Have you seen this at beach volleyball before?
March 29, 2009
Check out this video from a few days ago. It is at a beach volleyball tournament in the states. Gotta feel sorry for the interviewer…
This took place in the morning. Was she sick or out partying all night?
Mike Whitmarsh autopsy confirms suicide
February 19, 2009
A press release on the County of San Diego site has confirmed that Mike Whitmarsh killed himself through carbon monoxide poisoning. He was found dead in a friend’s home on Tuesday.
This all comes as a bit of a shock for the volleyball community. As I wrote yesterday Mike was a very popular player on the AVP tour. In 1989 he came downunder to Australia to play on the PBVA tour. He was a really nice guy.
I can’t say what led to his suicide but only can say it is a great loss, not only for his family but for volleyball fans around the world…
RIP Mike Whitmarsh.
Former Beach Volleyball Star Mike Whitmarsh Found Dead
February 18, 2009
photo PBVA
Mike Whitmarsh was a handy basketball player, he found even greater success on the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) tour in the 90’s. Whitmarsh teamed up with Mike Dodd to win silver medal at the Atlanta Olympics in the first ever Olympic beach volleyball event.
According to newspaper reports Whitmarsh was found dead inside the garage of a Solana Beach home Tuesday morning. He was 46 years old.
This came as sad news to me as I personally knew Mike from some time I spent training in San Diego in 1989, and later that year when he played on the Pro Beach Volleyball Tour in Australia.
Big Mike went on to launch himself on the AVP tour in 1990 winning the AVP Rookie of the Year honor. Whitmarsh earned more than $1.6 million during his career as well as winning 28 titles.
Standing at 6′7″ Mike’s strong point was his block. He was awarded Best Blocker in 2002 on the AVP tour. I remember fondly many of his roof blocks that he embarassed his opponents with when playing with Rande Turner on the PBVA tour.
I had the good fortune to face Mike across the net in a PBVA tournament at St Kilda Beach in Melbourne, Australia. I have to say I did manage to avoid any roof blocks on that occasion.
When playing in Australia Mike was great to watch, he was also a great bloke off the court. On the AVP tour Mike was a crowd favorite, this view was backed up by Leonard Armato, CEO and Commissioner of the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour in what he said on the AVP site.
“We are all deeply saddened by the loss of Mike Whitmarsh, a true a beach volleyball legend and one of AVP’s all time greats,” said Leonard Armato. “Mike was gifted competitor, a crowd favorite, and one of the most well liked and respected players on the AVP Tour. His legacy will live on as a silver medalist in the first-ever Olympic beach volleyball competition as well as a great ambassador for the sport. The AVP family’s thoughts and prayers are with the Whitmarsh family during this tragic time.”
Before Mike became a star of the AVP he enjoyed a shortlived basketball career. He played for the University of San Diego and was drafted by the Portland Trailblazers in 1984. Mike was part of the Minnesota Timberwolves roster in 1989. He also played for three years professionally in Germany.
In 2003 Mike Whitmarsh was awarded the AVP Special Achievement award and in 2004 was awarded a Lifetime Achievement by the AVP.
Mike is survived by he wife, Cindy. “We are all devastated by the passing of Mike,” Cindy Whitmarsh said in a statement. His wife added that, “His family, friends, teammates and colleagues will miss him terribly. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers during this most difficult time; it means more than we can express.”
I would love to hear your comments about Mike Whitmarsh. You can leave them below.
Beach Volleyball Database - Mike Whitmarsh
Individual volleyball drills you can do at home
September 24, 2008
I played indoor and beach volleyball over a 16 or so year period. As I was always looking to improve my fitness or skills I would quite often train on my own.
Recently I was asked about some volleyball drills that someone could do by themselves.
Here are some of my suggestions:
If you are doing this indoors at home you can sit on a chair and set to yourself. Try to vary the height of each set. Before you start swing your arms and do a few stretches for your shoulders and neck.
Once you get good at just setting to yourself while seated for an extra challenge you can try doing the drill while doing slow situps. This is great for your setting control and for your core strength.
To help improve your spiking style you can practice your swing in front of a mirror. If you have room do the full run up and jump. If space is limited just do it standing. Make sure you do a full swing and use your legs.
Your vertical jump is important when playing volleyball. If you have some space you can do spike run ups and also block jumps against the wall. Always try to use good technique when doing both skills. I suggest sets of ten for each. Start with one set and try to build up to about five sets over time.
Now for some drills you can do if you have a yard or suitable place outdoors.
Something I liked to do to work on my setting and bump skills was run up and down a 5 to 10 yard area as I set or bumped the ball to myself. You can either run continuously or stop each set and bump. You mix the height and also how far in front of yourself you send the ball.
Once again you need to work on your jump so using the outdoor space practice a spike run up. Take three steps and jump, run backwards to your start position and repeat for 10 jumps. As you do this more often or if you are already fit do around 5 sets or build up to 5 over time.
Do the same for block jumps however pretend you are doing a middle block and then use a crossover step to get to the outside block. Do 5 of the double jump for a total of 10 jumps.
Next practice some movement. You can pretend you do a block and then sprint backwards to get into a position to receive a spike. Make sure you get down low with arms spread in a defensive position. It is easier to come up than go down so always start low.
If this is not enough you can find a wall to practice your bumps and setting against. With the bumps or digs sometimes you can throw the ball against the wall to get a different flight path before you dig it.
If you are looking for some extra fitness work you can do some short sprints. Sprint about 10 to 20 yards and then jog back into position and start again. Do about 10 or if you are really keen why not try 50?
Of course when doing all this type of training make sure you warm up properly and get checked out by a doctor if you have any medical concerns.
Hope you enjoy this.
Do you have any drills you can share with the readers. If you do leave a comment below.
Disneyland or the sideline of a pre-season NFL match?
September 23, 2008
Many years ago now I was in San Diego training for the upcoming beach volleyball season in Australia. Unfortunately I spent most of my time sitting on the sidelines recovering from a broken ankle. While spending my time waiting for matches at Mission beach I met Jim L Mora of NFL coaching fame.
Back then he was a secondary coach for the San Diego Chargers who also happen to be my favorite NFL team. Jim enjoyed playing beach volleyball at Mission beach in his time off. He was a reasonable player but not great. As the best teams always got to stay on the court he was quite often on the sideline’s with me.
After spending many days down at the beach we would talk about his job as an NFL coach. This was pretty amazing for me. I must say it all was pretty cool spending time at Mission beach as the USA indoor players would quite ofter also go down for a hit. Mike Whitmarsh was another guy I met there. Back then he was was just getting into beach volleyball after a basketball career. He would later go on to star in the AVP and took silver at the Atlanta Olympics.
The time was 1989, and getting back to my mate Jim Mora, he invited me to watch a pre-season match that the Chargers were going to play in August of that year. As it turned out on that same weekend I had a trip up to Disneyland and Yosemite planned with some Aussie friends of mine that were staying with me in San Diego.
Now a tough decision had to be made. I have to say after growing up watching Disneyland every Sunday night it was a big thing for me to visit the Disneyland. Also being a huge sports fan the offer of going to the Chargers game was pretty special. Did I mention I was able to go down on the sideline close to the action?
If you are an NFL fan you would know that Jim L Mora is the son of famous NFL head coach Jim E Mora. Jim L was head coach of the Atlanta Falcons for several years and is now an assistant head coach and defensive backs coach for the Seattle Seahawks.
Getting back to my decision where I had to choose a two day trip to Disneyland and a visit to Yosemite with a group of Aussies or a match on the sideline for the San Diego Chargers.
What would you do? Love to hear your comments.
I will tell you what my decision was after someone leaves a comment…
Are you a high school athlete in the USA? Get into TAKKLE.com
June 9, 2008
Have you heard about TAKKLE the Ultimate Site for High School Sports? It is a great site that gives high school athletes a chance to showcase themselves to sporting scouts or fans of high school sports in the USA.
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TAKKLE was developed with the high school athlete in mind. It is a place to help you succeed. If you are looking to promote yourself to the scouts or college coaches this is the place for you. TAKKLE.com allows you to load pictures, videos and stats from all your games. It is a great place to showcase your abilities.
At the end of the season when it is time to get your name out to college coaches you can send the “TAKKLE Sheet”. This is a one-page snapshot of your stats and all your personal info. It can easily be sent to any college coach in the USA.
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If you are a coach TAKKLE makes your life easier as well. You can use the tools in the site to organize game and practice schedules and keep in touch with your players in a secure environment. You can even scout your upcoming opponents. Join FREE Today! TAKKLE also makes it easier to help you get your players in contact with college coaches.
TAKKLE is great for college recruiters also
To succeed as a college coach you need to find the best athletes and of course coach them well. Takkle can help you find athletes easier than before. Takkle will bring all the key information to you in an easy to search format. You can use just about any criteria you can think of to find the perfect fit for you team. The high school athletic world will be at your fingertips.
TAKKLE.com is also a great place for fans, friends and parents of high school athletes. The site will be one to keep up-to-date with all that is happening with your favorite athlete or team. There will be stats, photos and videos for you to view and comment on.
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Thrilling win secures Japan a Beijing Olympic volleyball berth
June 7, 2008
Japan has defeated Argentina 3-2 in the sixth round of the qualifying tournament in Tokyo. The win means that Japan and Italy have secured the final two spots at the Beijing Olympic men’s volleyball tournament.
If Argentina had won the match they convincingly they might have been able to sneak past Italy in their final match of the tournament. As it turned out Japan took that out of the equation and now they are Beijing bound.
The match started with a thrilling first set with the Argentinian team winning 28-26. Japan crushed their opponents in the second set 25-13. The home team were looking good when they claimed the third set 25-17. Argentina was not giving up that easily and took the fourth set 25-17.
It all came down to the fifth set. Japan knew they had the Olympic spot if they could win the match. Thanks to Yamamoto Takahiro’s attacking play the home team secured the match with a thrilling 20-18 win. The match lasted just under two hours.
As we now look forward to the Olympic tournament in Beijing the final twelve teams are decided. The teams to play at the Olympics in the men’s volleyball tournament will be:
China, Brazil, Russia, Bulgaria, Egypt, Japan, Serbia, USA, Venezuela, Germany, Italy and Poland.
Italy and Japan in box seat for final two Olympic volleyball spots
June 7, 2008
Eight men’s volleyball teams are currently fighting it out for the final two berths in the Olympic volleyball tournament. The matches are being played in Tokyo, Japan.
The winner of the event and the best placed Asian team will be on their way to Beijing in August.
After five matches Italy is sitting at the top of the standings after going 5-0. Australia as the current Asian champions may have thought themselves a good chance to go to the Olympics as the Asia representative however it is not going to plan for the Aussies.
After a good opening to the tournament where the Australian team won their first two matches they have suffered three losses in a row. The first loss to the Italians may have been expected however the loss to South Korea came as a crushing blow for their hopes of making the Olympics. Yesterday Japan added another nail in the coffin after they defeated the Aussies 3-0.
Only two matches remain for each of the teams playing in a round robin format. Japan faces Argentina and then Algeria. I would expect Argentina to defeat Japan however Japan should clinch their Olympic berth with a win over Algeria on the final day.
Women’s Olympic volleyball teams decided in Tokyo
May 29, 2008
Eight teams gathered in Tokyo for a tournament from 17-25 May. The prize was an Olympic berth for four of the teams.
After all the teams played each other in the round robin format it was Poland, Serbia, Japan and Kazakhstan who booked their spot in the 12 team Olympic volleyball tournament.
Kazakhstan were the surprise team to qualify for the games in Beijing. Korea would have been the more fancied team to join Japan at the Olympics however the central Asian team made a late run to steal a spot. Going into the last two matches they were winless.
On the last day Korea, Thailand and Kazakhstan were a chance to grab the last spot which was awarded to the best Asian team to not finish in the top three spots. Korea missed their chance to seal the Olympic berth after a loss to the Dominican Republic 3-1. Kazakhstan defeated Thailand to end the tournament with a 2-5 record.
Who would go to Beijing as Asia’s qualifier came down to points. It was Kazakhstan who had the better points ratio and the ticket to Beijing.
The twelve teams to contest the women’s Olympic volleyball tournament are: China, Italy, Brazil, USA, Algeria, Kazakhstan, Russia, Cuba, Venezuela, Poland, Serbia and Japan.
Volleyball - Last chance for women’s Olympic qualification
May 6, 2008
Four women’s volleyball spots at the Beijing Olympics are up for grabs during the qualification tournament to be played 17-25 May in Tokyo. Eight teams will be fighting for the the last qualifying spots on offer.
At the tournament, hosts Japan are joined by Thailand, Korea, Kazakhstan (best-ranked teams at the Asian Continental Championship), Serbia, Poland (best world-ranked teams from CEV), Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico (best world-ranked teams from NORCECA) in the Tokyo tournament.
The round-robin competition in the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium doubles up as the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament and so the best three teams plus the best Asian team (even if any of the best three teams are Asian) will grab the final four tickets for the Beijing Olympic Games Women’s Volleyball Tournament.
Teams that have already booked their spot in Beijing are China as the host country, the top three teams at the 2007 World Cup, Italy, Brazil and the USA. Also going to Beijing is Cuba who qualify as the gold medalist from the NORCECA Olympic qualification tournament. Venuezela the gold medalist from the South American Olympic qualification tournament, Algeria the winners of the African Olympic qualification tournament and finally Russia the winners from the European Olympic qualification tournament.
