More Hoodies.

Our Hoodies have been a great success and we know a number of players missed out on getting one earlier in the season, (or at least the right sized one!)

Thanks to our sponsors Fit Deck and Don’t Bug Me we are about to order another production run. Players can still purchase one for $20, just let us know size required.

Sizes are: Small, Meduim, Large or Extra Large - and can be ordered via email to dauria.marc@gmail.com.

Mens Update:

As we head into the second wave of the season the men’s honours team finds itself a top of the  ladder and the Men’s Div I team precariously holding on to a top 4 spot in their respective division.  Both teams have settled in and have a good grasp of the system but still struggle to find the right combination of intensity, leadership, and consistency.  The teams were steadily improving and finding success early and let off the gas. Now both teams and their coach are refocused and training harder to regain that pace again with the goal to peak just before the final weeks.

They boys and I embarked on an 8 hour road trip to Adelaide during the long weekend to participate in one of the most beneficial tournaments we’ve played in to date. It featured a high profile match between the honours squad and the host team Mt. Lofty. It was a very entertaining match played in front of an estimated 400 fans which can be viewed on the net at www.devovolleyball.com.  Although neither team made the finals I am extremely proud of the effort and sacrifice the boys who made the trip gave.  It was an important bonding experience which created a ton of inside jokes and stronger friendships. Along for the ride was new comer Andrew Mcwiggan.  Andrew comes by way of Southern Cross. He is a dynamic young lefty that will surely help the depth and future of our program. 

Going forward the men’s program will be competing in a tournament the week of Aug. 3rd - 9th in Melbourne during VIC Schools Cup week. The round robin tournament will feature 8 Chinese University teams to be played at Melbourne University and the state volleyball centre. We look forward to matching our style against the international competition it should make for a fast entertaining series that will definitely get us ready for the home stretch.

Swine Flu Information.

All players, please take the time to download this Swine Flu Notice and remember to follow the precautions to keep this Flu from spreading.

If you are feeling unwell, please contact your local doctor.

Quick Reminder - Ladies no training

With the long weekened in June approaching, the womens Div 1 and Honours will not be training Wednesday 3rd of June or Monday 8th of June.

Hopefully all womens can make it to the Monday 1st of June so we can have a good session before the break. See you ladies then.

Heidelberg Players in the press.

Recently two Heidelberg players have had articles written about them in the press. Damien featured in the Heidelberg Weekly Damien's Interview, whilst Cedric featured in the sports section of the Herald Sun Cedric's Interview.

New Hoodies have arrived

The new design hoodies are here! For those of you wishing to purchase a new hoodie, they are $20. Sizes are Small, Medium or Large. You can get them from Marc Dauria either at training or games - email your order to dauria.marc@gmail.com. Thanks again to the sponsors of the hoodies and uniforms for this year.

Heidelberg Volleyball Club Pool Competition

Shift your competitiveness from the volleyball court to the pool table for the night Come and join us at Arcadia Hotel for the prestigious Heidelberg Volleyball Club Pool Comp, Saturday May 16 2009. Doubles knockout competition starts at 8pm. Everyone welcome – bring friends, family and partners to make this a great night and raise some funds for our volleyball club.
$10 entry per person on the night Prizes and bragging rights for the winning team. Register your team by Wednesday May 13 by contacting Cassie O'Brien.

Heidelberg Competing in South Australian Indoor Open

Heidelberg Volleyball Club will be competing in the 26th South Australia Open Indoor Volleyball Championships, held by Mt Lofty Volleyball Club.
The mens honours, division 1 and womens honours teams will be traveling to Stirling, the 6th, 7th and 8th of June.

So far Mt Lofty and Heathfield High School are the other confirmed competitors in this competition, and the coaching rivalry between Michael Brookens and Raoul Tuul (Mt Lofty) should make for a great contest.

Anzac Day Matches

They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them

LEST WE FORGET

Heidelberg Volleyball Club played matches on Saturday 25th April on Anzac Day. The womens honours kicked off at 10am and the mens honours finished the clubs games at 4pm. VVL commemorated this day by observing a 1 minute silence before each game, after the warm up.

ANZAC Day Appeal donation tins and posters were displayed at the Stadium Entrance, and the $2 stadium entry fee was waived on the day. However, $2 donations were accepted at the stadium entrance to be donated to the Dandenong RSL.

VVI were able to collect $1308 on the day. For more information visit www.volleyballvictoria.com.au.

Coach's corner

Womens Update

With three honour’s players not available for the first round it seemed to everyone that the depleted Heidelberg team was facing an uphill battle against the competition favorites, Renegades. But someone forgot to tell the players.

With great fighting spirit, desperate defense, and very smart hitting, Heidelberg took the first set 25:23. Captain Shannon Campbell led from the way with smart hitting to seal a cliff hanger.

Renegades took the lead early in the second set and Heidelberg could not reign in the points to lose the second 17-25.

The tables turned as our setters took control of the attack, our passers delivered perfectly and our attack (from every position) took out the third set 25:17.

The fourth set was a great tussle with some big hitting from both sides of the net. The lead changed hands a few times and only in the last four to five points were Renegades able to take the lead, and the set 21:25.

The fifth set saw Heidelberg lead at the change of ends and the teams were locked in at 10:10. Never giving up the Heidelberg girls fought it out to the last point however were unable to counter the heavy hitting of the tall timber of Renegades and went down 11:15 in the fifth.

A loss is a loss, however there were many good things to come out of our first match for the year. Our two middles Ali and Corrina showed that they are able to adapt and learn with each rally. Cecile provided a consistent alternative to Shannon who bore the responsibility of our main hitter. The setters, Jo and Fran, took responsibility for the attack system, and Evie had a great match as libero, ensuring the setters always had multiple hitting options and she ran the defensive line with authority.

We are looking forward to adding to our playing list next week with the missing players from round 1, and focusing on the next three matches against Camberwell, Yarra and Monash Uni, before the team enjoys a two week break.

Match 1 Divison 1vs  Renegades
3 sets to 1
25:18 25:20 19:25 25:14

Starting Lineup
Setters: Sally Thomas & Kate Buckland
Passer Hitters: Cassie O'Brien & Sunny Railton
Middles: Charlene Fleury & Michelle Cocks
Libero Yasmin Mustafa
Subs: Katherine Echazar & Kiri Platek

Mens Update

The past month has been a good one for the Heidelberg men’s program. After a 3rd place finish at Warrnambool Seaside Tournament where team member Tony Szkultecki took home 2nd MVP honours, the Men’s Honours team went undefeated in there road to winning the 2009 Victorian State Championships in Melbourne.

The boys were without the services of their captain Matt Coad and future up and comer Elliot Bowden but managed to climb their way through the competition with a stand out effort from Roger Kapetonovic and new comer Cedric Legrand. The team was able to continually get better every match and despite fatigue was able to push through and win a 5 set grand final versus Falcons Masters who showed great poise and fight throughout the match.

The division one team had its first go at the Victorian championships also. With a depleted roster the team was able to manage a top 5 finish. The boys worked hard and grew as a unit throughout the tournament which left them with a good foundation to start the state league season.

Expectations are high this season for the men’s side and we fully expect to see them through. The state league season starts for both teams this week end the 18th of April versus the Melbourne Uni Renegades.  Div 1 men have a 10am start and honours play at 2pm the entire league schedule can be found at www.VVL.org.au.

The Men’s Honours roster is as follows;
Coach:  Michael Brookens
Matt Coad (Captain)            Roger Kapetonovic
Elliot Bowden                         George Santamaria
Mark Dorosz                           Peter Sarrio
Peter Kitler                             Tony Szkultecki
Jason Hughes                         Damien Whitburn
Cedric Legrand
The Men’s Div 1 roster is as follows;
Coach: Michael Brookens
Marcel Abdo                      Tavita Brown
Santo Buccheri                  Alex Devleski
Mahamoud Fahour           Raed Melki
Mark Robinson                 Ljubisa Stolevski
Kyle Knight                        Younis El-Hajj

Injured Reserves;
Ahmad Hoblos
Sami Winzar

Pre-season at Heidelberg

Michael Brookens - Head coach of Men's volleyball team

With the preseason over and the regular season in full swing, the Heidelberg Men’s team is hard at work at Parade College. Both men and women started training on the 5th of January with 5 weeks of strength and conditioning sessions run by Loris Bertolacci former AFL strength and conditioning coach.

Now as Warrnambool arrives the men have been training 3 sessions a week to learn new systems and get back into volleyball form. The men are working extremely hard and we expect good results come Warrnambool. During the last week of preseason Matt Coad was named the team's captain for this upcoming season. The team this year is made up of some old and new faces that will hopefully improve on last year’s results.

As a coach at this club I am proud of the effort and commitment showed by those men and women in the preseason.

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