Thursday, September 27, 2007

Funny Volleyball Video

Watch this video, you will get a laugh out of it...and you might learn something about volleyball..

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Yankee Board Minutes

Yankee Board Meeting Agenda

Monday September 10, 7:30pm

Location: Media Room, Zesiger Athletics Center, MIT, Cambridge, MA

Confirmed Attendance:

Board: Jonah, Sam, Jay

At-Large: Jeffry Powell, Chuck Blake, Daniel Chen

Guests: Don Cohen, Dave Castanon (late)

Accept Minutes from last meeting – done via email before posting to Yankee.org

Unanimous Vote to Accept Minutes

Start time: 7:50 pm

End time: 9:00 pm

Treasurer Report

*No updated financials, spent money on AVP and haven’t spent any money yet, fiscal year ends Aug 31st

Registrar’s Report

*Online form is live

*1st tourney is Sep 23

NERVA Report

(Dave will be late)

  • Registration Online, and there ARE bugs in the system
    • Our fiscal year is diff. from USAV, there is a couple months lag; our memberships do not renew until Nov 1 for USAV
    • Insurance is not an issue, as new members are added immediately
    • You’ll get an acknowledgement you are a member until ’07; and then another in November that you are a member for ‘08
    • Can sign waiver online using your license number…but you don’t have to as Yankee will still require hand-written signature on code-of-conduct
      • Next year will likely be able to do all electronically (including sign-up and payment and waivers)
  • USAV National meetings are coming up Columbus Day Weekend
    • Dave will bring up any of NERVA’s concerns regarding online sign-ups
  • Interested in 2010 Nationals but can’t get a bid package from USAV
    • Need to find out the information that we need to eventually be allowed to bid to them
    • Tried approaching Atlanta to see what they had to do to get their bid
    • Dave will confront USAV about it at the National Meeting

Ratings Report

*Helen Taylor is the new head rater

*Reports out every 2 weeks

**Will expand raters per last meeting’s vote

Newsletter/Email Report

*Moved to a blog, 2200 views, 1300 uniques

*Jonah updates almost everyday

*Using Constant Contact as Email

**468 Email addresses (250 from AVP)

**1st email re: scramble – 50% open rate, 18 click-throughs to Yankee website

**Jonah can make blog and email stats available

Web Editor Report

*Read by Sam as submitted by Tom via Email

**Our domain has been moved from readyhosting.com to dreamhost.com under Joshua Wachs account there. We've changed from a windows based server to a linux based server. This should prove to be faster and hopefully we'll have less of the support issues we've had at readyhosting the past year. Also the cost will be a lot less. The move went relatively well. The two unplanned hitches that we've run into:
***Casing is important in directory names on Linux. A number of our links were failing as the new server thinks www.yankee.org/DIRECTNS and www.yankee.org/directns are different directories and the old server thought they were the same. I believe all of those have been chased down.
***ASP pages are not supported. We've used ASP for the schedule pages, roster system, referee tests, clinics, accred tests, voting, etc. Almost every page that requested input from the user. However, the new site supports PHP and that tends to be more widely used. I've converted the time critical pages to php (schedule and rosters system), still have a few more to go. Of particular import, I've got to change the TD roster printing page and the TD reports form. Both should be done by the end of the week.
**The fall schedule was posted to the site on Friday night. The registration/roster system was converted to php and loaded up over the weekend, opening up Sunday evening.
**The NCAA/PAVO referee tests are cranking along. The USAV referee tests have been coded up and are being tested. The USAV scorekeepers test just came in recently and will also be webified shortly. All of the USAV tests should be up on 10/15.

GRC Report

*Committee is: Daniel, Jeffry, Jonah, Mark

*AVP, 5 scrambles, 1 clinic

**Scrambles every 4-5 weeks

**MC, WC, MB (may change MB to RCB)

*Giving out postcards at scrambles (leftover from AVP)

*Collecting email for Yankee mailing list

*Don Cohen: What is GRC doing for upper level players?

**discount for college teams

**Yankee is not reaching for – or retaining higher level players

**Go through coaches or NECVL to let their players know of our opportunities

**Also promote refereeing opportunities to college players

***Need to put together a list of coach’s email addresses – Jeffry will do this for NCAA varsity/club women’s teams and then men’s club then men’s varsity

  • Old Business:

  1. Yankee Presence at AVP Recap
    • 2500 promo items given away; collected 250 email addresses
    • 25 volunteers worked over the weekend
    • Didn’t get PA announcements, didn’t get water at booth over weekend
    • Jonah won’t pay until he hears back from Fenway Group
    • What will we do next year to drive players to our booth?
    • Get JO’s involved (sam)
      • Get AVP player’s involved in our booth (Don)
      • Get there early to choose booths, they were not assigned (Jonah)
      • Ask for an original, better location – perhaps by players tent for next year

  1. Logo Update
    • New logo up on website/blog, check it out.

  1. Storage Unit

· Keys will go to all board members that want them

· In Brighton, balls, shirts, etc are in there now

    • Jonah motioned, Jay Second,
    • Motion Passes YES: Chuck, Jeffry, Dan, Lynn, Sam, Jeff S

  1. New Ratings Chairs and Committee Members

· Helen Taylor accepted

· Helen appointed Dana Levit is new to the committee

  1. Tournament Reporting

· TDs must enter all their completed tourney info into the system

· Create a new tag for RCO tournaments; handle cancelled tournaments differently

· Jonah talked to TDs at draft

  1. Updates to Yankee Rules and Regulations Documents

· Historic

· New Uniform Change Rules

· Jonah will forward 2005-2007 meeting notes to Sam

  1. ByLaws Committee Update

· Sam will send out wiki link to board members; uname/pword

  1. Yankee Mailing List Update

· See above

  1. Raters

· What will the minimum number of tournaments attended be for a rater to stay a rater? (Jeff S)

o Raters/System is not in bylaws and is available to be changed

o Person in charge of changing ratings should be at those level tourneys (Jeffry)

o Having one person in charge helps provide a pathway and order (Jay)

o Raters have no power except to report back to head rater; they can only do instant re-rates on new players

o Head rater must be more administrative (Don)

· People want more raters because there have been zero raters at many tourneys (Jeffry)

· Will table this until next meeting when Jeff is here

· President is free to reform this as he sees fit

o Don suggests head rater at each main level

Any New Business:

None

  • Next Meeting: Lasell College, Room 101, Newton MA - 10/15 7:30 p.m.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Phil Daulhausser to Attend Volleyball Vacations Turks

Al Hannemann (Al-B) announced today that he has added another AVP professional to attend the Turks VolleyballVacations.com trip from October 27-November 3rd. The Indonesia FIVB men's tournament was scheduled the same time as the upcoming Turks and Caicos trip. Great news is that it got canceled a few days ago and Phil Daulhausser committed to attend the Turks trip and help coach. This is big news and he is going to be a great addition to our already all star cast of Jason Ring, Ty Loomis, Anthony Medel, Aaron Wachtfogel, Angela Lewis, and hopefully Sinjin Smith and Team Gorgeous.

Cost of trip is $1550 (airfare not included)

Details at VolleyballVacations.com

If you are interested in attending, space is limited and you should contact Terrie at 877-248-8623(VOBE) to reserve a spot.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Summer Volleyball Pictures

Throughout the summer, we took pictures at the local sand and beach tournaments around Boston and New England. Click on the links below to view pictures from the summer and remember the warm sunny days of outdoor volleyball

Newportvolleyballclub.com tournament pictures - June-August 2007

SpikeBostonVolleyball.com grass tournament pictures - June - August 2007
Pictures v1
Pictures v2
Mayors Cup 2007
Pictures v4

Monday, September 10, 2007

YANKEE Volleyball Schedule Released

The 2007 Fall/Winter Yankee Volleyball Schedule is now live and posted on the website. You can register for tournaments starting September 23rd through January 20th 2008.

How to register for a tournament:

1- Send in a check or paypal (based on TD) payment to the TD.

2- Go to the registration page and register your team. You must register your team on the registration form and send in a check to be confirmed.

3- Enter your players information into the registration page.

4- If you need players for the tourney, send a email post to the BAVP. This is a list of 1600+ volleyball players in New England that discuss volleyball.

Click here for the Fall Schedule

Friday, September 7, 2007

Volleyball Must Have Items


With the indoor season a few weeks away, we have put a together a must-have list for all volleyball players.

Volleyball - The most popular volleyball is the molten pro touch for men and the supertouch or softtouch for women and coed. These balls range in price from $35-$50 based on where you buy them and here are a few places with good deals on the internet. Make sure to put your name on your volleyball so you can track it down at the end of the day.

Fairwayvolleyball.com - $37.95

Goestores.com - $38.95

Knee Pads - Volleyball knee pads range from $7-$30 with the most popular being Nike, Mizuno, and Asics models.

Active Ankles - Yes, they feel alittle weird when you first put them on but Active Ankles are the best way to protect your ankles and keep them healthy. They come in white and black with new accent colors available. They range in price from $34-39.99 and last a few years based on the amount you play. Visit ActiveAnkle.com to buy a pair.


Folding Vinyl Chair - Don't find yourself sitting on the floor between matches, get a chair and rest in comfort.

Whistle - In all Yankee tournaments, the work team is responsible for providing a down ref and you will need a whistle so pick one up for a few bucks at the local CVS or Brooks.

Numbered Jerseys - Everyone needs a numbered jersey or t-shirt if they are going to play in a tournament and if yours are old and fading, get a few printed up with your own design and color scheme. Customink.com allows you to design your own t-shirts with numbers and all, even if you want you only want one or two and not a few dozen. Design your artwork on their site and get your shirts in 7-14 days based on shipping.
Custom Volleyball T-Shirts and Jerseys

If you are looking to place a larger order (6 shirts and up), RCsilk.com can help you with their state of the art printing shop located in downtown Boston, MA. They can help you design the artwork and can do cotton tshirts as well as drifit shirts. Visit RCsilk.com for more details.

Indoor Volleyball Tournaments start on September 23rd and well see you on the court.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Scramble Volleyball Tournament Sept 23rd - Bryant Univ


Yankee Volleyball is hosting their 1st scramble of the season at Bryant University on Sept 23rd.

Yankee Volleyball Association hosts scramble
tournaments for new and existing members in
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Scramble tournaments are full day events held to help
grow Yankee's memberships and to give new members an
opportunity to get a taste of how a tournament is run
and what to expect. This year, Yankee will be holding
scramble tournaments in Massachusetts and Rhode Island for
both Men and Women.

How it works?

Players sign up as an individual and are placed on a
team with experienced and new players based on their
position and Yankee ranking. All participants will
receive a numbered T-shirt and a full day of play for
$20/person. You have until Wednesday before the scramble to pull out
with a refund. If you pull out after Wednesday, your will receive a refund
only if your spot is filled.

All players need to be NERVA members and you can sign up at the scramble or any other Yankee tournament. If you don't have a Yankee rating, you can get on the day of the tourney as well.

The format for scramble tournaments are similar to
traditional tournaments with a 9:00 a.m. start time, pool
play and playoffs.

Details:
5 team Mens C (30 spots max) Intermediate Level - C- to B- players ONLY
5 team Mens B (30 spots max) Advanced Level - B- to A players ONLY
5 team Womens C (30 spots max) Intermediate Level - C- to B players ONLY
$20/person
Sign up as an individual and get placed on a team by ranking and position
9am start time
6 players per team max
ALL PLAYERS GET NUMBERED YANKEE T-SHIRT

Space is limited and please signup today to reserve your spot.

Signup online and pay via paypal at:
http://www.yankee.org/scramble/

To register by mail, send a check for $20 payable to NERVA to:

Yankee Scramble
c/o Jonah Mytro
10 Scottfield RD #22
Allston MA 02134

Make sure to include your EMAIL, PHONE, POSITION, GENDER, RATING (if known), or Experience level if new to yankee.
If you are sending in a check, please send individual checks per scramble. DO NOT WRITE ONE CHECK FOR MULTIPLE SCRAMBLES!

Complete Schedule of Scrambles 9am -6pm
Sept 23rd - Bryant University (Smithfield RI)
Oct 14th - Regis College (Weston MA)
Nov 10th - SDVC Gym (Clinton MA)
Dec 9th - LSHS (Sudbury MA)
Jan 12th - Bryant University(Smithfield RI)

Yankee Clinic Schedule
November 11th - Lasell College (Newton MA)
2.5 hour clinic with college coaches to help improve volleyball skills

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

2007 Fall Volleyball Schedule

The 2oo7 Fall/Winter Volleyball Schedule will be released on Friday, Sept 7th at www.Yankee.org. The schedule will include all mens, womens, and coed tournaments from Sept 23rd through Jan 20th 2008. Yankee will also be running 2 clinics and 5 scrambles to help increase participation and allow new players to experience a volleyball tournament. Check back for more details.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Getting recruited to play College Volleyball

On a recent college recruiting trip, Mackenzie Aries couldn't help but notice the teetering stacks that cluttered the volleyball coach's office.

In one corner was a pile of DVDs. Nearby, a heap of VHS tapes. But not one belonged to Aries, a senior this season at San Dieguito Academy.

Turns out the coach knew all about Aries anyway because she'd spent hours browsing through a Web site the 6-foot setter had built to market herself to colleges.

Aries said the coach told her she didn't even have a VCR anywhere in the building to view recruits' videos.

“She was like, 'That's just ridiculous. Why would I want to do that when I can just double-click and there you are?' ” said Aries, a three-year starter for the Mustangs. “She said this could be the recruiting tool of the future.”

Determined to play volleyball at the next level, Aries – an All-San Diego Section Division III pick a year ago – has taken her future into her own hands, creating an elaborate Web site that showcases her talents.


At the same time, she is proving to be at the forefront of a trend that could open doors otherwise shut for athletes like Aries.

Read complete article

Visit kenzilla.com