Sunday, November 2, 2014

Welcome home boys!



After 4 nights away from the comforts of their own homes (and mum's), the boys arrived back at school with big smiles across their faces. Some were even lucky enough to have their mum's surprise them at school! 



We've have had an awesome time touring with the guys. What a great bunch of young men they are, and we couldn't have asked to have toured with a better group of students. Our highlight of the tour was the end of tournament banquet last night, and all of the other teams were segregated across the floor. However, our guys decided to link tableS with the host school (ASK), and mix with the boys and girls from their teams. 


Although we didn't come home with a trophy (it's okay, it's okay), our school left a lasting impression on ASK, and with the label as the tournament good guys. We received compliments from other team's coaches regarding our team and the way they approached games with a high level of professionalism, and sportsmanship on the court. Off the court, they were continuously making new friends. 


Thanks to everyone for their support, and keeping updated through the blog. It's been great fun. Next up is the EAC (ECC) champs at DIA this Saturday. Watch out Div. 1 teams! 



See you then,


Mrs and Mr Wood




Saturday, November 1, 2014

Homestay Memories with Miles and Conner




Miles and Conner with their lovely home stay hosts. Thanks Katia and George.


As a host, I always expect to have guests that are pretty serious and very quiet. But, when Miles and Conner got into our car and started cracking up jokes, I knew we were in for a treat. I never knew you could get so close to someone in less than a week, but we did. Conner, Miles, my brother and I became very good friends over this NESAC tournament. Saying that, I feel obligated to let you all know a few of the memories I have together with both boys.

Miles:
As soon as I saw Miles, I thought to myself, “This kid is huge”. When we got home the first night, Miles spent over 20 minutes with Conner, trying to pick what snacks they wanted to eat for the first day. After they had finished filling the bag with snacks they liked, Miles told the bag, “You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” and then he kissed the bag. The next day was the first day of the tournament. I woke up first, so I decided to wake both boys up so that we wouldn’t be late. Miles had slept with his headphones on, and I couldn’t get them off his head. I tried shaking Miles’ head to wake him up, but the noise of the shaking only woke Conner up. When Conner woke up, he tried helping me wake Miles up. It took us 15 minutes to get him off the bed. We urged him to get off the bed, and he responded with “fine.” When he did get off the bed, he crawled on all fours, and slept on the floor for another 10 minutes. 
Wake up Miles, the game's started!

In between games, I went into the gym to drop my bag off. On the other side of the gym, I saw two boys sleeping on the couch. I thought to myself, “How can they sleep with so much noise?” I looked closer, and it was Miles and Conner sleeping on couches right next to each other, and sleeping the exact same way. I decided to take pictures of them sleeping, and it was possibly one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. The picture turned out a lot better than I expected. The next night while Conner was taking  a shower, Miles and I spammed his phone with selfies of Miles and I, and we made them Conner’s home-screen and wallpaper on the phone.  Miles continued to amuse me with his endless jokes, which never ended, throughout their whole stay.

Conner:
Let me begin with saying that Conner has the biggest appetite I’ve ever seen a person have. Ever. In my entire life. And I’m not even exaggerating. After the first day of the tournament, we went to TGI Fridays for dinner. Conner had a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich, and some mac and cheese. After dinner, we got a bunch of little Mentos packages. There was one candy in each package. Conner took all 6 of them. When he tried opening the first one, It didn’t open. So I laughed at him, and told him he was a disappointment. He then said, “No I’m not.” As soon as he said that, the Mentos package dropped, and the Mentos shattered into pieces. After that, he tried opening the second package. It took him 7 minutes to open it. He actually, and genuinely broke a sweat trying to open it. 
Apparently Conner does this in class all the time!

When we got home, my mom told Conner and Miles that she had made pumpkin pie. Conner sprinted up the stairs and into the kitchen. He had four slices of pumpkin pie, and he chugged a liter of milk. Miles was encouraging him the whole time. Conner then claimed he was pregnant with pumpkin babies, because he had so much pie. The next day, my mom made pumpkin pancakes since they liked the pie. Conner was the first person to wake up, take a shower, and get ready. I was still in my PJ’s while Conner had already sat down to have breakfast. Conner always made me laugh with his Kanye West jokes, and our ability to make Miles feel bad about the picture we took of him sleeping.

Conner and Miles will continue to be my friends, and I’m glad I will get to see them again in February for the JV Basketball tournament in Qatar. I will miss seeing them everyday, and having breakfast with them. They were so polite, and sweet and they have the best qualities a person could have. I hope they had an amazing time at our home, because I know our whole family did. Thank you, Conner and Miles for an amazing experience!

Your Greek hosts,

Katia and George

Our trophy!

We may have finished 4th, but across the road from the school we found a trophy store and a convenience store. Every young man's dream come true.

Who needs a trophy when you have a large inflatable volleyball!


Semi vs AISK (Kuwait)


Unfortunately our boys went down to AISK in the 3rd set, 26-24. 



3rd set timeout

The boys went down in the 1st, and fought back in the 2nd to claim a 1-all game. We started the 3rd strong, and at the switch scores were locked at 15-15. The momentum of the game swung back and forth, until we had match point. Unfortunately, AISK called an ‘illegal’ timeout which disrupted the flow of our game. After a few minutes of heated discussion between the ref and opposition coaches, AISK broke serve, and served for the win that booked them a spot in the final against ASK.

Anticipating the serve
As coaches it is our duty to lead by example, and model sportsmanlike behavior regardless if the result is fair or unfair. Our boys demonstrated sportsmanship right throughout the tournament. They have been gracious in defeat and shown respect towards their opponents. So much can be gained from a tough loss, and the boys can take with them the positives and move onwards and upwards.

We are proud of you Dragons. Our 3rd place playoff will be against AISR (Saudi Arabia). Let’s get ready for our final game of the tournament, and finish on a high.

The crowd right behind the Dragons.


                    Abdi leading the pre-game chant. I believe!

Friday, October 31, 2014

WE BELIEVE!

Saturday - Finals Day


GWA is seeded 2 for tomorrow's final day of action. Our first game is at 11:30 am vs AISK (Kuwait). The boys are confident, yet level headed and understand the importance of respecting our opponents.

If you think that we aren't ready for tomorrow's must win games, then check out the video below, it says it all! 




Game 5 vs QA (Qatar)

5th Game Review.
By Abdi. Edited by Lexi
Another long day, but 2 wins from 2. Well done Dragons!


The JV boys played their 5th game against Qatar Academy today. They won a very intriguing 1st set with a final score of 25-11 for the Dragons. Unfortunately the Dragons lost their momentum after the 2nd set and lost to a score of 20-25. Nevertheless the boys cleaned up their act after the 2nd set and came out victorious with a score of 25-19 in the 3rd set to win the game.


Thanks to Abdi and Alex for a well written match report.

Conner with the game winning serve.




Game 4 vs AISK (Kuwait)

How the table looks
First serve, Game 4




The boys got off to a flyer this morning, beating the unbeaten AISK in 2 sets. They played an exciting brand of volleyball with an excellent display of teamwork and well executed shots

Each player of the starting 6 played a pivotal role in beating the Lions. Mentionable performances go to Sergio (powerful spikes and serves), Miles (solid blocks) and Andrea (all-round performance). Colin (team captain) has been very vocal on court, and continues to rally the boys around him. We couldn't be happier with the boys at the moment and the way they have conducted themselves at the tournament. Great stuff so far Dragons! 

Our final game of the round starts @ 1:40pm vs Qatar Academy. Let's make it 4 from 5!
Dragons on 3!

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Game 3 vs ACS (Amman, Jordan)

2 from 3

1st Set

2nd Set

Well played today Dragons.



The boys had a successful finish to Day 1 with a straightforward win over ACS. We knew this was going to the toughest game of the day given the fact that it was a late afternoon start and our 3rd game in 7 hours. Some of the boys departed their home stays at 4:15 am this morning, and we are super proud of their efforts today. 

There are 2 games tomorrow (Friday) with the first one starting at 9am vs AISK (Kuwait). Thank you for your support from afar, and don't forget to visit the blog again in the morning for more updates.From Dragons in Kuwait, Good night! 

Important note to parents: Our boys have been informed of the current security threat provided by the US Embassy in Kuwait. We are responsible for our players, and as a result we have told them that they are not to visit malls at night time. Our decision was based on a discussion we had with coaches who are based at schools in Kuwait. We will continue to contact your children prior to bedtime, but we also urge parents to do the same (we are sure that you do anyway). The boys are aware that they can contact Mrs Wood at anytime (24/7).http://kuwait.usembassy.gov/emergency_messages/emergency-messages-14/emergency-message-2014-7.html


Game 2 vs ASK (Kuwait)


Match point - Andrea with the serve.

Home crowd is building. It's getting noisy in here!

What a comeback!

Good form shown by our blockers.
The boys were down 1 set to nil, and fought back in the 2nd to win 25-20. Finally, they  found their stride, and their communication and positioning was much better. They took it easy on their hosts in the 1st set and realized they had a challenge ahead of them. A few encouraging yet stern words from Mrs Wood after the opening set ensured the boys were focused, and ready to claim their 1st set of the tournament.

Going into the final set we had the momentum, and what a clinical performance it was! We were up 9-2 at one stage and on target to claim our first victory of the tournament. With the massive home crowd advantage cheering on the ASK Falcons, it wasn't enough to stop our boys from winning our 1st game of the day. Final score, 25-16.

The boys have finally woken up and are ready to play. It took a while, but they have found their feet. With this winning momentum, we hope to finish the day on a high and claim 2 wins, with our final game due to start @ 4:10 pm vs ACS (Amman).

The boys are well fed with Subway, and are socializing with other teams.

1-1, going into the 3rd










Sergio with a booming spike!

Game 1 vs AISR (Saudi Arabia)


Game 1 Match Report

The boys got off to a slow start this morning going down to AISR in 2 sets (10-25, 21-25).

We had a much better 2nd set with GWA leading at various stages early on, however AISR came away with the win in the end.

Despite limited sleep, the boys are still in high spirits. It's back to the drawing board for us and time to re-strategize for game 2 vs ASK (host school). More photos to follow.


Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Player Profiles

Name: Miles

Age: 15

Hometown: Sydney, Australia

Nickname: Tree

What are you looking forward to most on tour? Doing stuff…


Your greatest GWA sporting moment: Representing Varsity basketball.




Name: Conner

Age: 15

Hometown: New York, USA

Nickname: White Dynamite

What are you looking forward to most on tour? Playing a bunch of volleyball games everyday.

Your greatest GWA sporting moment: U14 Hail Mary basketball pass to win the game.




Name: Sergio

Age: 15

Hometown: Madrid, Spain

Nickname: Serg

What are you looking forward to most on tour? Having fun and making new friends.

Your greatest GWA sporting moment: This tour. Getting to know the team players better and to hopefully win the tournament.



Name: Abdulla

Age: 15

Hometown: California and Ottawa

Nickname: Abdi

What are you looking forward to most on tour: Winning.

Your greatest GWA sporting moment: Making the volleyball team.




Name: Andrea

Age: 14

Hometown: Milan, Italy

Nickname: (Just ) Andrea.

What are you looking forward to most on tour: Having fun!

Your greatest GWA sporting moment: Beating DIA.





Name: Hasan

Age: 15

Hometown: Caledon, Ontario, Canada

Nickname: Abdulla

What are you looking forward to most on tour: Winning and having fun!

Your greatest GWA sporting moment: Still waiting for it, hopefully this tour.




Name: Colin

Age: 14

Hometown: Montpellier, France

Nickname: Still searching for one...

What are you looking forward to most on tour: Having fun with my friends.

Your greatest GWA sporting moment: Beating DIA.






Name: Alex

Age: 15

Hometown: Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Nickname: Lexi

What are you looking forward to most on tour: I am looking forward to exploring new volleyball skills, and ultimately having fun.

Your greatest GWA sporting moment: Playing my first GWA volleyball game.