Today the Puerto Rican National Team will begin competition against Poland, Portugal and Indonesia for one of the last remaining Olympic spots. To keep updated on the results check www.fivb.org. Click “PLAY” below for a Q&A with the high-flying Puerto Rican Star, Hector “PICKY” Soto.
Today, Tuesday May 27, the US Men’s Olympic Volleyball Team faces off against Argentina on the University of California at Irvine campus in the BREN CENTER at 7pm. For more information visit, www.usavolleyball.org
Beijing is closing in…just over 2 months! I made it thru the first week back training with Team USA. It was great to be back in the gym with the guys. It is always a bit of an adjustment because so much volleyball has been played between the last time we all played together until now. It is great to see the improvement that each player has made. The competition is definitely the highest I have seen in all the years that I have been on the team. This makes for all the right ingredients for intense, competitive practices that really brings out the best in everybody. I personally tried to ease back into it and gradually add more to the work load each day. Any time that I take off is great for my body but the first week back is always a shock to the system.
We ended the week with a scrimmage against Argentina on Saturday at Crawford Hall on the UCI campus. We got off to a slow start but took care of business in games 2,3 and 4 winning 3-1.
We have an official “Friendly Match” against Argentina this Tuesday May, 27 again on the campus of UCI in the Bren Center at 7pm. If you are local, come check us out as this will be the ONLY match we will play on the west coast for the entire summer.
Since I launched the website there has been loads of great feedback from LOTS of you! It has been awesome to hear from people all over the world! There have also been some great questions asked. So I will do my best to answer as many as I can.
Question: ”Could you tell me about your workouts and how you stay in shape? Could you give any advice to a college player about where I should focus my time in developing my game and how to do so?” –Hubes18
Great questions. Improve your ability to control your BODY, and improve your ability to control the BALL. That’s the quick and to the point answer to your questions.
After 16 months of straight volley, I finally got a break!! I enjoyed 2 weeks away from the hard-court but never seemed to have time to rest. My wife and I bought a new house, enjoyed lots of food and time with family and friends, a trip to Vegas where number 8 on the craps table was off the hook all topped off with an amazing day in the water yesterday. Some fresh air and much needed!! Most professional sports have the benefit of a 3 month or more off-season to recoup, recharge, regenerate and fire up for the upcoming year. However, in volleyball it is an all year affair for those competing on their respective National Teams. After playing for over a year and a half with NO break, this pause has been long overdue.
But today its back to work and back to my normal routine…breakfast at Plums in Newport Beach and on to Anaheim to get after it. I am looking forward to rejoining the National Team and grinding it out with the guys for yet another summer. We are under 3 months before the big show so its time to buckle down. As promised, I will be posting as much content as possible. I am sorry for the slow content delivery this month due to my time off, but its back to it right here on www.reidpriddy.com also. There have been lots of emails and questions and I will answer those as best and as fast as possible. Summer 2008, HERE WE GO!!
“Hitting the ground running” is a major understatement! My wife and I landed at LAX friday afternoon and we have been 110 mph since. It has been great to see friends and family and eat some familiar food. We are in hot pursuit of a new house and trying to see all the inventory we can in-between meetings and appointments…all the chaos and responsibility that comes from being away from home for 6 months! I mean, just going thru all my mail is like a 2-day endeavor! :/
I have some new content to post here on TRAFFIC soon…a video Q&A with Picky Soto from the Moscow airport; A response to the QUESTION OF THE WEEK asked by one of you; and MORE. So stay tuned…
I also want to extend a congratulations to Penn State for taking the NCAA title this season.