Heading Home

We are officially back on the mainland! It was a downer leaving beautiful Puerto Rico. You should have seen the faces of all the players as we climbed out of our rental vans near the airport. They were all really sad.

Aside from the humidity, I really enjoyed the experience. I guess I'm not a huge fan of sweating profusely for no reason.

So, just keeping everyone updated on our status. For the record, Emma wrote a post last night and it didn't get published. I am 100% sure it was my fault, so I'm so sorry!!

BUT- Emma and Corey worked on a rap on our first flight- so check this out!

On our way back from Puerto Rico
We had a lot of fun and met a lot of people

Wish we could have stayed become native to the land
But we didn't learn the language we had too much planned

So what did we learn on our awesome trip?
First don't be late or the coaches will flip

Alexa can spot any critter day or night
But the skill didn't protect her from her 49 bites

Rachel's questions were really admirable
She even asked if the flowers were natural

Sand castles in the sun can be fun
But if you see sand fleas Corey better run

Katie, trying octopus is cool beans
But interrupting mao? That's just plain mean

In ankle deep water we won't drown,we don't dare
We always stay calm when lifeguard Lisa is there

Walking was hard for one of our crew
Mandie, those oozing blisters look good on you

Stacey's love for the policia is great
Too bad she didn't have time for a date

In Puerto Rico we met Katie's baby
Did she get good pictures? Definitely maybe

Morgan can tell all her stories like a pro
Then she'll say "hey how are ya" when you are low

Emma tried to copy her ex's redskin
After a few hours in the sun she looked just like him

A special thanks of course goes to G
She taught us the word bano when we had to pee

Our days in Puerto Rico will be hard to beat
I doubt we will ever forget the heat

We are sad to leave this little land
The best times we had were the ones unplanned

The time we spent together in this rich port
Will help us this season out on the court

Thas wassup!

El Yunque

More to come later about our trip to El Yunque- the rain forest near where we are staying.

Coach J

El veinte y uno de agosto

Today was the best day, in my opinion. We started off the day by going to Collores in order to put on the second clinic for the kids. (Check out the pic in the post below). The people of Puerto Rico are so laid back when it comes to being on time so we didn't start until 10:30 when we thought we were going to start at 10:00 but thats ok.  To start, we did a few passing drills and then some serving drills.  There were 6 sisters that came and we were really able to connect with them.  There were also a few children from the community that decided to come as well.  Mandie, Katie M, and Emma really bonded with the little ones and Katie and I ended up playing PAPA CALIENTE (hot potato) with a few kids.  SOO FUN!! We then shared with them what Nunca Te Rindas means to us and we gave them the rest of our Bibles.  We also gave the girls jerseys and they were super excited about that.  Lots of pics were obviously taken at the end and the little ones were absolutely adorable.

Then was the adventure!!! We literally drove straight up the mountain at about a 80 degree angle.  It was so awesome!..for me.  Others were scared because it definitely could have ended badly but God never left us and we made it safely.  And THANK THE LORD we made it because the food at the top of the mountain was amazing! One of Angel's friends cooked us a gourmet Puerto Rican meal consisting of arroz (rice), habichuels (beans), ensalada cammarones (shrimp salad), tostones (fried plantains), pina coladas (pina coladas--no alcohol), and Coach J's favorite, MOFONGO (mashed up plantains).  It was INCREIBLE!!!  Then we walked up the mountain about 20 yards, and after breaking a sweat, we saw the cook's brother's house and watched their parrots baila y canta (dance and sing).  They were so cool and the best part was that they only were speaking spanish! 

Next, we ventured back down the mountain to our new house in Luquillo.  It's so sick because the beach is literally 20 yards from the back door and there is a sand vball court in the back yard.  Then, we spent the rest of the day lounging on the beach and swimming in the beautiful water.  We also have a pool table, a huge tv, a hot tub, and a dart board to entertain ourselves in this amazing house!  A few girls went out after dinner for some crab hunting and caught a huge crab! Props to Coach K, Stacey, Alexa, Morgan, and Rachel!  Inside, we played the greatest card game in the history of card games, MMMMOOOOOWWW!!! We had some newcomers to play this time.. Katie M, Emma, and Coach K who tore it up!  For those of you who don't know, Mow is a card game where there are some crazy rules, and each time someone wins a round, they get to make up a new rule and they don't have to tell people what it is- pretty awesome.

Tomorrow we plan to enjoy the beach some more, go dress shopping (YAYYY!) ..ps coach j is a size 6 he says.. and we are also going to El Yunque aka the rainforest of PR.  It's gonna be sick so stay ready read up the post tomorrow! Over and out.  Lisa Birdman with 2 e's somewhere           

Pss.  I'm sorry the weather isn't to your liking here Jake.  I know you would have been a great addition to the team.  It also would have been nice to watch you play here last night.. but too bad i guess <3

--Lisa #3

Volleyball Clinic at Collores at Humacao

See above for Lisa's post!

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Puertorican Men's Pro Volleyball

So- this was one CRAZY experience. The coach from La UNE actually called the owner of one of the teams in the finals (la gigantes de carolina) and he put us on the list to get in free! The guy at the door was expecting us and let us right in with no tickets. We got there at about 8, the match didn't start til 8:30, so seeing their warm-ups was so cool.

The crowd was ROWDY. Gisela says that's pretty much how they usually are. There were instruments like loud drums, tambourines, horns, all kinds of noise makers. They were doing tons of different chants throughout the match, sometimes back and forth at each other. That was a really big eye opener- the fans were SO into their volleyball, and you could tell they knew their stuff.

The two teams were very different. The visiting team had two incredibly athletic outside hitters. I mean, sick athleticism, jumping, quickness, blocking. The home team was so different. They had one main weapon, their left outside hitter- Jose Riiiiiiiiveeerrrraaaaa- as the announcer said about 40 times. They set him everywhere. He just got the job done. He found holes and tooled blocks, but could also sky and hit over the block.

The home team won the first two sets, and then the fun began. The visitors won the next two sets, the fourth set was 28-26! It was so intense. Anytime there was a long rally, it ended with the crowd on their feet screaming. In the US- the crowd would be clapping, here, they were screaming and pointing. It was really fun.

So- 5th set, and we were about asleep in our seats. The visitors jumped out early, up 3-6, 4-7, and 6-9. The home team came back and took the lead 12-11. It was a great finish as the home team won 15-13. The place went crazy and people even stormed the court.

After the game, most of the girls went onto the court and got pictures with some of the players from Carolina (home team). As we were waiting for them to leave, one of the players starting talking to the rest of us (me and Coach K). "How much longer are you staying?, what have you been doing? What conference do you play in?". He was really nice. He actually went to IPFW- and said "I'm so old, when I went ther Lloy Ball was my setter". Yeah he was old for a pro volleyball player.

So, all in all, it was crazy, awesome, and well worth staying late to catch the whole match.

More players will write tomorrow!
Coach J

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It is late...

We just got back from an entire day out- including Old San Juan, missions work, scrimmage vs. La Une and the Puerto Rican Professional Game.  Yeah- it was a lot- we are pushing this team to see and do a lot!  We are making the most of this experience.  I can't wait for one of the players to get on the blog and tell you their experience at both of the schools we served at.  The students were so welcoming- I feel we were blessed more by being there! In the scrimmage vs. La Une Coach J and I really saw a lot of improvement as the team keeps learning to work together.  We have had such good competition in these three days- and again, the Universities have been so welcoming and accomodating!  The professional team who gave us the free passes won in 5 sets too...wow what a game and so many fans! In my opinion it was our best day yet!  So again I promise we will post more tomorrow- we are letting them sleep for now!

Thank you to everyone for following the blog and praying for us!  God is good and is doing great things here!
Be blessed,
~Coach K
ps. Mom and Dad thank you for posting!  Elisa I love that you wrote in Spanish!  Gisela can't wait to talk to you in October!

Post missions work

This is what 3 hours of missions work does to you. We had a great time with the kids. We're now on our way to our second scrimmage against la UNE.

Day Two in Review (It rhymes)

Other people have already written about this but the house that we are staying in is AMAZING. We are five houses from a beautiful beach! I remember sitting in a classroom last year at Roberts Wesleyan when my coaches asked us if fundraising and going to Puerto Rico would  be something that we would want to try and do. Now I can't believe that we are actually here. God is so good.
So this morning we were supposed to wake up around 7:45 to get ready to leave for our scrimmage. My phone is broken so my alarm clock won't work and Katie Eschner was going to wake me up by knocking on my door.  I have a window right by my bed and as she was knocking on my door I was dreaming that someone was knocking on my window from outside trying to break into my room haha. It was scary until I realized that it was just Katie trying to wake me up.  We left for our scrimmage against the University of Puerto Rico (the same team that we scrimmaged last night).  They let us use their gym to practice for about an hour by ourselves and then we scrimmaged them after.  We were a little late to our practice because of the CRAZY traffic but it didn't matter because it seems like everyone that lives here is really laid back. We scrimmaged the team again after. It was so much fun because they are a really good team. Afterwards we gave all the girls on their team Roberts Wesleyan volleyball tshirts and New Testament Bibles that were written in Spanish. I couldn't believe how appreciative they were to recieve them. I wasn't expecting it to be like that but I feel like they really surprised and enjoyed getting both of those things. Then both teams listened while Gisela prayed for us. It was such a cool experience to have just played a team in Puerto Rico and then all pray together afterwards. We also took pictures with the team.
After that we went and ate lunch at Ocho Blanco, and the food was really good! Then we went shopping and most of us bought souvieners for our families and friends (so if you're reading this, be excited!) We came back to our house after that and went to the beach for a bit. There was a little storm and it was sweet to watch the lightening and hear the thunder on the beach. We scrimmaged the team La Une at 6:00, and had another great game! At dinner I asked for a fork in Spanish all by myself. The woman behind the counter understood but she was laughing at me.
Coach J posted a picture of all of us writing in journals. Before we left, Lisa came up with the idea to write in journals every night after we get back to the house and tell about our day. Each night as a group we have been writing what happened to us, how God showed himself throughout the day, and what we were thankful for.  Sometimes we share and I really have liked writing in this and I think it was a great idea.
Tomorrow we go to two different schools and have a volleyball clinic for the kids there! I am really excited for this, and especially excited just to talk to them and tell them about my faith in Jesus and what it means to me when I play volleyball. I'm sure someone will blog about this tomorrow though once it's already happened! One last thing..tomorrow we are watching the Puerto Rican Men's National Team play in the finals! Gisela knows people, and they hooked us up with free tickets. How crazy is that? I miss you Mom, Dad, Becky, my other family and Adam. Because I know you're reading this. Love you!
-Katie #2

Team Time

We have been spending time as a team at night reflecting on our day. It has been a great time to grow closer as a team.

La UNE

About to scrimmage with La UNE- a private school in San Juan. It should be another fun way to play volleyball while enjoying the culture. Just found out too that we are going to watch the Men's Pro Volleyball League finals tomorrow night! Gisela says that volleyball is the biggest sport in Puerto Rico- so I guess this is like their Super Bowl then? I'm going with that. Yeah, we're going to the Super Bowl tomorrow.

Coach J

San Juan Shopping

We've spent some of our afternoon shopping in San Juan after our time this morning with UPR.

Coach J

UPR Gym

This is the gym at UPR where we are practicing. It is HOT.

I Am Thankful For

At each team meeting this year, we have been asking the girls of the team to write down something they have been thankful for.  Sometimes, it is a quick exercise, and is often something volleyball related or immediate life related.  It has been great to hear some of our new players (I promise I'll stop calling you new in another week or two) say that they have been thankful for "such an accepting team" and a team that "welcomes them and makes it feel like home".  That is exactly what Coach K and I hope for in our team.

So tonight, I'm actually going to write about some things I am thankful for.
1. I am thankful for this absolutely beautiful house. We have 8 bedrooms, 5 full bathrooms, and a half bathroom.  If you ever take 11 college-age girls somewhere, you should probably pray for such a nice set-up.  They certainly enjoy their space.  The house is equiped with an inground pool in the backyard, along with an ajoining hot-tub.  Pretty awesome.  Oh, did I mention it is 4 houses from the beach? 

2. I am thankful for Universidad de Puerto Rico at Rios Piedras (UPR) for opening their doors to us for a fun time tonight and tomorrow morning.  They apparently know what it is like to go through gym floor issues, as their composite floor is bubbling and buckling because of the rain and severe humidity.  Their players were REALLY good, and it was a good chance to see where we were as a team at this point in the season.

3.  I am thankful for Gisela.  Ok, I am thankful for all of our players of course.  But Gisela is from here, and speaks Spanish fluently.  If you know me-you know I have an issue with language barriers- like the issue is I freak out and get nervous.  I'm finding that the language barriers are especially frustrating when trying to read signs in spanish while driving!  Thank you Gisela for your help and patience as Coach K and I get us around this beautiful island. 

4.  My wife- she's awesome.  (#4 was her number in college, I did that on purpose)

5. Finally, I'm thankful for a good and faithful God.  God is showing me that he is good and faithful on this trip.  Being with this team, sharing and interacting.  This is what God has intended, this was part of his plan.  I'm thankful for each member of our team and the way that they were made.

Coach J

UPR Scrimmage

Soo we literally just walked in the house from our scrimmage against "La Universidad de Puerto Rico" or the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras. After going through a little bit of traffic and experiencing the craziness of some puerto rican drivers on our way to the gym, I finally internalized the fact that I'm back home. Puerto Rico without crazy traffic wouldn't be Puerto Rico.

As we finally made it to the gym, we were welcomed by a team of 24 players and a couple of coaches who were all warmed up and ready to play. I have to say it was awesome to go back to my "old" gym. Just the athmosphere, the heat of the court, and the anticipation of what was soon going to be a great scrimmage. We warmed up and spoke with the coach, who by the way is a retired captain of the Puertorican national team. As soon as the first serve was done it was hard to hide the excitement and the desire to play we all had even after such a long day. We played a total of 4 sets that certainly made for a great match. We were able to put into practice everything we've been working on over the past few days. All games were filled with intense rallies, great digs, hard serves and really impressive kills. I think the whole team would agree with me when if I say that today we were the most sweaty we have ever been since pre-season started. Overall, it was a sweet experience and we're looking forward to more playing time tomorrow.

On the other hand, I was able to see some of my friends and old teammates as well as my sister who I haven't seen in almost 2 years. I have to thank God first and then Coach J & K for giving me the opportunity of being here. I'm more than happy that I can be here playing the sport I love, seeing the people I care the most about and at the same time spending time with the awesome team God has given us.

Anyways we shall keep you posted about everything!

G #8

First Post!!

Just got to the house.. it is INCREDIBLE!!! I've already walked around the whole place twice but I feel like I keep finding new rooms. Plus, we're right down the street from the beach.. we can see the ocean from the front yard.

What I've seen of the island so far is gorgeous... then again, I fell asleep in the van on the way to the house so what I've seen isn't much.  It is really really really really really really really reallllllllly humid here though... glad I at least got a little adjustment to the humidity in Rochester because I would have died coming here straight from Reno.

We've already had our first cultural cuisine experience here in Puerto Rico... Chinese Food.. haha actually it was different than in the US though.. they serve their chinese food with french fries here (apparently they do that in Ireland too--a little tidbit I picked up from my friend Andrew Stewart from the men's soccer team).  Coach J tried Mufungo- which is like mashed up plantains.  It is apparently pretty traditional Puerto Rican... it came highly recommended by the lady who gave us directions. lol

We play the University of Puerto Rico soon so I'm going to try to get some rest on the beach ;)

P.S. Love you too Mama

-Corey #22

P.S.S. Fu dadadadadadada