A lot has happened since my last journal entry, to summarize: Hong Kong tournament, a home game with Major Major, a weekend in Brent Manila for LSMS (League of Southern Manila Schools), a home game against a high school team (I'm not sure with the name), and another home game today against Gordon College. This weekend, the team will go to Brent Manila again to play in LSMS, however I won't be able to make it because I have to take an entrance exam for Ateneo this saturday.
Our team is slowly getting better, we've had "pockets" of good teamwork (receiving, setting, and hitting altogether as well as communication on the court). However, our team still hasn't reached the level that I believe we can play at and so does both our coaches. The team played well in Hong Kong and got to the finals, but our floor coverage wasn't exactly perfect, or at least as good as the other team, which is probably the reason they beat us although I believe that our team learned a lot from our games in Hong Kong. Outside of playing volleyball on the court, our team also had a lot of laughs and bonding time going around Hong Kong, having team dinners, having fun on the MTR's, taking pictures, shopping and all that so it was a good experience on and off the court. When we got back we played "Major Major", but our team for some reason was not "awake" in that game, and we all seemed "dead" on the court and despite the fact that the other team was at a higher level than us, we didn't even seem to try and fight back and keep up with them, even if we probably could've at least kept up with them in most of the sets. A few days later we played in LSMS, and again our team seemed to have difficulty in covering the court and receiving the ball which makes it hard for me to set up a good play, and come up with decent sets. Even I was getting frustrated with myself because I couldn't set correctly and I did a lot of things wrong such as set too low, and not move my feet fast enough to get under the ball. At the end of the day, we got the chance to play the APAC team. They were really good, but I believe that we could've kept up with them if we played our game. I think my best game for that day was against the APAC team because I really, really wanted to play well against them which actually shouldn't be the case since I should feel and think that way in every game.
Today, we played a game against Gordon College and we played well in some sets, but again our team wasn't consistent and were making careless mistakes (in my case it was serving). I do believe that we covered the court a bit better in our game today but I still think we can do better. Our second setter Brian is consistently improving, but I still think that it's part of my responsibility as a captain to help him out in not just his setting, but the way he takes control of the game (calling out plays, making sure everyones doing what they're supposed to, and encouraging teammates) because it's quality that I believe setters should have, and I hope he plays well this weekend while I'm away. Our coach called my attention today to remind me a few things that I agree I have to bring back to my game: Being light on my feet so that I can move around the court, to not watch the ball after I set and instead be alert for block support, and to polish up my setting by getting under the ball and keeping my hands up all the time. These are things that I believe I can bring back to my game, and I will try my best to do so, starting with our practices and eventually to our games. I feel like it's been a rough two weeks for the team, and especially myself, and this weekend will give (at least me), a chance to rest and start fresh next week. Hopefully I can be a complete setter as I and my team, and my coaches want me to be before ISAC comes.
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