Stéphane Antiga

                Stéphane Antiga is a well-known volleyball player and former member of French National Team. He is also famous for his role as the couch of Poland Men’s National Team. It’s worth noting  that in the rookie year of his career as coach, he managed to lead the team to victory in World Championships of 2014. He’s  very controversial figure as despite successes he is disliked both by some of his players and whole Polish Volleyball Federation. The reason for it might be lack of success after his short bright moment in the beginning. This situation and the failure in Rio lead to his  dismissal from the post.

                Speculations as to his next career move have lasted to date. Recently news has surfaced about his decision to lead the Canadian Team. He has signed 4-year contract, which means that he is going to be the one to prepare Canada for the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020.

                It remains to be seen what his true merit as couch is. I think that we should be cautious now because they might be the new number one!

 

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My sources:

http://thenews.pl/1/5/Artykul/274872,Volleyball-Poland-to-ditch-coach-Antiga

http://www.worldofvolley.com/News/Latest_news/Othercountries/78180/can-m-official---stephane-antiga-takes-over-canadian-nt.html

http://www.volleywood.net/volleyball-related-news/volleyball-news-europe/poland-volleyball-news-europe/stephane-antiga-is-the-new-coach-of-canada/



Team building

                The team is the foundation of volleyball. Each player must know his place. However, I think it’s really emotionally difficult. Usually only the ones who score points become stars. The public doesn’t seem to remember that is the whole team’s work and other players have important tasks too. That can be very hard for them and could have destructive effects. That is why I got interested in the idea of team building activities and games. I’d like to present some of them:

 

1.Winner/Loser

As we all know, the team which is like small family, is based on trust and support. In this game people work in pairs- one person recalls a negative experience and tells the other about it. It has to be true! The other person then talks about the same experience trying to find positive aspects. Then they swap roles.

2. The Perfect Square

This game is about working together. You need some props: a piece of rope tied together and a blindfolds for each person. You make people form a circle holding the rope. Then they put the rope on the floor and put on their blindfolds. Next they walk a little away from the rope. When you ask them to, the participants must find the rope and try to arrange a square.

3. The Mine Field

This game is great for communication. Again some props are needed: a number of small objects and blindfolds. You divide the group into two smaller groups. One group put on their blindfolds and the other stands and gives verbal direction to the blindfolded people. The object of the game is not to step on the small object on the floor. It’s a great test in trust and communication.

4. Truth And Lies

This game is really fun. Each person tells three facts about themselves. Only  one of them is not a fact at all. It’s a lie. After each presentation, the team players try to spot the lie.

5. This Is Better Than That

One variation of this game is The NASA Game. You are given a list of objects and the group’s task is to decide which ones are going to be the most useful in performing a task. The task can be anything, like saving the world from aliens for example.

                I think it could be real fun to play one of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My sources:

https://www.wrike.com/blog/team-building-games/
http://tutzone.org/team-building-activities-for-adults/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140709104517-6939498-great-ideas-for-team-building-activities 
 
 

How to cope with stress

                Playing big matches usually causes a lot of stress. That is why I’d like to write about some relaxation techniques.

 

1.       Meditation

It’s believed to be the most popular method to reduce stress. A few minutes per day can bring spectacular results. It has been proven by experiments. Transcendental Meditation is used by many sportsman to let go of negativity.

 

2.       Deep breathing

It can help you by lowering the blood pressure and slowing the heart rate. It can take only 5 minutes but helps a lot.

 

3.       Mindfulness

Focus on the here and now. Enjoy the little things in life. Try not to obsess about your mistakes.

 

4.       You are not alone

Reach out to other people. Remember that you have a lot of them to rely on. Especially your team mates, your family and couch. They will be more than happy to lend a helping hand.

 

5.       Listen to your body

The physical effects of stress can be really damaging to your body. Tense muscles cause a lot of pain. That is why remember  about massage and physiotherapy.  

                These pieces of advice might seem very simple but acting according to them is no easy thing. They might come in handy in all sorts of situations for people from all walks of life.

 

My sources:

https://www.brianmac.co.uk/mobile//relax.htm

http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/blissing-out-10-relaxation-techniques-reduce-stress-spot

 

Formal letter

Kamila Paszta

About Mary Maloney

ADX Florence

Fremont County

Colorado

President Barack Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Are. NW

Washington, DC 20500

 

Dear Sir,

 

                I am writing on behalf of Mary Maloney, my client and friend. I would like to request her parole from prison. I can guarantee that there is no risk she will become a recidivist.

                Mrs. Maloney has been a very good friend of mine since our childhood in Ireland. I would like to assure you that she is a very moral and religious person. Her father was a Protestant priest. Despite the fact that she was proven guilty, I believe in the existence of mitigating circumstances that were never brought to light.

                First and foremost, you must take into account that Mary is pregnant. She is due next month. We must make sure that her child does not share his or her mother’s punishment. It would be highly unfair. As much as it would be, to take it away from prison and mother. Secondly, it was never mentioned by the defence that Mary’s husband had had a mistress and planned to leave Mary and the child. She should have been charged with manslaughter as the death of her husband was not premeditated. It was her reaction to the news of the fact mentioned above. Finally, Patrick was not the best of husbands. He did not treat Mary well. He destroyed her.

                Therefore, I see it as the only reasonable course of action to release Mary from prison. She poses no threat to society.

Your sincerely,

Kamila Paszta

Controversy around beach volleyball outfits

                Everybody has played beach volleyball, at least once in their lifetime. However, we don’t really think about the clothes. On the contrary, for professionals the clothes are number one concern. There are very strict dress codes for men and for women. To me it’s really strange and unfair that men have to play in tops and shorts while women wears skimpy bikinis. I remember a situation from my experience when a friend of mine wasn’t allowed to play in shorts. It was said to have been against the rules.

                Luckily, the rules have changed in 2012. The communications director for USA Volleyball says that it is our choice what we wear. It’s only the men who are obliged to wear tops. They have to do it for identification because the names and numbers are there.

                Thanks to the change in dress code rules, the Egyptian team could play in long-sleeved outfits this Olympics. I’m very glad that the rules maker were sympathetic towards their religion.

                I think that the changes are for the best but still the system is faulty: men are unhappy about t-shirts in the boiling hot weather and women resent their clothes when it’s cold.

 

 

My sources:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_volleyball
https://www.bustle.com/articles/171814-what-is-the-2016-olympic-beach-volleyball-dress-code-heres-how-the-rules-have-changed
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/08/women-beach-volleyball-bikinis-men-uniform-guidelines-kerri-walsh-jennings

Sitting volleyball

                When you think about volleyball, the first image that your brain projects is that of tall, able-bodied, strong people running around the court and jumping impressively high. On the contrary, volleyball is a perfect sport for all age groups, all gender and both: disabled and able-bodied players. It is very versatile this way.

Today I want to tell you about sitting volleyball. It’s been played for more than 20 years now. It was first demonstrated at the Summer Paralympic Games in 1976. Four years later, it was introduced as a full event. There is not much difference as far as the rules are conserved. The only differences are the position of line , the height at which the net is hung and a few other modifications concerning specifically the sitting position of the players- for example:  “The position of each player is determined and controlled by the position of their bottoms. This means that the hand(s) and/or leg(s) may lie in the attack or free zone outside the court. “Bottom” is defined as the upper part of the body, from shoulder to one’s buttocks.”

Your mention of success against the odds made me think of disabled volleyball players. I was shocked to find out that double leg amputees are the fastest in on-court movement. In a way it’s really uplifting piece of information: even after a tragedy you can still be good at something seemingly out of reach.

 

My sources:
http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Grassroots/SportKit/ParaVolley/Guide-to-Disabled-Volleyball
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitting_volleyball

"Tootsie"- review

   A Few days ago,during my English class, I watched a well-known American comedy  called “Tootsie”. The movie was directed by Sydney Pollack in the 80s, starring Dustin Hoffman as the leading character and Jessica Lange as his partner.

   Michael Dorsey is an unemployed actor who can’t find a job because of his difficult character. When there is no other way to get a it, he decides to dress up as a woman to land a role in famous soap- opera. In the beginning everything seems to be easy but in time things get complicated and living in lie gets out of control.

   The plot of this move is excellent- it’s really hard to watch without laughing but what’s more important, it raises a serious problem in a humorous way- how women are objectified and belittled in their everyday roles. After viewing it becomes obvious and plain to see.

   The cast of the film is also brilliant- especially the amazing Dustin Hoffman! The characters he played were really hard to convey. He had to play a man and a woman , combine those two totally different characters in one! Jessica Lange deserves appreciation too. She played her character so well, that her Oscar for the supporting role comes as no surprise.

   I recommend “Tootsie” for everybody who want to watch no-banal movie with a lot of wit. Great choice for those seeking fun as well as those who want A moment of reflection at the cinema.

History of volleyball

   Volleyball is one of the most noteworthy sports in the world. Maybe not all of us are experts at the rules of this game but I think that everyone knows more or less what it is about and had chance to take part in volley match: for example on a PE lesson or on some kind of meeting with friends. But, has anybody ever  wondered how it came to be? Or, how long have people known that sport? So, today I’m going to present a historical side of my passion.

   Volleyball was invented in 1895 in the USA, by a PE teacher - William G. Morgan. It was a kind of an indoor pastime, inspired by tennis and handball but requiring a bit of athletic effort.  The premiere match took place on 9 February and the game was called  Mintonette. The first rules were obviously different than the current ones - a match had nine innings with three serves for each team in each inning (now we have 3 or 5 inning, which depends on the final score) ,there was no limit to the number of ball contacts for each team before sending the ball to the opponents' court (now the limits equal 3 hits) or the fact that in case of a serving error, a second try was allowed (now a second try is not allowed and a serving error makes your team lose one point). In time, rules were being changed. In 1900 the first official volleyball ball was designed and created .

Volleyball came to Poland in 1919 with YMCA’s  help. The first Polish Championships took place in 1929 in Warsaw, where some men’s and women’s clubs competed. The winners of this event were: for men - YMCA Łódź, and for women- AZS Warszawa.

In 1947 an international federation - the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) was founded and 2 years later held the first World Championships for men and in 1952 for women.

The Polish National Team won a gold medal in 1976 in Olympics in Montreal and they were also winners of The World Championships two times – in 1974 in Mexico and in 2014 in Poland.

   That’s a part of the history of volleyball and history of Polish volleyball as well. I think it’s really interesting that people have played this sport for more than 100 years and are changing the rules all the time, which makes it more exciting!

 

 

 

My sources:

http://www.fivb.org/en/volleyball/History.asp

http://www.volleyball.org/history.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volleyball

https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi%C5%82ka_siatkowa

 

The shortest volleyball player

   When we think about volleyball, we usually imagine a group of tall and strong people, who can jump high. Probably this is the reason why a lot of short people give up on their dreams about a volleyball career and start believing that they don't stand a chance because of their height.

Of course- being tall is very helpful in volleyball but it's not a prerequisite. So that's why I want to write about a person who goes against the trend and shows that you can be a volleyball star without being 1,90-meter tall- FARHAD ZARIF.

   Farhad is an Iranian volleyball player who is only about 1,65 meters. His range in spike is 2,90 m and in block 2,71. He used to play in Iran National Team in 2006-2014 as a libero- a person who receives balls. What's more, he won 7 awards for being the best libero during Asian Club Championships, FIVB World Grand Champions Cup and Olympic Qualification Tournament and 3 for being the best receiver. He is known as one of the best players in the volleyball industry.

   In my opinion, his example shows that everyone can follow their dreams and achieve their aim even if it looks impossible at first glance. All you have to do is believe in yourself and focus on your goals.

 

 

 

My sources:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farhad_Zarif

http://sport.tvn24.pl/siatkowka,119/perski-liliput-kontra-wiezowiec-z-donbasu-siatkarze-w-liczbach,465645.html

http://m.zapytaj.onet.pl/Category/012,002/2,24414536,Jaki_jest_najnizszy_Siatkarz_swiata_.html

 

The longest set ever

   A few years ago, my volleyball coach came up with an idea of quizing one another. Everybody had to think about some questions to test other people but it turnt out that even the makers of the questions didn't get the answers correct. That is how I discovered the problem of the longest set in history.
   As we know, in volleyball we play 3 sets until someone scores 25 or one team has to reach 2 points more than the other- so that means that even at 25, they have to keep on playing until one team is visibly better. That usually takes about half an hour- sometimes longer, sometimes shorter, depending on the strenght of the players. And what if none of the teams refuses to give up and they keep playing better and better? How long would the longest set last? How many points would the teams score?
   Let's look at some examples from the history of volleyball. The longest set ever ended with the score of 87-85. The game was played in Czechoslovak League in 1979. Unfortunatly none of my sorces tells me how long it took. I wish I'd known! However, the higest scoring set in a World Cup reached 32-34 when Canada beat Australia in 2015.
   I really admire the players for their stamina and emotional strenght.

 

 

My sources:
http://www.volleyball-movies.net/fanclubs/discussion/the-longest-set-in-the-history-of-volleyball-329
http://www.cbc.ca/m/sports/canada-australia-volleyball-world-1.3226212

The oldest volleybal player

   Working as a sportsman isn't as easy as it seems. If you choose that kind of career, you must accept the consequences associated with this at the same time.  

First of all, the sports injuries. Every pro player has suffered a number of injuries- smaller ones, like some finger problems or bigger ones, like a serious knee injury or a broken backbone. A lot of injuries activate later, not at first. That's probably the reason why volleyball players usually end their career at the age of 30-35. The second thing is the fact, that a national volleyball player spends a half of his life either on the national team or on some kind of championships, tournaments and matches. They don't have so much time for their families- sometimes they even can't spend Christmas with them. This heart-breaking fact can also be the reason why they decide to retire at such a young age. 

   Anyway, there are some players who play longer despite all of these difficulties. Igor Shulepov is 44-year-old russian player. He is plays in a team named Gubernya Nizhny Novogrod. What is more, he is still playing in Russian national team representation. He is the oldest volleyball player who is still playing and training.

Underneath, you can see what Shupelov looks like. Does he look old in your opinion? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My sources :

 

http://www.volleywood.net/volleyball-pictures-galleries/15-of-the-worlds-oldest-players-still-playing/

http://www.volleyball-movies.net/fanclubs/discussion/10-of-the-worlds-oldest-players-still-playing-848

 

The most powerful serve

   Everyone knows that in volleyball the ball actually often flies in the air. But I wonder if anyone ever consideres the speed at which it can fly and how hard you have to hit the ball to make it fly this way. Apparently some strange people took to measuring those speeds. Thanks to them we know that usually the ball travels at a speed of well over 100 km/h- that's faster than some cars. Woman can't hit hit the ball that hard- the record is 103 km/h and was broken by Yanelis Santos. However the official record for men belongs to Georg Grozer and is 131 km/h. It was so powerful that his opponents couldn't take the ball. 2 years have passed and noone can do the same or better. On the other hand you need to fullfil certain criteria if you want your record official. One of them is the brand of ball you use. Matey Kaziyski used a Molten ball, which is supposed to be faster and that's why his record is unofficial. If you want to have your record officially approved you need to use Mikasa ball. It is the official ball of worlds championships produced by a japanese company.
   Here is the link to the movie with Grozer's impressive serve. Just look at his sculpted arms!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My sources:

 

http://eurosport.onet.pl/siatkowka/mistrzostwa-swiata-siatkarzy/ms-siatkarzy-2014-rekord-predkosci-zagrywki-gyorgy-ego-grozera/xgsk8

http://www.fivb.org/viewHeadlines.asp?No=34473&Language=en

http://www.volleywood.net/volleyball-related-news/volleyball-news-north-america/kaziyski-santos-lightning-spikes/

Hello

   I'd like to tell you about my passion: volleyball. My adventure with volleyball started when I was in second grade of middle school. I joined my team and became a different person. It wasn't excatly my choice- it was my parents' way to punish me. Before, I was very rebelious and caused a lot of trouble. I suppose my parents wanted to give me something to do in my free time-not to meet the people who had been bad influence. So at the beginning I wasn't totally thrilled about the idea.
   First of all the situation was psychologically difficult for me: all the girls of the team had played together for more than 5 years and I hadn't. Moreover, they were very close with each other and I was the outsider. I had to prove what I was worth and it didn't come easy: try playing like a pro when you even don't know how to do it. That's when the hardest work came. I practised everyday, weekends included. In time girls started to trust me and finally accepted me. Now I can't imagine my life without them and the sport.
   I know I can't force anybody to like volleyball the way I do but writing about anything else seems like something I cannot cope with. Therefore I want to take a challange and write about interesting facts committed with volleyball. Let's see how long I can go on without boring you to death.
   Until next Friday.