Tampa United Tournament

Venetian Bay had an outstanding tournament with overall great results. It’s evident that teams are competing on a more consistent basis which is a tribute to the players and coaches hard work. Anything that is worth something takes time and it’s great to see our clubs spirit on the court. I also noticed many teams taking the time to watch other VBAY teams play. Good job on creating that family atmosphere!

Last week in Orlando, our Team of the week was the 13-1’s as they won the OVA Invite out of 28 teams. The duo of Hannah Richards and Courtney Krause seemed unstoppable.

Team to watch is our 14s. They have been extremely competitive over the past two weekends playing in the Open division. Last week, they fell out of the gold bracket by a 2 point loss and this week they came back to beat the same team to go to Gold in a playoff match. Then on the 2nd day, they had to win a crossover match to get back to the final gold ladder and make a top 5 finish which they did. Their success has been a total team effort. I was also really impressed with this teams determination, especially on defense.

Another Team to watch is the 17s. They went undefeated all 3 days in the Open division and did not even drop a game until they lost in the Semifinals of Gold and placed 3rd in maybe the toughest division of all. Autumn Duyn’s shoulders must be tired from taking this team and putting them on her back but it definitely takes a full strong team effort to do what they did over the weekend .

This week’s Team of the week goes to the 16 Lions. Our 16s had some breakthroughs winning 5 of 8 Open matches against some very stiff competition. 4 of their 5 wins was in 3 games. Many of those games were won by 2 pts. Keep up the fighting spirit. Holly Mattmuller emerged as that teams’ leader and everyone else got in line and fought til the end as it showed on the scoreboard. Congratulations Lions!

Sincerely, Coach Wheatley

Try New Things

Club season is very much under way as we head into the final weekend of Power Leagues. Over the last 2 weeks, I have gotten around to most of our teams practices and observed. Our coaches are working hard to train their teams and getting them to fit into their mold. It's so interesting to watch each practice and the players interacting with each other because its very obvious to me those players who are "sponges" and soaking up information and taking that information and applying it to their game and those who are not. Coaches have so much valuable information to share and the only way for our players to get better is to continue to push themselves, stay focused and positive in practice, and take what their coach is saying and apply it. For example, I was watching the 14s practice just the other day working on emergency floor moves and it was great to see fear of the floor turn into freedom to be more agile and get more balls up. These are things that will help continue rallys and win those extra points. Good job 14's!.
Watching people better then us makes us better in what we are tying to do. After 17 years of coaching, I continue to be a student of the game by attending coaching clinics, reading literature, and watching other coaches. It is also the same for players to be able to watch someone we admire to help elevate our players game to the next step but you have to take a pro active approach in doing this. A great time for this is at tournaments to go and watch the 18 open courts and see how those kids move for the ball, aggressively pursue the ball and see how vocal they are. I have never seen a team who does not communicate well be successful in the game of volleyball. To be competitive, our teams must be extra vocal.
Lastly, please support our other venetian bay teams at club tournaments. I know players love to have others watch and it means so much when especially other VBAY teams take the time to go to another court and cheer on their fellow club members.

Message from the Club Director

Power League is a "invited only" tournament which pits the best clubs in the state against one another. We are the only club in the area to be invited to these tournaments. Power league is a great way to see where you are as a team before our tournaments that count start. One of the measures of success for your team this year should probably be the quality of play from this tournament to the last tournament of the year. Don't forget the reason that volleyball is such a popular sport and why our kids play. They play because its FUN. Work hard and have a great time this weekend in Orlando and make sure to cheer for all of our Venetian Bay teams as you walk around the facility and see our bright orange uniforms.

Div. 1 Final 4 Volleyball in Tampa

If you did not already know it, the Div.1 National Championships are in Tampa this week. On Thurs, there will be 2 final 4 matches at the St. Pete Times Forum. Penn St. will face off with Hawaii and Minnesota will play Texas. Saturday is the Final. It is a true treat that this type of volleyball will be played in our own backyard. If you would like to go, you can find out more info at www.ncaa.com/volleyball Here you can find ticket information, scheduless, and everything you want to know about the teams.
This will be an excellent event for all of our volleyball families as some of the best volleyball players in America will be right there. If you haven't seen the outside for Texas who touches 11 foot, you do not know what you are missing. My prediction is that the Longhorns will put up a good fight but will lose in the championship to Penn State.
The coolest thing about this week for some of the Venetian Bay coaching staff is not only the matches but the AVCA convention that also takes place this week. Its important for a coaching staff to continue to be students of the game. This week we will hear some of the best volleyball coaches in the game discuss coaching philosophies, different techniques, and different ways to make our team better. It is also a great place to make new contacts with college coaches as the recruiting process continues to develop. This will be my 3rd AVCA convention. I traveled to Cleveland and New Orleans a few years ago. It is an awesome experience and we always bring new innovative ideas back to Venetian Bay.
I want to encourage you to make the drive up to Tampa this week and see it live. It will be an excellent experience that you do not want to miss!

Venetian Bay Tryout

Venetian Bay will have the best coaches in the area. Our coaching staff has collegiate and National Caliber High School experience as well as college and professional playing experience. We are anticipating on fielding 12s, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 teams. Possibly a second 12’s and 16's team as well. Every year, our teams are limited due to the number of quality coaches and gym space. We will take 9-11 players on each team and as much as we hate to have to cut players who want to play, this is the only way we are able to continue to produce the top volleyball players in the area and state. We encourage players to tryout for different clubs in the area to see and feel the difference of our training and cost but also to have a back up plan in case a player is not selected for a VBAY team so that they may continue to play. If any club pressures you to make a commitment on the day of tryouts, they are afraid you will go elsewhere. Keep your options open!

Vbay will once again be a part of the elite Florida Power League. The top 8 volleyball clubs in the Florida Region have come together to form the Power League. The Power League provides the top teams in the state a place in which they can compete at a high level and compete against each other. Each Power League tournament is a one day tournament in which each club plays 4 matches. There are normally 2 - 1 day tournaments in Orlando. This provides better competition then going to a 2 day tournament. Venetian Bay is one of the 8 programs in the state invited to be in the Power League. The other clubs in Power League include: USA South, Tampa United, Gainesville Juniors, Jacksonville Juniors, Pinellas Heat, Boomers, and Orlando Volleyball Academy

As Coach Wheatley wrote last Jan

Why does Venetian Bay want to play in the power league? Why do we have to drive all the way to Orlando for 1 day? What is the big deal? “To be the best, you have to beat the best.” You will find throughout the season that I love quotes and this is one of my favorites. I am a firm believer that a team must face stiff competition for them to improve. Any team can go out and be undefeated if they play less talent. It may make you feel good, but it is a false sense of security because you really don’t know how good you are as a team. In power league, all teams are excellent and there are no easy wins. For Venetian Bay to play in power league, we will find out our weaknesses immediately and be able to go to work the next couple of weeks to try and fix them. It would be simple to just play some local tournaments and be the best in the area but we want to be the best in the state and in some teams, compete at the National level. That is why this is such an excellent opportunity. So many people judge performance on win/loss record. I think we need to change our mindset and judge teams on the progression from this weekend to the last tournament. Good Luck teams!!

12’s, 13’s, 14’s: Sunday, Nov 22nd @ Venice High School
Registration: 2:00-3:00 3:00-4:45

15's, 16's, 17's: Sunday, Nov 22nd @Venice High School
Registration: 12:00-1:00 Tryouts 1:00-2:45

16th Annual Wild West Camp

Save the date for the 16th Annual Wheatley's Wild West Volleyball Camp. June 1st-4th. This year will feature a brand new exciting format! {Click Here}

Big South

The Big South- What an interesting trip is would become. On the court, our 2 teams were extremely competitive. The 17's made a great stride as they made it into the clubs 1st ever gold round in the open division. This would have probably been improbable feat at the beginning of the season but through a lot of hard work, this team seems to be playing their best ball of the season as they go into Regionals in Orlando. This will be their last opportunity to qualify for JO's in Miami in early July unless they get an at large bid which is very possible.
Due to one of our coaches getting married this past weekend (Michelle Gorton) and Stefanie Peters being one of the bridesmaids, I had the priveledge of coaching the 16's over the weekend. It was an excellent experience as the 16's responded with a 7 win and 2 loss record. In fact, after winning the first 6 matches, we went to a 1 match playoff where we ended up dropping a heart breaker 18-16 in the 3rd game. This team played relaxed and competed in every game throughout the weekend and is a very exciting team to watch with some very talented players on the team. Like the 17's they will definitely make a splash at Regionals too. This week our club is off due to spring break and Easter Sunday but will get back at it next week as the club season winds down.