A Newsletter for the Wootton High School Boys Volleyball Community

1.23.2015

Spring 2015 Tryouts and Conditioning

Spring informational meeting was held on January 22. If you missed the meeting, and are interested in trying out, please contact Mary M., Rm. 279, mmwvb@yahoo.com, or John H. johnhartranftvb@gmail.com

Pre-season conditioning will take place every Monday and Thursday, 2:45, starting 1/26/15. Meet near the lower gym. Bring water, wear athletic clothing, be prepared to go outside if the weather is dry. Bring your medical card and parent permission to conditioning.

Tryouts will start on Saturday, February 28 (10 am- 12:30 pm) and may continue on Monday and Tuesday, March 2-3 (2:30 - 5 pm). The tryout schedule may change, so please check the calendar for updates.

Be sure to visit the Wootton Athletics website for all necessary forms.

8.15.2014

Wootton Boys Varsity Volleyball Team Earns AVCA Team Academic Award

Malinauskas named MoCo Player of the Year; Chin and Wang named to All-County Team.

The Spring 2014 Wootton boys volleyball team has earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award.  We're one of only 27 high school boys teams to be honored with this national award for excellence in the classroom (a team GPA of 3.3 / 4.0 or above).

This is the second consecutive year that the Wootton Varsity Boys Volleyball Team has earned this award.

The AVCA press release is below. The list of schools receiving the award can be found on the AVCA website here:  http://www.avca.org/awards/team-academic-award/

This award and a memorable 15-0 championship season affirm the success of Wootton's athletic program, and the boys are fine examples of the student-athlete ideal.  Seniors Paul Malinauskas (Player of the Year), Cary Chin and Ben Wang (All-County) were recognized by The Gazette Newspapers for their outstanding performances during the 2014 season. See http://www.gazette.net/article/20140528/SPORTS/140529151/1023/1023/2014-all-gazette-boys-8217-volleyball&template=gazette

Congratulations to:

Seniors: Cary Chin, David Li, Paul Malinauskas, Benjamin Wang

Juniors:  Jeremy Chung, Ethan Frymark, Adam  Kaplan, Andrew Merchant, Mark Pang, Robert Severynse

Sophomores:  James Ho, Henry Shu, Justin Wu, Nathan Xie



Freshmen: Victor de Avila, Renato Omar Nunez

Managers: Timothy Chang, Max Jin, David Juhnn, Noah Ru


2013-2014 Press Release

AVCA Breaks Another Record With 686 Teams Honored for Academic Excellence
Total overrides the previous mark of 623 schools set in 2012-13

LEXINGTON, Ky. (August 4, 2014) - The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced today that 684 teams have earned the AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2013-2014 season. This number once again breaks the previous year's total of 623 and sets a new all-time high for this award.  

The award, which was initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that displayed excellence in the classroom during the school year by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale.

"Too often athletic participation is associated with academic underachievement and this stereotype is simply false when it comes to volleyball," said AVCA Executive Director Kathy DeBoer. "Couple the smarts represented by these teams with the competitive experience and team-focused training gained on the court and we have a potent formula for future leadership! What a significant contribution that is by their coaches and schools."

The AVCA Team Academic Award has become one of the AVCA's fastest growing awards programs, seeing an impressive surge in teams honored over the past several years. Since the 2000-2001 season, the number of recipients have increased every single year but one, while amassing an overall 500% increase over the span of the last decade. Since the award's inception in 1993, the amount of award winners has increased from 62 to its current number of 684.

NCAA Division I recorded their highest-ever total number of recipients, honoring 136 programs while NCAA Division II also set a new record by reaching a total of 95 honorees. NCAA Division III continues to set new records after 129 schools take home the honor with the Two-Year College category also surpassing their previous high of 16 with 23.

Prior to 2013-2014, only 18 teams had attained the pinnacle of volleyball success in both earning the AVCA Team Academic Award and winning their respective collegiate national championship in the same academic year. This year, the AVCA is proud to recognize four programs that excelled in the classroom and on the court: Concordia University, St. Paul (NCA Division II), Calvin College (NCAA Division III), Cowley County Community College (NJCAA Division II) and Clearwater Christian College (NCCAA Division II).


Over 1,000 different schools have earned the award in the program's 22-year history, with exactly 6,126 awards been given out in total. Additionally, there were six programs to earn recognition in the inaugural sand category.

5.13.2014

2014 Championship: Wootton Patriots Complete 15-0 Championship Season

Wootton and Clarksburg played an exciting four-set championship match. Wootton squeaked by with the win 25-23, 25-20, 23-25, 25-18.

Here is the local newspaper article about the match:

http://www.gazette.net/article/20140513/SPORTS/140519704/1021/wootton-repeats-as-boys-8217-volleyball-champs&template=gazette

Congratulations to all MCPS boys volleyball teams on a well-played, competitive season!



5.08.2014

A Jolly Good Time Playing Mintonette

Wootton wins semifinal match against Richard Montgomery 25-23, 25-22, 25-19.




May 8, (sometime in the last 119 years)

A fair crowd  witnessed the sporting young men of the Richard Montgomery and Wootton academic institutions compete on the Wootton campus this evening in the activity called "Mintonette."  Gentlemen from each illustrious institution took to the rectangular court to trade possession of a ball across a net strung higher than the usual height of outstretched arms of any of the participants. The exhibition was a fine one, and made for a jolly evening.

In "Mintonette" the points occur when gravity wins the battle against attempts to bump the ball into the air and over the net. Upon the event of the ball touching the floor (forced at times from one side of the net to the other, usually by a tall or high-jumping smasher), the team unencumbered by gravity's victory is awarded the point.


The Patriot-men of Wootton scored seventy-five points in all during the athletic contest and then no more, compared with the sixty-four points scored by the Richard Montgomerians. It had been decided upon beforehand to section the game into equal point-scoring parts whereby a milestone of twenty-five points would become the objective for each school to reach first. The Wootton mintonetters and their followers were jubilant upon reaching the twenty-five point threshold first on three consecutive sections, thereby having bestowed upon them the privilege of playing another contest before breaking for the summer growing season.


The formidable tasks at hand for each side proved to be a rigorous challenge and induced the kind of thirst that could dry a well during a rain storm. A well-earned sarsaparilla (in packs of six) could be the reward for each unit's exhaustive efforts on behalf of their schoolmates.



The Wootton-eers, upon hearing of the success of the Clarksburg school to the north and their fine squadron of mintonetters, will engage in another friendly  game that has been arranged for the Tuesday (May 13) following this weekend's chores and studies. That contest will begin at 5:00pm inside the gymnasium of Colonel Zadok Magruder's namesake school.



The Wootton "Mintonetters"

2014 Playoffs: Semifinal Results

Results of semifinal matches on May 8, 2014:
#1 Wootton defeated #5 Richard Montgomery 3-0
#2 Clarksburg defeated #3 Wheaton 3-1

On Tuesday, May 13, Wootton and Clarksburg will play for the Boys Volleyball County Championship at Magruder High School at 5:00 pm

5.07.2014

Learning and Coaching

When you were learning to ride a bicycle, what drills did your bicycle coach make you do?

John Kessel, USA Volleyball's Director of Sport Development who was recently inducted into the American Volleyball Coaches Hall of Fame, has had an impact on my approach to coaching. Kessel says:
"When I teach clinics for both coaches and parents, I reference what other great learning/motor skill/leadership development things that happen in our kids lives, have happening - music teachers (including private ones who get paid per hour), voice teachers, dance instructors, directors of plays, etc - they are quite involved in training, but once the show goes on, you do NOT see them screaming from the audience what should be happening, or calling time outs. They just take notes for the next training. They get paid lots of money to teach/train, but when the performance happens, they sit back and prepare for the next place they can really influence, the next practice. "

Jurgen Klinsmann, the US Men's National Soccer Team Coach, has this to say: 
“When you talk to coaches and parents, it’s very difficult for them sometimes to understand that the kid is essentially self-taught. Coaches are really just more the inspiration of the whole thing — the guide, in a certain way. But he’s not the decision maker on the field. This is a very different approach. Parents and coaches think they are making the decisions. I tell them, no, you’re not making the decision. The decision is made by the kid on the field. So maybe here and there you should just shut up and let the kid figure it out.”
Another illustration of these points:


SNL--High School Chess Coach from Kevin Kelton on Vimeo.


I chew gum during matches to release my own competitive energy. The team will default to their level of training and preparation in many cases. Win or lose, game day is a good way to assess the impact of the training. The process of learning continues.

5.06.2014

The Wingmen

Wootton edges Churchill in quarterfinal match 25-21, 25-21, 25-15.

A few of "The Wingmen."  
Tuesday, May 8, 2014.

The Wingman has your back. The Wingman protects the lead. The Wingman's offers mutual support to teammates on and off the court.  The Wingman adds offensive and defensive firepower. The Wingman brings awareness to predictable and unforeseen situations.  The Wingman improves the quality of production, and puts the team in a position to use more dynamic tactics.

Ahhh, but when does The Wingman get the credit?  Good question.

The Wingman draws satisfaction from the team's performance knowing that their contributions of preparation and presence are the keys to the team's success. Credit doesn't matter, does it?

When the value of The Wingman is publicly recognized, it is well-deserved, but The Wingman knows where to deliver the credit:  To teammates. To parents. To those who came before. To the respected opponent (e.g. Churchill). To the blessings of opportunity.

Wootton's Wingmen show up in the practice gym each day. On game day they play on the court and stand ready on the bench and cheer from the stands. They challenge from the opposing side of the net. They schedule the season the summer before, coordinate officials, and compile results. They collect admission at the door, pay the bills and purchase equipment. They officiate.  They keep score. They work the concession stand. They shag volleyballs. They photograph. They drive to away matches. And so on.

The Wingmen make volleyball happen at Wootton. To their credit, the team plays another day this season.

Wootton hosts Richard Montgomery in the semifinals on Thursday, May 8 at 5:30 pm.