For those of you that know me on a personal level, you know that my mind is always moving on new ideas. However, with a pregnant wife and about a 7 day “quasi” off-season, lots of the peripherals are getting pushed. Its time I hire an assistant to help keep the idea train moving!!

It is great to be back in the USA gym. The group is motivated and ready to get World League off and running. I think having a 2 week road trip right out of the gate is a good thing for our group right now. It is so difficult to come back home after an 8 month trip…bills, mail, doc appointments, friends and family…the transition is always hectic. Going on the road right out of the gate will help our group bond a bit more without the distraction of the afternoon “To-Dos”. I expect that to set us on the right course for the remainder of the tourney.

Lastly, I have missed the boys on The NET LIVE and looking forward to being back “In-HOUSE” next Monday. Tune in @ www.thevolleyballnetwork.com. Peace

Here are the Brackets and first round match ups. Now is your chance to predict the outcomes. The matches start this week with a lot of tough match ups right from the start. Many of the matches will be streamed on www.sportbox.ru…I think we should all email them and request an English option for the website so we can navigate easier. If enough of us do it, maybe they will respond. In my initial investigation, email your suggestions to reception@sport.vgtrk.com .

For more photos of the last match CLICK HERE

The last two matches have been positive steps in the right direction. We flew all night from Kaliningrad back to Novosibirsk and arrived this morning. We play Dinamo Moscow on Wednesday so its a fast turn around but looking forward to our final home game of the regular season. Even though its a week night, I expect it to be FULL house! A lot is on the line as it would be great to keep the edge on Belogord moving into the playoffs and holding home court advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs.

We are 11 and 7 and 5 of the 7 losses came in 5 sets. Of the 7 losses, only 1 match I can remember did a team actually “beat” us…the others were all matches that were lost on “our” side of the net (by our own mistakes). Up to this point, I have tried to remain upbeat and spin things in a positive light. But in my short time on THE NET LIVE co-hosting with Barney, Geeter and Dan, I have come to realize that its the truth that people are interested in. Not a series of neatly crafted cliches. Otherwise how can I expect anyone to read it?

With that said, am I concerned about our team??? YES! It is March and there has not been the kinda of growth you hope for when a team is together for 6-7 months. This team has yet to grow into the expectations that were placed on it at the beginning of the season. I repeat a sentiment I shared in an earlier post…that winning is not a “right” and its not something that can be bought. If that were the case, the Dallas Cowboys and NY Yankees would be World Champs every year. You cannot “buy” a great team. You buy asset..players and coaches and those assets will hopefully fit together and form a cohesive unit with the strength of the whole being stronger than any individual part. We have every reason as a club and organization to have the goal of success in the Russian Championship. However, that is no easy feat. At this point we win sets and eventually matches when we SERVE well. There is no other aspect of our game that we consistently good at. As a result, you see the erratic ups and downs from one game to the next. Everything that this club, this city and our players want is within reach…but it is going to take more. More of everything on every level…players and coaches a like. Winning doesn’t just happen…its earned..fought for on a DAILY basis.

As for me, I will be re-watching the match tonight trying to identify ways I need to be better.

As tweeted, what a phenomenal environment to play in. It was disappointing to lose and at this stage of the season, every point in the standings is important. Belogrod played well. However, the difference in the match was our own mistakes. Making less errors on our side of the ball will put us in a better situation to succeed. Again, the fans were great and I am looking forward to our next home match against Fakel. But first, we are on the road against a tough Surgut team and our focus is there. To check out the photos of the match CLICK LINK.

Monday on THE NET LIVE we had Chris GEETER McGee on as a guest host and had a great time. We had call-ins from 2-Time Olympic Gold Medal winner Kerri Walsh and new UCLA Women’s coach Mike Sealy. To listen to the latest show CLICK LINK.

HEYO! Yeah, thats right. I am “blogging” again. I could list several excuses and follow with some promises but lets just try and enjoy this post for the moment and not get ahead of ourselves. In fact, lets just chalk it up to “laziness” like Clay says of his new look.

The Russian regular season is approaching the end and the top is very close. (click here is see standings)We are a point behind the leader Kazan, with Belogord a point behind us. We play them head to head this coming Saturday at home so needless to say, BIG MATCH.

We fought off Ufa and their linesmen last night which was not easy. Then chartered back to Novo at midnight and they let a few of us in the cockpit for the final descent…pretty awesome. I “flip’d” it and if it is actually watchable (without causing any seizures) I’ll put it up.

Aside for that, follow me on twitter or facebook to stay connected on a more regular basis and don’t forget about our weekly volleyball podcast The NET LIVE every Monday. Good to be back! rp

As witnessed by many and stated by several, we kept things interesting last night. I thought we came out focussed and ready. Good blocking, good presure from the service line and good sideout. Our reception broke down in 3rd set which is what made things more difficult. However, to take something positive from a negative, I thought it was great that Pavlov and Lee both stepped up and made huge plays down the stretch in the 4th set that helped us close out the match. That is a great indication for the future. Every match will have it’s challenges and different guys on different nights will need to step up and make big plays to compensate for what we may lack in other areas.

So a good team win overall and a step in the right direction. Now we start preparing for Dinamo and our trip to Moscow and then on to Kuliningrad for the Finals of the Cup.

Don’t forget to tune into The NET LIVE volleyball podcast tomorrow on The Volleyball Network.

I feel the urge to explain my silence…to apologize, justify and assure you that I wanted to continue the communication but was for whatever reason unable to do so.  Instead though, its time to place my thoughts on the current moment and execute the here and now. So, to quote the future voice of volleyball Kevin Barnett,  ”One sideout, shut the door!”

We are nearing the halfway point of December and putting in a lot of work here in Siberia.  If you have been following at all you will notice an almost entirely new team here in Novosibirsk.  The club did a great job in purchasing more talent in the off-season. I’d be lying though if I tried to make out that I believe thats all you need to do to win.  However, with great investment comes great expectations.  This is a huge month in the minds of the team, the club and the fans.  I think everybody is waiting for this team to come alive, find itself and play to its potential.  We have two more league matches this month and then the Russian Cup starting on Christmas Day.  Though I am against the notion, professional sports is largely based soley on results (much to its own detriment I must add).  When the pressure is placed on todays result there is a tendency to lose the “golden nuggets” and lessons along the way.  This team needs time to grow and I am confident, if/when the team matures, the wait will be well worth it, for the fans, the sponsors, the city and us the players.  I am reminded of a quote that Doug Beal said to me early in my career with Team USA, “You don’t just get to win”.  Here’s to the PROCESS, here’s to the JOURNEY…back at it tomorrow night against Kaliningrad.

For up-to-date league info or to follow teams, results and stats check out the newly refaced www.volleyservice.ru

The full team is here in Novo and the General Directors of the Team (who are also our title sponsor, Siberian Railways executives) called a team press conference. Here I got a shot with wrestlings greatest champion, the Russian Bear, Alexander Karelin (3 time Gold Medalist and 4 time Olympian). He is on the board of directors for our club and is also a neighbor at our new house. Training this week and kick off the season next week against defending champs Kazan next week.