Mid-Season Beach vBall Newsletter – 2009
This is the best 1st half of a beach vBall season I can recall, despite my team, Danger Zone getting off to a slow start. (Don’t sleep on us!) The league is robust this year, boasting 10 teams. This means many familiar faces, and the pleasure of meeting many new ones. The vBall sidelines are extremely social, if you are reading this and aren’t a member of the league, I encourage you to join us as a spectator. The action this year is amazing.
I’ve mentioned this in previous newsletters, but it’s worth repeating. Just a few seasons ago this was a league that had only two teams competing for the trophy, and four or so others just battling to stay out of the basement. Chi-Town Fusion was the first to crack this mold, and now there are all kinds of talented teams seeping through onto the premiere stage. A look at the standings tells the story right away. The reigning beach champs, Da Heavy Hitters sit atop the standings, wh
ich itself is not surprising. But, they are not undefeated as they have been at mid-season many times before. As a matter of fact, they are only one game ahead of Beach Patrol. This team has many faces from "You Got Served," a contending team in recent seasons. Not surprising they are doing well, but 10 – 2 is pretty damn good. Then you have Chi-Town Fusion tied with Nothin But Net at 9 – 3. This team (Nothing But Net) is a big surprise in my opinion. Although most of the players have been around the league, both on the beach and indoor, I don’t think many would have expected them to be tied for the third-best record. On the other side of the surprise coin is Notorious D.I.G. This team has been together for several seasons, and in all seriousness, have the talent to contend for a trophy. Why they are below .500 is a mystery to me. That being said, I’m in no hurry to play them. Despite a sub-par record, they have good team chemistry, height (which we know can’t be taught) and they play for fun. At any time they could go on a streak, leaving ribbons and shards of their opponents behind. And they’d do it laughing with great sportsmanship.
At mid-season, the top five teams are .500 or better, the bottom five below .500. A poetic distribution indeed. Another departure from a few seasons ago will be the elimination of two teams when the playoffs start. No more limping through the entire regular season with a guaranteed playoff berth…these next few weeks will make or break some dreams. But all is not lost yet! There’s plenty of volleyball left to play. The schedule has many of the mid-pack and lower-seed teams playing each other in the coming weeks, which can drastically shake things up. I’m excited to see, (and play) the next few weeks!
–TreoBenny