Once Upon A Time In The West

Every year, (twice actually, counting the girls) Wyoming Valley West hosts a volleyball tournament- The Spartan Classic. After a few years of this, we have certain expectations from the day.

There will be waiting. Lots of waiting. For whatever reason, the schedule seems to be full of a lot of downtime at this tournament. A few weeks ago at Freedom, there was none. The Pottsville tournament has some breaks, but usually just enough time for a parking lot margarita before we are playing again. This time, we at FotoFink were a bit more prepared, using the time between games to get a head start on some photo editing.

Hair will be interesting. What is it about volleyball that encourages ridiculous hair? 2007, when Hoban went. Last year. This year was no exception, with our own boys adding to the festivities.

Steve will drop Trou. This is not my favorite ritual, but it seems to be a tradition now.

Not everything was as expected, however. We enjoyed some new events this year as well.

WVW got some pictures in the gallery. No, I am not defecting. One of the members of the WVW team saw me working on some photos in the cafeteria between games. He said some nice things about the shots, so I gave him the web address and promised to get some of his team if they played HR. How do you get on FotoFink? Sometimes it's that easy.

Breakfast traditions change. Overheard at the coach's table "Every year, twice a year, we eat breakfast at Rinehimer's. This time we got there and it was boarded up." Sign of the times, I suppose. It's a good thing that there was Halushki at the concession stand.

We won. Read that again if you'd like. In the last few years that I have been following, we have come close, nearly made it, and lost by a whisker. This year, nothing was stopping us. (That link was unfair. I don't know enough about the rules of volleyball to judge anyone's application of them. It just seemed like this gentleman came close to ruining our day.) In spite of all opposition, HR emerged as the champion for the day. Enjoy this while it lasts, because the regular schedule resumes on Tuesday with a trip to the North Pocono Thunderdome.

A few more random thoughts on the day:

I am experimenting with flash photography for some indoor sports. There are lots of arguments for and against it, and I think for volleyball I am leaning towards against. In large part, this is because our uniforms are made with a reflective logo and number, which would be very beneficial for jogging at night. Flash from the camera, however, makes it look like we are the team from Three Mile Island. What is Jimmy doing in the background of that shot?

Does anyone else remember The Ambiguously Gay Duo on SNL? I don't know why this picture made me think of that.

The title for this entry may bring out different thoughts for everyone. For me, it's this. Perhaps that can be added to the list of things that only I like.

In general, I don't like to use this platform to point out the accomplishments of any single player. More importantly, I know that no one like to hear anyone else brag about their own children. I will say though, that if you ever want a warm fuzzy feeling, watch your son's teammates congratulate him after he makes the tournament-winning point in a game that is headed to overtime. Good stuff.

The gallery is here. Easily a record number of shots from a single event.

The majority of my photographic work is here. Feel free to buy some so it can be yours.

Over 40 Soccer

Soccer is a young man's game. Thud. That was Mrs Fotofink throwing a shoe. Make that- Soccer is a young man's, woman's or person's game. On cold Thursday nights, however, the WV Sports Dome plays host to a group of 40+ athletes (?) who try to prove that wrong. Try may be the operative word there- so far there have been no scouts from the English Premier League in attendance, no absences due to National Team duties, just a bunch of old f*rts having fun breaking a sweat before they hit the bar for some serious training.

A few things that we can count on every week. R.C. will make us stop complaining about being old (71?). Guisseppe (spelling?) will wonder why he doesn't have a better team. Julio will fall down. Julio will flirt. Joanie will scream. Goals will be scored. Most importantly, fun will be had.

The 50% or so of us that stay uninjured should be back for more fun next season. In the meantime, enjoy the pictures, watch your carbs, and keep a close eye on your blood pressure.

The whole gallery of shots is here.

The entire FotoFink experience can be had here.

Lehman

There was a time, back in the days before the merge, when there were two big matches every season- Lake Lehman and North Pocono. Things are different now. Lehman came to visit and the most exciting, anticipated aspect of the day was the return of Sonic. Although the JV squad dropped it's match 2-1, the varsity squad put together perhaps their most solid performance of the season in their 3-0 sweep. This is a good time to be playing well, as the Valley West tournament and North Pocono match are both in the coming week.

From what I see of volleyball, momentum is a huge part of the game. Fans may have noticed the steps teams will take to push momentum in their favor- timeouts, congratulating players that have just erred horribly, and most annoyingly- chanting. Lehman's JV squad were chanters. Perhaps due to their younger age, they knew just one chant. After every point, the same chant. Through all three games. Tedious? You bet. But just wait. North Pocono is coming up. BIG chanters. (Roof -e-o? are they playing volleyball or drugging their prom dates?)

The shot above is of Gary Verazin, who is also known for his goaltending prowess with the soccer team. I consider this to be one of the best shots I've managed all season. It's focused, action is frozen, colors are good, and Gary's face is clear in the shot. In fact, there are about 4 shots of Gary in the gallery, I think they are all above average (I almost hurt my arm patting myself on the back there, but someone has to). Thanks have to go to Gary though. Poses like that make me look good.

Anyway- Pictures are here. Our staff was on site early, so there are plenty of JV shots as well. Once back at the cozy mountain retreat though, our team of player identifiers was unable to stay awake long enough to be much help, so there are plenty of URPs in this batch. Are you out there Robert? Can you help?

The whole shebang is here. Thanks for looking. Buy a picture.

Veja Du

In a reversal of last Friday's action, Tuesday found our staff stretched between soccer and volleyball, only this time in reverse order. Always up to the task, your trusty shutterbug made both games, with time for a hearty meal in between.

This time the opener was a volleyball match pitting HR against Pittston Area. The JV game was a last-minute add-on to the schedule, so HR came largely unprepared for the opening games, leaving most of the younger teammates behind. Quality won out over quantity, however, as the Royals downed the Patriots in 2 straight.

Varsity action was similarly one-sided. Give Pittston some credit, apparently their volleyball program has been in some jeopardy, but a few committed players and coaches have kept it going. All in all, a good day for the Royals, but a tough day for pictures- lopsided games mean lots of serve/miscue/repeat- and not much in the way of action. We did get to see some unusual events as a result- check out "Air Farrell"'s jump serve for example.

The whole gallery is here. More to come from Thursday's game and Saturday's tournament.

After leaving the nice, warm Pittston gym, our staff made our way over to Mountain Top for the girls soccer match with Crestwood. If you are a faithful reader of my work, you will recall that I have pondered this question before:

"Why do schools with lighted fields insist on using them?"

By them, I mean the lights, of course, not the fields themselves. Really though- couldn't that match have been played in the warmth of day just as easily as every other school's soccer matches? Just becasue the lights exist, doesn't mean the fields can't be used during the day as well. Are you listening Tunkhannock? Why force our athletes and spectators out in the harsh cold when we don't have to? Don't get me wrong, I like the cold weather. For skiing. I also appreciate extreme weather for soccer. That was a bit more extreme than I care for though. When your bench look slike a slumber party, there is something wrong.

Besides the cold, it was quite an entertaining match, with your Lady Royals coming out on top of a 3-2 score.

Time is short, so the pics are here.

Whole site is here.

Doubleheader

Friday presented a dilemma here at FF- girls soccer or boys volleyball? On one hand, the girls were playing at King's college, which is a nicer facility than they will usually see. On the other, volleyball is the last season that will feature a Finkernagel for the foreseeable future, so it would be a shame to miss a game there. Either way, there was a Wingert in the picture. In the true spirit of compromise, our staff decided to cover both, and hope for the best. Luck was with us all, as the sun favored pictures in the first half of the soccer match, and the volleyball game lasted (dragged on) long enough to allow our staff time to catch all of the Varsity and some of the JV action.

First off were the girls, facing North Pocono in an early season match. There are lots of words that spring to mind while trying to describe the nature of the play- Lopsided is probably the most kind. The Lady Royals were up 6-0 when our staff had to leave, and reliable reports tell us that the remaining minutes were no different. Some sure signs that the game is going your way-

Christina Flaherty is taking over in goal this year. While we are familiar with her adventures on the basketball court, we have been looking forward to getting some shots of her in action on the pitch as well. This was as much action as she saw in the first half. Sorry Christina- we'll get better shots of you on a day when the other team manages a shot.

Sometimes, play becomes so one-sided that the team on the defensive side just never bothers to try an attack. They become so entrenched in their own end that it just doesn't feel worth it to send some players forward, because the ball is just coming right back at you anyway. It then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy- if you expect to defend, you will defend. Coaches will yell insightful comments from the sideline like "Push Up!" to correct this; It's a very bad sign when it happens in the first 10 minutes.

There are high expectations for this team, but surely not every game will be so easy. Thankfully you can savor this victory over and over with the photos from Friday.

Boys volleyball then rounded out the day, as our staff hurried back to the HR gym to see the battle against Abington Heights. After the Royals dropped the JV match, there was some concern among our staff. HR has seemed a little "out-of-sync" lately, and AH looked sharp in warm-ups. The games told a different, but familiar story (take note, that link will take you to last year's match photos), however, as your Royals powered to a 3-0 victory, behind some solid play from several team members. Give some special credit to Steve Covert, who has re-invented his serve this year into one that might even be more effective than last year's. It's hard to tell from those shots, but last year's was more of a power-jump serve, this year's is more of a sissy-mary push serve. Last year's was more exciting to watch, but you can't argue with 18 service points.

On to the match photos.

Entire site is here, as always.

Confession Time

Not in the traditional, Catholic sense in this case. I just have the urge to confess that I don't like basketball. I realize that the entire planet is consumed by "March Madness" right now, but for me- no. I don't like basketball.

Right now, hopefully are saying to yourself- "So what?" If so, good. I don't want to take away from anyone else's enjoyment. I am sure there are things I like that others don't- Soccer, asparagus and George Thoroughgood all come to mind. Live & let live. Basketball just never did it for me. Too much offense, too much about the "show". Remember the upset game between Nova & Georgetown in 1985? I was a student at Nova at the time, and didn't even watch the game. Don't even get me started on how I feel about this guy. Oh Baby.

So why this blog entry then? It's part rant (basketball pre-empting Survivor on Thursday? Let me at the guy who made that decision!) and part... well.... confession. I have to admit, I enjoyed the Siena game last night. Probably mostly because of Owen, of course, I guess it just feels good to be able to say "I knew him when". Faithful FFers will remember Owen from both soccer and basketball during his time here in WB.

Enjoy Siena's ride while it lasts fans. It might even convert me.

St. Patrick's Day VB

St. Patrick's day 2009 turned out a bit more routine than in years past- but as you can see, some got into the spirit regardless. The excitement for today included a parade of volleyball, with our staff on hand for the JV game, followed by the Varisty, followed by the JV. (That's not a misprint, JV played both before and after the Varsity- I don't know why) The day was not without miscues, but the teams managed to pull things together to come away with a 9 game sweep of the visitors from Lackawanna Trail.

Time is short today, so here's a few random thoughts-

Volleyball has the most interesting looking people. Be it coaches, players, or fans, they really seem to show up at volleyball games.

Separated at Birth is back. I've been uninspired for quite a while in that department, but some recent suggestions from some long-time followers have set the wheels turning again. This one is my own observation, but there should be more to follow.

Sometimes, (rarely), this hobby turns out to be important. Coach K noted that some players were looking at the last set of pics and noticed some problems with their techniques. As one player put it, "If we make it to States, FotoFink helped us get there". No argument from me. Now do it.

Link to the gallery is here.

Entire site is here.

More VB on Friday. Girls soccer in the near future too.