Melissa's Last Journal Entry

8-6-05 11:30am

Now that I’ve had a few days back in the states, I want to take the opportunity to share with you the ending of our quest for the best in Macau, China. I’m sure that by now you have heard that we ended up 4^th in this year’s World Championship in Macua, China. But I’m certain that none of you (except those of us that were there) really understand what we went through to get 4^th.

The day of the Bronze medal match was that of many emotions. Our team woke up for an early breakfast and then preparation began. That was the first time during the entire trip that we played a match prior to 4pm. Our match began at 2pm, which meant that we needed to be over at the gym at 12:30pm. We watched part of the match between Korea Croatia and made our way down to warm-up after Korea went up 2 games to 1. That matched ended up going 5 games (Korea won), which we would soon find out…wouldn’t be the only match with that kind of stamina, that day.

As we listened to the American National Anthem before the game, I found it hard to believe that I was about to witness our last match with this group of young women. None the less, I couldn’t help but wonder how these young women would respond to the upset we incurred the night prior.

Rather than take you through each individual point and game of the match, I want to take the opportunity to put you in the gym with our team. Although I’m not exactly sure of the attendance for our match, I know that it was by far the most people I had seen in the gym thus far. The crowd was anxious throughout the entire match and very appreciative of long rallies. Italy drew a very strong, supportive crowd (with the club team that we scrimmaged rallying the troops) and USA would remain once again, "The team that everyone loved to hate." It almost felt as though there wasn’t a person in the gym that didn’t appreciate our roster and how we played the game, in the same token…what it would take to beat us.

I’ve thought a lot about this last journal and I feel that the importance lies in all of the lessons that were learned along the way. It’s been said that losing a match provides more opportunities to gain than a win. This is a tough concept to grasp when the loss is great, but one that needs to be taken in.

The team that I had the opportunity to support during that match against Italy was one of life, pride, maturity, fight, and determination.

Italy was a much better team that day than the Italy we played in pool play. They had everything to gain and we had everything to lose. Sometimes that plays a bigger role in the way that things turn out than any one of us from the GYNT of 2005 would like to admit.

I wish I could put my finger on something we as a staff of our team could have done that day to change the outcome, but I believe in the fact that everything happens for a reason. Like any coach, I’ve gone back over every play that I can remember…every line-up we put in, every sub that we made, every time-out that we called…and there are tons of things that we could have done differently that could have possibly given us a different outcome. However, I can’t help but feel this is wasted energy as this experience and how it has changed each person that was involved in it, may have a much bigger meaning years down the road.

As I sat in the Anti-doping room with Kori Cooper after the match, I had a chance to see first hand how just one of our players had taken our loss that day to heart. Kori looked at me with tears streaming down her face and said, "I wanted to wear that medal home." I shared in her sentiments completely. The pain that she felt was shared by everyone from Team USA and it’s a pain that won’t be quickly forgotten.

Sitting through the closing ceremonies watching Brazil, Russia and Italy take the stand as the Olympic music was played in the background was absolutely grueling. The one shining star in the entire ceremony was the fact that Alix Klineman was awarded the "Best Scorer" award for the tournament. As she stood on that Gold Medal stand, Team USA cheered her on as we knew that she was representing all that we had worked so hard for. Alix had a great tournament, as did many players on our team. We were just all happy that she was getting the recognition that she deserved.

I know that we didn’t change history and place higher than any Youth or Junior team that played at the World Championships, but I did see a change in each one of our players throughout the tournament. I only wish that each of you had the opportunity to see the way we fought back to win game three after being down 6 points late in the game. More importantly, I wish you had seen the way we rallied back from being down 4-8 in game 5 to tie it at 12. Our team never gave up, even at the end. We will remain the only team that didn’t drop a game in the first 4 matches of the tournament and I feel, the only team there that drew the best game out of their opponents.

I want to take the opportunity to thank some people that allowed me to partake in this experience and also thank the people who heightened it.

Jenny Hahn:

Thanks for the giving me the opportunity to get involved with High Performance in the Badger Region just a short 4 years ago. I will be forever thankful for your trust in me.

Rod Wilde:

Thanks for believing in me! I’ve learned a lot from you and will be forever grateful for what you’ve done for me.

Mr. Berg:

Thank you for allowing me to take time away from my job here at UWF to take part in this journey. You views on personal development have only helped me better myself.

Doug Beal:

Thank you for leading USA Volleyball in the respectable manner that you do. Your talk with our team before we left meant a lot to them and to me.

Tom Pingel:

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to once again work with this team. My involvement with USA Volleyball has made me a better coach and person.

Z:

Thanks for being our Head of Delegation and supporting our team. I’m starting to understand your sense of humor (J ) and I really appreciate our friendship.

Ted:

Thanks for all you did for the GYNT this year. You are a wealth of knowledge in this sport and I hope I have the opportunity to work with you again soon. By the way…how’s the Poet?

Erikka:

Thanks for opening my eyes to new ways of coaching. You put your heart and soul into this team and there isn’t a single person that didn’t see that. Thanks for allowing me to play the role that I did with the team. I look forward to working with you again in the future! Go Vanguard!

Kris:

Thanks for being such a great trainer! You did an awesome job with the girls and with meJ Thanks for being a great roommate and friend.

Stephanie:

Thanks for being such a great host for USA Volleyball in Macau! I appreciate you taking the time to show us the history of your city and your culture. But most of all, I appreciate you helping me carry that laundry!

Wendy:

Thanks for being such a great host for USA Volleyball in Macau! I appreciate you taking the time to show us the history of your city and your culture. But most of all, I appreciate you running back to get my warm-up pants!

Alix:

Thanks for showing me how strong minded and mature a 15 year old can be. You had a great tournament and represented the youth and future of USA Volleyball extremely well.

Meghan:

Thanks for giving us the fire-power that you have just when we needed it. You have a great future ahead of you and I wish you the best of luck with it. Where the next chapter of your life is supposed to be will come to you…trust me.

Geena:

Thanks for being silent but deadly as you played a huge role in our success! Because of you, I will never underestimate silence again.

Christina:

Thanks for always been so positive and upbeat! You were the energy that we needed when we needed it…and I’ll never forget you hitting that girl in the stomach (with the volleyballJ )!

Kori:

Thanks for constantly giving 100%. You’ve shown me what hard work and determination can do to the improvement of anyone. I hope you’ve finally got all of that water out of your system!

Lauren:

Thanks for constantly surprising me with what you can do…including dancingJ Because of you and Ted, I might just go back and starting reading Harry Potter again!

Jen:

I truly appreciate your calm, mature and sensible demeanor…being around you is like being around one of my friends. I commend you for what you did for our team (going in at crucial moments). There is no doubt in my mind that you have what it takes to reach all of your goals.

Ashley Eng:

Thanks for bringing game all the time. You were exactly what we needed when we needed it, through the entire tournament. I will never forget the sacrifice that you made to help us beat China. Don’t ever lose that fight inside you!

Rachel (Stealth):

Thanks for humoring me by playing war and hangman with me on the way to China. You are a very talented setter that lead this team very well. Continue to let your competitiveness come out as your new teammates will respond to it!

Taylor:

Thanks for being you…Cali girlJ You constantly challenged our team to get better with your efforts in practice and matches. Play with the confidence that you’ve earned and your teams will rally behind you.

Ashley Edi:

Thanks for never accepting less than the best from yourself. You brought more to our team than you’ll probably ever know!

Kim:

Thanks for never giving up on your team. My hope for you is that you do the same for yourself as a Kim Kuzma with confidence is someone anyone would want in that jersey!

Thanks to everyone involved and all who supported us. This was an incredible experience for me and one I hope to never forget. I can’t help but believe that not getting that medal in the World Championships will help feed the hunger to get one years’ down the road when it really matters!

Wishing all of you a great rest of your summer and fall season of volleyball!

Take care,

Melissa