 As we head into another New Year with our list of wishes, hopes and dreams for the magical change over of the clock, I find that sometimes my list has been the same year after year after year. Do you feel the same? My mother always quoted a Slovenian saying which roughly translates to: "Time is Ticking...Saying Nothing" As I sit for the next few days contemplating 2013 and my goals for 2014..I wonder what I will come up with. Having had a lot of "big dreams" in my life already met, what can I come up with for the next year?? I am currently spending the winter in Costa Rica with it's beautiful beaches, so that is a big dream that came to fruition this year. I am already planning summer camps that I will attending.... maybe partner up with someone and have my own??? Healthwise... I will continue to be "fab at 50"... gotta get back on track a little better physically wise now that I am eating much more healthier... for those of you that have reading through my 10 Day Celebrity Transformation posts and if any part resonated with you or if it is a major challenge for you... why not do it anyway? Make this the year you take back your health... For my young athletes out there, this is the perfect time for you to establish good eating habits. How much better will you perform if you have the proper nutrients in you? You will train better, be more energetic and probably stay healthier as well. In this day of competitive sport, you need any competitive (legal) edge you can get. Do you think your competitors are leading same lifestyle as you? If they are then it is natural skill vs natural skill.. If they aren't, now you have the edge. Sport is a game of inches... the difference between match point with serve ace or serve out can be one banana!! Do you think the professional and Olympic athletes are eating cupcakes, chips and a coke?? nope... greens, quinoa and juicing is on their plates!! How you fuel your body the day before, the morning of, and during your tournaments all matter in how you will perform on the court. Mind. Body. Spirit. all 3 need to be functioning at peak form for you to fulfil those dreams you have on your Vision boards (if you don't have one yet make that your New Year's Day project)!!! Pan Am Games in Toronto 2015 Olympic Games in Rio 2016 FIVB Beach Youth Championships 2014 these are all there for you... someone has it on their dream board, do you? someone has to play in them...why not you?? if not Now, then When.... tick, tick, tick, tick........ Wishing you many Blessings and the happiest of New Years!! May Health, Happiness, and Joy fill 2014... Dream Big diane PS.. I have a few PURIUM $50 gift cards to give away that expire Dec 31/13... so it is not to late to get one and start the New Year in transformation. Send me a message and I will send you a number. Make it a family resolution to get healthy. Mom & Dad out there, you are the example for your kids in what they eat and drink... shop & cook healthy.. if you don't have time to take care of the health of you and your kids....who will?? if not Now, then when??? Take the Million Mom Movement PLEDGE
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 Merry Christmas to all the hardworking teams, players and coaches!!!.. I found a great article to share with you today. It is from one of the greatest indoor/beach players to play the game. I was fortunate enough to see Karch Kiraly from the USA team win 2 of his 3 Olympic Gold Medals.. Indoor in Los Angeles in 84..where he was a machine on serve receive.. and on the beach in Atlanta in 96. The following article from his blog is great advice for all age groups. Karch was known as one of the hardest working PRACTICE players in volleyball. His work ethic in practice made everyone around him better. I didn't know that in 84 at my first Olympics but I sure learned that during my 96 stint as I started off being the second setter. I made sure that I worked hard on the second squad to raise the level of the second 6 to make the starting 6 raise their game!!! And as you can see by the picture...he was a goal maker!! How hard do you work in practice? Are you making your teammates better by making yourself better? How much time do you spend perfecting your skill instead of making the same effort every time?? What have you declared to the world?? Please read and reread Karch's tips... these points will make you a better player and teammate!! good luck as your season vamps up... Dream Big diane ****************************************************************************************************************************** KARCH KIRALY'S Top 10 Things Learned From Playing in the Olympics Originally published in VolleyballUSA, Summer 2012 issue. "Back when I was still playing professionally on the beach, I compiled a list for DiG magazine of things I’d learned in more than three decades in the game. The idea was to share information that had inspired me in training sessions and been useful to me in the competitive arena. I happened to re-read the list recently, and it struck me that many of the tips might be beneficial for volleyball players at all levels, from soon-to-be Olympians to teenagers preparing for summer beach tournaments or indoor seasons in the coming school year. Here are 10 of my favorites. I hope they help you as much as they helped me. 1. Take great pride in being prepared. Looking back, I can honestly say I did everything in my power to be at my best for the Olympics – and for most every match I played. On the indoor team, we trained or competed around 50 weeks a year, and we traveled up to 200 days a year, searching out the best competition. In a single day of training – between practice and jump training – we jumped almost twice the height of the Empire State Building. And in the years leading up to the beach gold medal that I won with Kent Steffes at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, we both had our own year-round training, strength, conditioning and flexibility programs, played over 25 tournaments per year, and sometimes trained through rain when there wasn’t another soul on the beach. 2. You and your teammates don’t all have to be best friends. There were times when members of our 1984 Olympic Games gold-medal team could be livid with each other, but we were always united in our effort to medal. Don’t dwell on petty differences or disagreements. Focus on the common goal. 3. Make your opponents beat you. Keep the ball in play. Too many errors will kill you, whether it’s at the Olympics or in a junior club match. A key for me in all three of our gold medals was “just good” – making good play after good play, forcing teams to play great to beat us. If they do, hats off to them. But there’s nothing worse than the feeling of knowing you could have won if it weren’t for the errors and free points you gave away. 4. Let sleeping dogs alone. Don’t provoke your opponents with smack talk. The Cuban Men’s team was a very strong and very dangerous team. However, they were notorious for yelling and screaming under the net, which only made us want to beat them that much more. 5. There’s nothing prettier than a beautiful passing platform guiding the ball to a perfect pass. One of the keys to our Olympic indoor success in the 1980s was our ability to consistently deliver perfect passes to the setter. In 1984, Aldis Berzins and I were the two primary passers, and in 1988 Bob Ctvrtlik and I handled the passing. Because we won the serve-receive battle, we would win the side-out battle, and that pressure caused most of our opponents to fold. 6. Serve in on match point. Eric Sato was one of our utility players in Seoul, and he won several matches for us by serving a good – but not overpowering – jump-spin serve, including the Olympic Games gold-medal point versus the Soviet Union. 7. “If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse.” This is a quote from Marv Dunphy, the longtime coach of the Pepperdine men’s team and our Olympic indoor coach for the 1988 gold medal. When you think about it, this makes perfect sense. If you’re satisfied staying at the same level, you’re getting worse because players who are working hard to improve their games are getting better. So relative to those around you, you’re losing ground if you’re not getting better. No matter how good you are, don’t be satisfied. The better you get, the harder it is to improve, but greatness comes when you challenge yourself. 8. “Practice like it’s competition and compete like it’s another day on the practice court.” I’m not sure who said this, but I tried to live it throughout my volleyball career. If you take the court knowing you have competed full throttle at every practice, it gives you the confidence to perform when it counts most. That might be the Olympics. Or it might be your biggest high school match of the season. 9. Help your teammates play better – make ’em look like stars – and it doesn’t matter how well you play, you’ll all succeed. Remember, it’s not about me, it’s about us. Winning matches takes a team effort, and if you do everything in your power to lift the games of those around you, the payoff will be better than if you focus only on your individual accomplishments. 10.“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” Thomas Paine, 1776. In each of the three Olympics I played in, there were nail-biting moments that tested our resolve to the limit. But those are the memories I cherish most. Plus, if it were easy, everyone would have an Olympic Games gold medal, and the accomplishment would mean nothing. Facing difficult obstacles makes you stronger, and it doesn’t have to be in the Olympics. It may be playing your rival in a club match or working hard to crack the starting lineup. Whatever it is, you should tackle it head on. That way you’ll have no regrets, no matter the outcome." ************************************************************************************************************************************** Which points are you going to work on? Please leave a comment... when you right out your intentions there is more commitment to it and better chance of it coming to fruition!! practice hard, diane |
Diane's InspirationsAs many thoughts of volleyball & my many days of playing come up for me these days, I thought I would share some insights with young & old players, coaches alike!! Archives
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