Kudos to St. Clements. They came out with guns blazing. They appeared to be more determined to win the championship, and it showed in both matches. Overall, they were more consistent and their movements were more fluid. And I cannot take that away from them.
However, let me share with you some conditions prevailing at that time and certain events and instances that have taken place. And I will let you come up with your own conclusions.
St. Clements was hot, literally and figuratively. To get to the finals, they had to play 2 games that same Sunday afternoon. Our first meeting was their 3rd game. Meantime, our kids were coming in cold, and most likely, full from lunch. Twenty minutes, or even thirty minutes of warm up will not get you to the same level as having played for almost 2 hours, or even a full hour.
I purposely requested the players to come in at least 45 minutes before game time so we can warm up a little longer. Doing a couple of quick runs and some jumping jacks will suffice, just to get the blood pumping. I was concerned when one of our key players didn't arrive not until 20 minutes before the game. And by the way he looked and how he performed during the on-court warm up, his mind wasn't in the game. I already had a bad feeling that he will not perform as he did in past games. Something was bothering him, and that would affect the outcome of our game.
And it did. His serves were inconsistent. His kills were all over the place. He was plain frustrated. During a time out, he wanted to be taken out because he felt he wasn't doing well and was letting the team down. I had to convince him to regroup and refocus, and start fresh. It lasted for a bit, but was never sustained. My gut told me he was bothered by something. Whatever it was, I wouldn't know, and don't intend on knowing.
Officiating was horrible, too, to say the least. They lacked the know-how and common protocol of officiating. They were consistently horrible all throughout the season. They may be high school volleyball players who may know how to play the game, but officiating it is way out of their league. For a championship game, I was expecting better caliber officiating -- someone more knowledgeable and more experienced, especially in situations like we had. What made me cringe was the fact that these "officials" were paid. I don't care how big or small the fee was, but I expected them to do a decent job. The fact that they agreed to officiate, it carried with it a certain level of responsibility, which, to me, was amiss. Heck, I spent 3 months training these kids, and I didn't get paid for it. So what are they complaining about?
We were jinxed, too. The two tournament officials chided me to make it a St. Joseph sweep (Our 5/6 boys team won their division because their opponent conceded. There were only 2 teams in their division.). Then, I was informed that our school principal has approved of the kids wearing of the championship shirts (given to winners in each division) in school on Monday, even before we played our game on Sunday. Talk about a major jinx !!!
I don't want to make any excuses. St. Clements did play well, and we didn't do as well as we did when we played them in the semifinals. But if you were at both games and saw how we led in 3 of the 4 sets, eventually losing in the end of each (like the Golden State Warriors always do - ouch!!!), you would say that we had a good chance of turning it around, despite the odds.
Overall, it was a good season. I am happy to see the boys improve their skill and knowledge of the game, particularly for the 2 boys who never played this sport competitively. Their parents were complimentary, and shared how much their sons enjoyed their experience. As a coach, it was music to my ears.
It was a good run, and I enjoyed it tremendously. I would like to thank the parents for trusting me with their boys, and to all our supporters who came and watched our games. And to Coach Rich for sharing his insights and knowledge, and for helping me make this season a memorable one.
Although I fell a little bit short of bringing the championship back to St. Joseph, as I did when I started coaching the 7/8 boys team 7 years ago, I am proud to say that St. Joseph is still a force to reckon with in CYO boys indoor volleyball in the Oakland diocese.
I end the season with a sense of accomplishment, knowing that this may be my last. Seriously, it's time to retire.
Ole' !!!
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