Power Surge Volleyball - Respect All, Fear None

Now that the season is finally over, it is time to address a very important and necessary issue in club ball: that is the issue of outstanding accounts. In the beginning of every season, we ask each family to consider the cost carefully, especially in the case of our traveling teams. The commitment to play club ball is tremendous, not just in terms of finances but also in terms of time, many competing priorities, and personal sacrifices.

However, plans must be solidified well in advance, and tournaments must be paid in full well in advance in order to secure a team’s spot in the most competitive tournaments. And for every family member traveling with their team, airline tickets, hotel accommodations, and rental cars must be purchased/secured early to take advantage of the best prices. This is why we have a no refund policy if any player drops out for any reason, and why the total amount is still due should any player quit once a team is formed. There’s just too much commitment of funds, plans and effort to cancel any traveling tournament. The “show” must go on, as they say in show biz, but it is also a true and accurate statement in club volleyball: the “team” must go on.

The following players still have outstanding balances due, and cannot register to play, ref, or participate in any capacity on a USAV team in the future. Final invoices have been emailed to everyone by now and everyone should know exactly how much is still owed on their accounts. Please contact Coach Kama ASAP at powersurgevb@hotmail.com, if you have any questions. These players names will also be included on the region’s Not In Good Standing list. A player will be removed from this list and the region’s list once their accounts have been fully satisfied.

Power Surge 12 Gold
None

Power Surge 17 Black
Ilona Tinitali-Lli, Moeshana (Loma) Maiava

Power Surge 18 Black
Harmony Tialavea, Jalysah Randolph,Kayly Edward, Lyndsey Rose Lee, Mya Perosi-Leaeno, ReAuna Hunter, Tah-Lee (Preshy) Salu

No Practice Sat July 20th.

Thank you players and parents for attending and supporting our summer programs. Hopefully you all have gained a wealth of knowledge and understanding about the most beautiful game in the world, Volleyball, the game we all love and enjoy. Volleyball is a lot more complicated than most people think. Hopefully some of that complexity is a little clearer and therefore not so confusing. Tryouts for most high schools will begin in late August. There’s still at least another month players have to prepare for their high school volleyball tryouts. Use that time wisely. Here are some common sense things you should continue to do everyday.

Good luck and have a great rest of your summer. Even on vacation, you can be doing these exercises. You must put in the time, there’s no getting around it. You don’t need money, you don’t need privilege, and you don’t need any fancy gear, equipment, or facilities to do these things. All you need is the will, the vision, and determination. See yourself exactly where you want to be at tryouts in August. Be very specific. Your clear vision will sustain you during your personal training sessions. Always Ready!

Here it is, the official standing of the Lakewood Summer League teams, as of the beginning of this past Monday’s matches, July 15, 2019. As you can see, so far we are all tied up with Washington HS, 26-10. And Auburn Academy and Mt. Tahoma are right on our heels. Is Power Surge going to successfully defend its title this year? By night’s end, can we pull away from the competition? Let’s see!

Things did change drastically by the end of the night when all the official matches were played. We won 5 sets and lost 1, Washington won 3 sets and lost 3. Auburn earned 3 sets through forfeiture and possibly all 3 sets against Mt. Tahoma (I think). Assuming those things are all true, at the end of the night Power Surge is at 31-11, Auburn is at 29-13, Washington is at 27-15, and Mt. Tahoma is at 25-17. So, if we’re going to finish #1 in 2019 and successfully defend our title in this Lakewood summer league, we need to close it out come next Monday July 22nd. It’s all up to you all, ladies, and to coach Roland.

I might also note that for some of the teams like Auburn, Mt. Tahoma, and Washington, they all had match/set wins automatically given to them because their opponents were not present and therefore had to forfeit. We were never so fortunate to gain any wins that way this summer.

So next Monday July 22nd we play at 6:30 and 7:30 PM. Please be there at 6 PM. It’s a big night ladies, bring your game, play smart, and close it out. We play Mt. Tahoma at 6:30 pm, then Annie Wright at 7:30 PM, both tough opponents not to be taken lightly. Washington plays Auburn Adventist and then Mt. Tahoma. Auburn Adventist plays Washington then Rainier. Play out all the possible scenarios and you can go crazy. What we need to do is simply win all 6 sets this final night and seal the Championship Title. We can do this, GO POWER SURGE!

I want to thank all our players and parents for once again supporting our summer league program this year. It’s very difficult to do with so much going on during the last days of school in June and vacations/camps in July. I also want to thank all our ball control students (mostly middle school players) for helping out on Monday nights too, especially on those nights when we did not have enough summer league players. We have never had to forfeit any matches over the last 20 years playing in the Lakewood summer league. Thanks largely to the commitment of all our Power Surge players, SL and BCS students, this year and in years past. Mahalo nui loa!

Bring the 2019 Lakewood Summer League Championship home ladies! Always Ready!

Something to think about Ohana!

It was another glorious day at Sunnyside Beach in Steilacoom , Saturday July 13th, during our final day at the beach in July for ball control training. Initially the sun teased us a bit by playing hide and seek behind a few clouds. But by the time we started the tournament portion of our ball control training, the sun finally opened it’s sleepy eyes and came out to play with us on the sandy courts of it’s namesake, Sunnyside Beach. Even the tide, after realizing the Power Surge kids were there, decided to come in and greet us along it’s gentle emerald shore with a cool and soothing breeze of Aloha.

Besides us volleyball die hards, there were a couple groups of SCUBA divers, and Steilacoom’s natural wildlife creatures of the land and of the sea. Tiny crabs, lots of them, patrolled the water’s edge, some wrapped up in the prolific green seaweed there, looking like scrumptious crab musubi. During a break the girls found a few flat pieces of interesting seaweed with fine scrubbing bristles that looked like a handy wash cloth, most likely used by the little mermaids to exfoliate their shiny slick skin. This is a place where the imagination knows no bounds, where dreams are conceived with a soft kiss, and small beginnings incubate in the warm sands of Sunnyside’s beach volleyball courts.

And speaking of beach volleyball courts, it was amazing, it was tiring, but it was also tons of fun playing in sand. You know what you want to do, you believe you will get there, but just before you reach the ball, you find your face flat in the sand often nowhere near the ball, like someone reached out of the sand and held onto both your feet. And jumping, what jumping? But that’s the gift of playing in sand. It develops strong legs, it forces you to read your opponents better, and, because you’re almost always off balance, it helps you to constantly make the fine and necessary adjustments you need to make in order to pass the ball to your target. That’s why we train in the sand at least once or twice during the summer.

We had tons of fun with ball control school, but the main entree for the day was the family doubles tournament. Although we had a few new teams and new players, the outcome was the same. Ron & Emily Beach (Father and Daughter) won the doubles tournament again. Congratulations for another well-deserved win in the sand.

The format was a little more challenging this time. After pool play we had the top 4 seeds play each other (1 vs 4, 2 vs 3) in a single elimination set to 15, no cap, switch at 8. The winners then played each other in the finals. Team Beach almost got knocked out in their semifinal match by newcomers Madi and MacKenzie, the #4 seed. But Team Beach prevailed in the end, coming from behind to win in overtime by two points. The other semifinal match was also very tough, where Ella Ragazzo and her mom Donna, the #2 seeds, also won by two points in overtime, defeating Kyleigh Sebastian and her Dad Terry, the #3 seeds. Congratulations to all the teams and especially to the teams that made the playoffs. Great effort!