Pre-season Begins

It's that time of year when the team is now selected and getting to know each other both on the court and off becomes a priority. This year we took a different approach to both of these goals and each has turned out to be very rewarding, a lot of fun and educational.

First off the court we had a team scavenger hunt, the team was broken down into small groups - with a vet or two combined with rookies. Did I mention that we have 12 rookies this season. Wow! I've never coached a team this young before but their enthusiasm will make up for their experience I'm sure. So our rookies currently out number our vets - one of the vets made a joke about it being a whole team something I honestly didn't even think about. But she's right in fact I think I may have more rookies than some OUA teams have players right now. Oy Vey!

Back to the scavenger hunt - we did all kinds of stuff to get to know Kingston better like ride the trolley, find art deco pieces along the Waterfront trail, find Frontenac memorabilia and hang upside down on the monkey bars. For some that experience was a first. Overall a great time was had by all and it finished with the team going to watch the football team beat Laurier. Go Gaels!

On the court we attended the University of Montreal tournament this past weekend. Usually this is a tournament where we get to see how the old blend with the new, but not this weekend. With vets recovering from injuries it turned out to be a weekend the rookies I'm sure will never forget. They all got an early taste of the speed, power and competitive nature of CIS volleyball. They learned early that the mistakes you can overcome in high school and club will cost you a close set and eventually a match. These are lessons that often it takes years to teach and they all learned it in one weekend. It was risky playing all rookies as we could have been badly beaten every single set but instead we were in each game. In fact a couple of matches had us leading by 4-5 to start.

I was really happy with what the youngsters had to show and it bodes well for this program's future. Now I just have to see what the vets are able to bring to the table to get an idea of where we stand as a team this year. This upcoming weekend we head to Ottawa. All the vets but two will be able to play so I look forward to combining the two groups this weekend.

Hope you are having an excellent day and when you get a chance don't forget to support the women's volleyball program. You can do so by clicking on the following link: www.givetoqueens.ca/w-volleyball

Talk soon,

Joely

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,

Our first “game report” newsletter of the season – an 86-60 win over RMC.

We hosted our Alumni on the weekend, which included an Alumni game (great battle ending with a one-point game), an exhibition game with cross-town rivals, the RMC Paladins and a post-game reception and Silent Auction.

The players have been anxiously awaiting the opportunity to don the gold jerseys after of long summer of training. The work they put in over the summer was quite evident as players were noticeably stronger, fitted and better skilled. We had early success in the game, picking up in the full court and forcing many turnovers. This led to many transition points allowing us to rack up 33 first quarter points. However, we did surrender 16 points – not a favourable number. The second quarter points slowed considerably on both sides, with Q’s holding an 18-7 advantage. With the comfortable lead, we began to explore other aspects of our defence, only to find out that much work needs to be done. Certainly, we know where our focus will be over the next few weeks. (Q’s Sports Info report below)

Assistant Coach, Bob Freeman did an excellent job of spearheading our post game reception and Silent Auction. Parents, Peggy Reid, Dianne Wright and Jan Patterson did an outstanding job of setting up the Alumni Lounge for the event and helping with all the details. While I do not have the final tally of the funds raised, I do know we raised in the multiple thousands of dollars meaning we will be able to pay off the rest of the $8,000 shooting machine, contribute to our Athletic Financial Awards (Athletic Scholarships), and support some out-of-province travel. Thank you to everyone who provided the auction items and supported us with their bids.

Also at the reception, former/current players had the opportunity to recognize five past coaches of our program: Janet Sanderson, Sam Miller, Jennifer Robertson-Wilson, Tim Orpin and Adam Lynn. It was clear from the presentations that each played a significant role in the lives of the players who played for them. Our program will be forever indebted to them for the contributions they made (and continue to make).

Quick Update: Join our Queen’s University Women’s Basketball page on Facebook, and follow me on Twitter @ CoachDaveWilson

Up Next on the Road:

Bishop’s University Tournament:

Friday, October 14 @ Bishop’s 8pm

Saturday, October 15 vs. Quebec Dynamo 6pm (@ Bishop’s)

Sunday, October 16 vs. Toronto 11am (@ Bishop’s)

Enjoy the great fall weather (at least in our neck of the woods).

Dave.

Gaels win vs York Lions

Hi folks,

Playing against the elements yesterday we were able to pull out a big win that started with our defence and aggressiveness to the ball. This area has been an area of strength for us in the past and it was good to see the players return to form against York last night.

Big thanks go to Jeff Chan for coming out and taking photos of the team even in less-than-stellar lighting conditions. Thanks, Jeff! It's great to see you covering all the Gaels sports so well! On that note, there have been several photographers who have been taking on our home games this year and sharing their work with the team. Thanks to Greg Black, Michael Parkinson and my aunt, Anne Potter, for not coming out but also for making an effort to learn the game in order to take great photos.

It was also great to see many of our alumni out at the game yesterday - I know I'm going to forget a few people here, please forgive me, but - it was wonderful to see Dr. Paige Churchill, Brenna Dickison, Sarah Moussadji and Lisa Burnside out as well as Dani Maidany, Kait Pasic and Jocelyn Poirier.

We'll look forward to a week of focussed, hard work in our preparation for McMaster next weekend. I'm sure many of our team will also be out supporting the men's team today as they play the Marauders today as well.

All the best,
Beth

What I learned from my experience this summer

Well it's been just about a month since I returned from adventures with the FISU Games Team and I have tried to use that time to really put my experiences in perspective. I have learned so much from this summer and gained so much largely because I was open to what the experience could possibly teach me. Afterall, it's not every day you work with some of the top athletes in the CIS let alone the player of the year. Add to that being mentored by two coaches whose programs have consistently been in the top 10 over the past couple of years and I knew that I'd come out of the summer having gained a wealth of knowledge. Now it's up to me to filter all that I learned and use what is appropriate to the current team. So much from the summer would have been awesome with my team last year because they were seasoned vets, I didn't have to start from scratch. Now it's about slowly teaching this new class of athletes what the Gaels volleyball program is about while taking some of the most important pieces from the summer puzzle and applying them here. Some of the lessons were personal, but most were volleyball related so I will share the volleyball lessons with you here.

So without further ado some of the lessons I took away from the summer were:

1. Midline, midline, midline - the best in the world work hard to pass balls in their midline, they shuffle and get their bodies behind the ball by understanding their space and knowing what their strengths are for movement - do I move faster forward or back, right to left or vice versa - this sets up how they stand on serve receive so that they can play to their strengths first. They use their arms only when they need to angle balls that are outside their midline.

2. A great player is a great player regardless of size. Brazil won with a 5'10" OH who had a fantastic arm swing and could hit any angle she wanted. She dominated the match. The same went for the 5'10" OH who played for China in the Gold medal match - also very dominant.

3. Jump float serves are performed by 90% of the teams now. Very few spin servers were seen and those who did spin had an alarming accuracy in respect to where they could place the ball.

4. Ball control and the execution of a solid pass is vital to success - every one of the teams in the top 4 had exceptional ball control. Almost every serve receive or defensive pass were perfect and every freeball was perfect so that they could run their offense.

5. Setters come with all different techniques, but the one that I really liked was the fast release using the wrists and hands instead of the arms to get the ball to the antenna. It takes a lot of training and time but the setters that used that method showed greater efficiency overall.

Well, that's my top 5 volleyball related lessons. I'm really glad I had the opportunity to be a part of the FISU program this summer and look forward to applying what I've learned with the team here at Queen's.

Inaugural game at New Turf Field

Today the Women's Gaels have the opportunity to play the inaugural game at the New Turf Field at West Campus. We had our weekly pre-game run through on the field last night and the players had a chance to see the field and envision the game set up for tomorrow's 4:30pm kickoff.

Last week was a good start for the team with a 38-22 win over the Trent Excalibur. We hope to continue this winning note as we work a few more players into the starting and dressing spots to create opportunities to see them play.

Hope to see you at the game - swing through after the Football Gaels finish their game against Laurier...

Cheers,
Beth

2-0 to start the season

We played a solid game vs. Trent University yesterday at Richardson Stadium to earn 3 points, and stay undefeated for the season. It has been a good start so far, but we need to make sure we continue to work hard, focus on the things that need improving, and build on our strengths. Defensively, we were solid, giving them very little time and space on the ball to get anything going. I'm pleased with the result, and more so at the fact that we didn't concede any goals. We now look ahead to RMC on Friday at Tindall Field at 5:45 p.m.

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all the alumni who joined us this past weekend. For those who couldn't make it, I know you are following us online. I will continue to pass on your inspiring words to the team as you wish. The fan support was fantastic yesterday afternoon, with a turnout probably close to 100+. Lets build on this!

Until next time...

Coach Gencarelli

3 points at a time...

While we are extremely pleased with the victory at Carleton yesterday, this is only 3 points of hopefully many this season. We need to keep our feet on the ground, and our heads on straight to prepare for a well-coached and organized Trent Excalibur visiting Richardson Stadium on Sunday at 3:15 p.m.

I give credit to Carleton. They were organized and strong defensively. We scored an early goal, which really lifted the boys to a new level, and they maintained a high level of play throughout the match. We played strong defensively across the pitch. Everyone bought into their defensive roles, and as a result, we were prepared to win first and second balls. We played with a level of determination and resiliency that can really be the identity of this team this season. We sacrificed ourselves, for the benefit of the team, and in doing so, were able to come home with a 2-0 victory. The full game report can be viewed at www.gogaelsgo.com/soccer-m.

Our next game is our home opener on Sunday vs. Trent University at 3:15 p.m. Homecoming takes place on Saturday, and we're looking forward to hosting our alumni that evening. Assistant Coach Mike Zanetti will be sending out an email shortly with event information and an itinerary for the day. We're hoping all of you can stick around and support the boys from the stands on Sunday!

Thank you for your continued support, and I look forward to seeing many of you on Saturday.

Coach Gencarelli

Season opener two days away

Hello Men's Soccer Gaels supporters,

As I'm sure you are all aware, we are days away from our season opener vs. Carleton Ravens in Ottawa. To say there is excitement in the air is an understatement. One of our goals this year is to have a better start to the season than we did last year (in which we started 1-2-1 in our first 4 games). Carleton is coming off two impressive victories against Ryerson and U of Toronto in Toronto, so I'm sure their confidence is at an all time high. We must bring the same confidence into this match, as the Queen's - Carleton rivalry is as strong as ever.

Playing Carleton away from home is always a true test to see where we're at with respect to the OUA's elite. The same can be said this year, and I'm hoping we find the result we're looking for.

3 points at a time...

Coach Gencarelli

Exhibition Season Opens

Hello Gaels followers!

We are 3.5 hours away from kickoff for our first exhibition game vs Concordia University. Come join us at Tindall Field to see a great, early-season match up.

Next exhibition is on Saturday, Sept 3 at 1pm vs McGill University. This will lead up to our first OUA league game of the season which will also be at Tindall Field on Sept 10th. The Queen's women will kickoff at 1pm vs Trent and the Queen's men will kickoff at 3pm vs the University of Toronto Blues.

Cheers,
Beth