Meet the Team

Every year I write a blog about Hal's teammates and share some stuff about each of them.  This year was a blast.

I made a bunch of new "mom" friends, and the girls....well, they were spectacularlish.

Before nationals, we took to Cocoa Beach and while there were those of us loathe to go into shark infested, flesh eating water (cough, me)...these girls jumped right in.  They kidded Hallie for her "Grandma" swimsuit, but they really are great friends.  (We are missing Jordan and Sarah in this picture....later flights)

Malia is from Edmond Memorial.  She is a middle blocker and just a wizard in shoes.  I watched her make so many points serving, she would bring us back from the point of no return, over and over.   She is quick on the block and has a mean slide.  Her mom looks like a movie star, and her dad is one of the nicest guys I have ever met.  She has an older brother who is a BEAST, and has a full ride scholarship to play football in Texas.  She has a baby brother who is in my "Poptart mom" club, and hangs with me at games. They also have the hardest last name in the universe to pronounce, but it's fun listening to everyone try.   Love this 6 foot tall girl and her fam.

Jordan is from Edmond North.  This powerhouse may be a shorty, but she is deadly.  Her serve can knock people over, and when she attacks from the back row, ain't NOBODY going to be able to return it.  ESPN raved over her defensive ability, too. She is HILARIOUS, and can laugh at herself and is a self proclaimed "Creeper" on all things internet.  Her mom and dad are seriously the sweetest people.  And she has a little sister, that is also, in my "Poptart mom" club.  I had my kids with me at one of the tournaments, and this particular tournament had a fun kids area that younger sibs could hang in while the LONG day progresses.  There was no way I could afford it, and this sweet family bought both the boys weekend passes.  Precious gifts...that's what the Kramers are.

Ryan is from Norman, tho she goes to the "other" Norman HS.  She is our BEAST, standing at 6'3".  She is one blocking machine.  I think I see sweat gather on the brows of the girls that she stands in front of at the net.  It is a wonderful thing.  Nice side note....her cousin from Texas answered my ad for babysitters at OU, and kept the lovelies for months before we realized they were related.  I adore her mom, and her dad takes care of most of Norman's fur babies (Norman's best vet).  Her little bro is Hallie's "Bae" and also the president of my "Poptart Mom" club.   We took cover in their home during the tornado season, waiting out the incoming storm, knowing we could take cover in their storm shelter in an instant, if need be.....it's good to have the Emmert's in your corner. 

Ahhhh, Ericka, from Edmond Santa Fe HS.   I've known this sweet face for a couple of years now.  She and Hal tried their hand at sand volleyball together, and came out of it good friends.  She is our setter, and starts us off serving...because Whoa....this kid can serve.  And set....And hit.   She played the Indianapolis tournament with a burst appendix.  Yeah, you heard me.  She's a warrior.  Her parentals are two of my dear friends, and their love for my vietnamese children....I'm hard pressed to find anyone out there that loves them more than the Scholls.   I tried to keep her mom in the loop at nationals, (her not being able to go) by literally play by playing the games in message form.  I'd be absent for a minute and I'd get a text..... "Well????????"   It's ok.....she'd do it for me. 

Meet Sarah...our outside hitter from Tulsa.  Hal met Sarah when they played on the same High Performance team last year.  The number one thing that is the coolest about Sarah (outside of her great hair), is her lack of ego.  She has no idea how cool she is.  She is a stinking beast at outside, blocker, cheerleader......and you should hear her play the piano.  I mean...I play the piano, and not much impresses me.   This kid knocked my socks off.  And she can sing, and rap.....ok, the rapping is more funny than anything.  Her mom is so quiet, but one of the kindest people I have ever met, and her dad is SO TALL, and loves Hallie.  He would always come up to me after every game and proceed to talk about individual plays that she did well.  I'm like, "I think we won" and he's "That one block on the push to the outside....." and seriously I'm like...."We won".  You see what I'm saying?  And her gorgeous siblings.  Whoa.  The girls would play better when her older brothers were there.  They brought a gorgeous "energy" factor to our girls play. Glad these girls got to play on the same team again.  They are solid gold together. 

Next we have Kassidy, she plays at Edmond Santa Fe, also.   She is the other right side hitter (shares the position with Hal).  This girl can H.I.T.  I think she may have broken noses this year.  She is also a GIANT goofball.  Smart as a whip, on the drive from Indy, Hallie had her and Ryan answering all her homework questions.  It's nice to have smart friends.  She stands over 6 foot tall also.  Her mom saved my life in Indy, when my neck and back got so stoved up, I was a vertigo'd dizzy mess.  Her mom is maybe 5'2 and 100 pounds, and she crawled all over my back and neck and popped and massaged and fixed me right up.  She is a chiropractic genius.  Her dad is the only person on the team I haven't bonded with.  I think I'm intimidated by his hair.  It is so much better than mine will ever be.  But her grandpa? and grandma?  We are pals.  There was NO ONE I liked sitting next to in a game, better than her grandpa, Jim.  He calls it like he sees it, and that is my kind of announcer.  Crazy excited to see where this kid's talent will take her.  I hear she swings a mean golf club too.

This beauty queen is Kadie Grace.  She is the setter for Hal's rotation, and that little tiny body can dish a serve out like nobody's business.  She is model gorgeous, and is so kind and so goofy to her teammates, and she keeps them smiling and having fun, and that takes a lot to make that work, when you are in intense game modes.  Her dad is the assistant coach, and I think he only broke about 4-5 pair of glasses this year, twisting and throwing them to the floor.  He challenged Hallie as hard, if not harder, than anyone has to this point in her short volleyball career, and believes in her without question.  Her mama....well, you have to get your model looks from someone, and since they clearly didn't come from her dad...(lol)...her mom is a H.O.T.T.I.E.   We are kindred spirits in that their family adopted two little boys also, and we are in this adult children/raising babies thing together.  The Dewey's are a class act.  That's for sure.

Don't be fooled by this girl's tiny size.  She packs an incredible ability to dig up any kill shot from the opponent, she has pulled some of the hardest hits up off the floor I have ever seen and put it right in the setter's hands.  She exudes a calm that far exceeds her years, and she is one of the sweetest girls in the world.  Edmond North HS, Callie (in keeping with our -llie names on our team) is our Libero.  You can pronounce that anyway you wish.  She gets the pleasure of wearing a different color top than the other girls, and run in and out of the game, helping on that back row like a boss.  Her parents share the same name too, (terry and teri) and so it's easy for us to keep their names straight.  We mightily adore this sweet family.

This sweet blondie joined our team when Ericka decided to let her appendix explode in Indy.  Katlyn played for another team and was thrilled to move up and play with the giant girls.  LOL.  She did an outstanding job for stepping in and keeping her calm, playing in much more tense game situations than she was used to, and she impressed all of us with her point on serve, and great passing.  Her mom and dad are so sweet, and opened their beautiful home to us, when we were in Tulsa for regionals, and as usual, I always stick my foot in my mouth...when walking in their gorgeous pad, I offered, "I would have 25 foster kids living with me in a house this big."   Sigh.  I really should be kept at home at all times.

And last, but certainly, not least, is Alli. (Edmond Memorial)  (Hallie, Alli, Callie...come ON!) She is the University of Tulsa commit (ok, I had to throw that in, because on ESPN, that's ALL the announcer kept saying over and over) Jumps practically OVER the net when she hits the ball SO hard to the ground that it practically cracks in two.  She is a superduperstar.   She is also traveling to China this summer on a mission trip, and what I love most about her (other than her Chacos tan) is her heart for others.  She is a calm, loving kid and boy, I dig her.  Her dad bribes Hal to smash other teams in the face when playing, (we are really nice like that), and her mom shares my sarcastic view of the world, and I LOVE hanging out with her at games, and just rolling on the floor at her sharp wit.

And I guess I'd be remiss in not mentioning the guy in all the pictures, Coach Will Ethridge.  The head coach at Santa Fe HS, and father of 3 girls of his own, nothing these weirdos did even fazed him.  I could always tell when the tenseness of the game was getting to him...it would start with a forehead rub, a chin rub, and then escalate to the hat being whipped off and the top of the head rubbed, followed by the hat being mashed back on his head.  If you saw all three (the forehead rub, the chin rub, the head rub AND the hat mashed back on the head), you would know a TIMEOUT was coming, and Holy Moses.  Watch out.   Ok, not really.   Cough.   He's a great coach, he led these girls to the national championship.  Now that's saying something.  

It's going to be tough playing these girls across the net, when school ball starts up.  Thankfully, school ball only lasts 3 months, and Club lasts forever.  (Only in the $ sense)  It's been so much fun traveling, and hanging out with this chicas and their families these last 7 months.  They are an amazing power to be reckoned with together, and I pray that next year club's season is just as fun!

Here is the link for the ESPN National Championship game.

http://espn.go.com/watchespn/player/_/id/2601197/size/condensed/

It's a gut wrencher, especially that third stupid game.  :)

But my most FAVORITE part, was Hal's realization on Sunday (after everything was over)...

"Mom, we were all soooooo bummed we lost regionals, but if we hadn't lost, we wouldn't have come to Florida, and we wouldn't have made it to the ESPN center and got to experience all of that.  And I wouldn't have been in Florida with Rachel to get a bid to the beach Junior Olympics in California(in 3 weeks).   I guess, sometimes when things don't go your way, you just need to know that it's for a reason, and something better is coming."

From the mouths of teens.......Priceless.

Because Life is so much better with friends.