Next Time, This Time

Holy Redeemer's run through the state volleyball tournament ended on Friday, as the Royals went 1-2 and were eliminated from pool play. Your Royals tied for third in pool A, but only the top 2 teams advanced to play on in the semi-finals on Saturday.

Losing is always hard, but the nature of sports is that there is always a next time. Pro teams that come up short can always say "wait til next year". This level is different, however. This time is last year's "next time". This time is the last "next time" for the seniors on any of the teams. Here in the house of FotoFink, this was the last of 3 journeys through high school athletics. In the words of Jim Croce, "There ain't gonna be a next time, this time"

Right now, of course, the loss stings. We may all be pondering the what-ifs, we may all have ideas as to what went wrong. Given some time though, how will we look back on this tournament, or this season? Here's a little perspective, from my experience of 6 seasons of Biho/Hore volleyball-

This was the first time we have made it to the PSU tournament since the format was changed to include the regional elimination game that we played last week. In 2006, (our last trip) first or second place in Districts sent the team to PSU, and I believe that there were 16 teams in that tournament. Simply qualifying for the top 8 is arguably the best we've done in recent memory.

After an informal poll of people who should know (Mrs. FotoFink & Brian May) we think this was the fourth trip to states in the last 6 seasons. That's impressive all by itself. Since it was the third that included a Finkernagel on the roster, it was my third trip also. It was the first time I recall not being mathematically eliminated before the third match. The tension during the Masterman games (the first 2, anyway) was incredible. That's why you play, cheer, or watch sports.

Were we close? Consider this- We beat Northeatern. Northeastern beat Deer Lakes. Both of those teams advanced. The truth is, we were competitive in a tournament that included us and the top seven other teams in the state. Not so bad by any standard.

edit 5/31/09- Here's something else to consider- Northeastern lost to Ambridge in the championship game on Saturday, arguably making them the second best team in the state. Is that satisfying, or does it add to our frustration?

Some slightly more random thoughts-

Our lone stumbling block for the season, North Pocono, was also eliminated with a 1-2 record. If you are at all vengeful, that is a little satisfying. In truth, I think it would have been nice to see one of us advance, if not both. If it wasn't going to be Holy Redeemer, then I would have liked to see the Trojans playing on Saturday. The format for the tournament/tiebreakers was complex, in the end, I think North Pocono got the short end of that process, and probably should have gone to the semis.

Considering the number of Coughlin players at the tournament, I thought at first that someone forgot to tell them that they had to WIN on Tuesday to qualify. What was even more surprising was their continued fascination with North Pocono. All the Coughlin players (turned fans) cheered for the Trojans, while I hardly saw any at our games. I've said it before- cheer for who you want to, it's a free country. I just don't get it.

It looks like North Pocono will be off of our regular season schedule next year. That's is truly a disappointment. Competition makes both teams better, and I would say that both teams have benefitted from playing each other for the time I've been watching.

It seem that sports are done for the year, so FF is close to the summer hiatus. I have at least one more update planned before that, as I consider what a Finkernagel-free FotoFink will look like. Stay tuned.

One last time-

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