Jamboree on Tuesday

The Kentlake Varsity Volleyball team will begin the season with the SPSL Jamboree at Bonney Lake High School on Tuesday at 4pm. The schedule is:

• 4:00 - Kentridge
• 4:30 - Bye
  
• 5:00 - Thomas Jefferson
• 5:30 - Puyallup
• 6:00 - Bonney Lake
• 6:30 - Bye
• 7:00 - Graham Kapowsin
• 7:30 - Curtis
• 8:00 - Auburn Mountainview

The other three teams will practice after school.

Ny Kamp Lagt Til Planen

That's "New Match Added to Schedule" for those that don't speak Norwegian, because the Kentlake Varsity will play a visiting Norwegian team on Wednesday, September 12th. The Norwegian team is coming to play in the Kent Classic that weekend and wanted some extra local competition. Once every three years you are allowed to add an extra contest to play a visiting international (not including Canada or Mexico) team, so we get to add a 17th contest to play the Norwegians.

Kent-Meridian will play the Norwegian team at 6pm, followed by Kentlake vs. Norway at about 7:30pm. Both matches will be best 3 out of 5 and there will be at least 30 minutes between contests.

We need the normal range of volunteers to help. Please sign up at http://www.kentlakevb.com/match_sept12.htm

Spirit Wear Deadline Extended

The ordering deadline for Kentlake Volleyball Spirit Wear has been extended to Monday, September 3rd (Labor Day). All orders must be in by that time. You can order online or via the mail. The user id for the online system is "falconsvb" and the password is "vb07".

All orders for practice t-shirts should be made directly through Coach Behrens, NOT through Gear Athletics (formerly Athletic Supply).

Volunteer Positions Filling Fast; Need JV Parents

Volunteer positions at the Kentlake matches are filling fast, but mostly with Varsity parents. We really need JV parents to fill some of the positions, especially during the Varsity matches. Generally we encourage JV parents to help during Varsity matches and Varsity parents to help during JV matches. That allows the parents to help (a service that is very much appreciated - and needed) but still be able to watch their daughter play. Of course, some parents prefer to help during their daughter's match and that is, of course, fine too. More than one parent has remarked "I do lines during my daughter's game so I can't get too excited. It makes me stay calm."

Online signups are available. Go to the proper date, select the job you are interested in and click on "Sign Me Up". This will allow you to send an email message to Kentlakevb already formatted with the name of the job you want to do and the match in the subject line.

Varisty to Practice Early on September 1st.

The Varsity team will practice from 7am to 9am on Saturday, September 1st. There will be no practice scheduled for Monday, September 3rd (Labor Day). Varsity has the SPSL Jamboree at Bonnie Lake on Tuesday, September 4th.

JV & Sophomore Practice Time Change

The practice time for JV and Sophomore teams on Monday and Tuesday, August 27th and 28th, will change to 3:30 to 5:30pm. The Varsity and Freshman teams will practice from 8-11am as planned.

Spirit Packs Available Online

Players and parents can now buy Kentlake Volleyball Spirit Wear at Gear Athletics website. The User ID is "falconsvb" and the password is "vb07".

Some of the popular items are Parent T-Shirts (with team rosters on the back), player sweat shirts and pants, polos and caps. The prices are quite reasonable. The initial order will be made Wednesday, August 29th, so shop early.

Spirit wear will be delivered to the school and distributed to the players to bring home.

Online Volunteer Signups Now Available

The online Volunteer Match Assignment system is now up and running for 2007. You can signup for jobs either using the online system or send an email to kentlakevb. If you want the same job for all seven matches, then just sending one email is fine. If we receive two emails for the same job we will take the first one, so don't assume you have a given job until you see it on the chart and you have received a confirming email.

• September 11, Thomas Jefferson
• September 13, Federal Way
• September 18, Tahoma
• September 24, Kentridge
• October 2, Decatur
• October 11, Kent Meridian
• October 23, Kentwood (Senior Night)

You can also sign up for matches at the barbecue tonight.

Teams Named

Congratulations to those players that made the four Kentlake Volleyball teams. The rosters for all four teams will be posted online soon, but all players have been notified of which team they are on.

The 2007 Kentlake Varsity roster is:

Seniors

• Amber Anderson
• Maggie Henley
• Amelia Hilsen
• Brittany Jamison
• Amanda Ogle
• Kathy Taylor

Juniors

• Jen Barber
• Melissa Kozy
• Mackenzie Kyle
• Holly Marx
• Kellcee Merritt
• Sarah Ralph

Sophomores

• McKenna Herron
• Aryn McCarthy

New Online Calendar

The Kentlake Volleyball Calendar, with practices through the end of the month and all JV and Varsity games, is now available on Google Calendars. Click the link below to access the calendar or page down to the bottom of the blog and it is embedded there. You can also download it to your Outlook Calendar or access it through RSS.

Friday Practice Time Change for JV & Sophomore Teams

The practice time for JV and Sophomore teams on Friday will change to 3:30 to 5:30pm. The Varsity and Freshman teams will practice from 8-11am as planned. Players will have time to shower and change before the barbecue at 6pm.

All Player/Family Barbecue

The annual Kentlake Barbecue will be held THIS FRIDAY at 6pm in the Kentlake Commons. All players and their families are encouraged to attend. The mandatory Volleyball planning meeting will follow the food, so you might as well come for the food and stay for the news. At least one parent for each player needs to attend the planning meeting.

The Kentlake Volleyball Booster Group will provide hamburgers, hot dogs, condiments and bottled water.

Please bring an item to share based on your grade:

• 9th grade - Pop or Chips (Note: This has changed from earlier posts)
  
• 10th grade - Casseroles or bean salads
• 11th grade - Other Salads .... green - pasta - potato
• 12th grade - Desserts

Note, that is by grade, not by which team you are on.

Kentlake to Have Four Teams

About 45 players showed up for tryouts today, thus ensuring Kentlake will, once again, have four volleyball teams. We will find out next week how many teams the other SPSL schools will have and the Freshman and Sophomore teams will have to wait until the first week of September to find out their schedules.

Mandatory Parent Meeting

There will be a mandatory Parent meeting on Friday, August 24th in conjunction with the Barbecue. This is in place of the volleyball part of the Fall Sports Meeting. The Fall Sports Meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 28th, but the SPSL Volleyball Coaches Meeting is that evening so Coach Behrens would not be able to attend our meeting. Therefore the Volleyball meeting that normally follows the Fall Sports Meeting will be held on the Friday, the 24th instead. At least one parent of each player should attend the barbecue/meeting. You can also attend the Fall Sports Meeting, but that is optional. The speaker at the Fall Sports Meeting will be the same as last year (Bruce Brown).

The barbecue will begin at 6pm and the meeting will follow.

Tryouts Start

Tryouts start tomorrow at 9am sharp. Everyone should be in proper volleyball attire and ready to go by 8:45am. Anyone that has not completed the athletic registration process will not be allowed to participate. It is unknown how long the registration process will take for those that did not complete it last week but it is unlikely any such players will be able to participate in tryouts on Monday at all. Remember that tryouts on Monday at in two sessions, 9-11am and 1-3pm.

Download Calendar

An online version of the Kentlake Volleyball Calendar is now available. You can open this calendar on any computer with a Internet Calendar compatible program installed, such as Microsoft Office Outlook. To view and subscribe to this calendar, copy and paste the following Web address into your Web browser:

webcal://calendars.office.microsoft.com/pubcalstorage/n4hkwkcz177860/Scott_Taylor_Calendar.ics

Alternatively, you can view this content on the Web at:

https://calendars.office.microsoft.com/pubcalstorage/n4hkwkcz177860/Scott_Taylor_Calendar.htm

This includes tryouts, the first week of practices and all matches for JV and Varsity. It will be updated with Freshman and Sophomore matches and more practice times as those become available.

Practice Times Set

Practice will be by team starting after tryouts are over. After school starts practice will be after school each day that the team does not have a match. Practice times until school starts are:

• Friday, August 24th - 8AM to 11AM (6PM Team BBQ)
  
• Saturday, August 25th - 8AM to 11AM (Varsity Only)
  
• Monday, August 27th - 8AM to 11AM
  
• Tuesday, August 28th - 8AM to 11AM
  
• Wednesday, August 29th - 3:30PM to 6PM
  
• Thursday, August 30th - 3:30PM to 6PM
  
• Friday, August 31st - 3:30PM to 6PM

All Players MUST Register During Athletic Registration Day

All players MUST go through the athletic registration process at Kentlake today or tomorrow. Registration forms will NOT be accepted next Monday, the first day of tryouts. It must be done before Falcon Day. The forms you need to turn in are linked below. All incoming freshman and transfer players will need a new physical. High School sports physicals are good for two years, so most Juniors will also need a new sports physicals, but most Sophomores and Seniors will not.

Volleyball BBQ on 24th

The annual Kentlake Volleyball Barbecue will be held on Friday, August 24th, at 6pm in the commons at Kentlake. All players and their families are invited to relax and have good time after a tough week of tryouts and practice. Details will be announced in the near future.

Varsity to Practice on Saturday the 25th

The Kentlake Varsity team (and only the Varsity) will practice on Saturday, August 25th from 8AM to 11AM.

Tryouts Scheduled

Tryouts for the 2007 Kentlake Volleyball Teams will begin Monday, August 20th at 9AM. The schedule for tryouts:

• Monday: 9AM to 11AM and 1PM to 3PM
• Tuesday: 3:30PM to 6:30PM
• Wednesday: 3:30PM to 6:30PM
• Thursday: 9AM to 11AM and 1PM to 3PM

The teams (Varsity, JV, Sophomore and Freshman) will practice by team on Friday, August 24th from 8AM to 11AM.

Athletic Registration Days

The Athletic Registration Days are a new thing at Kentlake this year. In the past some players would wait until the first day of tryouts before turning in their registration forms. This would inevitably lead to some players not being able to tryout as their forms were not signed properly, they did not have a valid physical, etc. This year everyone needs to turn in their forms either Monday, August 13th or Tuesday, August 14th. Kentlake Athletic Director Cindi Perez, assisted by our own Tami Kyle, will check the forms and make sure everything is correct. If there is a problem players will have a week to fix the problem instead of having to scramble around on the first day of tryouts.

You can download the forms at:

• Athletic Registration Form
• Physical Examination Form
• Emergency Medical Form

Fall Sports Meeting

The Fall Sports Meeting will be Tuesday, August 28th at 6pm. The volleyball meeting will follow the main meeting at approximately 7:15pm.

The Fall Sports Meeting is a large informational meeting for parents of all athletes participating in fall sports at Kentlake. At least one parent of each volleyball player should attend the volleyball session. Players are welcome too, but their attendance is purely optional.

Feedback?

We would appreciate any feedback you have on this blog, the website or anything else surrounding Kentlake volleyball. You can add a comment by clicking on the comment button under this or any other post on the blog or you can email us at kentlakevb@comcast.net

What is the booster group?

The Kentlake Volleyball Booster Group is the group of parents whose children play volleyball at Kentlake. So, if your daughter plays volleyball at Kentlake you are automatically part of the booster group. We hope you will be an active part. There are no dues to join the booster group, although we would encourage you to join PTSA.

The booster group provides support to the coaches to help with activities that support the team so the coaches don't have to do everything. The coaches have enough to worry about without worrying about raising money, selling concessions, running the fall tournament, etc. Some of the activities the booster group helps with:

• Registering players and checking eligibility on the first day of tryouts
• Registering players for summer camp
  
• Selling concessions, doing the scorebook, doing lines, etc during games
• Providing "goody bags" and decorations on overnight trips
• Planning reservations, etc for overnight trips
  
• Organizing Senior Night activities
• Organizing the annual Kentlake trip to a UW Volleyball game
  
• Running the "4 on 4" tournament and other fundraisers
  
• Running the website and blog

But why should you get involved in the booster group? That is, hopefully, easy to figure out. Because you want your daughter's high school volleyball experience to be a good one and are willing to help out to see that happen.

It is easy to get involved with the booster group. We welcome any and all volunteers. We have things that need to be done from the very easy to the fairly complex. You can email us or talk to Tami Kyle at the Fall Sports Meeting, etc.

Federal Way? What happened to Auburn?

Every two years the WIAA reclassifies schools based on their enrollment. With the opening of Auburn Mountainview, the enrollment in the Auburn schools dropped below the threshold for being 4A schools. Schools can "opt up" to play in a higher division, but the Auburn schools decided to play as 3A. Kent Meridian opts up to be a 4A school like the rest of the Kent schools, although their Grade 10-12 enrollment is below the cutoff.

The latest reclassification occurred in 2006. Starting last year, the three Auburn schools now play in SPSL 3A and we not play them. Instead this is the second year of a "home and away round robin" schedule in SPSL 4A North (Kentlake, Kentwood, Kent Meridian, Kentridge, Tahoma, Federal Way, Decatur and Thomas Jefferson) where each team in the eight team league plays home and away with each of the other teams. However, Auburn Riverside was only 20 students below the cutoff last time and it is likely one or more of the Auburn schools will be 4A next year.

Game Days

What happens on game days varies greatly from team to team and whether it is a home or away game. However, one thing is constant for everyone - you must attend all of your classes on game day or have a note signed by the Principal or you cannot play. If we have to leave early from 6th period (very rare) then that counts as being there for class.

Varsity (and sometimes other teams) usually decides ahead of time what they will wear to school. This may be jerseys, dress, sweat, etc but the idea is to look like a team. If it is a home game they may put up signs encouraging everyone to attend the game. I understand our new ASB President (our own senior Amber Anderson) has some ideas on that.

One problem with the "C" and Freshman schedule is that they don't always play the same opponents as the JV/Varsity and sometimes will be away for a home Varsity game or home when Varsity is away. Of course, many of their matches are at 3:30 or 4pm so that means there is a large break between C/Freshman and JV/Varsity.

If the "C" or Freshman team have an away game (which may or may not be at the same location) they will have a bus (or buses if they are going to different schools) that will leave about 2:15. It will only be those teams and their coaches riding on the bus. The bus will take them back to Kentlake after the match. The JV/Varsity will travel seperately.

It is up to them, but the Varsity has been having a team dinner after school and before their matches, regardless of whether it is home or away. They all meet at one player's house and have a simple dinner for everyone. Spaghetti and garlic bread is popular. JV could certainly do the same thing.

The JV and Varsity ride the bus together if the game is at one of the Federal Way schools (TJ, Decatur and Federal Way, we don't play Todd Beamer). That has to arrive in time for the JV to warm up, so it leaves about 4:15pm. For away games at other schools, the players (or their parents) are responsible for getting there on time.

JV warms up starting about 5pm and plays at 6pm. Varsity may warm up in the back gym, or wait until after the JV game. They will (finish) warm up after the JV game and then play at least 20 minutes after the end of the JV game (but not before 7:15pm).

The JV team should plan on staying for at least the first game of the Varsity match but should stay for all of it if possible. Varsity will attend the JV match but may warm up during part of it.

We will have a very good selection of concessions at all home games. What is offered at other schools varies widely, but usually pales in comparison to home games.

If they took the bus to the game (all away games for Freshman/C and Federal Way for JV/Varsity) then they take the bus back to Kentlake and drive home or are picked up there.

What is "Club Volleyball"?

Club Volleyball is the equivalent of AAU basketball or "travel" softball. USA Volleyball, the group that runs the US National teams, is the governing body for "Junior Olympic Volleyball". There are many volleyball clubs in the Puget Sound area and some of the best are here in Kent. They vary in philosophy, but most Club teams provide sound training in volleyball.

Do not feel like you have to do Club Volleyball to excel in volleyball at Kentlake. However, you get better at volleyball by playing and Club volleyball is an excellent way to keep playing in the HS off-season. This last season Kentlake had 21 players from the 2006 Kentlake squad play Club volleyball. However, Club volleyball is not cheap. It can range from about $800/player for a limited season team that plays only local tournaments to more than $5000/player for a team seriously trying to qualify for the national Junior Olympic tournament.

Uniform Colors

Each team will decide among themselves if they want to standardize the colors of their accessories (kneepads, socks, etc). Often the teams will decide to wear black kneepads and socks, but that may change from year to year and team to team. The teams will decide that prior to their first match.

There are some very good kneepads on the market and some not so good ones. What works best for a kneepad is a matter of personal taste and what fits well. Do not hesitate to ask one of the older players if you have any questions regarding kneepads, ankle braces, etc.

OK, my daughter made the team. What is it going to cost me?

Actually, very little. We do not have "Pay to Play" in Kent, so there is not a charge for playing volleyball. However, all players do have to have their ASB card.

We provide uniforms to all players. That is the jersey (home and away) and spandex. We also provide one practice t-shirt for everyone and jackets and bags for the varsity. You can purchase additional practice t-shirts and will probably want to have extra spandex for practice.

You will have to provide kneepads, shoes, socks, etc. We encourage the use of ankle supports. There are several good brands including Active Ankles and ASO, but figuring out what works best for your player is up to you.

We will have t-shirts (for both players and family/friends) and sweatshirts (for players at least) available for sale after tryouts are over. The last two years the family t-shirts had the names of the players on all four teams on the back. This has proved to be very popular (and provides built-in obsolescence so parents buy the shirt every year ).

All SPSL schools charge for entrance for anyone that does not have an ASB card. The SPSL mandated charges are $5/adult, $3/student and $2/senior citizen and elementary students. For home matches you can avoid this charge by doing one of the many jobs that need to be done.

Fall Sports Meeting

The Fall Sports Meeting is the big organizational meeting for all fall sports. There is a large group meeting with a speaker (usually quite good) followed by "breakout sessions" for each sport. As the second largest fall sport (football is larger so they get the PAC) we usually meet in one of the two "revolving" rooms next to the PAC.

The meeting will probably be August 29th or 30th at 6pm, followed by the volleyball session at about 7:15pm. We will have exact dates and times very soon.

It is very important that at least one parent for each athlete attend the Fall Sports Meeting. We will discuss a lot of information and this is the only way to get it.

The Fall Sports Meeting is NOT the athletic registration that takes place next Monday and Tuesday (August 13th and 14th). That is done so everyone is all set to go before tryouts. The Fall Sports Meeting is more an informational meeting for parents (although players can attend if they want).

Game Times

The times for Varsity and JV games are standardized. JV plays at 6pm and Varsity follows, usually at about 7:15pm, but it may be a little later if JV goes long.

The Freshman and "C" team games can be at 3:30, 4:00 or even 6:00, depending on gym and referee availability. It is not uncommon for the Freshman and "C" matches to change times or even be canceled. Last year schools without Freshman teams showed up on the schedule, leading to inevitable cancellations. We will try to let everyone know about any schedule changes ASAP, so listen to what the coaches say and read the blog frequently for updates.

The Freshman and "C" schedules will be released in late August or early September after it is known how many squad each school will have.

We would prefer to run all of the non-Varsity matches at 6pm but we have to live with what the schedule dictates. In particular it can be very hard to schedule enough refs and running three matches simultaneously requires an extra ref.

People attending "C" and Freshman games do not have to pay to attend just those games unless they are in the same gym at the same time as the JV game. People attending the JV game do have to pay. That is a SPSL rule and we can't do anything about it. However, if you do a job that day for any match you get in free to the JV and Varsity matches.

Parents and Game Days

It has been a tradition at Kentlake that parents take care of running the event on game days and the players and coaches take care of playing the games. So we need parent volunteers for a variety of jobs for each match, not just Varsity matches, but JV, "C" and Freshman team matches also.

It works best if Varsity parents help with the JV matches, JV parents help with the Varsity matches, and "C" and Freshman team parents help with their own matches. The "C" and Freshman team matches are run earlier in the day and do not involve refreshments and tickets, so they are much easier to run.

We need help with the following:

Concessions

We need two people to sell concessions (handle the food, take money, give change, etc.) for the Varsity and JV matches.

Tickets

We need one person to sell tickets for the Varsity and JV matches. This person must be a PTSA member.

Scoreboard

We need one person to keep score and run the clock. This is done with the scoreboard for the JV and Varsity matches and usually with the manual "flip chart" for the "C" and Freshman team matches.

Scorekeeper

This is one of the more technical jobs as the method of keeping the scoresheet is a little complicated. However, it is nothing that cannot be picked up in 30 minutes. Come sit in and watch someone else do it once and you should be able to do it after that. Remember: 10 year olds do it in Club. The scorebook is kept for all four matches.

Libero Tracker

This is probably the easiest job. The libero tracker keeps track of when the Libero (the defensive player with the alternate colour jersey that subs in and out "on the fly") goes in and out of the game. Of course, this is only done for those teams that use the Libero, but that will be most matches. The libero tracker also assists the Scorekeeper with capturing all the substitutions. The libero tracker may also have to run the scoreboard sometimes for "C" and Freshman games depending on the number of volunteers available.

Lines

We need two lines people for each match. This is fairly easy for JV, "C" and Freshman and can be quite intimidating for Varsity (the speed of the game is much quicker). However, with some simple techniques it is not that hard.


Signups

We will have signup sheets at the Fall Sports Meeting and any other events. You can also send an email to kentlakevb@comcast.net with your job preferences. We will have an online signup method soon.

10 Practice Rule

WIAA rules require ten days of practice before the first contest for each player. For Freshman and "C" team players this is usually not a problem. The days of tryouts count as practices for this rule, but "Two-A-Days" (when there are two practices in one day) only count as one day, not two practices. Unless there are weekend or holiday practices, guess how many days of practice there are between the start of tryouts on the 20th and the Jamboree on the 4th. Give up? Ten.

So, the moral to this story is: don't miss practice if you want to play - even for a good excuse. JV gets two extra days, but Varsity has no "wiggle room". We have no way around the 10 days of practice rule unless we have extra days of practice (on Saturday, Sunday or Labor Day) for the entire team.

If you are injured and cannot take full part of practice then that day does not count. If you are injured for more days than you have practiced then the clock resets. So if you have three days of practice, then are injured and are out for four days, then it starts over again at zero and you have to have ten more days before you can play.

PrepVolleyball.com

I would encourage you to look at PrepVolleyball.com, especially the Girls Volleyball page. It has a very active forum of people from around the country that are interested in HS and Club volleyball. There is one topic that follows Washington State high school volleyball with input from around the state. The link to the PrepVolleyball.com message board is in the "Volleyball Links" section in the lower right of the main page.

State and District Tournaments

The West Central District #3 (WCD #3) Tournament will be held at the Kitsap Pavilion in Silverdale (street address is Bremerton, but it is really Silverdale). It will be Friday and Saturday, November 2nd and 3rd. We have a block of rooms reserved for the night of the 2nd at the Silverdale Beach Hotel (formerly the Red Lion). Kentlake will qualify for WCD #3 Tournament if we finish in the top five in the eight team SPSL 4A North, as the SPSL gets ten teams to the district tournament this year and the SPSL tournament will only be for seeding purposes.

The Washington State 4A High School Volleyball Tournament will again be held in the Toyota Center in Kennewick, WA on November 9th and 10th. Kentlake will qualify for State if we finish in the top six (out of 16) at the WCD #3 Tournament. We have a block of rooms reserved at the Kennewick Hilton Garden Inn (which is literally across the parking lot from the Toyota Center) for the nights of November 8th and 9th.

Dead Period

For those new to high school volleyball, the period between August 1st and the start of tryouts is the "Dead Period" under WIAA rules. The coaches cannot have any volleyball-related contact with current or prospective team members.

Tryouts

Tryouts will be August 20th to August 23rd. Anyone interested in playing volleyball for Kentlake must be there, even if unable to play due to injury.

The exact times have not been determined but tryouts will probably be "two-a-days" from Monday until Wednesday or Thursday. Since Coach Behrens is a teacher at Kentlake, and there are some in-service activities for teachers during the two weeks before school starts, the schedule may vary some depending on her schedule. We will post the times as soon as they are available.

Incoming Freshmen must have a Sports Physical done after June 1, 2007. School physicals are valid for two years, so most incoming Juniors will also need a post-June 1, 2007 physical. There can be no exceptions made. No physical by August 20th means no tryout. You can download the Sports Physical Form from the the Kent School District website.

All players trying out will also need a signed Athletic Registration Form for the first day of tryouts. You can download that from the Kent School District website.

<< More information on tryouts >>
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