A long weekend of volleyball...

...and I'm still walking, somehow :) On friday we played three D1 schools, taking 2 sets throughout the day. It was a lot better than I expected and if was good to see that level of performance from the girls. They have all made their strides during the spring season, and with so much talent coming in next year I am hopeful for their success.

On saturday we played a handful of D2 schools, and a few other levels. We didn't play as well as I had hoped but we finished well, and it was my last college competition so there was a bittersweetness to it. My coach got a little emotional and said she would miss me, I wasn't expecting that since my "formal" goodbye from the team was on senior night. But it was an interesting time to say the least.

With the tournament over on saturday, a lot of the girls were preparing to head back with their parents or head to columbia, sc for the night to participate in the clash coeds grass volleyball tournament. My assistant coach had asked me if I was playing and I informed him that I had been busy and didn't think of playing, and also that nobody asked me to play so I didn't bother. We have always had a tournament the weekend of the clash and were never really able to participate. He then asked if I wanted to play with him and at first I wasn't sure since I had played already 2 full days in a row of over 10 games, but eventually I got a little excited and decided to play :) We had a blast and made it to the playoffs but lost in the first round. We were up and down since we both had barely any experience in outdoor. But like I said we had fun and that made it worth it.

So now college ball is OFFICIALLY done, and my next step is continuing to play at the next level! I'm so excited for this summer in Turkey, but at the same time I'm nervous. But it's the same feeling I had in my gut when I was heading to college clueless of how I measured to the competition, and although there was a lot of work to be done I kept my head straight on the goal and I met it. My dad reminded me of this determination yesterday, and now I'm focusing on it in the same way to carry me forward!

Iyi aksamlar.

50% done!

This morning I woke up at 9 to eat breakfast, and then I head out to the sand court. One whole half of the sand court is completely refurbished! :] 4 hours 3 hours later: new edges, weeded, leveled, and raked. I'm so happy that these small changes have made it look SO MUCH BETTER. Come tuesday I should probably have the whole thing done! The other side still has a lot of work to do but as far as strength needed it's the easier side. The grass that is growing in on that side still has sand under it. The side I finished today was so overgrown it was all dirt. After the whole thing is done I will be putting the new lines down (and praying that nobody messes with them). But I have faith that my fellow students will realize all the work and sweat put into this project and not mess anything up :]

But for now, I must sleep. I play 3 or 4 D1 schools tomorrow and it will be last taste of competition at that level. So I'm pumped of course because I have nothing to lose!

Hoscakalin!

More work done...

...on the sand court today :) I was only out there for an hour but I got to get started on cleaning some of the overgrown grass on one of the corners. This is the worst part of the sand court so once I get this done it will be just a matter of cleaning up the actual sand and the area around it (there are a lot of pine cones and sticks that are very unpleasant to step on). My hope was to have more people helping out but with everyone's schedule I'm just going out there and doing it by myself when I can. I have nothing against doing it by myself, and actually I like doing the work. I just know that everyone will enjoy the court when it is all refurbished ;)

Hoscakalin!

So it's raining...

...which naturally ruins all my plans that I had for the day. I wanted to get out to the sand court and do some more work on cleaning up the edges and the sand. But luckily we don't have any classes tomorrow since it is honors and awards day. So I will probably be on the court after I attend the mandatory fine arts thingy...and then a teammate from cali flew in today to see her boyfriend and I think we are going to be playing some indoor pickup. So at least I will get a taste of volleyball tomorrow :] I am still recovering from yesterdays workout! haha

Iyi aksamlar.

Start to a new beginning....

So I started my new beach workout, courtesy of http://www.beachdig.com/, and my god it's demanding! I knew it was going to be but my breathing has been oh so bad thanks to my allergies. I was sucking air within minutes.

We kind of modified the workout because we needed a little more than 15 seconds of rest in between each workout lol. If anyone else tries the workout please let me know how it goes. I'm trying to get a group of people together doing it because it is something that is easier with other people pushing you.

Hoscakalin! :]

Beach court cleanup: phase 1.

So I organized a cleanup of the sand court here on campus since it desperately needs one and nobody showed up. haha. So I begged 4 guys to help me and they all donation between 30-60 minutes and I did the rest lol. Today the main thing was to get the new edges marked since it is very badly overgrown with grass. I'm looking into getting some sand donated since there will be a lot of new surface area to cover. But I will probably just have to spread the sand from the middle. Anywho, that is what I did today.

Bed time. Up at 6:30 tomorrow morning and then 6s tournament all day here at the college! :)

Iyi aksamlar!

So I found some new gear...

that has caught my eye. The Nfinity series...http://www.nfinity.com/

Nfinity Volleyball Shoe

Signature Nfinity Shoe Case

Ultra Lightweight. The LIGHTEST shoe in its category – 8.4oz

BIONIQ™ Technology to help protect knees

QChannel™ technology to help center the foot & weight when playing

More Gum Rubber on the sole than any performance shoe for best traction

3D NfiniMesh™ keeps the feet cool and dry

NfiniGuard™ around the toe box extends life of the upper

NfiniLock™ keeps the arch locked in position and the foot secure

NfiniFit™ forefoot for a natural fit around the toes and impact area

20 interchangeable color cards for team or style customization

Sizes W 6-12, 13

Nfinity Volleyball Shoe - $99.99
I can deffinately see this being an investment I will make in the future. =]

iyi akşamlar.

It's been a long day. Had a good practice with the team :] Tomorrow ends another week, and that is another week closer to graduation. And of course, Turkiye!

hoşçakalin!

Günaydın!

I started practicing with the team again yesterday and I'm so sore after not playing for a few days. This weekend we have a 6s tournament and we are playing against a few colleges, so I should get a good workout in :) As I get closer and closer to finishing up school and arranging the details for this trip to Turkey I am getting even more excited. I'm trying to learn as much Turkish before I go so I have a slight understanding of what the heck is going on.

Like I said to a friend, I could get by in Argentina with knowing a little bit of spanish, but you can't really fake Turkish. LOL

Hoşçakalin!

Selam!

 Benim adim Brooke. Nasilsiniz? Iyiyim, tesekkurler. Iyi aksamlar. Hoscakalin!

That is what I have learned in one night! I'm excited to learn a new language. I will have to practice it though so I am hoping that I can find a friend on campus that will learn with me so I can speak it often and get an understanding for the actual words and not just memorize them. :]

To new beginnings!

What language is spoken in Turkey...?

Well it seems like the most obvious answer would be Turkish, but you know how some countries have languages that have nothing to do with the name of the country. I thought this might be the case but Turkish is the official language.

So it dawned on me today that it is probably going to be a language unlike any other language I have even attempted to speak before. When I travelled to Argentina it was a lot easier than I anticipated to get around due to 5 years of education in Spanish that I had forgotten and remembered when I needed it the most.

I did some research, and I found a free Turkish lessons online class thingy, http://www.turkishclass.com/, so we shall see how this goes :] If you have nothing better to do feel free to learn along with me!

New pagesss

I updated the about me page and added some purty pictures :) And I also added a page explaining my trip to Turkey. Enjoy =]

So how do you train for beach...?

Well, I really didn't know, but I have done some research ;]

I found this website called www.beachdig.com and it has some workout videos. I plan on attempting to follow the 2 videos to get ready for my adventures over the puddle. Here are the videos if anyone is interested :]

So what's ahead...?

2 months in Turkey playing beach doubles is what's ahead! I have been offered to play in a 9 tournament long tour around Turkey this summer between the months of July and September. I am super pumped, and although I do not know much about the sport of beach volleyball, OR the country of "Turkiye" I plan on doing a lot of homework and training within these next few months! I hope you will all enjoy watching the journey. I have set this blog up for friends and family to keep in touch so feel free to send words of wisdom through comments whenever you would like!

Hellooooo

New blog. I am so excited to document these next few months. More info soon! =D