no way of fully communicating all that went on here on this tour.
A phrase we use a lot on our team is stolen from the Friday Night Lights movie and it is “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts.” The line has to do with the way in which we approach each day and each match. With eyes wide open ready to experience whatever God has in store for us. Also with hearts full of love to share with all of those we come in contact with be it friend or foe, Spartan or not, Russian or…well…Russian mostly. As far as I can tell these young Spartan men are returning to Canada with very full hearts and misty eyes which may not be as catchy but is both more accurate and indicative of their hearts’ fullness.
Go Spartans!!!
Spartans in Russia 14
September 10th, 2010: Moscow, Russia
This was the final day of the volleyball phase of the Russia Tour. It began early and ended late but all was great. The first match was to be against a team in the Dynamo Moscow club system. When we arrived we discovered the match would be played in a forest. As we walked into the university that was “home base” to our opponents, Dynamo Olymp, we were dwarfed by the giant, young, trees. We had heard the night before that this team was going to be big and could block well but we did not realize that what they meant was they blocked out the sun. Six foot six to six foot ten was the height range of our opponents. To make things more impressive was their age range was 15 to 19. This team is the “youth” development team for the parent club Dynamo Moscow. They compete in a Russian professional league called 1st Division. This league mandates that all athletes must be under 20. Apparently the team graduated 7 players from the previous year’s team to the High League A development team. The Russian development system is complex but we think that we’ve figured it out:
Sport School: Volleyball Focus (15-17 years)
Club Youth Development Team (15-19 years)
Sport University: Volleyball Focus (17-21 years)
Club Development Team: High League A/B (20-24)
Advanced University Training: Non-Volleyball Focus (21-25)
Superleage Professional / High League A (20-40)
Pro Leagues:
1st Division (Dynamo Olymp – today’s team)
High League B (the team we played when Marc got hurt)
High League A (most of the players from the sport university)
Super League (Kazan, Dynamo Moscow, etc)
Now that it is as clear to you as it is to me (note the hint of sarcasm) we can move on. Where were we…oh yes…the forest. We quickly changed as we were running late, standard for the Spartans in this country. When we hit the court our opponents looked even bigger than they did in the lobby. We had a chance to talk with the coach and the intimidation continued as we discovered he had coached in Brazil and hadn’t lost a major competition the entire time he was there. He started name-dropping, usually not a desirable practice, unless of course you are dropping names like Sergio, Gustavo and Heller (all gold medalists with Brazil and legends of the game). DJ was joking that the mind games were in full effect, true that but we concede the battle of minds to the guy who helped develop the best libero in the history of the planet (Sergio).
Warm up started and a very nervy Spartan squad began to shake out the edginess and tired legs from the short turn around from the night before. As hitting warm up began it started to become clear just how young our opponents were. Their arm speed and pop in the legs just wasn’t the same as the Sport University team we played the previous night. The battle of minds may have gone to the opposing coach (it usually does) but the battle of bodies looked like it was strongly leaning the Spartan way.
The match followed the trend of the warm up for the first two sets. The Spartans were just too physical and too well skilled to be tested too much by the young Dynamos. It was very clear that we were playing future world superstars with the operative word being future. Two quick sets had the Spartans sitting pretty in the third when…Boom…just like when the Death Box hits a pothole the Spartan machine was shaken. The Spartans looked very tired and the young Russians were getting better and more confident, especially from the baseline. Set three to the Russians.
After our beloved bus (Death Box) hit a pothole the following few kilometers were a little hairy as it lurched, shuttered and shook. Just when we thought a breakdown was inevitable sweet DB caught her rhythm and we continued. The fourth set was much that way. The Spartans found their rhythm and continued on the same path building a 22-18 lead…Boom. Uh-oh, not again…big hole and the axel has to be gone. There was a stench, things were uncomfortable, we were hot, tired and cranky…wait I forgot what part of the analogy we are talking about…no matter its about the same. In the fifth the Spartans recovered their rhythm and rolled smoothly to the destination, safe, sound and thankful to be done that exhaust-ing journey. It was a great example of toughness and grit as the Spartans found a way amid a variety of distractions and continue to not let anything come in their way as they pursue their goals.
After the match the teams had a chance to share together and Dan JVD gave his story. He did a fantastic job and has a career in speech writing should he choose. Again it was clear that these were very young men that we were speaking to but they were very friendly, like all the Russians we have met thus far. Unfortunately we had to get moving and it was time for lunch…McDonalds, hey-oh. Rotten Ronnie’s has now become our go to for a little taste of home.
After gorging ourselves we made our way over to the volleyball sports school to play the younglings again. This time it was to be an official match not just a five set scrimmage. When we arrived the kids were excited to see us again and they remembered/researched our names and said hi to us individually as we walked in. The volleyball community in Moscow, like in Canada, is a small world and word travels fast. They knew all of our results and were talking about it with us when we arrived.
Canadians and Russians have a lot in common. Similar look physically except they are the bullies on the playground we are the bullied size wise. Similar climate, vegetation, diet, sports interests, etc. Both nations are very competitive but one of the major differences we’ve noticed is the amount of pride the Russians have, in a good way. This match was another example of the Russian pride that broke the might of Napoleon and Hitler like Lucas against the rocks in Sochi. While we were not attempting to conquer a nation we were trying to win another volleyball game against some very young and talented kids. What we saw in that match was some of the most inspired defense and big play ability you could imagine on a 17 year old. We played our babies and toddlers against them to level the playing field and we gave them all we had. Those little, sorry not little, young Russians dig everything and transitioned it right back. Their coach had either lit a fire in them or they were showing their best for a national hero who was in attendance. Just before the game a mountain of a man walked into the gym and immediately Victor the Russian ran over and introduced me to Kazakov. One of the Russian Senior National Team’s middle blockers who was just playing in the World League Final a couple months prior to this meeting. I’m sure his 7 foot presence inspired the young Russians to play well. To OUR younglings’ credit they played well in the face of adversity and won in four sets.
After this match we had another time of sharing. The young students spoke some English so there were a number of great conversations. This was our most friendly time of sharing and showed that it was a great idea to come back to further the relationships with these young superstars. After lots of talking, joking and trading it was time to head home. A late night return and a big day of sightseeing in Red Square awaited our morning’s rise.
The volleyball phase of the tour is now over. The recap is:
Sochi #1: W 4-1
Sochi #2: W 3-1
Anapa Inside: L 1-4
Anapa Outside: L 0-3
Krasnodar Culture Centre #1: 2-0
#2: 2-0
Krasnodar Agriculture University: W 3-2
Prison: W Got out alive
Mykop: W 3-2
Moscow Sport School: W 4-1
Moscow Sport University: W 3-2
Dynamo Olymp: W 3-2
Moscow Sport School: W 3-1
One bump on the road on an otherwise perfect record. If this tour was all about volleyball it would be a success but it is about so much more. That more is where this tour’s biggest successes lay.
Go Spartans!!!
This was the final day of the volleyball phase of the Russia Tour. It began early and ended late but all was great. The first match was to be against a team in the Dynamo Moscow club system. When we arrived we discovered the match would be played in a forest. As we walked into the university that was “home base” to our opponents, Dynamo Olymp, we were dwarfed by the giant, young, trees. We had heard the night before that this team was going to be big and could block well but we did not realize that what they meant was they blocked out the sun. Six foot six to six foot ten was the height range of our opponents. To make things more impressive was their age range was 15 to 19. This team is the “youth” development team for the parent club Dynamo Moscow. They compete in a Russian professional league called 1st Division. This league mandates that all athletes must be under 20. Apparently the team graduated 7 players from the previous year’s team to the High League A development team. The Russian development system is complex but we think that we’ve figured it out:
Sport School: Volleyball Focus (15-17 years)
Club Youth Development Team (15-19 years)
Sport University: Volleyball Focus (17-21 years)
Club Development Team: High League A/B (20-24)
Advanced University Training: Non-Volleyball Focus (21-25)
Superleage Professional / High League A (20-40)
Pro Leagues:
1st Division (Dynamo Olymp – today’s team)
High League B (the team we played when Marc got hurt)
High League A (most of the players from the sport university)
Super League (Kazan, Dynamo Moscow, etc)
Now that it is as clear to you as it is to me (note the hint of sarcasm) we can move on. Where were we…oh yes…the forest. We quickly changed as we were running late, standard for the Spartans in this country. When we hit the court our opponents looked even bigger than they did in the lobby. We had a chance to talk with the coach and the intimidation continued as we discovered he had coached in Brazil and hadn’t lost a major competition the entire time he was there. He started name-dropping, usually not a desirable practice, unless of course you are dropping names like Sergio, Gustavo and Heller (all gold medalists with Brazil and legends of the game). DJ was joking that the mind games were in full effect, true that but we concede the battle of minds to the guy who helped develop the best libero in the history of the planet (Sergio).
Warm up started and a very nervy Spartan squad began to shake out the edginess and tired legs from the short turn around from the night before. As hitting warm up began it started to become clear just how young our opponents were. Their arm speed and pop in the legs just wasn’t the same as the Sport University team we played the previous night. The battle of minds may have gone to the opposing coach (it usually does) but the battle of bodies looked like it was strongly leaning the Spartan way.
The match followed the trend of the warm up for the first two sets. The Spartans were just too physical and too well skilled to be tested too much by the young Dynamos. It was very clear that we were playing future world superstars with the operative word being future. Two quick sets had the Spartans sitting pretty in the third when…Boom…just like when the Death Box hits a pothole the Spartan machine was shaken. The Spartans looked very tired and the young Russians were getting better and more confident, especially from the baseline. Set three to the Russians.
After our beloved bus (Death Box) hit a pothole the following few kilometers were a little hairy as it lurched, shuttered and shook. Just when we thought a breakdown was inevitable sweet DB caught her rhythm and we continued. The fourth set was much that way. The Spartans found their rhythm and continued on the same path building a 22-18 lead…Boom. Uh-oh, not again…big hole and the axel has to be gone. There was a stench, things were uncomfortable, we were hot, tired and cranky…wait I forgot what part of the analogy we are talking about…no matter its about the same. In the fifth the Spartans recovered their rhythm and rolled smoothly to the destination, safe, sound and thankful to be done that exhaust-ing journey. It was a great example of toughness and grit as the Spartans found a way amid a variety of distractions and continue to not let anything come in their way as they pursue their goals.
After the match the teams had a chance to share together and Dan JVD gave his story. He did a fantastic job and has a career in speech writing should he choose. Again it was clear that these were very young men that we were speaking to but they were very friendly, like all the Russians we have met thus far. Unfortunately we had to get moving and it was time for lunch…McDonalds, hey-oh. Rotten Ronnie’s has now become our go to for a little taste of home.
After gorging ourselves we made our way over to the volleyball sports school to play the younglings again. This time it was to be an official match not just a five set scrimmage. When we arrived the kids were excited to see us again and they remembered/researched our names and said hi to us individually as we walked in. The volleyball community in Moscow, like in Canada, is a small world and word travels fast. They knew all of our results and were talking about it with us when we arrived.
Canadians and Russians have a lot in common. Similar look physically except they are the bullies on the playground we are the bullied size wise. Similar climate, vegetation, diet, sports interests, etc. Both nations are very competitive but one of the major differences we’ve noticed is the amount of pride the Russians have, in a good way. This match was another example of the Russian pride that broke the might of Napoleon and Hitler like Lucas against the rocks in Sochi. While we were not attempting to conquer a nation we were trying to win another volleyball game against some very young and talented kids. What we saw in that match was some of the most inspired defense and big play ability you could imagine on a 17 year old. We played our babies and toddlers against them to level the playing field and we gave them all we had. Those little, sorry not little, young Russians dig everything and transitioned it right back. Their coach had either lit a fire in them or they were showing their best for a national hero who was in attendance. Just before the game a mountain of a man walked into the gym and immediately Victor the Russian ran over and introduced me to Kazakov. One of the Russian Senior National Team’s middle blockers who was just playing in the World League Final a couple months prior to this meeting. I’m sure his 7 foot presence inspired the young Russians to play well. To OUR younglings’ credit they played well in the face of adversity and won in four sets.
After this match we had another time of sharing. The young students spoke some English so there were a number of great conversations. This was our most friendly time of sharing and showed that it was a great idea to come back to further the relationships with these young superstars. After lots of talking, joking and trading it was time to head home. A late night return and a big day of sightseeing in Red Square awaited our morning’s rise.
The volleyball phase of the tour is now over. The recap is:
Sochi #1: W 4-1
Sochi #2: W 3-1
Anapa Inside: L 1-4
Anapa Outside: L 0-3
Krasnodar Culture Centre #1: 2-0
#2: 2-0
Krasnodar Agriculture University: W 3-2
Prison: W Got out alive
Mykop: W 3-2
Moscow Sport School: W 4-1
Moscow Sport University: W 3-2
Dynamo Olymp: W 3-2
Moscow Sport School: W 3-1
One bump on the road on an otherwise perfect record. If this tour was all about volleyball it would be a success but it is about so much more. That more is where this tour’s biggest successes lay.
Go Spartans!!!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Spartans in Russia 13
September 9th, 2010: Moscow, Russia
Today began with a team session where we talked about the Holy Spirit. What he is, does and what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The challenge to the team is to invite the Holy Spirit to join the team on the court, continuing our path of learning to blend our sport and our faith.
After the team session we had a short practice in the facility beside our residence. It was a great place to practice with one exception, no lighting. Most of the Russian gyms are very dark, which only adds to the intimidation factor. If you cannot see you opponent it is hard to play them…its not too bad but we miss the LEC. A good practice then lunch were the perfect beginning to day two in Moscow.
We then jumped back into the death box…wait, what is this? A different box…we call this one the moderately maimed box. It is a much smoother ride with much less carbon monoxide leaking but the driver resembles Andy Samberg from Hot Rod (maybe not the hway he looks but for sure in the hway he drives). We went to a sport university where Stan the Russian trains with the team and our new Russian friend Yuri the Russian has a campus ministry. What we saw when we arrived made all of us very jealous.
This is a sport university where all they do is study their sport and the methods and methodology of the game. All aspects of sport are represented and all Olympic sports have a department in the school. They gave us a tour of the facility and there are gyms for every sport, indoor & outdoor. An unbelievably impressive campus and a breeding ground for future Olympians…literally. While we were on tour we went around a corner and came face to face with Ovi. Yep, Alexander the Great went to this school but we are all fairly sure that he didn’t actually “attend” but he was enrolled. They also began to rattle off the names of the other great athletes who went to this university and its pretty impressive. We began to get nervous about our matches.
We were to have two matches against their two teams. The first was their second team in a best of three. We played the baby Spartans and beat our opponents 2-0. They weren’t very good but we were still very concerned about their 1st team. Apparently the first team was full of High League A players. The Russian pro system goes Superleague (Kazan, Dynamo Moscow etc) then High League A, High League B then 1st Division. So many of the players we were to play played their club in High League A. They had to compete for the University to keep their scholarship to the school.
As soon as warm up began we new we were in for a battle, or a shelling, we were still unsure. In typical fashion of Russians they were huge with huge arms and bombed away in warm up. The first set was great. Back and forth siding out with huge blocks, digs and kills. It was beautiful volleyball, especially for this time of the season. We lost the first 23-25 but let it get away late. The second we controlled the whole way and evened the game up 1-1 (25-19). The third was a stinker for us as we were blown out due to unforced errors (18-25). The fourth was outstanding and maybe the most exciting we’ve played in a long time. The big plays made were insane. Foot digs, massive bounces (block & kill) and heroic strizzles (digs). 25-23 for us forced a fifth set and that was just what this match deserved. For those who saw our National semi final last march in Kamloops, this match had much the same feel. The play, intensity and blows going back and forth had a very similar feel. We went up big in the fifth set but they came flying back. It was a battle to see if our speed or their block could control the match. 11-11, 12-12, 13-13…we flinched…down 13-14 with their right side going back. A 6’8 leftie with the most impressive arm any of us have ever seen. He had been fairly inconsistent with his spin serve throughout the match but he striped this one. Big players make big plays at big times and their big guy did. But so did one of ours, but it was one of our babies. Nick Del Bianco dimed their best serve of the night and Doornenbal killed it to level the match up 14-14. We scored a point on Doorny’s serve and had a 15-14 service for the match. Mikiah subbed in to serve and ripped a tape ace…should have been. A hometown call kept the play alive and then a missed touch call gave them the point and kept them alive at 15-15. Then another of their great servers ripped a great serve that missed the baseline by 2.5 centimeters or for our American friends…not much. The refs got this one right and we were up 16-15. The match point wasn’t too exciting but the win was. It was a great match. Playing that type of game at this point in the season was very special and a ton of fun for all involved.
After the match we had a snack and time of sharing with the players and staff. It was a great time to talk and get to know our Russian opponents. They were very impressed with how hard our guys competed and our example of unity and love shown through again.
On the long bus ride home Victor the Russian and Yuri the Russian thanked us for our performance. They said that our play and result helped their ministry a lot. Their credibility went way up in the eyes of the University and they called it a miraculous moment. Maybe an overstatement but we were very proud to help out their ministry. Our time in Russia is short but their ministry remains. One of our goals was to help open doors for the in country AIA staff to continue and grow their ministry. We also talked with the university officials about a potential exchange program where they would come to us in two years. That would be an exciting opportunity should that fall into place.
After a long ride back to home a very tired and content volleyball team went to bed and had a short turn around before we play Dynamo Moscow’s farm team who competes in High League B.
Go Spartans!!!
Today began with a team session where we talked about the Holy Spirit. What he is, does and what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The challenge to the team is to invite the Holy Spirit to join the team on the court, continuing our path of learning to blend our sport and our faith.
After the team session we had a short practice in the facility beside our residence. It was a great place to practice with one exception, no lighting. Most of the Russian gyms are very dark, which only adds to the intimidation factor. If you cannot see you opponent it is hard to play them…its not too bad but we miss the LEC. A good practice then lunch were the perfect beginning to day two in Moscow.
We then jumped back into the death box…wait, what is this? A different box…we call this one the moderately maimed box. It is a much smoother ride with much less carbon monoxide leaking but the driver resembles Andy Samberg from Hot Rod (maybe not the hway he looks but for sure in the hway he drives). We went to a sport university where Stan the Russian trains with the team and our new Russian friend Yuri the Russian has a campus ministry. What we saw when we arrived made all of us very jealous.
This is a sport university where all they do is study their sport and the methods and methodology of the game. All aspects of sport are represented and all Olympic sports have a department in the school. They gave us a tour of the facility and there are gyms for every sport, indoor & outdoor. An unbelievably impressive campus and a breeding ground for future Olympians…literally. While we were on tour we went around a corner and came face to face with Ovi. Yep, Alexander the Great went to this school but we are all fairly sure that he didn’t actually “attend” but he was enrolled. They also began to rattle off the names of the other great athletes who went to this university and its pretty impressive. We began to get nervous about our matches.
We were to have two matches against their two teams. The first was their second team in a best of three. We played the baby Spartans and beat our opponents 2-0. They weren’t very good but we were still very concerned about their 1st team. Apparently the first team was full of High League A players. The Russian pro system goes Superleague (Kazan, Dynamo Moscow etc) then High League A, High League B then 1st Division. So many of the players we were to play played their club in High League A. They had to compete for the University to keep their scholarship to the school.
As soon as warm up began we new we were in for a battle, or a shelling, we were still unsure. In typical fashion of Russians they were huge with huge arms and bombed away in warm up. The first set was great. Back and forth siding out with huge blocks, digs and kills. It was beautiful volleyball, especially for this time of the season. We lost the first 23-25 but let it get away late. The second we controlled the whole way and evened the game up 1-1 (25-19). The third was a stinker for us as we were blown out due to unforced errors (18-25). The fourth was outstanding and maybe the most exciting we’ve played in a long time. The big plays made were insane. Foot digs, massive bounces (block & kill) and heroic strizzles (digs). 25-23 for us forced a fifth set and that was just what this match deserved. For those who saw our National semi final last march in Kamloops, this match had much the same feel. The play, intensity and blows going back and forth had a very similar feel. We went up big in the fifth set but they came flying back. It was a battle to see if our speed or their block could control the match. 11-11, 12-12, 13-13…we flinched…down 13-14 with their right side going back. A 6’8 leftie with the most impressive arm any of us have ever seen. He had been fairly inconsistent with his spin serve throughout the match but he striped this one. Big players make big plays at big times and their big guy did. But so did one of ours, but it was one of our babies. Nick Del Bianco dimed their best serve of the night and Doornenbal killed it to level the match up 14-14. We scored a point on Doorny’s serve and had a 15-14 service for the match. Mikiah subbed in to serve and ripped a tape ace…should have been. A hometown call kept the play alive and then a missed touch call gave them the point and kept them alive at 15-15. Then another of their great servers ripped a great serve that missed the baseline by 2.5 centimeters or for our American friends…not much. The refs got this one right and we were up 16-15. The match point wasn’t too exciting but the win was. It was a great match. Playing that type of game at this point in the season was very special and a ton of fun for all involved.
After the match we had a snack and time of sharing with the players and staff. It was a great time to talk and get to know our Russian opponents. They were very impressed with how hard our guys competed and our example of unity and love shown through again.
On the long bus ride home Victor the Russian and Yuri the Russian thanked us for our performance. They said that our play and result helped their ministry a lot. Their credibility went way up in the eyes of the University and they called it a miraculous moment. Maybe an overstatement but we were very proud to help out their ministry. Our time in Russia is short but their ministry remains. One of our goals was to help open doors for the in country AIA staff to continue and grow their ministry. We also talked with the university officials about a potential exchange program where they would come to us in two years. That would be an exciting opportunity should that fall into place.
After a long ride back to home a very tired and content volleyball team went to bed and had a short turn around before we play Dynamo Moscow’s farm team who competes in High League B.
Go Spartans!!!
Spartans in Russia 12
September 8th, 2010: Moscow, Russia
Today started early. 4am departure from our dorms to the airport in Krasnodar. The group from Mykop had to leave at 1:30am to make it there so that made our Krasnodar group not complain. Marc Howatson joined us at the airport. The missionaries that he stayed with in Anapa got up early and drove him to join us. They truly went way beyond the call with their generosity. John and Naomi Musgrave were their names, and their ministry is called House of Grace, Russia. Please pray for them and their ministry here in Russia.
It was a short trip to Moscow made even shorter due to everyone sleeping. Once in Mockba (as the Russians spell it) we experienced traffic in a way North Americans can never understand. We asked Victor the Russian when rush hour was and the answer was 5am to 3am so if you wanted to go anywhere you had a two hour window to utilize. With that said it was clear we needed to get comfortable riding on busses. To make things interesting was the bus in which we were riding. It sat 23 which was perfect as we had 23 in our entourage but that didn’t account for our baggage. So the Spartan clown car, packed to the gills with athletes, coaches, bags and Victor the Russian, made our way…slowly…to our Moscow home. Two hours later and 35km we arrived to our destination.
We are staying at a volleyball centre where a number of different professional and club teams call their home base. The facility is amazing with multiple beach courts, indoor swimming pool, weight facility and a beautiful 3 court gym (1 of which is a Teraflex court). The complex is designed for volleyball training and our “house” that we are staying in is perfect for our needs. We have one house with 7 rooms plus a common area and laundry. A great home to finish our tour at.
After a brief nap we jumped back into the bus of death and headed back into the chaos of Russian roads. The death trap leaks carbon monoxide, grinds gears, shakes, rattles and we are praying doesn’t roll. The possibility of rolling requires speed and that is what we don’t have…a positive hey-oh. The team has taken the death box and the traffic just like they have taken everything on this trip, in stride with a positive attitude of adventure.
We went to a sports school to play an allstar team of sorts. Moscow had 6-8 of these volleyball schools (we heard differing numbers). This one was coached by Alexi Verbov’s mother. For those who don’t know Verbov was the libero for the Russian national team the past two Olympic cycles and is considered one of the best on the planet. It was an honor to meet her. When we arrived at the school the hallways were lined with pictures of Russian legends and trophies. A pretty intimidating entrance but what we saw when we walked into the gym was equally intimidating.
There were 24 6’3-6’7 athletes all with perfect arm swings and digging/passing technique playing pepper. It was like a little army barracks with the soldiers in the yard drilling. They were like robots in their play, we were thoroughly impressed. Once we began to play we realized that as perfect as their skills were they were still young. We beat them pretty soundly but it is now very clear why Russian volleyball is #2 in the world. There are 5-7 more of these in the city producing 12-15 athletes a year with these types of skills, size and athleticism.
After the match we had a time of sharing and Rudy gave his story again. We agreed to play this school again Friday and the coach said she would bring in some different players…aka ringers. We took the subway back to the death box and had fun experiencing the Moscow subway system. Like most European countries the subway system was very efficient and busy.
Back to the surface and back to home. Day one in Moscow completed and if we can survive the traffic, the death box and short nights it looks to be a great leg of the trip.
Go Spartans!!!
Today started early. 4am departure from our dorms to the airport in Krasnodar. The group from Mykop had to leave at 1:30am to make it there so that made our Krasnodar group not complain. Marc Howatson joined us at the airport. The missionaries that he stayed with in Anapa got up early and drove him to join us. They truly went way beyond the call with their generosity. John and Naomi Musgrave were their names, and their ministry is called House of Grace, Russia. Please pray for them and their ministry here in Russia.
It was a short trip to Moscow made even shorter due to everyone sleeping. Once in Mockba (as the Russians spell it) we experienced traffic in a way North Americans can never understand. We asked Victor the Russian when rush hour was and the answer was 5am to 3am so if you wanted to go anywhere you had a two hour window to utilize. With that said it was clear we needed to get comfortable riding on busses. To make things interesting was the bus in which we were riding. It sat 23 which was perfect as we had 23 in our entourage but that didn’t account for our baggage. So the Spartan clown car, packed to the gills with athletes, coaches, bags and Victor the Russian, made our way…slowly…to our Moscow home. Two hours later and 35km we arrived to our destination.
We are staying at a volleyball centre where a number of different professional and club teams call their home base. The facility is amazing with multiple beach courts, indoor swimming pool, weight facility and a beautiful 3 court gym (1 of which is a Teraflex court). The complex is designed for volleyball training and our “house” that we are staying in is perfect for our needs. We have one house with 7 rooms plus a common area and laundry. A great home to finish our tour at.
After a brief nap we jumped back into the bus of death and headed back into the chaos of Russian roads. The death trap leaks carbon monoxide, grinds gears, shakes, rattles and we are praying doesn’t roll. The possibility of rolling requires speed and that is what we don’t have…a positive hey-oh. The team has taken the death box and the traffic just like they have taken everything on this trip, in stride with a positive attitude of adventure.
We went to a sports school to play an allstar team of sorts. Moscow had 6-8 of these volleyball schools (we heard differing numbers). This one was coached by Alexi Verbov’s mother. For those who don’t know Verbov was the libero for the Russian national team the past two Olympic cycles and is considered one of the best on the planet. It was an honor to meet her. When we arrived at the school the hallways were lined with pictures of Russian legends and trophies. A pretty intimidating entrance but what we saw when we walked into the gym was equally intimidating.
There were 24 6’3-6’7 athletes all with perfect arm swings and digging/passing technique playing pepper. It was like a little army barracks with the soldiers in the yard drilling. They were like robots in their play, we were thoroughly impressed. Once we began to play we realized that as perfect as their skills were they were still young. We beat them pretty soundly but it is now very clear why Russian volleyball is #2 in the world. There are 5-7 more of these in the city producing 12-15 athletes a year with these types of skills, size and athleticism.
After the match we had a time of sharing and Rudy gave his story again. We agreed to play this school again Friday and the coach said she would bring in some different players…aka ringers. We took the subway back to the death box and had fun experiencing the Moscow subway system. Like most European countries the subway system was very efficient and busy.
Back to the surface and back to home. Day one in Moscow completed and if we can survive the traffic, the death box and short nights it looks to be a great leg of the trip.
Go Spartans!!!
Spartans in Russia 11
September 7th, 2010: Krasnodar, Russia
Well today was one of the stuff of legend. The day started early with a 6am wake up call followed by a 2.5 hour bus ride to a prison. Nothing wakes you up in the morning like going to prison. The plan was to put on a clinic or skills demonstration for the inmates and then have a match against the guards. That sounded like a lot of fun and fairly unobtrusive. As seems to be the case the plan was not what happened.
When we first arrived to the prison it took a while for us to get organized and the screening process was lengthy. The first pioneers on the team were on the inside for about 15 minutes before the whole team got through. 15 minutes doesn’t sound like a lot but when you have ten huge Russian inmates hanging out of their windows yelling at you 15 minutes, that may be your last, is an eternity.
Once the whole team was in we moved down the secure area towards what we thought was going to be a gym…nope…there was a sand/gravel court in the middle of the “grounds” with a net strung across it. We were looking at each other as if to say, “Are we really going in THERE?” Yep…we entered the common grounds with all of the prisoners and surprisingly very few guards. Nick summed it up best when I asked if he is nervous. He said, “Ya, a little…and by little I mean extremely.” So bunch of nervy athletes from Canada and at least 20 times as many curious Russians congregated on the football pitch (gravel rectangular space) and did what they all new best. The athletes began to play pepper and the inmates moved in clumps surrounding the athletes peppering them with questions…in Russian. Thankfully a few inmates were able to translate a portion of the conversation so we were able to communicate a bit. After a few minutes almost the entire prison had surrounded the volleyball court and a game with the inmates seemed inevitable.
Six very big, very strong Russian men emerged on the court in a scene right out of the Longest Yard. Six very skinny, by comparison, and very scared Canadians stood and awaited the Russians. Just before the game began the team decided that they did not want to show the inmates up by not trying but it became clear quickly that the inmates were not the best at volleyball. The Spartans laid off the gas a bit and there were some extended rallies. The mood in the “yard” was improving as there was more laughter as the heckling between the inmates and the taunts of the Canadians picked up, all in good humour…it seemed. The two teams played three sets total and after the Spartans got to 20 in the third set Victor the Russian told the boys to play the last few points hard. They obliged and almost ended three Russians’ sentences early. That may not have been a good idea but in the end it turned out great as there were a few good laughs and the inmates got a good block right at the end.
Those first few minutes when the inmates were gathering around us while we were on the pitch were the scariest moments we have ever had. Two to three hundred inmates surrounding you speaking a language you don’t understand. In a foreign country with only a few people knowing where we were. Eleven of us tried to stay together but we were easily separated from each other. Those moments were high stress and high anxiety times. As the volleyball match went on the stress level and anxiety reduced. The power of sport once again bringing people of all walks together.
After the volleyball match we moved to a courtyard area and had a short program prepared. Brad Kufske and Jordan Geransky gave their stories to the inmates and DJ gave the evangelism talk. After we had time for a question and answer period. There were some interesting questions. Have we ever been in a prison, what do we think about the prison, were we scared to come into the prison…etc. There were also some odd requests, one being could we sing a song. We obliged with the singing of O Canada. I remember right around ‘true north strong and free’ thinking this is a very strange sight. Ten Canadians singing O Canada to two hundred Russian inmates in a dungy prison in the middle of Russia. There were a lot of strange things that we expected to experience in Russia but this most assuredly was not one of them.
After the program a few of the inmate believers invited us to their chapel. Once there we had a time of prayer and sharing. A number of the inmates shared their stories of how they came to Christ and a few even shared how they came to be in the prison. One inmate’s route to prison was very interesting, or at least the telling of it. He was a gangster for an oil company, we can only imagine what he did as he didn’t specify. He came to Christ shortly after being incarcerated and said that he felt it was God that brought him to prison. An interesting comment to be sure. He went on to say that had he not come to prison he would now be dead and his daughter wouldn’t have a daddy. After coming to Christ he vowed that his daughter, who was having her 10th birthday while we were there, would never see him drunk again. His exact words were, “my daughter will never see her daddy drunk.” Powerful stuff as this huge gangster man, with tears in his eyes and Christ’s love in his heart poured it out for our team to see in a tiny makeshift chapel in a Russian country prison.
Our time in the prison was a strange one. The first hour was the scariest and most nervy hour of our lives. Then volleyball made things comfortable. Then the realization that these inmates were men just like us, broken, vulnerable, hurting and needing God. By the time we had left we had made friends and had seen that people are people everywhere, all they need is a chance to show it.
After leaving the jail we went with a group of former prisoners who run the prison ministry that set up our visit. They took us to a forest area underneath a bridge over the river. One fella built a grill on the ground from bricks and a few garbage bags of pork that had been in cut onions all night emerged from, it seemed, thin air. Watching how they grilled the pork was very interesting, but eating the pork was far more amazing. This BBQ pork was by far our best meal in Russia. As we sat beside a dirty river, eating pork cooked on the ground, under a bridge with a bunch of former inmates beside us and the memory of our new inmate friends still fresh in our minds we had peace.
We had to cut our peaceful meal short as we had to race back to the Agriculture University we played at the day before for a practice session. After we had such a good time talking with them we had decided to set up a practice together. We ran our friends through a few of our favourite drills and then we divided the teams up and scrimmaged together. The teams were half Russians and half Spartans so it was very hard for the guys to communicate. It was very interesting to watch the two teams communicate without words. Another example how sport brings people together. Though neither could understand the words the other was saying they could still get their message across and find a way to work together. It was a very enjoyable time to play together and then share some time together after.
Finally it was back to the hotel after a really long day and what is to be a short night to come. The 4am departure for the hotel will be tough but the reuniting of the team will be exciting. It has been weird being split up, but the family will all be back together again soon.
Go Spartans!!!
Well today was one of the stuff of legend. The day started early with a 6am wake up call followed by a 2.5 hour bus ride to a prison. Nothing wakes you up in the morning like going to prison. The plan was to put on a clinic or skills demonstration for the inmates and then have a match against the guards. That sounded like a lot of fun and fairly unobtrusive. As seems to be the case the plan was not what happened.
When we first arrived to the prison it took a while for us to get organized and the screening process was lengthy. The first pioneers on the team were on the inside for about 15 minutes before the whole team got through. 15 minutes doesn’t sound like a lot but when you have ten huge Russian inmates hanging out of their windows yelling at you 15 minutes, that may be your last, is an eternity.
Once the whole team was in we moved down the secure area towards what we thought was going to be a gym…nope…there was a sand/gravel court in the middle of the “grounds” with a net strung across it. We were looking at each other as if to say, “Are we really going in THERE?” Yep…we entered the common grounds with all of the prisoners and surprisingly very few guards. Nick summed it up best when I asked if he is nervous. He said, “Ya, a little…and by little I mean extremely.” So bunch of nervy athletes from Canada and at least 20 times as many curious Russians congregated on the football pitch (gravel rectangular space) and did what they all new best. The athletes began to play pepper and the inmates moved in clumps surrounding the athletes peppering them with questions…in Russian. Thankfully a few inmates were able to translate a portion of the conversation so we were able to communicate a bit. After a few minutes almost the entire prison had surrounded the volleyball court and a game with the inmates seemed inevitable.
Six very big, very strong Russian men emerged on the court in a scene right out of the Longest Yard. Six very skinny, by comparison, and very scared Canadians stood and awaited the Russians. Just before the game began the team decided that they did not want to show the inmates up by not trying but it became clear quickly that the inmates were not the best at volleyball. The Spartans laid off the gas a bit and there were some extended rallies. The mood in the “yard” was improving as there was more laughter as the heckling between the inmates and the taunts of the Canadians picked up, all in good humour…it seemed. The two teams played three sets total and after the Spartans got to 20 in the third set Victor the Russian told the boys to play the last few points hard. They obliged and almost ended three Russians’ sentences early. That may not have been a good idea but in the end it turned out great as there were a few good laughs and the inmates got a good block right at the end.
Those first few minutes when the inmates were gathering around us while we were on the pitch were the scariest moments we have ever had. Two to three hundred inmates surrounding you speaking a language you don’t understand. In a foreign country with only a few people knowing where we were. Eleven of us tried to stay together but we were easily separated from each other. Those moments were high stress and high anxiety times. As the volleyball match went on the stress level and anxiety reduced. The power of sport once again bringing people of all walks together.
After the volleyball match we moved to a courtyard area and had a short program prepared. Brad Kufske and Jordan Geransky gave their stories to the inmates and DJ gave the evangelism talk. After we had time for a question and answer period. There were some interesting questions. Have we ever been in a prison, what do we think about the prison, were we scared to come into the prison…etc. There were also some odd requests, one being could we sing a song. We obliged with the singing of O Canada. I remember right around ‘true north strong and free’ thinking this is a very strange sight. Ten Canadians singing O Canada to two hundred Russian inmates in a dungy prison in the middle of Russia. There were a lot of strange things that we expected to experience in Russia but this most assuredly was not one of them.
After the program a few of the inmate believers invited us to their chapel. Once there we had a time of prayer and sharing. A number of the inmates shared their stories of how they came to Christ and a few even shared how they came to be in the prison. One inmate’s route to prison was very interesting, or at least the telling of it. He was a gangster for an oil company, we can only imagine what he did as he didn’t specify. He came to Christ shortly after being incarcerated and said that he felt it was God that brought him to prison. An interesting comment to be sure. He went on to say that had he not come to prison he would now be dead and his daughter wouldn’t have a daddy. After coming to Christ he vowed that his daughter, who was having her 10th birthday while we were there, would never see him drunk again. His exact words were, “my daughter will never see her daddy drunk.” Powerful stuff as this huge gangster man, with tears in his eyes and Christ’s love in his heart poured it out for our team to see in a tiny makeshift chapel in a Russian country prison.
Our time in the prison was a strange one. The first hour was the scariest and most nervy hour of our lives. Then volleyball made things comfortable. Then the realization that these inmates were men just like us, broken, vulnerable, hurting and needing God. By the time we had left we had made friends and had seen that people are people everywhere, all they need is a chance to show it.
After leaving the jail we went with a group of former prisoners who run the prison ministry that set up our visit. They took us to a forest area underneath a bridge over the river. One fella built a grill on the ground from bricks and a few garbage bags of pork that had been in cut onions all night emerged from, it seemed, thin air. Watching how they grilled the pork was very interesting, but eating the pork was far more amazing. This BBQ pork was by far our best meal in Russia. As we sat beside a dirty river, eating pork cooked on the ground, under a bridge with a bunch of former inmates beside us and the memory of our new inmate friends still fresh in our minds we had peace.
We had to cut our peaceful meal short as we had to race back to the Agriculture University we played at the day before for a practice session. After we had such a good time talking with them we had decided to set up a practice together. We ran our friends through a few of our favourite drills and then we divided the teams up and scrimmaged together. The teams were half Russians and half Spartans so it was very hard for the guys to communicate. It was very interesting to watch the two teams communicate without words. Another example how sport brings people together. Though neither could understand the words the other was saying they could still get their message across and find a way to work together. It was a very enjoyable time to play together and then share some time together after.
Finally it was back to the hotel after a really long day and what is to be a short night to come. The 4am departure for the hotel will be tough but the reuniting of the team will be exciting. It has been weird being split up, but the family will all be back together again soon.
Go Spartans!!!
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Spartans in Russia 10
September 6th, 2010: Krasnodar, Russia
Coach, DJ, Victor the Russian, Jordan, Devyn, Dan, Branden, Rudy, Brad, Jarrod & Nick.
This was to be my most favourite day of the tour so far. I hope that I am able to capture a portion of the special moments we had today, I pre-apologize for not doing the day justice.
The day began early as we had a match at 11am but departed at 8:30. Needless to say we had a long warm up which is much different than our previous matches’ 10 minute warm ups. A couple players from the team we had lost to a few days ago were back on the court so we were looking forward to playing them again. Unfortunately they were some of the best players from that previous team. After the lengthy warm up we began the pageantry that was the pregame warm up. The TV cameras were there in force as we were playing against one of the biggest universities in the region with around 28,000 students, many of who were in attendance. After the speeches…oh the speeches, we began the match. Another poor start...typical…then the guys responded. It was fun to compete with the baby Spartans plus a few older guys. Nick, Devyn & Branden did a good job of competing without really knowing the systems. The team competed and grinded out a five set win showing great toughness and togetherness that we were all very proud of. After the match, some interviews and showers under a fire hose, we were to join the dignitaries and the other team(s), women’s as well, for a snack and a time of sharing in another building.
Once there we briefly outlined our University, our team, league and our tour. Then Branden Schmidt shared his story with all who were there. Then there was a Q&A time where many of the university officials were asking about how we blended athletics and academics. After a lengthy discussion a few of the host university personnel spoke a bit about their program and university. After that one of their athletes spoke and his compliments were some of the most sincere and special comments we could have ever received. He complimented us on our play and our honesty (calling our touches, etc). He also mad a clever joke playing on words. He said he thought we were Christians before the game but during the game it became clear…he KNEW we were Christians. He went on to say the way we played together showed we were not “acting” like a team... we WERE a team. The joy and togetherness we shared really stood out to our opponents and those who watched the game and it was evident there was something different about the way our team competed. This series of compliments was exciting and humbling. Exciting that others were seeing some of the things we were working on. Humbling because it was amazing to think how much God could do in a quick match with a random volleyball team in a land far, far away. They asked us how we could play with such unity. The answer was easy…when everyone on the team has something in common it puts us all on the same page. When that one thing is Christ the impact goes nuclear, or nucular (George W. Bush).
Driving away from the university we were taken back by the kind words of our hosts and thanked God for the day.
Then things got better…McDonalds. A little taste of home after a long time without was just what the guys, and coaches, needed. There is nothing like feeling you want to puke after eating McD’s to make you feel you are back in Canada.
Back at the dormitory we had a team time where we learned about an Error Response technique that incorporates some spiritual concepts. The term “Nail It” made its appearance on this tour. The concept has to do with how Christ’s sacrifice paid our dept and it has been nailed to the cross. (John 19:28-30) The volleyball application is after errors ,just as after sin, we need to acknowledge the mistake, make the appropriate adjustments and then move on. Time moves forward, it does not pause, rewind or slow down. The ability to move on to the present and future with wisdom from the past is what the word cue “Nail It” is designed to do. This is a big concept for our team as many of our athletes, and coaches (unfortunately), have a tendency to get caught up in what happened in the past and it can distract us from the present and affect our future. The talk spurred on great discussion and the concepts of Error Response and Emotional Control now have a strategy to move forward with.
Then one of our athletes shared his story with the team. This, easily, was the highlight of the day for me. The honesty and humility that was displayed by this young man was emotional to say the least. It is amazing how much we are learning about eachother each and every day. The story was followed by a great time of prayer for this athlete, the rest of the team in Mykop and Marc Howatson who stayed behind in Anapa.
This day was truly a gift for our team. Match, post match, team session, story and discussion…and yes, Mc-E-D’s too. The only negative was that only half of our group was here to share in it. We can only hope the guys in Mykop are saying the same thing.
Note: Marc Howatson stayed behind in Anapa with some missionary friends we know who have a huge house that serves as a retreat house for Russian pastors and their families. He gets waited on hand and foot…and ankle. Last we heard Naomi, hostess, was making him cinnamon buns so don’t feel to bad for him…poor guy. Marc will join the team Sept 8th en route to Moscow.
Go Spartans!!!
Coach, DJ, Victor the Russian, Jordan, Devyn, Dan, Branden, Rudy, Brad, Jarrod & Nick.
This was to be my most favourite day of the tour so far. I hope that I am able to capture a portion of the special moments we had today, I pre-apologize for not doing the day justice.
The day began early as we had a match at 11am but departed at 8:30. Needless to say we had a long warm up which is much different than our previous matches’ 10 minute warm ups. A couple players from the team we had lost to a few days ago were back on the court so we were looking forward to playing them again. Unfortunately they were some of the best players from that previous team. After the lengthy warm up we began the pageantry that was the pregame warm up. The TV cameras were there in force as we were playing against one of the biggest universities in the region with around 28,000 students, many of who were in attendance. After the speeches…oh the speeches, we began the match. Another poor start...typical…then the guys responded. It was fun to compete with the baby Spartans plus a few older guys. Nick, Devyn & Branden did a good job of competing without really knowing the systems. The team competed and grinded out a five set win showing great toughness and togetherness that we were all very proud of. After the match, some interviews and showers under a fire hose, we were to join the dignitaries and the other team(s), women’s as well, for a snack and a time of sharing in another building.
Once there we briefly outlined our University, our team, league and our tour. Then Branden Schmidt shared his story with all who were there. Then there was a Q&A time where many of the university officials were asking about how we blended athletics and academics. After a lengthy discussion a few of the host university personnel spoke a bit about their program and university. After that one of their athletes spoke and his compliments were some of the most sincere and special comments we could have ever received. He complimented us on our play and our honesty (calling our touches, etc). He also mad a clever joke playing on words. He said he thought we were Christians before the game but during the game it became clear…he KNEW we were Christians. He went on to say the way we played together showed we were not “acting” like a team... we WERE a team. The joy and togetherness we shared really stood out to our opponents and those who watched the game and it was evident there was something different about the way our team competed. This series of compliments was exciting and humbling. Exciting that others were seeing some of the things we were working on. Humbling because it was amazing to think how much God could do in a quick match with a random volleyball team in a land far, far away. They asked us how we could play with such unity. The answer was easy…when everyone on the team has something in common it puts us all on the same page. When that one thing is Christ the impact goes nuclear, or nucular (George W. Bush).
Driving away from the university we were taken back by the kind words of our hosts and thanked God for the day.
Then things got better…McDonalds. A little taste of home after a long time without was just what the guys, and coaches, needed. There is nothing like feeling you want to puke after eating McD’s to make you feel you are back in Canada.
Back at the dormitory we had a team time where we learned about an Error Response technique that incorporates some spiritual concepts. The term “Nail It” made its appearance on this tour. The concept has to do with how Christ’s sacrifice paid our dept and it has been nailed to the cross. (John 19:28-30) The volleyball application is after errors ,just as after sin, we need to acknowledge the mistake, make the appropriate adjustments and then move on. Time moves forward, it does not pause, rewind or slow down. The ability to move on to the present and future with wisdom from the past is what the word cue “Nail It” is designed to do. This is a big concept for our team as many of our athletes, and coaches (unfortunately), have a tendency to get caught up in what happened in the past and it can distract us from the present and affect our future. The talk spurred on great discussion and the concepts of Error Response and Emotional Control now have a strategy to move forward with.
Then one of our athletes shared his story with the team. This, easily, was the highlight of the day for me. The honesty and humility that was displayed by this young man was emotional to say the least. It is amazing how much we are learning about eachother each and every day. The story was followed by a great time of prayer for this athlete, the rest of the team in Mykop and Marc Howatson who stayed behind in Anapa.
This day was truly a gift for our team. Match, post match, team session, story and discussion…and yes, Mc-E-D’s too. The only negative was that only half of our group was here to share in it. We can only hope the guys in Mykop are saying the same thing.
Note: Marc Howatson stayed behind in Anapa with some missionary friends we know who have a huge house that serves as a retreat house for Russian pastors and their families. He gets waited on hand and foot…and ankle. Last we heard Naomi, hostess, was making him cinnamon buns so don’t feel to bad for him…poor guy. Marc will join the team Sept 8th en route to Moscow.
Go Spartans!!!
Spartans in Russia 9
September 5th, 2010: Krasnodar, Russia
The two groups split up with one heading to Mykop and the other to Krasnodar.
Mykop Krasnodar
Ben Ball Devyn Plett
Josh Doornenbal Rudy Verhoeff
Lucas Van Berkel Dan JVD
Derek Thiessen Branden Schmidt
John Wiebe Jarrod Offereins
Mikiah Schalk Brad Kufske
Micah JVD Nick Del Bianco
Ryan Adams Ben Josephson
Joel Jansen Jordan Geransky
Aaron Vandenbrink Dave Johns
Stan the Russian Victor the Russian
Unfortunately I will not be able to blog for the group from Mykop so we will have to get their experience uploaded once we all rejoin en route to Moscow on September 8th.
The trip to Krasnodar was 2 hours…and a half, according to Victor the Russian. And yes…it was 2 hours…and a half. We were actually on time for something…sort of, we did depart an hour late but the estimated time of travel was correct.
Upon arrival we had to go straight to a gym where we were to have a match. What we saw and experienced when we arrived is going to be hard to capture in words. It was some kind of “cultural-sport centre” whatever that means. It seemed like a community centre and once inside we were led to a gym. As we walked in there is no way to describe just how odd the first scene was but here goes. First off there were 6-8 spotlights on each wall shining flood light magnitude light on the court. The walls were covered with picket fencing wooden panels reaching 20 feet high and 4 inches from the wall the whole way up to the roof. The gym was about 9.2 meters wide. For those who don’t know a volleyball court is 9 meters wide so we had about 10 centimeters between each sideline and the walls of wooden panel. (10 centimeters is about 4 inches for my wife, Doorny’s wife and any other Americans reading this) Climbing the wooden walling were 2-3 “gremlins” according to Jrod and they were attaching the net to the walls. Upon further examination the net had curious features. Other than the major discrepancy in height between the wings and middle the antennas were…interesting. On one side you had an old pool cue while the other was a fishing rod. The rod was extended to at least twice the height of a regular antenna so needless to say that drew some attention from the guys. Our opponents were just as interesting. Apparently we were going to play two games against a couple “church” teams. So we began and the first few points were just serving practice for Brad Kufske with none being returned. Then the locals began to find a rhythm and some real volleyball was played. They were very excited to play against a good Canadian volleyball team so the match was very fun.
The second game was a little better as the opponents had some good players, or at least players who had some experience…some had A LOT of experience. After the game we had a time of sharing. Jarrod Offereins gave his story and then we had a great question and answer period. The locals were very excited to hear about our trip, where we came from and TWU. It was a really enjoyable night.
We then had to go to a Christian University that was housing us for $10/night but was 30 minutes away. The team piled in a van that was provided for us while Victor the Russian and I jumped in a car with our local contact that set up this portion of the tour. Wait…did I say it would take 30 minutes…nope…12. Michael Schumacher…aka the driver…was for sure preparing for the Talladega and help me Oprah Win-a-frey I was terrified. The entire ride I kept praying that I wanted to meet my unborn son, I want to meet my unborn son…I’m here writing so that dream is still available to me, thank you Lord.
The accommodations are great. Truly this is a blessing as we are able to save some much-needed money in preparation for Moscow. A quick snack and off to bed at 12:30am with a 9:30am match to come the following day…woops.
Go Spartans!!!
The two groups split up with one heading to Mykop and the other to Krasnodar.
Mykop Krasnodar
Ben Ball Devyn Plett
Josh Doornenbal Rudy Verhoeff
Lucas Van Berkel Dan JVD
Derek Thiessen Branden Schmidt
John Wiebe Jarrod Offereins
Mikiah Schalk Brad Kufske
Micah JVD Nick Del Bianco
Ryan Adams Ben Josephson
Joel Jansen Jordan Geransky
Aaron Vandenbrink Dave Johns
Stan the Russian Victor the Russian
Unfortunately I will not be able to blog for the group from Mykop so we will have to get their experience uploaded once we all rejoin en route to Moscow on September 8th.
The trip to Krasnodar was 2 hours…and a half, according to Victor the Russian. And yes…it was 2 hours…and a half. We were actually on time for something…sort of, we did depart an hour late but the estimated time of travel was correct.
Upon arrival we had to go straight to a gym where we were to have a match. What we saw and experienced when we arrived is going to be hard to capture in words. It was some kind of “cultural-sport centre” whatever that means. It seemed like a community centre and once inside we were led to a gym. As we walked in there is no way to describe just how odd the first scene was but here goes. First off there were 6-8 spotlights on each wall shining flood light magnitude light on the court. The walls were covered with picket fencing wooden panels reaching 20 feet high and 4 inches from the wall the whole way up to the roof. The gym was about 9.2 meters wide. For those who don’t know a volleyball court is 9 meters wide so we had about 10 centimeters between each sideline and the walls of wooden panel. (10 centimeters is about 4 inches for my wife, Doorny’s wife and any other Americans reading this) Climbing the wooden walling were 2-3 “gremlins” according to Jrod and they were attaching the net to the walls. Upon further examination the net had curious features. Other than the major discrepancy in height between the wings and middle the antennas were…interesting. On one side you had an old pool cue while the other was a fishing rod. The rod was extended to at least twice the height of a regular antenna so needless to say that drew some attention from the guys. Our opponents were just as interesting. Apparently we were going to play two games against a couple “church” teams. So we began and the first few points were just serving practice for Brad Kufske with none being returned. Then the locals began to find a rhythm and some real volleyball was played. They were very excited to play against a good Canadian volleyball team so the match was very fun.
The second game was a little better as the opponents had some good players, or at least players who had some experience…some had A LOT of experience. After the game we had a time of sharing. Jarrod Offereins gave his story and then we had a great question and answer period. The locals were very excited to hear about our trip, where we came from and TWU. It was a really enjoyable night.
We then had to go to a Christian University that was housing us for $10/night but was 30 minutes away. The team piled in a van that was provided for us while Victor the Russian and I jumped in a car with our local contact that set up this portion of the tour. Wait…did I say it would take 30 minutes…nope…12. Michael Schumacher…aka the driver…was for sure preparing for the Talladega and help me Oprah Win-a-frey I was terrified. The entire ride I kept praying that I wanted to meet my unborn son, I want to meet my unborn son…I’m here writing so that dream is still available to me, thank you Lord.
The accommodations are great. Truly this is a blessing as we are able to save some much-needed money in preparation for Moscow. A quick snack and off to bed at 12:30am with a 9:30am match to come the following day…woops.
Go Spartans!!!
Sunday, September 05, 2010
Spartans In Russia 8
September 5th, 2010: Anapa, Russia
Today is a fairly light day. We had a team session this morning and talked about what types of clothing we need to put on. How clothing hides us, we find meaning and identity in what we wear and what it identifies us with. We talked about how our jersey is a powerful symbol of legacy, history, pride and expectations. We also talked about how a jersey can be a distraction for athletes in that they find their identity in the wrong thing. We as Christian athletes need to be clothed in white and washed in the blood of Christ. Our undergarments are those from Christ while we put our jersey on top but should the outerwear be stripped away our real identity cannot be. It was a great discussion.
This afternoon we will go watch the finals of the Russian Beach National Championship before we depart for Krasnodar & Mykop (spelling?). The team will split into to groups of 11 and undertake different ministry opportunities.
The group going to Krasnodar will play a match tonight and again tomorrow. Potential to work at a church in the mountains. On Tuesday the group will visit a Russian prison and play a match with the guards and soccer with the inmates.
The group going to Mykop will work with a couple local churches and their youth groups running clinics and scrimmaging with local youth. They will also go to an orphanage and help out there for an afternoon. They play a match on Tuesday afternoon/evening and then return to Krasnodar to join the first group.
Both groups will head to Moscow on Wednesday morning at 6am for the final leg of the trip.
The trip feels like it is building momentum. Just like a snowball running down a hill the speed and magnitude of each day grows and the excitement of the matches, toughness of the matches and the ministry opportunities grow and grow. God is good.
Go Spartans!!!
Today is a fairly light day. We had a team session this morning and talked about what types of clothing we need to put on. How clothing hides us, we find meaning and identity in what we wear and what it identifies us with. We talked about how our jersey is a powerful symbol of legacy, history, pride and expectations. We also talked about how a jersey can be a distraction for athletes in that they find their identity in the wrong thing. We as Christian athletes need to be clothed in white and washed in the blood of Christ. Our undergarments are those from Christ while we put our jersey on top but should the outerwear be stripped away our real identity cannot be. It was a great discussion.
This afternoon we will go watch the finals of the Russian Beach National Championship before we depart for Krasnodar & Mykop (spelling?). The team will split into to groups of 11 and undertake different ministry opportunities.
The group going to Krasnodar will play a match tonight and again tomorrow. Potential to work at a church in the mountains. On Tuesday the group will visit a Russian prison and play a match with the guards and soccer with the inmates.
The group going to Mykop will work with a couple local churches and their youth groups running clinics and scrimmaging with local youth. They will also go to an orphanage and help out there for an afternoon. They play a match on Tuesday afternoon/evening and then return to Krasnodar to join the first group.
Both groups will head to Moscow on Wednesday morning at 6am for the final leg of the trip.
The trip feels like it is building momentum. Just like a snowball running down a hill the speed and magnitude of each day grows and the excitement of the matches, toughness of the matches and the ministry opportunities grow and grow. God is good.
Go Spartans!!!
Saturday, September 04, 2010
Spartans in Russia 7
September 4th, 2010: Anapa, Russia
Today began a little differently. We woke up and had our team devotional session at 8am right away in the morning. This one was about hiding places and how people/athletes find their hiding place or identity in a variety of things to avoid reality. The team was challenged to come out from their hiding places and to seek refuge in Christ. It was a very good time for the team and there was some great discussion coming from it.
After the session and breakfast the team headed down to the beach to watch the Russian National Beach Championships. The guys met a bunch of the women's indoor players and the Beach Olympians among other dignitaries from the Russian volleyball world. Some of the guys traded gear with some local players. That combined with all the Russian souvenirs the guys are buying we are looking more and more like the locals all the time. Now if all the fellas could speak the language as well as Aaron Vandenbrink and Marc Howatson we would really be on to something.
After the beach and dinner the team departed for our evening match. It was to be two matches as we would divide our team into two and play two separate matches at the same time. To make things more interesting one of the matches would be on an outdoor court in the blazing hot sun. Upon arrival to the facility it was quickly evident we were in for a much bigger deal than we were led to believe. We drove into the resort and there was a multi sport competition going on for people of all ages. Apparently we were to be the feature match of the whole competition that ran for three days.
After changing in the assigned team room we were led to the gym and after a 30+ minute pregame ceremony where every important person in Anapa had a speech. The indoor game wasn’t the best. The team looked like we had only practiced two times. We were very rusty and poor in our game play. To make things worse we were playing a number of pros on the other team that was supposed to be a University team but in true Russian fashion, they were not prepared to risk losing. We dropped the first two sets but then began to find our match rhythm and play well. We won the third quite easily. The fourth was tight but the momentum began to swing our way when...crash...snap...groan...moan...Marc Howatson dislocated his ankle in one of the most horrific injuries any of us have ever seen live. It was like one of those top ten videos you see on Sports Centre or youtube of the worst sports injuries. Complete ankle dislocation was the prognosis hours later. At the time all we know is that our teammate, friend and brother was rolling on the floor in agony. Immediately those able to stomach the sight ran to Marc's aid while the rest of the team dropped to their knees and immediately began to pray for Marc. It was one of the tensest times in a gymnasium that most of us have been a part of. The not knowing how serious the injury was, how much pain Marc was in and the helpless feeling of watching someone we love in pain and the ability to do nothing for him.
After quite some time the ambulance arrived and stretchered Marc away to the hospital. By ambulance I mean army truck and by stretcher I mean the one from Saving Private Ryan. Total time from injury to departure was around 25-30 minutes and after there was still the matter of the game to attend to. The team tried to warm up quickly and get their heads together but it was obviously very difficult and a two-point game went to a 9-17 deficit. At that point and a couple time outs later the team heard the call from Dave Johns about playing a tribute performance for Marc. They were able to refocus their emotion and minds and began to play some of the most inspired volleyball a Spartan team has ever played. It started slowly but built into a roar as the emotion peaked and the team was playing like rabid dogs that play volleyball really well. What once was a done deal became a 22-20 game. 23-20, 23-21, 24-21, 24-22...game over. The comeback was valiant and one Marc or any other Spartan would be proud of. The Spartans showed the spirit that has come to be a major part of our culture of competition. Our Russian opponents and the fans who witnessed the match and the injury were all enthused about the match and showed a very heartfelt appreciation after all was said and done.
After the match the team was very somber but we were invited to attend the closing ceremonies for the competition and a banquet to follow. It was difficult to put a good face on for the hosts but the team did a great job in trying. Things really perked up when a special teammate made a surprise return from the hospital. Marc made a royal entrance to the banquet and all of our Spartans rushed to greet their fallen comrade. In a really classy move the Russian team we played came over to greet and wish Marc well too. The two teams then spent the majority of the rest of the evening talking, laughing and sharing stories. It was truly a great sight to see all of these talented young athletes all sharing together in harmony and that it took an injured guy to make that happen.
I had the chance to talk to Marc on the phone right after he come back to after sedation and he wasn’t making much sense but he did say two things that were clear:
1- Tell the guys I love them, and
2- What a ministry opportunity this is huh?
Marc was right. God works through all situations. This time it was a half sedated injured cue-tip who had the wisdom to put it all into perspective.
What a ministry opportunity…huh?
Go Spartans!!!
Today began a little differently. We woke up and had our team devotional session at 8am right away in the morning. This one was about hiding places and how people/athletes find their hiding place or identity in a variety of things to avoid reality. The team was challenged to come out from their hiding places and to seek refuge in Christ. It was a very good time for the team and there was some great discussion coming from it.
After the session and breakfast the team headed down to the beach to watch the Russian National Beach Championships. The guys met a bunch of the women's indoor players and the Beach Olympians among other dignitaries from the Russian volleyball world. Some of the guys traded gear with some local players. That combined with all the Russian souvenirs the guys are buying we are looking more and more like the locals all the time. Now if all the fellas could speak the language as well as Aaron Vandenbrink and Marc Howatson we would really be on to something.
After the beach and dinner the team departed for our evening match. It was to be two matches as we would divide our team into two and play two separate matches at the same time. To make things more interesting one of the matches would be on an outdoor court in the blazing hot sun. Upon arrival to the facility it was quickly evident we were in for a much bigger deal than we were led to believe. We drove into the resort and there was a multi sport competition going on for people of all ages. Apparently we were to be the feature match of the whole competition that ran for three days.
After changing in the assigned team room we were led to the gym and after a 30+ minute pregame ceremony where every important person in Anapa had a speech. The indoor game wasn’t the best. The team looked like we had only practiced two times. We were very rusty and poor in our game play. To make things worse we were playing a number of pros on the other team that was supposed to be a University team but in true Russian fashion, they were not prepared to risk losing. We dropped the first two sets but then began to find our match rhythm and play well. We won the third quite easily. The fourth was tight but the momentum began to swing our way when...crash...snap...groan...moan...Marc Howatson dislocated his ankle in one of the most horrific injuries any of us have ever seen live. It was like one of those top ten videos you see on Sports Centre or youtube of the worst sports injuries. Complete ankle dislocation was the prognosis hours later. At the time all we know is that our teammate, friend and brother was rolling on the floor in agony. Immediately those able to stomach the sight ran to Marc's aid while the rest of the team dropped to their knees and immediately began to pray for Marc. It was one of the tensest times in a gymnasium that most of us have been a part of. The not knowing how serious the injury was, how much pain Marc was in and the helpless feeling of watching someone we love in pain and the ability to do nothing for him.
After quite some time the ambulance arrived and stretchered Marc away to the hospital. By ambulance I mean army truck and by stretcher I mean the one from Saving Private Ryan. Total time from injury to departure was around 25-30 minutes and after there was still the matter of the game to attend to. The team tried to warm up quickly and get their heads together but it was obviously very difficult and a two-point game went to a 9-17 deficit. At that point and a couple time outs later the team heard the call from Dave Johns about playing a tribute performance for Marc. They were able to refocus their emotion and minds and began to play some of the most inspired volleyball a Spartan team has ever played. It started slowly but built into a roar as the emotion peaked and the team was playing like rabid dogs that play volleyball really well. What once was a done deal became a 22-20 game. 23-20, 23-21, 24-21, 24-22...game over. The comeback was valiant and one Marc or any other Spartan would be proud of. The Spartans showed the spirit that has come to be a major part of our culture of competition. Our Russian opponents and the fans who witnessed the match and the injury were all enthused about the match and showed a very heartfelt appreciation after all was said and done.
After the match the team was very somber but we were invited to attend the closing ceremonies for the competition and a banquet to follow. It was difficult to put a good face on for the hosts but the team did a great job in trying. Things really perked up when a special teammate made a surprise return from the hospital. Marc made a royal entrance to the banquet and all of our Spartans rushed to greet their fallen comrade. In a really classy move the Russian team we played came over to greet and wish Marc well too. The two teams then spent the majority of the rest of the evening talking, laughing and sharing stories. It was truly a great sight to see all of these talented young athletes all sharing together in harmony and that it took an injured guy to make that happen.
I had the chance to talk to Marc on the phone right after he come back to after sedation and he wasn’t making much sense but he did say two things that were clear:
1- Tell the guys I love them, and
2- What a ministry opportunity this is huh?
Marc was right. God works through all situations. This time it was a half sedated injured cue-tip who had the wisdom to put it all into perspective.
What a ministry opportunity…huh?
Go Spartans!!!
Friday, September 03, 2010
Spartans In Russia 6
September 3rd, 2010: Anapa, Russia
Travel Day. 300km from Sochi to Anapa along the coast of the Black Sea. Up and down mountains, in and out of bays, all around the Russian beautiful countryside. What was supposed to be a 6-7 hour trip turned into a 10 hour jaunt. Pretty typical from what we are beginning to see here in Russia. With that said it was a great chance to have some great conversations amongst the team and to see the Russian country. Upon arrival in Anapa the team checked into the hotel and then embarked on a recon mission. Not too far from where the team is staying is a boardwalk of sorts with all kinds of activity. When the team walked up there was Spiderman standing under a neon sign saying Paradise (but in Russian). A very odd image in a dream let alone reality. Once the team crossed into “paradise” two monkeys jumped from their handlers landing on two of the athletes. Then a hawk appeared and perched itself on Marc Howatson’s arm after scaring the virus out of Ben Ball. Before we know it two giant red parrots were standing on Derek Thiessen’s head. When we looked about and saw more fluffy white animals not too far away we realized it was time to keep moving away from the makeshift petting zoo. Things did calm down after the initial rush of the entrance to paradise, or maybe we became accustomed to the oddities. Like all boardwalks there were vendors of all sorts selling trinkets, clothing, meats on sticks, drinks, etc Then there were the carnies (small hands) and they had typical games like how hard could you punch, pop the balloon with a dart and win a bottle of vodka by dropping a ring around the neck of the bottle, you know…typical. At the end of the boardwalk is an absolutely beautiful beach that stretches as far as the eye can see. Big and sandy much different than the rocky beach in Sochi. After making it all the way to the ocean it was time to turn around. A couple souvenir purchases, Dan JVD buying some street meat (we will see if it was worth it tomorrow) and a couple more superhero/animal encounters and we were home. Off to bed to begin our next phase of the tour in Anapa. Who knows what else Anapa has in store for the Spartans. If “paradise” is an indicator these next three days could get interesting.
Go Spartans!!!
Travel Day. 300km from Sochi to Anapa along the coast of the Black Sea. Up and down mountains, in and out of bays, all around the Russian beautiful countryside. What was supposed to be a 6-7 hour trip turned into a 10 hour jaunt. Pretty typical from what we are beginning to see here in Russia. With that said it was a great chance to have some great conversations amongst the team and to see the Russian country. Upon arrival in Anapa the team checked into the hotel and then embarked on a recon mission. Not too far from where the team is staying is a boardwalk of sorts with all kinds of activity. When the team walked up there was Spiderman standing under a neon sign saying Paradise (but in Russian). A very odd image in a dream let alone reality. Once the team crossed into “paradise” two monkeys jumped from their handlers landing on two of the athletes. Then a hawk appeared and perched itself on Marc Howatson’s arm after scaring the virus out of Ben Ball. Before we know it two giant red parrots were standing on Derek Thiessen’s head. When we looked about and saw more fluffy white animals not too far away we realized it was time to keep moving away from the makeshift petting zoo. Things did calm down after the initial rush of the entrance to paradise, or maybe we became accustomed to the oddities. Like all boardwalks there were vendors of all sorts selling trinkets, clothing, meats on sticks, drinks, etc Then there were the carnies (small hands) and they had typical games like how hard could you punch, pop the balloon with a dart and win a bottle of vodka by dropping a ring around the neck of the bottle, you know…typical. At the end of the boardwalk is an absolutely beautiful beach that stretches as far as the eye can see. Big and sandy much different than the rocky beach in Sochi. After making it all the way to the ocean it was time to turn around. A couple souvenir purchases, Dan JVD buying some street meat (we will see if it was worth it tomorrow) and a couple more superhero/animal encounters and we were home. Off to bed to begin our next phase of the tour in Anapa. Who knows what else Anapa has in store for the Spartans. If “paradise” is an indicator these next three days could get interesting.
Go Spartans!!!
Spartans in Russia 5
September 2nd, 2010: Sochi, Russia
5:30am: Boom!!! Huge tropical storm hits Sochi. Waves of rain and thunderous clouds bursting everywhere.
Thought #1: We have 9 athletes sleeping down by the beach…hope the waves don’t get too crazy
Thought #2: All of our laundry is outside…was outside…now scattered around the parking lot.
Thought #3 (and most important): Noooooo…the Beach Tournament finals cancelled?
Answer #1: The athletes in the building down by the beach were never in danger though the waves did get crazy. After breakfast the whole team jumped in the Black Sea and body surfed for almost an hour before the local lifeguards made the team get out of that area due to an increased undertow.
Answer #2: All laundry accounted for and re-hanging…no harm no foul.
Answer #3 (and most important): Yessss!!! The Beach tournament will resume as the storm stopped just in time for the playoffs to begin. Yesterday’s play brought out a number of new Russian opponents who all wanted a shot at playing the skinny, white Canadians. While the playoffs for the Trophy of Champions (received the night before as a gift from the Sochi team we played) was played on one court the Spartans vs Russia happened all morning on the other court. At the end of the day the 1st Annual Spartan Intersquad Tournament Trophy of Champions went to the partnership of Dan JVD & Ben Ball as they defeated Marc Howatson & Aaron Vandenbrink in a toughly fought final. Final Standings were:
1st Ben Ball & Dan JVD
2nd Marc Howatson & Aaron Vandenbrink
3rd Nick Del Bianco & John Wiebe
4th Jarrod Offereins & Branden Schmidt (filled in for by Ben Josephson due to illness)
T5th Mikiah Schalk & Stan the Russian
T5th Joel Jansen & Victor the Russian
T7th Lucas Van Berkel & Derek Thiessen
T7th Micah JVD & Devyn Plett
T7th Rudy Verhoeff & Josh Doornenbal
The beach tournament wasn’t the only excitement of the morning. As the guys would go into the water to clean off after playing the waves continued to get stronger and stronger. Many people were playing in the waves but the force of the incoming waves was beginning to get intense and was pulling people towards the sea wall. A few of the Spartans were in the water experiencing the fun of playing in the waves but were getting pulled closer to danger. They noticed and began to head to safer waters but Lucas Van Berkel was unable to dodge a portion of the sea wall and was banged up a bit. Really nothing a few knee bandages couldn’t take care of but it soon became the source of much trash talk as Lucas had to wear kneepads made of gauze the rest of the afternoon.
The sickness usually associated with overseas tours has begun to set in as it claimed Branden Schmidt today. He spent the whole day in bed trying to sleep off what ever it is that was making him feel like garbage. Good news is that by day’s end it looks like he was through it. Unfortunately he had to miss the night’s match as did Coach Ryan Adams who stayed behind, and good thing he did as he went down with sickness too that night while in the hotel. It has begun, who knows who will be next, like Virus Roulette in Russia.
We left for the match early trying to get there a little earlier than the previous day. Good idea, bad execution. Two hours later we arrived at the gym though it only took 25 minutes to get home the night before. On the bright side the team had some great bonding time in the bus…again. The match was to be against the same team but we were cautioned that in Russia if you win you can expect the ringers to come out of the woodwork, potentially even mid match. The justification is, “we are Russian, we don’t lose.” True to form, three new players all much younger and with good jump. It was a much better match. The Spartans won 3-0 but they played much better than the previous night as the opponents demanded that type of effort. This match had some added excitement as a number of the fans and friends the team had made on the beach and around the town had come out to watch the match. After the match Marc Howatson shared with all who had come out to watch a little about what Christ has done for him and what our team is about. He also did a great job talking, through an interpreter though he is getting pretty good at Russian, to the crowd and painting a great picture.
It was a day that began with a lot of excitement and ended with a lot of contentment. God is good…
Go Spartans!!!
5:30am: Boom!!! Huge tropical storm hits Sochi. Waves of rain and thunderous clouds bursting everywhere.
Thought #1: We have 9 athletes sleeping down by the beach…hope the waves don’t get too crazy
Thought #2: All of our laundry is outside…was outside…now scattered around the parking lot.
Thought #3 (and most important): Noooooo…the Beach Tournament finals cancelled?
Answer #1: The athletes in the building down by the beach were never in danger though the waves did get crazy. After breakfast the whole team jumped in the Black Sea and body surfed for almost an hour before the local lifeguards made the team get out of that area due to an increased undertow.
Answer #2: All laundry accounted for and re-hanging…no harm no foul.
Answer #3 (and most important): Yessss!!! The Beach tournament will resume as the storm stopped just in time for the playoffs to begin. Yesterday’s play brought out a number of new Russian opponents who all wanted a shot at playing the skinny, white Canadians. While the playoffs for the Trophy of Champions (received the night before as a gift from the Sochi team we played) was played on one court the Spartans vs Russia happened all morning on the other court. At the end of the day the 1st Annual Spartan Intersquad Tournament Trophy of Champions went to the partnership of Dan JVD & Ben Ball as they defeated Marc Howatson & Aaron Vandenbrink in a toughly fought final. Final Standings were:
1st Ben Ball & Dan JVD
2nd Marc Howatson & Aaron Vandenbrink
3rd Nick Del Bianco & John Wiebe
4th Jarrod Offereins & Branden Schmidt (filled in for by Ben Josephson due to illness)
T5th Mikiah Schalk & Stan the Russian
T5th Joel Jansen & Victor the Russian
T7th Lucas Van Berkel & Derek Thiessen
T7th Micah JVD & Devyn Plett
T7th Rudy Verhoeff & Josh Doornenbal
The beach tournament wasn’t the only excitement of the morning. As the guys would go into the water to clean off after playing the waves continued to get stronger and stronger. Many people were playing in the waves but the force of the incoming waves was beginning to get intense and was pulling people towards the sea wall. A few of the Spartans were in the water experiencing the fun of playing in the waves but were getting pulled closer to danger. They noticed and began to head to safer waters but Lucas Van Berkel was unable to dodge a portion of the sea wall and was banged up a bit. Really nothing a few knee bandages couldn’t take care of but it soon became the source of much trash talk as Lucas had to wear kneepads made of gauze the rest of the afternoon.
The sickness usually associated with overseas tours has begun to set in as it claimed Branden Schmidt today. He spent the whole day in bed trying to sleep off what ever it is that was making him feel like garbage. Good news is that by day’s end it looks like he was through it. Unfortunately he had to miss the night’s match as did Coach Ryan Adams who stayed behind, and good thing he did as he went down with sickness too that night while in the hotel. It has begun, who knows who will be next, like Virus Roulette in Russia.
We left for the match early trying to get there a little earlier than the previous day. Good idea, bad execution. Two hours later we arrived at the gym though it only took 25 minutes to get home the night before. On the bright side the team had some great bonding time in the bus…again. The match was to be against the same team but we were cautioned that in Russia if you win you can expect the ringers to come out of the woodwork, potentially even mid match. The justification is, “we are Russian, we don’t lose.” True to form, three new players all much younger and with good jump. It was a much better match. The Spartans won 3-0 but they played much better than the previous night as the opponents demanded that type of effort. This match had some added excitement as a number of the fans and friends the team had made on the beach and around the town had come out to watch the match. After the match Marc Howatson shared with all who had come out to watch a little about what Christ has done for him and what our team is about. He also did a great job talking, through an interpreter though he is getting pretty good at Russian, to the crowd and painting a great picture.
It was a day that began with a lot of excitement and ended with a lot of contentment. God is good…
Go Spartans!!!
Spartans In Russia 4
September 1st, 2010: Sochi, Russia
Mark this day on the Spartan Calendar as the beginning of the 1st Annual Spartan Intersquad Beach Tournament. Names were drawn out of a hat pairing the team up in the most equal way possible. The teams were named as follows:
Dan JVD & Ben Ball (Giant & the Gremlin)
Nick Del Bianco & John Wiebe (or Woobe as he is known in Russia)
Lucas Van Berkel & Derek Thiessen (front runners for the championship ☺)
Micah JVD & Devyn Plett (freshman setters unite)
Marc Howatson & Aaron Vandenbrink (skill incarnate)
Rudy Verhoeff & Josh Doornenbal (Middles can play beach too)
Mikiah Schalk & Constantine (Stan) the Russian (unknown…could be great)
Joel Jansen & Victor the Russian (Old Men who got game)
Branden Schmidt & Jarrod Offereins (great front & back potential)
With the teams set and the trash talk beginning to fly early in the morning the matches for the pool phase commenced. Needless to say a bunch of English being yelled by very tall and in most cases pasty white (soon to be burned red) and skinny, sorry thin, Canadians play beach volleyball drew quite a crowd. By the end of the morning most of the locals on the beach had turned their chairs around and were watching the boys play, laugh and enjoy their morning. The play also provided a number of opportunities for interaction with the locals. Many of the guys were asked to play on the other court with some of the Russians who were playing. A little dose of humility was waiting for the Spartans as they played some very crafty old Russian men (and woman) who had every trick in the book. Some great conversations popped up throughout the morning and a small following began to take shape.
After lunch the team had another team session with DJ. The discussion surrounded the guy’s sporting background, church background and the essence of sport. After much good discussion a few more athletes gave their stories. The highlight was Ben Ball’s analogy for understanding Christ’s sacrifice equating it to if one of our teammates sacrificed themselves for us and how incomprehensible that would be. It was a powerful moment in our trip and one that hit a lot of the team squarely.
Later that night it was time for our first match. So back to the gym we went…or wanted to go. We were told that the bus was not coming…just wasn’t coming. So as Victor Podluzhny went looking for an alternate form of transportation a number of guys on the team prayed for a solution. Shortly after an empty bus was flagged down on the highway and the driver had time to take us to the gym. No small task as Russian traffic is like Port Mann rush hour combined with Red Mile way back when the Flames were good (ya, I said it!). An hour and a half later we were at the gym ready to begin the match.
We were not sure what type of team we were going to play. It ended up being a team of veterans from the leagues in Russia who now play amateur together for Gymnasium Number 15. The headman, Vladimir, is a former Super league hero who could still bomb. Like stereotypical Russian volleyballers they ripped the serve and did not tip once. This was great for us as our block was solid and many new roofs were given to the locals thanks to this match. After the match the two teams went out of the sauna where the match was held to the courtyard and had a post game snack. Rudy Verhoeff gave his story to the opponents and did a great job conveying where he came from, why he plays volleyball and why Christ is so important to him. It was a great example of why this trip is important.
Day 1 of competition was great, God is great…
Go Spartans!!!
Mark this day on the Spartan Calendar as the beginning of the 1st Annual Spartan Intersquad Beach Tournament. Names were drawn out of a hat pairing the team up in the most equal way possible. The teams were named as follows:
Dan JVD & Ben Ball (Giant & the Gremlin)
Nick Del Bianco & John Wiebe (or Woobe as he is known in Russia)
Lucas Van Berkel & Derek Thiessen (front runners for the championship ☺)
Micah JVD & Devyn Plett (freshman setters unite)
Marc Howatson & Aaron Vandenbrink (skill incarnate)
Rudy Verhoeff & Josh Doornenbal (Middles can play beach too)
Mikiah Schalk & Constantine (Stan) the Russian (unknown…could be great)
Joel Jansen & Victor the Russian (Old Men who got game)
Branden Schmidt & Jarrod Offereins (great front & back potential)
With the teams set and the trash talk beginning to fly early in the morning the matches for the pool phase commenced. Needless to say a bunch of English being yelled by very tall and in most cases pasty white (soon to be burned red) and skinny, sorry thin, Canadians play beach volleyball drew quite a crowd. By the end of the morning most of the locals on the beach had turned their chairs around and were watching the boys play, laugh and enjoy their morning. The play also provided a number of opportunities for interaction with the locals. Many of the guys were asked to play on the other court with some of the Russians who were playing. A little dose of humility was waiting for the Spartans as they played some very crafty old Russian men (and woman) who had every trick in the book. Some great conversations popped up throughout the morning and a small following began to take shape.
After lunch the team had another team session with DJ. The discussion surrounded the guy’s sporting background, church background and the essence of sport. After much good discussion a few more athletes gave their stories. The highlight was Ben Ball’s analogy for understanding Christ’s sacrifice equating it to if one of our teammates sacrificed themselves for us and how incomprehensible that would be. It was a powerful moment in our trip and one that hit a lot of the team squarely.
Later that night it was time for our first match. So back to the gym we went…or wanted to go. We were told that the bus was not coming…just wasn’t coming. So as Victor Podluzhny went looking for an alternate form of transportation a number of guys on the team prayed for a solution. Shortly after an empty bus was flagged down on the highway and the driver had time to take us to the gym. No small task as Russian traffic is like Port Mann rush hour combined with Red Mile way back when the Flames were good (ya, I said it!). An hour and a half later we were at the gym ready to begin the match.
We were not sure what type of team we were going to play. It ended up being a team of veterans from the leagues in Russia who now play amateur together for Gymnasium Number 15. The headman, Vladimir, is a former Super league hero who could still bomb. Like stereotypical Russian volleyballers they ripped the serve and did not tip once. This was great for us as our block was solid and many new roofs were given to the locals thanks to this match. After the match the two teams went out of the sauna where the match was held to the courtyard and had a post game snack. Rudy Verhoeff gave his story to the opponents and did a great job conveying where he came from, why he plays volleyball and why Christ is so important to him. It was a great example of why this trip is important.
Day 1 of competition was great, God is great…
Go Spartans!!!
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Spartans In Russia: 3
August 31st, 2010: Sochi, Russia
This morning was an easy morning. The team got up late and had a great breakfast at the resort we are staying at. After some relaxing on the beach the team jumped in a bus and headed out to the sites of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. The group of Russians who are hosting us were very excited to show us the sites for the next Winter Olympiad. For those of us from Vancouver the sight was all to familiar. Lots of hustle and bustle and construction as far as the eye can see. The skyline was dotted with cranes building hotels, venues and housing. Along the road they are building an entire second highway and a light rail way from the main city of Sochi to the mountains where the alpine events will be held. It is much like the Vancouver/Whistler relationship. A big coastal city and a mountainous ski resort. The trip was quite basic, up and back but with all the traffic and construction it was a five hour round trip. After the long hot trip we tried to train in the facility we were going to be playing in the next night. When we arrived we found a great facility. Brightly coloured floor and big spacious training environment. We had our first training session in Russia and it was exciting to think about how our volleyball team was going to impact this culture and those we had the opportunity to come into contact with.
Go Spartans!!!
This morning was an easy morning. The team got up late and had a great breakfast at the resort we are staying at. After some relaxing on the beach the team jumped in a bus and headed out to the sites of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. The group of Russians who are hosting us were very excited to show us the sites for the next Winter Olympiad. For those of us from Vancouver the sight was all to familiar. Lots of hustle and bustle and construction as far as the eye can see. The skyline was dotted with cranes building hotels, venues and housing. Along the road they are building an entire second highway and a light rail way from the main city of Sochi to the mountains where the alpine events will be held. It is much like the Vancouver/Whistler relationship. A big coastal city and a mountainous ski resort. The trip was quite basic, up and back but with all the traffic and construction it was a five hour round trip. After the long hot trip we tried to train in the facility we were going to be playing in the next night. When we arrived we found a great facility. Brightly coloured floor and big spacious training environment. We had our first training session in Russia and it was exciting to think about how our volleyball team was going to impact this culture and those we had the opportunity to come into contact with.
Go Spartans!!!
Spartans in Russia: 2
August 30th, 2010: Sochi, Russia
After the long travel the best thing possible was some time swimming and an early night to bed. One of our biggest concerns coming out of travel was hydration and how quickly we could adapt to the 11 hour time change. Amidst the swimming and relaxing on the beach we had our first Team Sessions with our Athletes in Action Leader Dave Johns. We worked through Psalm 133 and talked a lot about Unity. This for the Spartan Men's Volleyball culture is one of our central themes to what makes us, us. It was great to get that stuff on the table early in the tour. Up to this point we have had a number of athletes share their "story" or testimony with the rest of the team as we begin to prepare ourselves on how to share with some of the Russians we will come in contact with. It has been really exciting to hear the athletes talk about their past experiences, present struggles and future goals. This process of getting to know eachother on a deeper level is one of the early exciting benefits to this tour. After our team session and a dinner it was off to bed and early to rise.
Go Spartans!!!
After the long travel the best thing possible was some time swimming and an early night to bed. One of our biggest concerns coming out of travel was hydration and how quickly we could adapt to the 11 hour time change. Amidst the swimming and relaxing on the beach we had our first Team Sessions with our Athletes in Action Leader Dave Johns. We worked through Psalm 133 and talked a lot about Unity. This for the Spartan Men's Volleyball culture is one of our central themes to what makes us, us. It was great to get that stuff on the table early in the tour. Up to this point we have had a number of athletes share their "story" or testimony with the rest of the team as we begin to prepare ourselves on how to share with some of the Russians we will come in contact with. It has been really exciting to hear the athletes talk about their past experiences, present struggles and future goals. This process of getting to know eachother on a deeper level is one of the early exciting benefits to this tour. After our team session and a dinner it was off to bed and early to rise.
Go Spartans!!!
Spartans In Russia: 1
August 28th - 30th - Vancouver-Frankfurt-Moscow-Sochi
The journey to Russia has been a long and interesting one. The trip began 8:40pm...wait 9:10pm...wait 9:30pm on August 28th. Delays at the beginning...yikes. We took a quick one hour flight to Calgary then had a 45 minute layover. We like to call that portion of the trip baby cries, Spartans endure. After leaving Calgary the 11 hour flight to Frankfurt Germany began. After a few hour layover and a Happy McBacon and Nuerberger later we were off for Moscow. We arrived in Moscow at 4:30am on August 30th...not sure what happened to August 29th but maybe we will find that day sometime down the road. A few hours in Moscow, one bad breakfast and another quick flight and we landed in Sochi. What we saw when we landed made it all worth it. Most of us were thinking of Russia much like people think of Canada, snow, cold and harsh landscape. Maybe the rest of Russia is like that, we will see, but Sochi is most definately not. We are in a tropical paradise here. We are staying a beach resort right on the Black Sea. It is 29-35 degrees daily and it could not be more beautiful.
Go Spartans!!!
The journey to Russia has been a long and interesting one. The trip began 8:40pm...wait 9:10pm...wait 9:30pm on August 28th. Delays at the beginning...yikes. We took a quick one hour flight to Calgary then had a 45 minute layover. We like to call that portion of the trip baby cries, Spartans endure. After leaving Calgary the 11 hour flight to Frankfurt Germany began. After a few hour layover and a Happy McBacon and Nuerberger later we were off for Moscow. We arrived in Moscow at 4:30am on August 30th...not sure what happened to August 29th but maybe we will find that day sometime down the road. A few hours in Moscow, one bad breakfast and another quick flight and we landed in Sochi. What we saw when we landed made it all worth it. Most of us were thinking of Russia much like people think of Canada, snow, cold and harsh landscape. Maybe the rest of Russia is like that, we will see, but Sochi is most definately not. We are in a tropical paradise here. We are staying a beach resort right on the Black Sea. It is 29-35 degrees daily and it could not be more beautiful.
Go Spartans!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)