Warren is the man! He really helped me out during my trip down here. He picked me up from the airport (which is highly recommended when landing in LA by yourself), he let me sleep in his laundry room, and he even lent me his cel phone for the entire time I was here. I think he's just very understanding when it comes to the essential needs are of a free-loader. Thanks for establishing that, Rich!
So I settled in during the first few days by myself in LA. I was able to snag a free 2-week workout pass at 24-hour fitness, get comfortable with the "nice, light beach run" from Hermosa to Manhattan Beach pier and even get in a few volleyball practices with a couple other local Canadians. I was even brave enough to ride transit into and out of LA on a Friday night. I say brave, but most people would use other words to describe it.....I just say ignorance is bliss. Somehow being in the middle of South Central LA at 1am on a Friday night isn't so scary when you don't know it's South Central!
By the time Chelsea arrived, the only issue left to deal with was that we were crammed into Warren's laundry room...not that it wasn't great, but we just kinda needed a litte more space. We managed to find a room in the top floor of a house about a quarter-mile (400m for the rest of the people in this world) from the boardwalk in Hermosa with 2 guys that were never around. Full internet access, a nice flat-screen TV, and a fully functioning kitchen...what more could a couple beach bums ask for?!
Over the past year, I've had the priviledge to work with many coaches from many different parts of the world: Brazil, Australia, Canada, Austria, Germany, Japan etc. and each brings his/her own philosophies and techniques as an individual, but there is also something to say for the style with which certain countries approach the game. The Brazilians, arguably the best in the world, emphasize ball control day in and day out, the Australians are big with tactics, while the Germans have a very aggressive style. But what is happening in California? The Americans are currently World and Olympic Champions and also have incredible depth on their own AVP Tour. They are also the best in the world (Yes, there are 2 bests). I was eagerly curious to see how they do things here and excited to see what new way I was going to get better.
We hired coach Cam and he was awesome. He was typical California: he literally lived on the boardwalk and rolled his ball cart out each day, said phrases like "hey now" and "oh can you?" and even brought his ipod speakers out so we could listen to music while we trained. Very different from a lot of what I've experienced in the past. But he was very knowledgable and focused with us and definately facilitated cohesion between Chelsea and I. He really suited us well and I like to think he enjoyed coaching us as much as we enjoyed working with him.
At the end of our 2.5 week stint, Chelsea and I entered the final California tournament of the season. I think this is probably the only place in the northern hemisphere where you'll find one in October. We got some good matches in and even knocked out a decent AVP team to finish 3rd in the tournament. All-in-all we're happy with our performance. We compliment eachother well and play off eachothers strengths. I'm settling into a new role as a full-time blocker on our team, and I really enjoy the challenge of being the "big guy". I think that the base we are establishing together has the potential to become something great in the future. Not only do we mesh well on the court, but we have become great friends off the court as well.
So it's off to San Francisco for a little sight-seeing and visiting, before going back to BC. I will be flying back to Toronto for the National Team camp in November. You can hear all about it in the next blog!!
