	"As the AVP world turns....."
The latest On the latest episode of "As the AVP world turns," Angela has flown to Colorado, Chicago and now onto New York with her 5th new partner of the year! Yes! That's right.....I have yet another partner! Wow, this business is nuts! So sorry I haven't kept you in the loop, so this is 3 updates in one. Things is Colorado and Chicago got super crazy, but here is the latest....but beware.....this episode is a little tough. Warm welcome in Colorado: Well the last time I left you, oh-so long ago, Sarah and I had finished playing a local tourney and I was off to my beloved city and "home" of Fort Collins, CO. Wow, that sounds so long ago with the events that have happened since then. When I Landed in Colorado on June 30th, the smile on my face was so large and not only was it great to be in a place I love but to be able to play in my wonderful state was super exciting. I took the shuttle up to Fort Collins where I was left a car to use from my wonderful friends, Sally and Milford Thieszen. Rental car prices are through the roof, so their generosity was amazing and they saved me so much! "Home" for me is where all the people I love live and Colorado is definitely a home for me. So I was able to catch up with so many of my friends and families, and ate at the Egg and I almost every morning. I think they were sick of seeing me, but their food is so good, especially that patriot waffle!! Oh yeah, and with STRAWBERRIES! I have always wanted to be a regular somewhere and finally I was getting the "regular" status! J Rayno and the Egg and I's generosity is through the roof too, and I always feel so blessed every time I walk in their door. The next days before playing would be a blur. Wednesday I drove to 16th street in Denver to play on a sand court they made for all the local Colorado people to play against "the pros" and that was a blast! I saw some familiar faces and enjoyed playing with some new people I met. Then Thursday after practice, I held a clinic for kids for the AVP at the tournament site. The courts were really neat. We actually played inside the football stadium, Folsom field. And even though it was that "other school", University of Colorado, it still felt great to be back playing in CO. The next day was the day I was excited for since the release of the AVP schedule in march. I was ranked #14 and would be playing my 1st partner, Saralyn Smith and her partner Beth VanFleet. All year, this was the one game I really wanted to win in my "home" and even more since they changed the entire tournament to single elimination! Our game was at 2:30pm, and not only was the altitude a change, but the heat of the day was intense at that time. I walked into Folsom field (University of Colorado) wearing GREEN and GOLD, a Colorado State t-shirt and got some many funny little comments. It was all in good fun, but great to represent the school I so dearly love. The game began and we got off to a rocky start and found ourselves at 7-13. My biggest prayer for that weekend was not necessarily to win, but to play well and fight hard. I knew at that moment we needed to start fighting. We did and came back to tie the game at 20-20. We even got the next point and served for the game at 21-20 before we made an error and they were able to come back and beat us in game one 24-22. I knew we weren't done yet and we definitely had the crowd cheering us on. I was so grateful for all those who cheered us on and kept us playing hard! So thank you!! The second game we came out a little better and was ahead 11-10 until more errors by us made us fall behind 19-16. We still fought back to 19-20 before they finished the match 21-19. That was probably the hardest loss for me of the season. I have my share of losses and great wins, but that was the win I really wished for. It was really hard for me to understand why when I really had prayed that we would play a lot better. It's so hard to know why God let's things happen and what he teaches you in the process. I guess my biggest disappointment was the missed opportunity to share and be with all the people I love in Colorado. One of my biggest joys, if not the biggest, about playing professionally is watching how sports can bring people together and unify them. I have loved how my family sits at the computer together watching each point update on the computer screen. I love it when my grandma is waiting by the phone after each match so my mom will call her and update her. I had dreamed that everyone in Fort Collins would be able to go to Boulder to watch and enjoy the great event and venue and maybe connect with someone new through watching a "common/shared" athlete they were supporting. Unfortunately my "eyes" for what COULD be and the possibilities of great times with those I loved depended on me winning that game and unfortunately it didn't work out that way. I have been in so many pressure situations before and the pressure didn't seem to be too much for me, if anything I loved all the support and encouragement I had from those cheering us on. It's such a powerful thing when people call your name and you know they are supporting you in every point! Even Abby, who heads up the Barefoot wine division, came down on the court cheering us so loudly. Every time she yelled for us, I had a smile on my face and was thankful she would take the time to support us! So losing that one was tough to swallow, but I guess it wasn't my turn to win. But it sure had me pondering many questions, such as does it matter to God if I win or lose? What is the best way to be a competitive athlete when you want to win and how should I take losses and learn from them? I guess that I have always asked these but it's even harder when you really want to win some over others. The loss placed us with a 17th finish and even harder to take in, knowing if we won that we would have at least finished 9th. It was also an $1800 prize difference. Bummer! Over the next days I was able to catch up with old friends and went back to the tournament to watch the finals. It was so sweet too, because 3 girls that come to my clinics made me t-shirt and were the highlight of the day for me. My biggest prayer is those girls will see me pursuing my dream and pursue their own dreams. The next 3 days flew by before leaving for Chicago with camps for kids in Fort Collins. I even was able to do a clinic for all my "former athletes" who were home from playing in college. That might have been the most rewarding day for me, remembering them from their freshman year of high school and now seeing them after their freshman and junior years of college. It was like seeing my own kids grow into talented, mature, wonderful kids. All of them I just adore and I am so thankful for their impact on my life. To watch a kid grow into a woman of character, hard work ethic and integrity is what keeps motivating me to coach. Those are the best days. Crazy Chicago: As hard as it was to leave Colorado, I tried to stay focused on my goal of the rest of the season, knowing I potentially have only 4 more tournaments left. And luckily I was heading to a place where I knew I would have a great time regardless of the tournament. I was able to stay with my agent/friend Peter who lives there and I guess he added another title to his name, travel/event planner. As hard as Boulder went, I knew I wanted to give Sarah and I another shot at getting better together. I believe in seeing things through, but was difficult to amongst the activities that happened in Boulder and hurtful things that were said. One thing I have learned in this adventure is to try not to take things personal, but when things happen that are personal it is hard to take. But I believe in 2nd chances and was ready to fight for our partnership and hoped that in Chicago we could turn things around. After a practice, Peter had 9 friends meet us for dinner and that was a blast! We all gathered at a great Italian restaurant and enjoyed a great meal and fun conversation. The next day was game day. There were a lot of things I look forward to experiencing but honestly one of the best things is Peter's cooking, especially his breakfasts! I woke up to eggs, bacon, stuffed French toast with strawberry jam, and lots of fresh strawberries! Are you jealous?? J So goooooooood!!!!! Our first match was against another former partner, Lauren who I was lucky to beat Holly McPeak with. She is playing really well and they jumped out to a lead and we never really recovered, losing the match, 21-15, 21-12. Unfortunately the hardest part of that loss was our chemistry. It just wasn't there and I have been a player who has lived for teams with chemistry. All throughout high school and college, people wrote articles about our team's chemistry. I believe that many of my teams over-achieved due to the fact we all trusted and believed in each other. Chemistry isn't something you can force and for some reason Sarah and I didn't have it. My 1st partner Krista and I on our very first sand tournament together, the Motherlode, a huge tourney with talented players, actually over-achieved to win the entire tournament. We had no business playing there let alone winning the thing. We were ranked last and didn't know how to even play sand, BUT we had incredible chemistry!! That saw us through! So Sarah and I lost that one, but luckily this was a double elimination tournament and we won the next match 21-14, 21-17 to make it to Saturday. After the game, Peter, two friends of his and I went to dinner then headed home to a good nights rest. However, on the way home we passed a sign for the Mega Millions that was up to 70 Million. I have never bought a lottery ticket till that night and I ...........lost. What if I would have said won! Don't worry you would have heard from me, by now. The strangest feeling came after that. My mind starting to wander and dream of what if, what if I had that money, what would I do? What would my life look like? I could actually afford all these crazy trips and would love to pay so many people back for all the generous things they have done for me. Its funny how buying one little silly lotto ticket makes you evaluate your life. Oh well. The next morning, I had another great Peter breakfast and headed in the pouring rain to play at 9am. Our next match would be Stacy again and her partner Whitney. The first game started off how we left off against Lauren, but I decided to switch positions and play the left side and we made a run, but still lost the first game 16-21. But the switch helped us and we won the second game 21-16 to force a deciding game three. It was close 7-7. 8-8 before a controversial reffing call followed by Sarah running into a banner broke the momentum and we lost the third game 15-12. Our finish was another 17th and I knew then decisions had to be made. Luckily after the tough loss and disappointment, I was still amongst friends and over the next days I was shown an incredible trip. Since flights are so expensive I stayed in Chicago a few extra days instead of flying back to LA and then all the way back to New York. So some of my highlights were seeing Circ Solei (Koza) where I gained a new appreciation for people's talents. I truly believe those people were gifted and created to do these talents, because I know no matter how much practice I had, I never could flip by legs around to touch the top of my head......backwards, or run on a spinning "death" wheel. (I call it that). I was able to see the huge world famous church, Willow Creek, followed by an amazing brunch on the John Hancock building, 95 floors up in downtown Chicago. The view from there is spectacular and we actually could see the finals right below us. Even though I ate enough there to last me 3 weeks, Peter cooked a great meal and a bunch of his friends came over that night to watch the finals he had on Tivo. I was so grateful to Peter and his friends to help me gain perspective on my tournament and remind me why I love to play. It's not just the playing, but the people I get to meet along the way, and the experience/memories we share/create. So thanks everyone in Chicago! New partner......5th one's a charm???? I hope???? Like I said, decisions had to be made after the last loss. Trust is such an underrated word for the impact and effect it has on people. I came to realize that maybe my trust and definitely our chemistry wasn't there with Sarah. With only 3 tournaments left it put me in such a difficult position. After we lost, I paced back and forth, unable to eat or talk to anyone for the next 3-4 hours. I knew I needed to talk to Sarah, but those talks are SO hard to do!!! I kept walking towards her, then turning back. Why is it so hard to do things sometimes? And, still being new to the tour, where this happens so much, I don't really know the words to say anyway. I haven't even broken up with that many boyfriends so my fear, anxiety and nervousness was through the roof. Finally I was able to talk heart to heart with her, and we agreed that we weren't finishing the way we should, and our chemistry wasn't really there. So we decided to look for other partners to see who was out there. A little bit later, I got a text from Brooke Langston, a sweet player asking me what I was doing for New York. At that time, even though Brooke didn't have many points and our ranking would drop significantly, I think change was needed for me emotionally. So we talked late Sunday and decided to sign up for Coney Island, NY which is this Friday, July 18th and 19th. I am nervous to play with yet another one, but am praying that God is bigger than all this and it is what is meant to be. We are now ranked 24th, and will have a really tough road to do well, so please keep us in your prayers. Prayer please for the next few weekends.......it's almost over! For those of you who have been faithfully praying for me, your break is almost here, I promise!! Just a few short weeks and this crazy season will be over for me. So I am asking some of you to really pray for some specific things: •1. Please pray for Sarah and also for our relationship. I am trying to separate things from being personal and it's hard for me to accept when things don't work out. I pray for a continuing friendship. •2. Please pray for Brooke and my chemistry and connection. She is a Christian and I hope that maybe we can connect in that way and also play well. I pray that this weekend even though we haven't practiced together, we will find a way to figure each other out quickly and really have FUN! •3. Please pray for me and my emotional state. Times like these, I wish I was a guy, and didn't have the emotional state engrained in my body. All these partner switches and hectic travel schedule has taken quite the toll on me and my heart. I am trying to stay positive and motivated since I truly know how much I love playing this game, but I'm becoming discouraged a bit. After improving so much, it was easy to stay excited but in the last tournaments it's been a bit of a downfall and hoping to keep my head up and fight till the end. •4. After this weekend in New York, it looks like I will only have 2 more tournaments in Long beach and San Diego. Unfortunately I won't be eligible to play Cincinnati for it is a partner finish tournament and I haven't played with the same partner enough to make it in. With that I might try to play in the Motherlode but need a partner to play in that. My favorite girl, Krista is about to have her first kid in 20 short days!!! •5. Of course there are 5 requests... I pray that these "last" tournaments will be an effective and decisive result in whether or not I want to continue to play again for another year. If you would have asked me 3 weeks ago, I wanted to keep playing for SURE but it's been tough these last tourneys and depending on what they do with the tour next year and if in fact these are my last 2, I want to play well. My prayer when I would be done following my dream, was that it would be clear, and even though things are tough, I felt that this year, I actually broke in and want to still play if it's God's will.

"As the AVP world turns....."

The latest

On the latest episode of "As the AVP world turns," Angela has flown to Colorado, Chicago and now onto New York with her 5th new partner of the year! Yes! That's right.....I have yet another partner! Wow, this business is nuts! So sorry I haven't kept you in the loop, so this is 3 updates in one. Things is Colorado and Chicago got super crazy, but here is the latest....but beware.....this episode is a little tough.

Warm welcome in Colorado:

Well the last time I left you, oh-so long ago, Sarah and I had finished playing a local tourney and I was off to my beloved city and "home" of Fort Collins, CO. Wow, that sounds so long ago with the events that have happened since then.

When I Landed in Colorado on June 30th, the smile on my face was so large and not only was it great to be in a place I love but to be able to play in my wonderful state was super exciting. I took the shuttle up to Fort Collins where I was left a car to use from my wonderful friends, Sally and Milford Thieszen. Rental car prices are through the roof, so their generosity was amazing and they saved me so much! "Home" for me is where all the people I love live and Colorado is definitely a home for me. So I was able to catch up with so many of my friends and families, and ate at the Egg and I almost every morning. I think they were sick of seeing me, but their food is so good, especially that patriot waffle!! Oh yeah, and with STRAWBERRIES! I have always wanted to be a regular somewhere and finally I was getting the "regular" status! J Rayno and the Egg and I's generosity is through the roof too, and I always feel so blessed every time I walk in their door.

The next days before playing would be a blur. Wednesday I drove to 16th street in Denver to play on a sand court they made for all the local Colorado people to play against "the pros" and that was a blast! I saw some familiar faces and enjoyed playing with some new people I met. Then Thursday after practice, I held a clinic for kids for the AVP at the tournament site. The courts were really neat. We actually played inside the football stadium, Folsom field. And even though it was that "other school", University of Colorado, it still felt great to be back playing in CO.

The next day was the day I was excited for since the release of the AVP schedule in march. I was ranked #14 and would be playing my 1st partner, Saralyn Smith and her partner Beth VanFleet. All year, this was the one game I really wanted to win in my "home" and even more since they changed the entire tournament to single elimination! Our game was at 2:30pm, and not only was the altitude a change, but the heat of the day was intense at that time. I walked into Folsom field (University of Colorado) wearing GREEN and GOLD, a Colorado State t-shirt and got some many funny little comments. It was all in good fun, but great to represent the school I so dearly love.

The game began and we got off to a rocky start and found ourselves at 7-13. My biggest prayer for that weekend was not necessarily to win, but to play well and fight hard. I knew at that moment we needed to start fighting. We did and came back to tie the game at 20-20. We even got the next point and served for the game at 21-20 before we made an error and they were able to come back and beat us in game one 24-22. I knew we weren't done yet and we definitely had the crowd cheering us on. I was so grateful for all those who cheered us on and kept us playing hard! So thank you!! The second game we came out a little better and was ahead 11-10 until more errors by us made us fall behind 19-16. We still fought back to 19-20 before they finished the match 21-19.

That was probably the hardest loss for me of the season. I have my share of losses and great wins, but that was the win I really wished for. It was really hard for me to understand why when I really had prayed that we would play a lot better. It's so hard to know why God let's things happen and what he teaches you in the process. I guess my biggest disappointment was the missed opportunity to share and be with all the people I love in Colorado.

One of my biggest joys, if not the biggest, about playing professionally is watching how sports can bring people together and unify them. I have loved how my family sits at the computer together watching each point update on the computer screen. I love it when my grandma is waiting by the phone after each match so my mom will call her and update her. I had dreamed that everyone in Fort Collins would be able to go to Boulder to watch and enjoy the great event and venue and maybe connect with someone new through watching a "common/shared" athlete they were supporting. Unfortunately my "eyes" for what COULD be and the possibilities of great times with those I loved depended on me winning that game and unfortunately it didn't work out that way.

I have been in so many pressure situations before and the pressure didn't seem to be too much for me, if anything I loved all the support and encouragement I had from those cheering us on. It's such a powerful thing when people call your name and you know they are supporting you in every point! Even Abby, who heads up the Barefoot wine division, came down on the court cheering us so loudly. Every time she yelled for us, I had a smile on my face and was thankful she would take the time to support us! So losing that one was tough to swallow, but I guess it wasn't my turn to win. But it sure had me pondering many questions, such as does it matter to God if I win or lose? What is the best way to be a competitive athlete when you want to win and how should I take losses and learn from them? I guess that I have always asked these but it's even harder when you really want to win some over others. The loss placed us with a 17th finish and even harder to take in, knowing if we won that we would have at least finished 9th. It was also an $1800 prize difference. Bummer!

Over the next days I was able to catch up with old friends and went back to the tournament to watch the finals. It was so sweet too, because 3 girls that come to my clinics made me t-shirt and were the highlight of the day for me. My biggest prayer is those girls will see me pursuing my dream and pursue their own dreams.

The next 3 days flew by before leaving for Chicago with camps for kids in Fort Collins. I even was able to do a clinic for all my "former athletes" who were home from playing in college. That might have been the most rewarding day for me, remembering them from their freshman year of high school and now seeing them after their freshman and junior years of college. It was like seeing my own kids grow into talented, mature, wonderful kids. All of them I just adore and I am so thankful for their impact on my life. To watch a kid grow into a woman of character, hard work ethic and integrity is what keeps motivating me to coach. Those are the best days.

Crazy Chicago:

As hard as it was to leave Colorado, I tried to stay focused on my goal of the rest of the season, knowing I potentially have only 4 more tournaments left. And luckily I was heading to a place where I knew I would have a great time regardless of the tournament. I was able to stay with my agent/friend Peter who lives there and I guess he added another title to his name, travel/event planner.

As hard as Boulder went, I knew I wanted to give Sarah and I another shot at getting better together. I believe in seeing things through, but was difficult to amongst the activities that happened in Boulder and hurtful things that were said. One thing I have learned in this adventure is to try not to take things personal, but when things happen that are personal it is hard to take. But I believe in 2nd chances and was ready to fight for our partnership and hoped that in Chicago we could turn things around.

After a practice, Peter had 9 friends meet us for dinner and that was a blast! We all gathered at a great Italian restaurant and enjoyed a great meal and fun conversation. The next day was game day. There were a lot of things I look forward to experiencing but honestly one of the best things is Peter's cooking, especially his breakfasts! I woke up to eggs, bacon, stuffed French toast with strawberry jam, and lots of fresh strawberries! Are you jealous?? J So goooooooood!!!!!

Our first match was against another former partner, Lauren who I was lucky to beat Holly McPeak with. She is playing really well and they jumped out to a lead and we never really recovered, losing the match, 21-15, 21-12. Unfortunately the hardest part of that loss was our chemistry. It just wasn't there and I have been a player who has lived for teams with chemistry. All throughout high school and college, people wrote articles about our team's chemistry. I believe that many of my teams over-achieved due to the fact we all trusted and believed in each other. Chemistry isn't something you can force and for some reason Sarah and I didn't have it. My 1st partner Krista and I on our very first sand tournament together, the Motherlode, a huge tourney with talented players, actually over-achieved to win the entire tournament. We had no business playing there let alone winning the thing. We were ranked last and didn't know how to even play sand, BUT we had incredible chemistry!! That saw us through!

So Sarah and I lost that one, but luckily this was a double elimination tournament and we won the next match 21-14, 21-17 to make it to Saturday. After the game, Peter, two friends of his and I went to dinner then headed home to a good nights rest. However, on the way home we passed a sign for the Mega Millions that was up to 70 Million. I have never bought a lottery ticket till that night and I ...........lost. What if I would have said won! Don't worry you would have heard from me, by now. The strangest feeling came after that. My mind starting to wander and dream of what if, what if I had that money, what would I do? What would my life look like? I could actually afford all these crazy trips and would love to pay so many people back for all the generous things they have done for me. Its funny how buying one little silly lotto ticket makes you evaluate your life. Oh well.

The next morning, I had another great Peter breakfast and headed in the pouring rain to play at 9am. Our next match would be Stacy again and her partner Whitney. The first game started off how we left off against Lauren, but I decided to switch positions and play the left side and we made a run, but still lost the first game 16-21. But the switch helped us and we won the second game 21-16 to force a deciding game three. It was close 7-7. 8-8 before a controversial reffing call followed by Sarah running into a banner broke the momentum and we lost the third game 15-12. Our finish was another 17th and I knew then decisions had to be made.

Luckily after the tough loss and disappointment, I was still amongst friends and over the next days I was shown an incredible trip. Since flights are so expensive I stayed in Chicago a few extra days instead of flying back to LA and then all the way back to New York. So some of my highlights were seeing Circ Solei (Koza) where I gained a new appreciation for people's talents. I truly believe those people were gifted and created to do these talents, because I know no matter how much practice I had, I never could flip by legs around to touch the top of my head......backwards, or run on a spinning "death" wheel. (I call it that). I was able to see the huge world famous church, Willow Creek, followed by an amazing brunch on the John Hancock building, 95 floors up in downtown Chicago. The view from there is spectacular and we actually could see the finals right below us. Even though I ate enough there to last me 3 weeks, Peter cooked a great meal and a bunch of his friends came over that night to watch the finals he had on Tivo. I was so grateful to Peter and his friends to help me gain perspective on my tournament and remind me why I love to play. It's not just the playing, but the people I get to meet along the way, and the experience/memories we share/create. So thanks everyone in Chicago!

New partner......5th one's a charm???? I hope????

Like I said, decisions had to be made after the last loss. Trust is such an underrated word for the impact and effect it has on people. I came to realize that maybe my trust and definitely our chemistry wasn't there with Sarah. With only 3 tournaments left it put me in such a difficult position. After we lost, I paced back and forth, unable to eat or talk to anyone for the next 3-4 hours. I knew I needed to talk to Sarah, but those talks are SO hard to do!!! I kept walking towards her, then turning back. Why is it so hard to do things sometimes? And, still being new to the tour, where this happens so much, I don't really know the words to say anyway. I haven't even broken up with that many boyfriends so my fear, anxiety and nervousness was through the roof.

Finally I was able to talk heart to heart with her, and we agreed that we weren't finishing the way we should, and our chemistry wasn't really there. So we decided to look for other partners to see who was out there. A little bit later, I got a text from Brooke Langston, a sweet player asking me what I was doing for New York. At that time, even though Brooke didn't have many points and our ranking would drop significantly, I think change was needed for me emotionally. So we talked late Sunday and decided to sign up for Coney Island, NY which is this Friday, July 18th and 19th. I am nervous to play with yet another one, but am praying that God is bigger than all this and it is what is meant to be. We are now ranked 24th, and will have a really tough road to do well, so please keep us in your prayers.

Prayer please for the next few weekends.......it's almost over!

For those of you who have been faithfully praying for me, your break is almost here, I promise!! Just a few short weeks and this crazy season will be over for me. So I am asking some of you to really pray for some specific things:

•1. Please pray for Sarah and also for our relationship. I am trying to separate things from being personal and it's hard for me to accept when things don't work out. I pray for a continuing friendship.

•2. Please pray for Brooke and my chemistry and connection. She is a Christian and I hope that maybe we can connect in that way and also play well. I pray that this weekend even though we haven't practiced together, we will find a way to figure each other out quickly and really have FUN!

•3. Please pray for me and my emotional state. Times like these, I wish I was a guy, and didn't have the emotional state engrained in my body. All these partner switches and hectic travel schedule has taken quite the toll on me and my heart. I am trying to stay positive and motivated since I truly know how much I love playing this game, but I'm becoming discouraged a bit. After improving so much, it was easy to stay excited but in the last tournaments it's been a bit of a downfall and hoping to keep my head up and fight till the end.

•4. After this weekend in New York, it looks like I will only have 2 more tournaments in Long beach and San Diego. Unfortunately I won't be eligible to play Cincinnati for it is a partner finish tournament and I haven't played with the same partner enough to make it in. With that I might try to play in the Motherlode but need a partner to play in that. My favorite girl, Krista is about to have her first kid in 20 short days!!!

•5. Of course there are 5 requests... I pray that these "last" tournaments will be an effective and decisive result in whether or not I want to continue to play again for another year. If you would have asked me 3 weeks ago, I wanted to keep playing for SURE but it's been tough these last tourneys and depending on what they do with the tour next year and if in fact these are my last 2, I want to play well. My prayer when I would be done following my dream, was that it would be clear, and even though things are tough, I felt that this year, I actually broke in and want to still play if it's God's will.