2014 XCELlent News

Issue #10

• AAU Nationals, Orlando

• Junior Nationals, Minnesota

• Jim Ross Speaks…

• Summer Clinic Schedule July 7 – August 14

• We’d Like to Get Your Feedback

• Where are They Now? Alumni Profiles: Mariah Boelk & Emily Caples

In the News…

Xceleration Volleyball Club 552 Maureen Lane

Pleasant Hill, CA 94523

Club Owner & Founder Jon Segall

Club Director &

College Development Director Jim Ross

Coaching Director Andy Schroeder

College Development Directors Jack Cowden Paul Harrison

July 2014

Special Post-Season Issue!

Xcel Blues Enter AAUs and JNs to Face Nation’s Best 15s and16s Finish Strong in Orlando; 17s and18s Finish in Gold and Silver in Minnesota, 5th place for 17s ties club record for highest finish ever at JNs

(Orlando, FL – June 20-24, 2014 and Minneapolis, MN – June 29-July 2, 2014)

To conclude the 2014 season (and for some their club volleyball careers), four Xceleration teams ventured to the Midwest and Southeast to test their mettle against the best in the nation at the AAUs in Orlando and at the USA Volleyball’s Junior National (JN) Championships in Minneapolis. Xceleration could not be more proud of these four teams that entered the season-ending tournaments.

The 15 and 16 Blues first took the courts, playing at either the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex or the Orange County Convention Center, and made a good run during the AAU tourney.

The 15 Blue competed in a 94-team pool and finished at 7-4, the 24th best record in the pool. The team was one of only 31 teams that finished above the .500 mark, thanks to a string of five consecutive wins.

Continued on page 3

Who’s the Leader of the “Bunch”?

After the Opening Day ceremonies and parade of athletes, M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E greeted participants at the 41st Annual AAU Girls’ National Volleyball Championships at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex.

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Jim Ross Speaks…

Dear Xceleration Families,

As long as the club volleyball season is, it truly does feel like just yesterday that we were holding tryouts and putting our teams together. As we now put a bow on the 2013-2014 season I first and foremost want to thank all the of players and parents for the tremendous support the club received from all of you this year. We truly could not be the club we are without the countless hours and dedication that all of you put into it. Personally, I would like to thank all of you for letting me participate with all of you this season. Players, I found all of you a pleasure to be around and I very much enjoyed watching you grow. Parents, you can all be proud of the young ladies you are raising. They are great examples of what a youth athlete should be. Working with all of you is something I take very seriously and I am constantly looking for ways to make your experiences even more successful. We will continue to work as hard as we can towards the development of our players, not just as volleyball players, but as individuals who are on their way to being young women. As to how things went “on the court” we were very pleased with the development of the teams and the development of our players over the course of the season. As coaches, we always use the “progression” of our teams as a bit of a gauge on the success of a season. I can honestly say that all our teams were playing their best volleyball at the end of the season. There certainly were highlights for each team throughout the course of the season, but I was extremely pleased with the level of play I saw from all of our teams at season’s end. It has been fantastic to watch the development of our program over the past 5 seasons. I think the word is out that when you see an Xceleration team across the net from you, you know you are in for a tough match. The 2013-2014 season is over, but work has already begun on the 2014-2015 season. I have been meeting with all our coaches going over the past season and what we can learn from it, as well as looking forward to the next season and how it will shape up. Our coaching staff for next season is almost finalized and will be announced shortly on our website. It will be filled with coaches who will continue the tradition of player development. Our summer open gym clinics are underway and we hope that you are taking advantage of them. For only $10 per two hour session with quality coaches, you are hard pressed to find a better opportunity in this area. Our Fall open gyms will resume again on Sundays in late September. Keep an eye on our website for details. As we continue to develop our product and our club, understand that we want serious volleyball players in our club. Keep in mind, serious volleyball players come at all levels of ability so we are not saying that we only want the best players in the area. We want players who WANT to be the best players in the area! We want players who WANT to be great teammates. We want players who WANT to work as hard as possible to achieve goals. Keep in mind that on most non-tournament weekends our Concord gym is open on Saturdays for lessons and for players to get extra work. We will always get coaches to work with our players who want to put the work in. In the meetings I am having with our coaching staff, I am asking them to ramp up their own commitments to the program even more than they have in the past. I expect this of them and we are demanding it from them. We will never rest on our successes. We will always push to give even more and do give our families more. We will be asking the same from our players next season. If you are serious about becoming a better volleyball player we will be there for you. Thanks to all of you for giving me so much to be proud of as a part of Xceleration. And know that I am extremely proud of ALL of you. From our newest 12-year olds who grew so much this past season, to the 12 High School seniors who ALL are fulfilling their dreams of playing in college. I appreciate the trust you place in me and know that I will always be working to do what is best for our families. See you in the gym soon!!! Jim

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We Value Your Feedback! So, why is it important to seek feedback?

• Identify our strengths and weaknesses;

• Compare the feedback with our own assessment– to make sure we are on track and realistic with our own self-appraisal;

• Learn from a situation where things went wrong – or got it right for next time;

• Identify problem areas that need action; and

• See how our team is performing.

Xceleration would like to hear from you to get an appraisal of the season, so we can learn and improve. All responses received will be held in the strictest confidence and used to make the Xceleration Volleyball Club more efficient. Please complete the Xceleration Feedback Form by clicking here.

Xceleration’s 2014 Summer Clinics July 7 – August 14, 2014

Starting July 7th through August 14th, Xceleration will be opening the Concord Facility gym for the 2014 Summer Clinics.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE CLINICS ARE BY RESERVATION ONLY... Please use emails listed below to contact the appropriate parties to reserve your space. Clinics are limited to 15 athletes per time slot. 17-18's 7:30 - 9:30 pm Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:00 - 5:00 pm Sundays Contact: Andy Schroeder at andy@heathco.com 15-16's 5:30 - 7:30 pm Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:00 - 3:00 pm Sundays Contact: Jon Segall at volleyboy1@hotmail.com 13-14's 5:30 - 7:30 Mondays and Wednesdays 11:00 - 1:00 Sundays Contact: Jon Segall at volleyboy1@hotmail.com

Price: $10 per athlete/session. CONCORD FACILITY 3911 Laura Alice Way Concord, CA 94520

Continued from the front page

The 15 Blue also toughened up at the end of the tournament, with four of their last five games going to a deciding third set, and they won three of four matches during the process.

The 16 Blue opened with a narrow three-set loss and managed to win a few and lose a few games for the rest of the tourney, finishing with a 5-6 record.

About a week later, the 17 and 18 Blues then had their turn in the American and National Divisions, respectively, at JNs. The 17s were challenged immediately, losing their first two games, but then went on a tear winning six consecutive matches to reach the Gold bracket where they finished in the quarterfinal round and a #5 finish! “This

Continued on the next page

41st AAU Girls' Junior National Volleyball Championships

June 20-24, 2014

ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, FL

2014 XCELlent News Page 4

2014 Girls’ Junior National

Championships

June 29-July 2, 2014

Minneapolis Convention Center

Continued from the prior page

tied the club record for the highest finish ever at JNs,” said 18 Blue assistant coach Jeremy Swann.

The 18 Blue jumped out of the gates, winning six of their first seven games including a streak of four in a row to open the games. The team then ran into Arizona’s Club One Platinum and Louisville’s Mid-American Volleyball Academy to close out their 2014 Xceleration season to finish 13th out of 48 with a 6-3 record.

Xcel teams doing well in Orlando! 15 Blue finished the tourney 7-4 and 16 Blue is at 4-5 with one day to go. Playing great teams from across the US and competing very hard. Congrats, girls!!”

Jim Ross

July 1… “After two tough days, Xcel 17 Blue finished second in their pool of 6, to remain in medal contention. We have a tough day ahead of us, but our girls are playing tremendous! I'm so proud of them.” July 2… “Xcel 17 Blue moved up from 29th to finish 5th at JNs in Minneapolis. It was an incredible run, and thanks to the entire Xcel family for the love and support.” Todd Travis, 17 Blue Head Coach

“

Top: The 18 Blue take one final group photo before they head off in different directions across the country to play for their respective college teams.

Bottom: The 17 Blue and the entire entourage in one hotel room!

Thanks to Lo Utchen's teammates for their great passes, defense, and effort over the past week. I'm so proud Lo was named All- Tournament at Nationals today, but we all know an individual’s award really occurs because she is surrounded by great teammates and dedicated coaches. Thank you to everyone involved in the 17 Blue team. Lo, yo momma loves you!” JJ Utchen, 17 Blue Parent

“

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Who’s Got it Better Than Us? Nobody!!!

“Who's having more fun? The players or the parents? You decide,” said JJ Utchen. Top photos left to right: Lo Utchen gets a congratulatory hug from Mom JJ after receiving her All-Tournament Award. The 17 Blue pose for their team photo and will look to return to JNs next year in their last season with Xceleration. Bottom photos clockwise: (1-3) Cooling off at Lake Calhoun after a great week at Nationals. (4) Parents during third set of qualifying match. (5) Channeling hit out of bounds – good block! (6) On the tennis court for a tournament – they didn't believe in rain delays! Photos courtesy of JJ Utchen and Caroline Van Remortel.

2014 XCELlent News Page 6

MARIAH BOELK San Diego Christian University El Cajon, CA Height: 6-0 Year: Senior Hometown: Walnut Creek, CA Position: Middle HItter Last School: Berean Christian

Prior to San Diego Christian: First team All-Diablo Valley Athletic League (2009 and (2010)… two-time Contra Costa Times Star of the Week… School record for blocks in a season (2010)… Member of four Diablo Valley Athletic League championship teams… Ran track in addition to volleyball at Berean Christian High School…Liberal studies major with a career goal of becoming a teacher.

By John B. David

Join our Facebook group and fan page under Xceleration Volleyball Club.

EMILY CAPLES University of Dallas Irving, TX Height: 6-2 Year: Junior Hometown: Walnut Creek, CA Position: Middle Blocker/Setter Last School: Carondelet

At University of Dallas: Totaled 967 kills through junior year... Named Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Volleyball Offensive Player-of-the-Week three times... selected All-Conference 2nd Team by the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference announced in 2012 and 2013, Honorable Mention by the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA). Of note, Caples was named to the 2011 All-SCAC Third Team in her freshman campaign. Emily came to UD in the fall of 2011 and immediately earned a starting spot in the middle for the Crusaders. Her freshman campaign was cut short when an ankle injury knocked her out for the final third of the season. Even so, she put up impressive numbers, knocking down 257 kills, averaging 2.52 kills/set. Emily hit a robust .321 for the year, ranking her fourth in the 12-team SCAC and earning her Honorable Mention All-Conference honors… Majoring in Math / Chemistry with a possible career interest in Chemical Engineering.

Led the team in 2013 by starting in 35 of 41 matches, 138 sets, 403 kills, 2.92/set, 1050 attempts, and 108 blocks… 142 assists, 32 service aces, 206 digs. Caples holds the Top-10 SCAC rankings in kills (third), blocks (fourth), blocks per set (fifth), kills per set (seventh) and total attacks (eighth). Additionally, she has 458.5 points (third), 3.6 points per set (third), 15 block solos (third), 87 block assists (fourth) and a .241 hitting percentage (ninth).