Monday, November 30, 2009

Happy Birthday Lucy!

Happy 18th Birthday Miss Fricker!
No more permission slips for you!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Gobble Gobble!


HAPPY TURKEY DAY FROM SAINT LEO VOLLEYBALL!!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Awards Season


The playing season may have ended, but now it's time for the individual awards to start coming out, and today both the Daktronics and AVCA All Region Teams were announced with a lot of green and gold on them! Saint Leo had 4 players named to the Daktronics Teams, the most of any team on the list, and also placed 4 on the AVCA South Region Team.

Daktronics All Region
First Team

Kaitlin McKenna
Second Team

Danielle Bletso
Michelle Nogueras
Bruna Rocha

AVCA All South Region
Emily Calderon-Reyes
Michelle Nogueras
Kaitlin McKenna
Honorable Mention

Bruna Rocha

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE PLAYERS!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Chris' Corner: Tricks of the Trade From Your Friendly Neighboorhood Certified Athletic Trainer

Welcome to the final edition of Chris' Corner (at least for the foreseeable future). I'm not going to lie to you gang, this is a tough one to write and I'm getting very choked up doing so. If you'll forgive me I'm not much in the mood to discuss education this week but rather to reflect on the season that was.

And what a tremendous ride!!! Right from the pre-season I could tell this was a special group. I've never coached a volleyball game in my life and my knowledge of the sport is still growing, but having been a part of athletics in some capacity my whole life it was easy to see this team would go far. All the physical skills and personnel were there but more than that this was a true team! The kind that doesn't come around that often. Just to put it into perspective here are some numbers:
- 30-4 overall record (best winning percentage in program and school (?) history)
- Ranked #12 in the nation (highest ranking in program history)
- Countless SSC offensive and defensive player of the week honors along with a National
player of the week
- 5 players on the All-SSC Team (most in the Conference and most in program history)
- SSC Conference Champions (first in program history)
- Making the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament (first time in program and school
history)
- Sam Cibrone SSC Coach of the Year (first time in program history)
Not too shabby when you add it all up. Not too shabby at all!

In my world it was a dream season as well. Not one player had to miss match time due to injury! With the type of schedule we play that is huge. Plenty of bumps and bruises along the way and plenty of quality time in the Athletic Training Room, but these athletes are tough as nails and were always ready to go when the bell rang.

Plenty of sentiments were shared by players, coaches and yours truly in the locker room after the final match, and that's where they will stay. But let me tell you this: As an Athletic Training student and as a Professional I have been fortunate to work at every level of athletics, from high school to professional sports. I have never loved, cared so deeply for, or been so immersed in a team as I have for this one. Coaches and players alike, there is not one person involved with this team I would not call my friend and do anything for. And I know that same sentiment is true across the board. When you boil it all down, that is the true reason for our success this season.

As an Athletic Trainer you tend to operate somewhat on the periphery of the teams you work with. You are a part of things but not really a part of the team. Not true with this team. From day one an effort was made by coaches and players alike to include me in every team function, every team meal, everything. And the trust put in me by the coaches and players is something I will always remember. When talking with friends, relatives and co-workers it always felt natural for me to say "We" and not "They", and for that I can't thank you enough. It has been an honor and a privilege to care for you this season and a heck of a lot of fun to contribute to this blog in my little way.

Cherish the season that was, look forward to the season that will be.

Signing off from Chris' Corner.

An Amazing Season

Unfortunately, Saint Leo could not overcome Tampa last night, as the Lions fell in 3 sets to the Spartans. The crowd was amazing, thank you so much to everyone who came out to support us! The list of accomplishments from this season is huge (and will come on here soon) and the coaches are so proud of our players!

On a personal note, it has been so much fun writing this blog! I love this team, I love Saint Leo, and I hope that I've been able to show that to everyone who has read this. Thank you for reading!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

A Rubber Match at the Regional Championship

Saint Leo and Tampa are tied 1-1 on the season, tied for 1st in the SSC Standings, share the 2009 Sunshine State Conference Championship, and are neck-and-neck in the NCAA Regional rankings... so why not have the tie breaking match as the 2009 NCAA South Regional Championship?

Match time is 7:00pm, links to video, audio, and live stats can be found at saintleolions.com.

Friday, November 20, 2009

SWEET 16!!!

We said it wouldn't be easy, and boy it wasn't, but the Saint Leo Volleyball team won their 2nd round match against the University of West Florida to make it to the SWEET SIXTEEN! 5 sets led by Danielle and Bruna match us up against the University of Tampa tomorrow night at 7:00pm...

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Onto 32

The second 2009 sweep of UNA by the Leo Lions sends us to the second round in this year's NCAA Tournament. With the win, the Lions will face the Argos of University of West Florida. This will be the third meeting of the season between the two teams, with Saint Leo holding a 2-0 record on the year.

It isn't easy to beat a team three times in one season, so the players are getting their rest and the coaches are working on video to keep our NCAA run going!

ROUND 1

It's finally here! Today the Lions open up play in the NCAA Tournament at 2:30pm vs. the University of North Alabama. There are lots of links to get your SLU volleyball fix!

Monday, November 16, 2009

NCAA 1st Round

Chris' Corner: Tricks of the Trade From Your Friendly Neighborhood Certified Athletic Trainer

Before we get started this week I have to send out a monster CONGRATULATIONS to the team after winning the Conference Championship! Another first in a season of firsts! I have no doubt this trend will continue in the Big Dance this week.

On to education. This week I want to touch on one of the "dirty little secrets" of sports: performance enhancing drugs (PED). More specifically, why you should never take PED. PED's are not limited to steroids. Caffeine, if taken in large quantities, is considered a PED. Besides the ethical issues associated with cheating, PED's wreak havoc on the body. Your body wants to maintain a steady state of all its functions, called homeostasis. When this state of affairs is disrupted the body manipulates all its functions to try and regain homeostasis. Blood pressure, hormonal functions, even brain activity, changes as a result. An easy example to illustrate this involves changes resulting from abusing anabolic steroids. As you artificially increase your blood testosterone levels your body senses this increase and tries to regain balance. It accomplishes this in two ways. First it will stop producing its own testosterone. Second, it will increase its production of estrogen to counteract the increase in testosterone. The effects of prolonged steroid use are well documented. Because of these hormonal changes men are apt to develop female traits such as breasts, as well as shrunken testicles and low sperm count. Not to mention the effects on bones and joints. As muscles are able to produce more and more force bones, ligaments and tendons can't handle the increased load. You are likely to tear bones and/or soft tissue and develop early onset arthritis. Furthermore, steroids are lipid based hormones, meaning increased fat levels, increased blood pressure, increased load on the cardiovascular system equaling heart disease. Quite a price to pay for artificial glory.

In my world this week the injury report is back to zero after a minor hiccup. A good thing heading into the NCAA tournament. I see or hear about other teams having injuries and knock on wood that our good fortune continues in this regard. Completely off the subject, knowing that we would be driving at night back and forth to Nova with the AC blasting in the vans the whole time I had the foresight to bring along the Snuggie. Let me tell you gang, after actually using it as intended I'm a believer. The Snuggie is legit!

Stay away from PED's, get rowdy at the tournament and we'll see you next time on Chris' Corner.

NCAA Regional Brackets Announced

After three years in a row of waiting by the computer to hear if Leo made it in to the NCAA Tournament, 2009 brought a #2 seed in the South Region and wait to see who we'll be playing... it's a nice feeling!

Saint Leo will be facing the University of North Alabama (#7) on Thursday, November 19 at 2:30pm at the University of Tampa. Keep checking back here for more information and blogs from the tourney!

The full NCAA Bracket can be found at this link.

REGIONAL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
hosted by the University of Tampa

Thursday, November 19, 2009
#3 West Florida vs. #6 Lynn – 12:00 pm
#2 Saint Leo vs. #7 North Alabama – 2:30 pm
#4 Eckerd vs. #5 Nova Southeastern – 5:00 pm
#1 Tampa vs. #8 Albany State – 7:30 pm

Friday, November 20, 2009
Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 – 5:00 pm
Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 – 7:30 pm

Saturday, November 21, 2009
Winner of Semifinal 1 vs. Winner of Semifinal 2 – 7:00 pm




MySpace Countdown

Saturday, November 14, 2009

SSC CHAMPS!


SAINT LEO VOLLEYBALL
2009 SUNSHINE STATE CONFERENCE CO-CHAMPIONS!

Click here for the link to the game story.

Sunny, Cool-ish Fort Lauderdale

Good morning from Fort Lauderdale! The Lions Volleyball team is just waking up after a late drive into town last night. The ladies went to all their classes, had a little practice, dinner, and then hit the road for our last regular season match against Nova Southeastern.

The match is at 4:00pm, and the live feed can be found through Penn Atlantic.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Veteran's Day

Yes, the Lions spent last night completing a season sweep of Florida Southern, but today we want to thank all of the men and women who have served our country and helped us live our lives in the freedom that so many of us take for granted. Saint Leo has a large investment in the military community, and there are no words to truly express how grateful we are for all you do!

Special recognition to Chris McDonald, our Certified Athletic Trainer. You take care of our girls now, you served our country. You are absolutely our hero, and we are proud to have you as a part of our Leo volleyball family!

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Chris' Corner: Tricks of the trade from your friendly neighboorhod Certified Athletic Trainer

This weeks' edition of Chris' Corner will cover a subject some of you may be wondering about. What is it that is going on when you see or hear about athletes lying on treatment tables with wires coming off their bodies? What is being applied to them are various therapeutic modalities. Specifically in this case either electrical stimulation or ultrasound. How do these help? In various ways. One of the most common applications of electrical stimulation (e-stim) involves pain control. By introducing an electrical current you stimulate sensory nerve endings which deliver their message to the brain faster than nerves that send pain messages. In this way, at least temporarily, you control the pain associated with an injury. Other e-stim waveforms can be used to help control/eliminate swelling or to introduce medication into the body. Ultrasound works differently. It can be used as a deep heating modality, reaching tissues as deep as 5cm and increasing tissue temperature 4 degrees Celsius or more in a relatively short amount of time. This is useful in increasing local blood flow and increasing tissue extensibility, think getting ultrasound before activity. Ultrasound also has non-thermal properties though. These include stimulation of white blood cells, called phagocytes, to remove dead and damaged cells at the site of injury, stimulation of repair cells, called fibroblasts, to begin laying down new tissue and increasing cell membrane permeability thereby allowing cells to function more efficiently. The non-thermal properties of ultrasound are very useful when applied to an acute or sub-acute injury. As an Athletic Trainer you must guard against falling into "cookbook" applications of these modalities. Just as no two injuries are exactly the same, you must take the time to think about what you are trying to accomplish with modalities and manipulate your treatment parameters to achieve the greatest effect.

Wow, that was fun! Now on to the court. Unfortunately, the team saw their amazing win streak stopped by Tampa this week but were able to regroup and get back to business against Eckerd. A few scares this week in my world, both involving fingers. Luckily, however, as has been our good fortune this season no one had to miss playing time. The seniors said goodbye to their home court for the last four years this week. They couldn't ask for a better season to culminate their college careers. Michelle, Brittany and Chelsea, it's been a privilege taking care of you the last two years. Thanks for making me feel like a part of your team (and for your kind words and special gift at the senior match!). Now let's finish it off with a conference and national championship!

Hang on for the stretch run, it's going to be a blast! See you next time on Chris' Corner.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Senior Sweep

Saint Leo posted their 26th win of the season today in a 3 set sweep of Eckerd College, and more impressively, the seniors posted their 100th win! We are very proud of this class, and excited to finish the season strong with them!

Michelle Nogueras

Chelsea Armer

Brittany Fuhr

SENIOR GAME!


CONGRATS SENIORS! WE LOVE YOU!

Kait is REALLY Smart


Congratulations to Junior Kaitlin McKenna on her selection to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team. McKenna is an Accounting major with a 3.84 GPA. Click here for the full release on the Saint Leo Athletics website.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Tough Loss

The amazing streak of the 2009 Lions Volleyball Team came to an end tonight against the University of Tampa. In front of an outstanding crowd of over 800, the Lions played two great sets, but the run by Tampa in the end of the second set to win was a hit Leo could not come back from.

Now it's back to practice to prepare for our match against Eckerd on Saturday, our seniors' last home game! 4pm, let's send them out right!

Spear the Spartans!

Saint Leo vs. University of Tampa
at home tonight!

7:00pm
BE THERE!!


If you can't be there in person, watch us online
through the SLU Athletics site at this link.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Congratulations Women's Soccer!

The volleyball team wants to congratulate the Saint Leo Women's Soccer team in their SSC Tournament quarterfinal game tonight over Nova Southeastern!
Keep it up ladies, good luck against Rollins on Friday!

The Wii Video... FINALLY!

More Halloween Fun

Monday, November 2, 2009

11-04 News

Saint Leo Volleyball Supports 3-Day Walk

On Sunday, November 1st, the Saint Leo Volleyball team along with over 100 other Saint Leo athletes spent a few hours cheering on the walkers at the 2009 Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk for the Cure in St. Petersburg, FL.

Kait McKenna getting her cheer on!

Corey Ryan, Kim Nuckols, Lucy Fricker and Meghan Donovan pink it out!

Emily Calderon and Brittany Fuhr with their interesting and supportive sign.

Truly a reflection of the Saint Leo Core Value of Community! We could not be prouder of our girls and all of the athletes who gave their time!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Chris' Corner: Tricks of the trade from your friendly neighboorhod Certified Athletic Trainer

Another first this week on Chris' Corner. For a few months now I've been rambling on about various and sundry topics as I think of them each week. Since we expect to be playing for another month I figured I would ask for your input. Let me know what you would like to read about. Maybe you know someone who just had surgery, maybe you have a particular injury and would like to know more about it. Whatever you like. In any case, I'll bet someone else wants to know about the same topic too, so just let me know.

Big weekend for the team last weekend. A nail biter against Barry was followed by business as usual against Lynn. Still undefeated going into the biggie against Tampa this week. Perhaps the scariest moment of the weekend though, at least for Meghan, came with the mysterious Halloween disappearance of her beloved bear "Teddy". He vanished on the drive home complete with ransom demands and pictures. Just when she thought she might never see "Teddy's" Red Sox shirt again, they were reunited. All's well that ends well.

Looking forward to your input, be the "7th man" against Tampa and we'll see you next week on Chris' Corner.