Hot Winter Nights

This past weekend was a whirlwind of fun, freezing cold temperatures, and beach volleyball! Who would have guessed?!

We started out in Omaha, Nebraska in front of a great crowd of about 3500. They were very enthusiastic and really happy to be inside the Quest Center where we brought the beach to the snow laden area.

The format for the HWN is King of the Beach with 3 quick games to 15 points, rally score. There is a 1 minute break in between games and that is the time you switch partners and make a quick game plan. After the men and women go through this part of the competition, there is a Final where the first place finisher and second place finisher face off. The first place finisher gets to choose their partner from the third and fourth place finishers. Then the Final is one game to 15, rally score. The night goes really fast. It is a 3 hour show filled with all the same summer fun you find at the beach, only it is in a big arena and there is lots of snow on the ground outside.

Jenny Kropp won the Omaha event which was fitting, since she is from Nebraska. That night, I did not win a single game! I was really disappointed, but still had fun.

After the event, we took a bus to Rosemont, Illinois. It was an 8 hour bus ride of which I slept most of the way. Some of the other players watched movies and played poker. The bus was really nice. We called it the Rockstar bus. There are two lounging areas with flat screen TVs and 9 bunks which were very comfortable to sleep in.

We arrived into Rosemont at 8:30AM on Friday. I did media throughout the day to promote the event and my newest sponsor, Jose Cuervo! Cuervo has a great presence at our events. I am really excited to be on Team Cuervo this year.

After all the media, we played at 7:30PM. Unfortunately, the attendance for this event was only 935. It was a disappointment. The fans had fun, but the word did not get around to the avid volleyball players and fans in the Chicago area. Those that were there seemed to have a great time.

Jenny won her second night in a row. I did much better this time though. I finished second place.

After we finished playing, I was able to spend time with the Chicago Ixtapa crew. It was great to see them there and have some people cheering for me.

We did not leave for Bloomington, Illinois until 1PM on Saturday. I slept in until 11:30 and then grabbed breakfast before jumping on the bus. It took 2 and a half hours to get there. We watched Anchorman on the way.

Once there, we checked out the site and then dropped the boys off at a gym while all of us girls went to a nice dinner.

Before playing in our match, I was asked to do the Color Commentary for the 3rd game of the men's play. It was my first ever experience doing television. I am not sure how it came out, but I definitely had fun doing it. I thought I would be really nervous, but I was not at all. It is going to air on Comcast Cable in the Chicago area in about a month.

After finishing up with the TV, I had to run down to the court and warmup to play. I actually came out of the pool play as the first seed and had my choice of partners for the final. Holly came in second, so we had to play against each other. I chose Jenny Kropp since she was on a roll, winning two nights in a row. We got off to a slow start and could not catch up. So I finished 2nd place again!

It was a great time. The crowd was really excited and happy to be there. It was really great to see all the young aspiring collegiate and beach volleyball athletes there. Several clubs brought their whole teams.

After we finished up, we hopped back on the bus and traveled back to Rosemont. We left around midnight, which got back around 2:30AM. We all had decided to fly back home on the earliest flight of the day requiring us to leave for the airport at 6:30AM. Upon arrival at the airport, we learned that the first flight out was cancelled. Up that early for nothing! We were not happy, but remained optomistic that we would get on the next flight, which we did. We got home a few hours earlier than scheduled, so we were very happy.

Now I am completely exhausted and need to catch up on some sleep. Now that my travels are over until the season starts, Holly and I can start getting down to business with our training. I am excited to start putting in a lot of hard work. It is going to be a fantastic year!

The schedule is still not out yet, but should be soon! Keep checking in!

All my best,
Angie

Ixtapa, Mexico - South of the Border

It was another great week in paradise. I just returned from my 3rd trip down to Ixtapa, Mexico for the South of the Border Volleyball Vacation. Jeremy and I look forward to this trip all winter. It is a chance to meet up with old friends, make new friends, play volleyball, get a tan, and have some fun. I will be posting pictures on my website soon.

I am leaving this Wednesday for the Hot Winter Nights Tour. I will be playing in Omaha, Nebraska at the Qwest Center on Thursday night along with Holly McPeak, Jenny Kropp, and Angela Lewis. The men's competition will consist of Sean Rosenthal, Jake Gibb, Casey Jennings, and Matt Fuerbringer. We then travel to Rosemont, Illinois to play at the AllState Arena on Friday night. The last stop is in Bloomington, Illinois at the US Cellular Arena on Saturday night.

I am really looking forward to playing in the Hot Winter Nights. All the players that have participated so far have raved about how well this mini-tour is going. I am sure it will be great fun. I will tell you all about it when I return.

Holly and I started practicing a few weeks ago, but with all the traveling, we have yet to get into our routine. After this trip to the midwest, we will be home for awhile and then really start working. We are so anxious to get things going. We do not have a 2008 schedule yet, but hopefully we will get it soon. I will be sure to post it on my site when it is released.

I hope you all are getting excited for the 2008 season! I sure am! It is going to be a great year. The Olympic race will be heating up and the competition will be tougher than ever. Get ready!

I hope to see you at a beach somewhere along the way!

Angie

January Changes

Welcome back, everyone. I hope you are staying warm in this cold weather. Even LA is cold right now, by our standards. It is currently raining and gloomy, but thankfully I do not have to go anywhere.

I have news to report before the rumor mill starts turning. Late December, Brooke had surgery to repair her shoulder. It was worse than her doctor thought and a longer recovery period than initially anticipated. She told me that she would be out for a good amount of time. Although she will be out and recovering, I have every confidence in her that she will recover to better than 100% and be stronger and more eager than ever.

Injuries sometimes can be a blessing in disguise. It was for me when I injured my knee 12 years ago. Being forced on the sidelines to painfully watch builds up a hunger in you. It helped me to play smarter rather than harder. Plus, all the painful rehab that is necessary makes you feel tough. Practices no longer felt hard. I had been through serious pain and practice was certainly nothing compared to that pain. I appreciated my health more. People handle situations differently, and it is all in how you perceive what is going on around you. You cannot change what has happened, so it makes more sense to accept it and move forward. I know Brooke will make the most of it. Her best years are still in front of her.

This leads me to announcing my new partner for 2008. I am really excited to partner up and play this season with Holly McPeak. Holly needs no introductions. You all know what a great player she is. I am so excited to learn from her. If you have not noticed, she elevates her partner's game to a level they have not previously reached. I am looking forward to working hard, learning heaps, and having fun kicking butt. It is no secret that Holly is nearing the end of her career. I want to ensure that she has a great season consisting of fun and results. It has always been my dream to play with Holly and now I am. It is going to be a great year.

As soon as the 2008 schedule is released, I will be posting it on my website. I will continue to give you updates from our training. Hopefully this rain passes quickly so we can get back in the dry sand.

Next week I am off to Ixtapa for the South of the Border Volleyball Vacation. I am really looking forward to it and will tell you about it when I return.

All my best... Stay warm,

Angie

Happy New Year - 2008

I hope you all had a very happy holiday season. I just returned from a long road trip. My husband and I were scheduled to visit our families in Indiana and Miami over the holidays. About 10 days before our scheduled departure, I got a phone call with an invitation to play in Mr. Peter Nygard's Bahamas weekend get-a-way tournament at Nygard Cay. I had never been to the Bahamas before, so I jumped at the opportunity. Before we knew it, Jeremy and I were on our way to the Bahamas to jump start our Christmas vacation.

Mr. Nygard is an avid beach volleyball fan. He started playing the sport 3 years ago and, like so many others, has fallen in love with it. He decided to invite several of his friends that play recreational volleyball as well as 5 men and 3 women Pros to travel down to his private island and play volleyball for 4 days. (Yes, I did say "his private island!")

It was absolutely amazing. The "house" or resort is enormous. It reminded me of an ancient Mayan, Robinson Caruso house. In case that doesn't make any sense to you, I will be posting pictures from my trip in my galleries very soon so that you can check it out for yourself.

While we were there, the Travel Channel was also there filming. They will air an episode sometime soon featuring Nygard Cay and you can bet you will see us playing volleyball and hanging around.

I will let the photos speak for themselves. We had a wonderful time, but were anxious to continue on our travels to see our families and spend Christmas in the cold again.

We left the warmth of the Bahamas for Indiana where we were welcomed by 8 inches of snow on the ground. Our time there was very fun and relaxing. We watched movies, played games, ate my mom's home cooked meals, and spent time with my family. It was really nice for me to be back home with no particular agenda, except to torture my parents with my workouts everyday. They were very admirable in their efforts! In fact, I think they are continuing to do the workouts even now! Good for them!

After 10 great days in Indiana, we packed up and continued with our travels to Miami, our last stop. We were relieved to get off the plane and feel the warmth of the South Florida air. We spent 6 days with Jeremy's family, celebrating our second Christmas of the year and New Years. We had a terrific time there enjoying the warm weather. We ate meals outside, swam in the warm ocean, laid on the beach, met up with friends, ate some great meals, and were introduced to Joe's Stone Crabs. We spent a quiet New Years Eve with some family and friends and watched the fireworks from a rooftop deck.

Every stop of our holiday travels was really nice. We are finally back at home in California after the 3 weeks of travel. I started my workouts again and will be hitting the beach for the first time this week. We are home for 3 weeks and then we travel again. This time to Ixtapa, Mexico for the South of the Border Volleyball Vacation. If you are interested in finding out more about this trip, check out www.sobvolleyballvacations.com. I hope to see you there!

All my best for 2008!
Peace, Health, and Happiness!
Angie

Itaparica, Brazil

I just returned from an amazingly wonderful, short trip to Itaparica, Brazil. It is a very small island off Salvadore. I was there with Holly McPeak to play in an exhibition match against the Brazilian team of Ana Paula and Leila.

From the moment we landed, we were treated wonderfully. We were brought to the island by helicopter and greeted at the Club Med where we stayed with coconuts with straws in them. It was heavenly. We were to play an exhibition match the next day, so we had about 24 hours to acclimate. We practiced for a bit to get our legs moving and blood pumping.

Then we played 4 on 4 and 6 on 6 with some of the other patrons of the Club Med. It was great fun. We taught the models that were there for a fashion show how to play. They were great sports and we had a good time with them.

The exhibition match was great. Neither side of the court was all that sharp, so it was a very close match. Each game was decided by just 2 points. We won the first game, lost the second, and then came back to win the third game. The crowd was really into it. Several people told us afterward that they were not sure if beach volleyball was like tennis where you have to be quiet. So after each point, there would be cheering and then you would hear the crowd go "shhhhhhh!!!" just as someone was about to serve.

After we won, we had the rest of the time to enjoy ourselves and mingle with the guests. They were so nice and treated us so well. We were spoiled. We got complimentary hair conditioning treatments, excellent authentic Brazilian food, several coconuts, and lots of great people to converse with. I even took my chances on the trapeze swing! It was great fun, but boy was I nervous.

All in all, it was the perfect little volleyball excursion in early December. Now that I am home, I start my workouts in the gym with Brooke. She is 3 weeks ahead of me, so I have some catching up to do. Thank goodness I love hard work!

FYI - I posted a few pictures from my recent trip to Hong Kong on my website. There are a few in the main Gallery and even more in the Members Only Gallery. Check them out.

Happy Holidays to you all!

Angie

No More Volleyball, but Lots of Fun

By pure luck of the draw, we had to play the other American team in the qualifier. It was very unfortunate because the level of play is not quite equivalent to the AVP. I strongly feel that both teams would have made a strong run of it if we did not have to face each other. As it turned out, we lost in a tight match, 18-21, 23-25.

So instead of sulking around, we decided to make the most of this trip and see all of Hong Kong. We still have 2 days left, but we have already seen many of the famous places. We went to the giant Buddha, which is 39 meters high sitting on the top of a mountain. It is a stunning sight. Then we shopped at the famous "Ladies' Market" in Mong Kok finding all sorts of great things. We also took the tram to the top of the Victoria Peak and took in the beautiful night scenery of Hong Kong. It is breath taking.

We have not yet decided what we will do today, but it is bound to be fun and exciting. I am really enjoying Hong Kong and all it has to offer.

It is so exciting to see another part of the world and experience their culture. This is definitely a place I would like to come back to.

That's all for now.

Angie

Hong Kong

I arrived last night in Hong Kong after a 14 hour direct flight from LAX. The flight was uneventful, but very long. I stayed awake the entire time so that I would not have troubles sleeping when I arrived. Hong Kong is 16 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time. We left LAX at noon on Sunday and arrived into Hong Kong at 7:30PM on Monday.

I was exhausted upon arrival, but forged through until we got to our hotel at 9:15PM. I went to bed right away and had no problem sleeping the night through. We woke up early and had breakfast, then went to the site and practiced for an hour.

The accommodations here are great. The people are very friendly, our hotel is very nice, the food is excellent with a large range of choices, and the site is a 2 minute walk away. We are not playing on a beach, but in a park with 2 courts set up. The sand is great, the stadium is nice, and all is good.

After we practiced, Chrissy and I decided to check out the famous Hong Kong shopping. We went to a high rise department store and walked around a bit. Next we plan to find the open air markets and shop for the "touristy" stuff.

We have meetings tonight and then the qualifier is tomorrow. I am looking forward to playing! It feels like its been so long since the season ended. We just have to remember to be patient because we are not in "in season" shape. In fact, I am in "out of season" shape. Oh well. More than anything, we want to have a good time and do the best we can.

I am excited to be here in Hong Kong and feel so thankful that I am blessed with my abilities to play beach volleyball and have these amazing opportunities to see different parts of the world. Life is good.

All my best,

Angie