Making the Cut Art award

For those that do not know, I was a high school art teacher in a previous life and I could not pass up the possibility of mixing sports and art.  The Making the Cut art award was stencil type drawing of the front and back of a volleyball player in a ready position with a set of questions posted all over the place.  The challenge was to decorate, change, create or develop something creative.   I was planning on giving out one award and was so amazed at the time and creativity of four of the pieces that I gave out four.  Here they are the volley artists

 I can hardly wait until next year where we will offer another opportunity for athletes to show their art side.

Making the Cut Coach's' Choice award

During the Making the Cut Camp the coaches are asked to hand out awards to athletes who are amazing.  The criteria are simple, it does not have to have anything to do with volleyball skills (it can) it is just to those athletes who make coaching worthwhile.  The awards this year was a coupon for a free academy session.
The following were the winners and the reason is written right underneath their name.

Congrats to all the award winners.

Making the Cut Wall of Fame 2019

The third year of the Making the Cut Camp has resulted in the start of a few traditions.  The one is the keeping of records which are announced here on the Wall of Fame.  We tested the vertical Block and Spike Jump and Spike and Serve Speeds.

Are you the next record holder?  See you next year at the Making the Cut Camp.

Making the Cut Royalty search

The game sessions at the end of each day is a Making the Cut Royalty search.  It is similar to King and Queen of the Beach tourney where the best players in each tier are crowned at the end of the four days of play.  Be prepared it is a fun way to play volleyball.

I have attached the rules of the tourney which will also be explained but thought you might be curious and it will allow you to explain it to your parents before you encourage them to come to watch. 

We are less than a day and a half away from the start of Making the Cut.  I hope you all are as excited as I am.

How do you play King and Queen of the Court

1. Each player is assigned a letter. (Same for each game session)
2. You will play on the same court as the other players of your tier.
3. You have a different team each time you play.
4. Your court position is assigned.

(ie.  If your team is BNTCSOWQ you enter the court as 

B-in position 1

N-in position 2

T-in position 3

C-in position 4

S-in position 5

O-in position 6

The first sub- W

Second Sub- Q )

5. Subs are made right after serve is lost. 
6. The game is timed and the score is kept by the teams and announced before each person serves.
7. When the time is up, the last completed point is the score, a rally in progress does not count.
8. At the end of game, the players from both teams who started in position 1 are required to report to Darren and present the score and who won.
9. The next game starts almost immediately so be ready.

Each member of the winning team is given a W and the top two players (male or female) with the most Ws are named the winners for each tier.

Win A Prize

Each player who is attending the full camp will get a journal and a t-shirt.  The journal is used at the end of each session to complete some mental practice to develop more well-rounded athletes.  There will also be handouts give to supplement the journal work and also to make the athletes think about their approach to sports and volleyball.

The attached files are one such activity and help the coaches get to know the athletes better.   I have printed off a copy of this hand out that you can pick up as you come in the door for your first session. These need to be handed in by the end of the first day and the best three submitted will win their choice of an award from the collection of t-shirts, dawg shoes, and other donated prizes.  I have attached the front and back of the handout in case some of you would like to get a head start on the activity by printing them off at home and working on them beforehand.  I was an art teacher in another life and I like this kind of stuff.  The activity is not only limited to paper so be creative and surprise us with your entry.  This is not a mandatory activity but the prizes are worth the effort. 

Every serious volleyball player should have a volleyball

The camp requires each and every athlete to bring their own volleyball.  The camp's coaches do spend time giving individual skills drills which can be done at home so the volleyball should be used to assist the athletes in preparing themselves to reach their next level.
Some parents have asked if I have any volleyballs they can buy and I do have a limited number of Baden practice balls which you can purchase from me.  To do so go to the website to the store on the bottom of the page to pay for it, I will have some at the camp.

We also have a variety of t-shirt and hoodies for sale other than the camp t-shirts.

Coaching staff for Making the Cut.

I feel honored to have the opportunity to have a group of coaches like this to make the Making the Cut camp a great four days.  I am excited for it to start and look forward to learning from such a talented group.

Dr. Darren Cannell

Darren has coached club volleyball for two decades. Was the president of the Saskatchewan Volleyball Association for ten years and a Volleyball Canada Director for the same. He has coached a provincial team, CANAM teams, and national teams.

Darren played 5 years university volleyball in Ontario (nominated all Ontario), senior club player, beach and on the master’s national team.

David Chuong

David has played volleyball for the last 17 years. He started in elementary school and continued on to high school playing on the senior team from grade 10 and on. He also played club volleyball from U13 through to U18 and also played on the Arima Challenge team. He continues to play through indoor recreational leagues and beach volleyball leagues.

David has coached for the last 8 years and is an Advanced Development Certified Coach. He coached with the Atomic Volleyball Program teaching fundamentals to children aged 8-12. He has coached various club teams in Saskatoon including Huskie Volleyball Club, Jeff’s Crestwear Volleyball Club, Bridge City Volleyball and Saskatoon Ignite Volleyball. He is heavily involved in coaching in the high school program working with Holy Cross High School’s senior boy’s program.

Jenna Stevenson

Jenna played competitive volleyball growing up and played on club teams in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Jenna’s volleyball team won multiple city championships and won a medal at provincials my 16U year of club play. Jenna now enjoys playing beach volleyball in the summers and coaching in the winters.
Jenna started coaching club volleyball in 2015. I coached women’s volleyball during my first year. Jenna made the transition over to the men’s game after that and have coached men’s club volleyball from 14U to the 16U level ever since. Jenna has NCCP Level 1 certification and working on completing my Level 2 certification by the end of 2019.

Marianne Schneider

Marianne has played volleyball for many years and continues to play women’s volleyball on two teams.

Marianne has coached volleyball for 5 years and is Advanced Development certified. During the last three years of coaching club volleyball, the teams have finished in the top 8 and this past season was Provincial silver medalists. Marianne’s hope is that players have the opportunity to develop skills and have a love of the game that will continue into late adulthood.

Michele McKeown

Michele has been involved with volleyball as a player and coach for over 30 years. She has won provincial championships at the high school, club, senior, master, and beach levels. She has won Western Canadian titles and National Championships at various times over her career and enjoys being part of the Team Canada Master’s program where she has traveled to tournaments in the U.S. and Greece. She loves to share her knowledge and passion for the game through her coaching at high school, club, and beach programs, but most importantly, enjoys creating opportunities for upcoming players to learn, understand, and gain her passion for the game of volleyball.

Rob Dziadyk

Rob has played volleyball for 35 years at various levels in Saskatchewan. Rob started in the club system in 1983 and continues to play at the Senior men’s level. Volleyball is his true passion though he has coached other sports like softball and soccer along the way. Rob has spent the past 4 years coaching with SMASH Volleyball Club and has assisted them to 2 Provincial titles and a Division 2 Western Canadian title. Rob recently mentored under Coach Dale Regal and enjoys sharing his passion for the game with upcoming players hoping to ignite that lifelong love for the game.

Terry Graham

Terry played middle for the Assiniboia high school volleyball team, placing fourth in provincials in 1980. He played club volleyball while attending the University of Saskatchewan from 1980-1986.

In my Grade 12 year of high school Terry coached the Assiniboia High School Junior Boys’ volleyball team. Terry coached club volleyball during my six years of university. where he also became a level two volleyball referee. He coached the Marion Graham Junior Boys volleyball team during a coaching practicum and a Prince Albert Toppers Club volleyball team during my internship. Once he started teaching, he coached 27 high school and club volleyball teams in Spring Valley, Eatonia, Lanigan, and Saskatoon, winning three SHSAA provincial silver medals. He was awarded the SHSAA Outstanding Coach Award in 2018 and a SSSAD Coaching Merit Award in 2019 when he retired from teaching. He is a certified level 2 NCCP volleyball coach, and he has level 3 NCCP (theory). He is presently coaching the Saskatoon Christian School’s Senior Boys Volleyball team, hoping to attain that elusive gold medal in 2019!

Toaka Che Imamura

Chie as a player in 1990 played in the Asian Junior Women’s Volleyball Championship and won gold. She was awarded the best setter award. In 1991 she played in Women’s U20 World Championship and won bronze. She was awarded the best setter award. In 1990 and 1994 she played for the University of Tsukaba Women’s Volleyball Team. Tsukaba University was one of the top teams in Japan. In 1987 the Tsukaba University came to Saskatoon to play against the University of Saskatchewan and again in 1990 and Chie came with them. In 1994 Chie came to Saskatoon to be an assistant coach at the University of Saskatchewan. She has since that time coached Club volleyball, High school volleyball, Community volleyball and done individual practice in the province. By many, she is considered to be one of the best setter coaches in the province.