	And we're off.....
And we’re OFF…. It’s amazing to think that the AVP season has already started and we have our 1st tourney under our belt. What a difference a year makes. Instead of training every hour in CA, I am back in my beloved CO and enjoying training there and coaching all the wonderful kids in the area. Like I mentioned in my last update my partner Brooke Langston and I am teaming up this season and had our first debut this past week in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Now, Florida was not my friend last season when we were in Panama City and were hit by a tornado and mild hurricane, so I was a little nervous what Florida would bring us this time. Brooke and I flew in a day early and got to practice on the courts for a couple of hours and it felt great. The other great news was on Tuesday night we found we were already in the main draw. We had enough points and actually earned the 22nd seed. This was a huge relief and a wonderful surprise. Already we had a little jump in our step. Not only were we in the main draw but Brooke’s mom and my coach/professional chef Peter came down to cheer us on! It’s so great to have people to cheer for us and support us. Truly invaluable! The next day was the qualifier and since we didn’t have to play in it, we had a relaxing morning and then headed to practice a bit before returning home to find yet another gourmet dinner cooked by peter! Truly mouthwatering!! Roasted Chicken, stuffing, carrots, broccoli, nice big salad!! Mmmmmmmm…. I am still remembering how amazing it tasted. We are so spoiled!!! Sure beats turkey sandwiches!! I still want to find a USB port to download all his cooking information straight into my brain! J With 2 days of practice with each other we didn’t know what to expect on day 1 but we had a bigger obstacle – wind! It was extremely windy to the point it was difficult to even serve. Playing in the sand with only 2 people is hard enough and then add gusty winds sure makes the game difficult. Our 1st opponent was the 11th seed. We had a great start and battled point for point until 19-20 and then lost the 1st game 21-19. The second game was a little tougher and we lost 21-17. However, for not training much together I felt good out there playing again. Match #2 was a battle. We played a fairly new team and they fought hard. We lost the 1st game 22-20 then won the second 21-17 thanks to the tip from coach Peter to have us jump serve! The 3rd match to 15 was close until 9-9 when we pulled away to win it 15-11. YAY!! Our 1st win. With only 20 minutes rest we had to play against the #10 team. This team was just too experienced in the wind and beat us in our 3rd match of the day giving us a 17th place finish! The whole weekend sure was a different experience for me. I don’t know if it’s because I am turning 30 on Tuesday the 27th, and things are just different for me now, but I really got to play the game and didn’t have to deal with all the gossip that is rapid amongst the players. I got to see all the event staff who I adore and got big hugs from them. Seeing them was the highlight for me. Geeter (amazing announcer) came up to me and gave me a huge hug and said, “You’re back!” That was awesome! After the last ball dropped last season I didn’t know if I would play again but there I was again, playing this sport I love. Tournament #2 is right around the corner.. in fact I leave this Wednesday, April 28th for Santa Barbara! I get to go back out to CA and hopefully Brooke and I will keep building together and it won’t be so windy. We just found out we are once again already in the main draw so we start playing on Friday morning. Since this is such a short season I hope we get better and better each tournament! If any of you have recommendations for places to stay, we would love the help! Thanks for journeying along side me! It’s mean so much to me to know you are out there cheering for us!

And we're off.....

And we’re OFF….

It’s amazing to think that the AVP season has already started and we have our 1st tourney under our belt. What a difference a year makes. Instead of training every hour in CA, I am back in my beloved CO and enjoying training there and coaching all the wonderful kids in the area.

Like I mentioned in my last update my partner Brooke Langston and I am teaming up this season and had our first debut this past week in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Now, Florida was not my friend last season when we were in Panama City and were hit by a tornado and mild hurricane, so I was a little nervous what Florida would bring us this time.

Brooke and I flew in a day early and got to practice on the courts for a couple of hours and it felt great. The other great news was on Tuesday night we found we were already in the main draw. We had enough points and actually earned the 22nd seed. This was a huge relief and a wonderful surprise. Already we had a little jump in our step. Not only were we in the main draw but Brooke’s mom and my coach/professional chef Peter came down to cheer us on! It’s so great to have people to cheer for us and support us. Truly invaluable!

The next day was the qualifier and since we didn’t have to play in it, we had a relaxing morning and then headed to practice a bit before returning home to find yet another gourmet dinner cooked by peter! Truly mouthwatering!! Roasted Chicken, stuffing, carrots, broccoli, nice big salad!! Mmmmmmmm…. I am still remembering how amazing it tasted. We are so spoiled!!! Sure beats turkey sandwiches!! I still want to find a USB port to download all his cooking information straight into my brain! J

With 2 days of practice with each other we didn’t know what to expect on day 1 but we had a bigger obstacle – wind! It was extremely windy to the point it was difficult to even serve. Playing in the sand with only 2 people is hard enough and then add gusty winds sure makes the game difficult. Our 1st opponent was the 11th seed. We had a great start and battled point for point until 19-20 and then lost the 1st game 21-19. The second game was a little tougher and we lost 21-17. However, for not training much together I felt good out there playing again.

Match #2 was a battle. We played a fairly new team and they fought hard. We lost the 1st game 22-20 then won the second 21-17 thanks to the tip from coach Peter to have us jump serve! The 3rd match to 15 was close until 9-9 when we pulled away to win it 15-11. YAY!! Our 1st win. With only 20 minutes rest we had to play against the #10 team. This team was just too experienced in the wind and beat us in our 3rd match of the day giving us a 17th place finish!

The whole weekend sure was a different experience for me. I don’t know if it’s because I am turning 30 on Tuesday the 27th, and things are just different for me now, but I really got to play the game and didn’t have to deal with all the gossip that is rapid amongst the players. I got to see all the event staff who I adore and got big hugs from them. Seeing them was the highlight for me. Geeter (amazing announcer) came up to me and gave me a huge hug and said, “You’re back!” That was awesome! After the last ball dropped last season I didn’t know if I would play again but there I was again, playing this sport I love.

Tournament #2 is right around the corner.. in fact I leave this Wednesday, April 28th for Santa Barbara! I get to go back out to CA and hopefully Brooke and I will keep building together and it won’t be so windy. We just found out we are once again already in the main draw so we start playing on Friday morning. Since this is such a short season I hope we get better and better each tournament! If any of you have recommendations for places to stay, we would love the help! Thanks for journeying along side me! It’s mean so much to me to know you are out there cheering for us!