UNCW has just finished its inaugural season in beach volleyball. A 10-15 record may seem disappointing but considering the challenges a new program faces, this year was a success. The team saw great improvement as the season progressed and remained competitive throughout.
The addition of freshmen like Courtney Mullinax showcased the future of the program. Courtney is from the Wilmington area and is an example of the strong recruiting that UNCW is doing in the state. Coach Bambenek has recently announced the addition of seven new recruits for the beach program starting next year. A great example of UNCW’s growing recruiting strength is the addition of freshman Hayley Caputo. Hayley comes from one of the top high school beach programs in California.
These recruits prove UNCW is heading in the right direction and next year should see continued improvement.
This is the innagural season for the UNCW beach volleyball team. Considering this is the first season for the new team, their 3 and 4 start can be looked at as a success. The schedule runs from March until the end of April. Guiding the team this year will be coaches Amy Bambenek, David Fischer and assistant Brittany Fennell. Each bring a wealth of playing and coaching experience at all levels to the team.
Coach Bambenek also coaches the UNCW indoor team. She has resurrected the team from one of the league’s worst to a NCAA tournament bid and a CAA championship. Fans hope that she can bring the same success to the beach program.
Photo retrieved from http://www.uncwsports.com by Jeffrey Boulden
Bambenek’s resume is quite extraordinary. She began her playing career at Coastal Carolina where she was a four year starter and led the team to a conference title and a NCAA tournament bid. She also ranks in the top five in several all-time stats for the team. She began her coaching career in 1998 at Florida State as an assistant. There she helped the team win an ACC title and another tournament bid. After three years at FSU Bambenek took an assistant job at George Washington university where she was primarily in charge of recruiting and practicing coordination. In here eight years at GW she coached several players to All-Conference level seasons. Coach Bambenek is also CAP level 1 certified through USA Volleyball. She also holds a Masters of Science in Sports Administration from FSU.
Coach Fischer comes to UNCW after three successful seasons as the University of Louisiana at Monroe head coach. At ULM he coached several pairs of players to All-American honors. Fischer started his playing career at Stanford University where he led the team all the way to the finals of the NCAA tournament. He has also played professional beach volleyball on the AVP tour. He finished fourth in the 2003 Pan Am games. His vast professional and collegiate experience should give the Seahawks an edge against the competition this year.
Coach Fischer’s Professional Career Stats. Data retrieved from www.bvbinfo.com by Jeffrey Boulden
Brittany Fennell will assist the coaching staff this season with recruiting and administrative needs. Brittany was head coach for Village Christian Academy in Fayetteville, NC leading them to a winning record in 2013. Her playing career began at Clemson university where she earned the team’s rookie of the year honors. Fennell helped Clemson to two NCAA tournament appearances. She has also played for a USA volleyball development team in international competition.
The combined experience and expertise of the coaching staff looks to give UNCW beach volleyball a bright future. The team looks to be competitive right away and hopes to make the NCAA tournament within the first few years of competition.
LeBron James is a two time NBA champion and considered by many to be one of the best players in league history. His net worth is estimated at over three hundred million dollars. He has become an international brand and marketing machine. He is also one of the few NBA stars that went directly from high school to the pros.
LeBron burst onto the sports scene in his hometown of Akron, Ohio playing for St. Vincent St. Mary high school. He was an instant star, garnering nation wide attention for his transcendent performances on the court. National media descended upon Akron in the hopes of seeing the best player since Michael Jordan.
“Going to high school with LeBron was life changing. Now everyone knows, if you know anything about sports or basketball, Akron is the home of LeBron James,” said Eddie Mcshaffrey.
Eddie attended St. Vincent St. Mary from 2002 to 2006 and got to experience the rise of LeBron first hand. While in high school LeBron racked up some impressive stats.
Infographic created by Jeffrey Boulden using Microsoft Numbers. All data retrieved from www.uproxx.com
In his senior year LeBron won All-Ohio division II first team, Mr. Basketball in Ohio and the state tournament MVP. After graduation he was the first pick in the 2003 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Mike Jeanmaire also attended St. Vincent St. Mary with Eddie and got to witness the greatness of LeBron.
“Going to high school with a celebrity like LeBron was insane. Everyone always wanted his autograph. Kids even tried to steal his shoes or his jerseys because they knew they could sell them,” said Jeanmaire.
As a testement to LeBron’s growing celebrity, Eddie Mcshaffrey admits that part of the reason he chose to go to school at St. Vincent St. Mary was because of the chance to witness history. High school players are rarely drafted to the NBA and there may never be another as great as LeBron. Eddie considers himself lucky, not many can say that they went to high school with LeBron James.
Women have came a long way in their struggle for equality. Today they can participate in most any endeavor that men can. The realm of sports has been a little slower to change. There are still some sports where some see it as taboo for women to play. One of these sports is rugby. Rugby is a very physical sport that is similar to american football played without any pads. For most of the history of the game, women were not thought to be athletic enough for such a rough sport. Now women all over the world are beginning to take up the sport in growing numbers.
Locally in Wilmington, there is a group of women who are determined to change these misconceptions. The Cape Fear Women’s Rugby club met today at the Flytrap Downs field for an intro to women’s rugby clinic. All women over the age of eighteen were invited to come out and learn the game. The girls started with a few warm-up stretches and then began some practice drills. The returning veteran players helped some of the newer members hone their passing, tackling, and scruming techniques.
Kettie Norton has been playing rugby for several years and is a long standing member of the Cape Fear Women’s Rugby club.
“Last year was our first year, so we are still gaining ground. We have been working with the UNCW women’s rugby to make sure their numbers grow and we grow so everyone can continue to see more growth.”
The event was a great success with several new comers showing interest in the sport. With women’s sports as a whole continuing to gain ground on the men’s, rugby is positioned to be a major new addition.
When asked why she liked rugby Kettie said, “You can as a woman, be a little rough in a game and you don’t have to be refined.”
The view looking from the patio towards the courts and tiki bar at Dig & Dive in Wilmington, NC.
Beach volleyball is a big sport in Wilmington North Carolina. With two major outdoor facilities and the local beaches, there is no shortage of places to play. The best competition in the area can be found at Dig n Dive sports bar and Captain Bill’s outdoor volleyball facility. Adam Hyatt has played in numerous leagues and tournaments at both venues and is one of the area’s best players. I recently got the chance to talk with Adam about the local volleyball scene as well as his thoughts on the game in general.
Adam has been playing volleyball since 2003. He also played club volleyball while attending UNCW. He says he started to get a little more serious into doubles beach volleyball around 2008. I asked him what he thinks about beach volleyball versus playing in a gym. Adam said, “It’s really comparing apples to oranges, It’s two different sports. You have to be able to move faster in the sand than the next guy.” At 6’1 Adam has the height you need as well as the foot speed and quickness to be a good beach player. This is evident by the current 16-0 record Adam’s team currently has in a league at Captain Bill’s. His team also recently made it to the semi-finals of an EVP tournament in Hilton Head South Carolina. Katie Marquez plays in leagues at Dig n Dive and Captain Bill’s and said, “Adam is one of the area’s best players. He has a unique style and is a great teammate.”
I asked Adam to give me some insight on what he thought his strengths were in his game. He said, “I feel I’m pretty good at chasing down the cut shots. A lot of the big guys have trouble controlling the ball when they are hitting as hard as they can. I’ve been working on controlling the hard hit balls.” Adam plays some four man as well as doubles and when asked what he thought makes a good teammate he said, “It’s all about ball control.” Adam described playing with his current teammate and how important ball control and placement are to their success.
The outdoor sand volleyball courts at Dig & Dive in Wilmington, NC.
He has seen a lot of different players and styles and I asked him about some of the harder shots he has seen. He described the “sky ball” serve. This is a serve that is hit as high in the air as possible with spin. The ball gains a tremendous amount of speed as it comes down and it difficult to hit. Adam puts it this way, “The higher it’s hit the harder it is to receive it. It looks like its coming straight down but the spin makes it move in front of you towards the net.” Another favorite shot of Adam’s is the float serve. This is done by hitting the ball with no spin and it causes the ball to move almost like a knuckle ball in baseball. “When you hit the ball it kind of moves with the wind and those can be even harder to hit than a lot of jump serves,” said Adam.
Adam’s next tournament is the Volley America regional tournament coming up October the tenth in Myrtle Beach South Carolina. When asked what he thought his chances would be he said, “It’s a really big tournament with a lot of good players. It should be fun. We will see what happens.” If you want to see Adam in action, he plays in a league at Captain Bill’s and practices with pick up games at Dig n Dive.
