Out with a bang!

 It’s been a long, cold winter, but we managed to survive! We were so excited to get to go to the first event of the year, a NORCECA in the Cayman Islands. We were really looking forward to getting back outside and getting used to the heat and wind. Cayman definitely has it’s fair share of both!

Jamie and I arrived a week early to get used to the conditions. We also ran a two-day beach clinic for the local kids who are into playing indoor volleyball and want to check out what beach is all about. It was really fun getting to know everyone, we all had a fun time. 

Definitely some super talent here! We better watch out... :)

The tournament organizers also offered complementary dolphin excursions, so I got to swim with a dolphin and kiss him too! (yes, this place IS paradise).

Getting things started at the technical meeting.

The tournament started on Friday with pool play. We defeated Mexico 2 and Barbados, and on Saturday morning we took down El Salvador to win our pool. Later in the afternoon we matched up against a Cayman Islands team in the quarter final to advance to the semis.

We were matched up against USA2. The sun was out, the wind was strong and Jamie and I were ready to battle!
Kind of. We had a shaky start, losing the first set 16-21… This team’s aggressive serving took us off guard a little. But we fought back in the second set and won 27-25 (despite a few questionable calls from the ref…). We found our groove and got a grip on the wind in the third set and finally beat them 15-11.

Then we had a couple of hours to rest before meeting USA1 in the finals. We had done all the hard work leading up to this game, so we were able to let ourselves enjoy being in the finals. The atmosphere was crazy. I took a deep breath and looked around before the first whistle blew. The stands were packed with so many Canadian fans. This was my first time in the finals at a NORCECA and I was SO PUMPED to be there. Jamie and I played like we were on a mission, playing smart with the wind and hitting balls as hard as we could whenever we had the chance. We beat the Americans  21-16, 21-13. Jamie served an ace to win the match. What a great feeling! We were exhausted and thrilled!! 

The water spider and the beast.

We started working with a personal coach this year, John May, and flew him down here to help us out with this tournament. It was great to have someone with us to keep us focused (and entertained in the down time!). I can't thank John enough for his support. We've learned so much from in the short time that we've been working with him, and we're looking forward to more big things in the future!

The next day we took a boat cruise with fellow Canadian teammates Heather and Liz. We checked out sting ray city and did some snorkelling. It was a nice recovery day, relaxing for the most part (except when we had to hang out with the sting rays. Those things are CREEPY!) 

Here are a few photos. 

Busting through the winter blahs

It's official! Jamie and I will be heading down to the Cayman Islands in a couple of weeks for the first event of the 2013 season. I can't tell you how excited I am to start competing again. We have been training hard all winter long, just itching to get back outside and play!!

The Cayman Islands NORCECA was my second international competition ever, in 2010. I actually played in it with Jamie, even though we weren't partners at the time!

It's been a pretty solid winter. We've both managed to stay healthy and improve our strength, fitness and team tactics. The national beach program also welcomed a new head coach in early January. We're thrilled to have Steve Anderson take over and share his philosophies and unique coaching style.  He worked with the Australian beach team for 17 years and helped them earn Olympic bronze and gold medals. His energy and belief in Canadian athletes and our program is infectious... and I have to say, it's it's been pretty fun working with him so far.
It's also been nice having a routine, staying in the same city for more than a week, not dealing with jet-lag, and knowing I will always be able to get my favourite foods from the grocery store whenever I want. Having said that, I'm really looking forward to racking up the air miles :)

Although our training has been great, I can't deny that sometimes it's hard to stay motivated in the cold winter months when we're bundled up in our training centre for practice and the sun seems to set so early that sunny summer feels so far away! I have to give a shout out to somebody who has been an inspiration to me. My younger brother Lenny is a member of Canada's national cross country ski team and he's one of my best friends. His competition season starts when mine ends (November) and he's been in Europe since then, so we don't get to see each other very often... but we manage to keep in touch through skype and funny emails. Lenny is one of the coolest people I know. He's always so chill and level headed and he actually gives really great advice. Not to mention he is kicking some serious butt on the World Cup tour! So when I'm stuck at home, freezing and longing for summer to return, I feel lucky to be able to tune in to my brother's season and watch him ski like a champ! Every success he has makes me more and more excited to compete again!!
Mahalo bro!!!

Throwback! circa 1992 and 2012