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June 29, 2008

Kenzie Aires
Rivals High



"The purpose of any athletic endeavor is to challenge human limits both on and off the playing field." --Unknown


Each club, school, or otherwise has a code of conduct that athletes are expected to follow. Below are some examples of what all players should adhere to while playing volleyball.



1. Athletes must adhere to all Club and USA Volleyball rules, regulations and policies. This is obvious.

2. Athletes must report any and all injuries to their coaches. This is to promote safety on the court. If you're hurt, you'll probably exacerbate the problem by playing on an injury.

3. Athletes are expected to give 100% effort at all times. 100% effort doesn't mean playing your absolute best at all times. It means that, even if you're hurt or sick, you're doing the best you can manage at that time. Playing your absolute best all the time is impossible.

4. Athletes must be coach able, willing to make technical changes, learn new skills, and display a positive attitude toward practices, teammates and coaches. You're paying your coaches to teach you the game, so why not take advantage of what they have to teach?

5. No jewelry of any kind is allowed in practices or tournaments. Again, this is a safety issue.

6. Athletes must have and wear proper gym apparel to practices and tournaments. That means no high-heels on the court at any time. ;)

7. Athletes that are delinquent in payment of membership dues will not be allowed to practice or compete in tournaments. If there is a family hardship, though, talk to your club director and you should be able to work out a compromise.

8. Athletes must arrive for practice early enough to put on gear, set up nets, and perform any other pre-practice duties before scheduled practice time. If practice starts at 8:00 AM, arriving at 7:55 AM isn't going to cut it. Be there at least 10 minutes early to help set up nets, etc.

9. Athletes must be courteous to officials, opponents and coaches at all times. This is true in all sports.

10. Athletes must arrive early on all tournament days. Sometimes the first match of the day is a clean, 25-11, 25-10 sweep and if your team is late to officiate/play, you'll be penalized. BE ON TIME!!

11. Athletes should remain together as a team during tournaments. Team chemistry and unity is extremely important. I wish more clubs would adhere to this. Cliques within clubs cause rifts in team chemistry. This includes coaches, who should eat and talk on a social level with the team when possible.

12. All practices and tournaments are mandatory. Of course, excused absences (sick, emergency) are understandable. Be sure that you let your coach know well in advance, though, as often coaches will have practice plans requiring a certain number of players and if you don't show up, it might mess everything up.

13. There is no guaranteed playtime. You want to be on the court? Show your coach that you're committed to becoming better.

14. Athletes must commit to their team schedule both physically and financially. Season-ending injuries may be eligible for a prorated refund. Leaving a team in the middle of a season will usually leave your teammates bitter and the club not pleased with you. But, as stated before, talk to your club director if finances are an issue.

15. Under no circumstances will a coach or director be approached about a grievance at an event or during practice. If there is a problem, please contact the team coach to schedule a meeting. Coming to a coach with a problem the day of an event is a terrible idea. The coach will already be busy scouting the other teams and making sure the team is warmed up and ready to go. The last thing they want to deal with is a problem.

Please help to make this great sport enjoyable for everyone by having a positive attitude and not causing problems!

And remember, hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.

Kenzie Aries

Want to read Kenzie's past blogs? Quicksets with Kenzie Blogs

Who is Kenzie?

Kenzie Aries is a 6-foot senior setter and captain at San Dieguito Academy in Encinitas, California. This year alone, Kenzie was named top a Top 25 volleyball player to watch in San Diego County by two regional newspapers. Kenzie was one of twelve players named to 2007 SCVA High Performance volleyball team and earned a Bronze Medal at the championships. She earned a spot on the USA Volleyball High Performance Development A1 Camp. She also played for the Encinitas Wave and the San Diego Volleyball Club.

An interesting fact about Kenzie is that she has been creating websites since 1999. Kenzie's first website was www.beaconsbeach.com. Kenzie's high school volleyball site, www.ridethatpony.com was web site of the month in the January edition of Volleyball Magazine. Kenzie and her personal site, www.kenzilla.com were featured in the July 2007 issue of Volleyball Magazine.


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