Federer, Cheese, Lindt & Mountains

Super Cup

ruggers — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 19:05:00 GMT

Bonjour from the other side of the world once again. Just woke up from a 13 hour sleep after one of the most physically taxing weekends I've ever done. We had the Super Cup on the weekend which is the Pre-Season tournament for the NLA volleyball competition. It is essentially the NAB Cup of the AFL. It is held at Lausanne University each year which is handy as its only 1 train stop from my flat.

The format of the weekend is that 10 teams are put into 3 groups. The winner from last year, Chenois Geneva (Chenois is the big sponsor and gets naming rights) are automatically put into the semi finals. So there are 3 groups of three with the Saturday being the pool games and the Sunday the playoffs. In our group we had Zuri-Unterland (Zurich) and EN Gas & Oil Lugano. Lugano are the richest team in the league with a $3 million sponsorship deal that just feeds money to the team in the Italian region of Switzerland. Most of these players are young and poached from the A1 or A2 league in Italy (up there with the best leagues in the world) and paid ridiculous amounts of money to play. Someone said a bench player would get $10,000 a month. Now that's just stupid.

We ended the weekend with 2 wins and 2 losses and I'll go into each game with more detail but the quality of volleyball, organization of the tournament and professionalism of all teams just blew my mind. We all got a lanyard with our club name and free lunch and dinner on each of the days in the dining hall run by a catering company. I was pretty stoked to not have to think about cooking anything.

Game 1 - Zurich

This was the first time in my life I was actually nervous before a game of volleyball. I was told I would start the first game and not the second as Lugano was almost a game where we'd try different rotations. The goal of coming to play in Europe at a high level had finally become a reality and I'm given the chance to start and show what I've got. We lost the first set 27-25 with a few nervous things done by everyone. But once that was over with we smashed them 25-15 and similar scores to win 3-1. There was a big crowd but it was a different feeling as when playing at home in AVL you have friends and family watching but not knowing anyone was an odd experience. Highlights of that game was getting the biggest one on one block of my life into his face and also the best dump I've ever done putting it well inside the attack line on a transition play.

Game 2 - Lugano

Didn't start this game but the warm up was something to be seen as balls bouncing into the roof was just normal for these blokes. Their setter was a dead ringer of Nick Gianopolis from the Wog Boy but with a shnoz twice the size. Think he was Italian. Hard to tell. Only one bloke did a float serve with everyone else melting jump serves at us at pace. I was put on about ten points into the second and played the rest of the game. Highlight of that game was when I blocked their opposite on one of our overpasses. Everyone in my team got super excited and started shouting out "Kangarooooo Kangarooooo". Try to picture a bloke 6'10, bald, tattoos build like a fridge. Was safe to say I weighed about as much as his right quad. After that point he literally looked at me and growled like a dog.

Game 3 - TV Schonenwerd

My team had never beaten this team from the German region who came 3rd last year and after winning the first set we had super confidence going into the rest of the game. Something that really frustrated me and can be a downfall of a player coach is I got subbed off at a bad time in the second set when I did one set too wide to him which frustrated him. Having a player coach can be good at times but this frustrated me as I thought I was doing a good job. I was only on for a small amount of time though. Highlight of the game was having one of their most experienced players wrapped around my little finger. I just targeted him all day with serves and got him on a couple of jousts as well as blocking him one on one. I'm never one for talking shit through the net but I couldn't help myself after a block saying "hey mate in Australia we hit the ball over small blockers like me" a pretty weak effort at trash talk but it confused the shit out of him as he probably didn't understand a word I said in an accent sounding like I'm talking out of my nose

Game 4 - Lausanne University Club (LUC)

A local derby and a friendly one at that as we socialize with these guys on a regular basis on the weekends. We won the first set and were playing well but the whole weekend caught up with us and definitely myself. End of the 3rd set we were up 24-23 and a bad error from someone from our team followed by two bad sets from myself let the set slip away losing it 26-24. In the changeover I've never received a bigger spray from a coach in my life. It was all in French and I could understand exactly what he was saying pointing at his head the whole time saying to stay focused. I was expecting to be dragged but was kept on for the 4th and final set which we lost 25-19.

An awesome experience with some of the best volleyball I've seen and played in. After each day we were huge on recovery with ice baths and 20 minutes on the spin bike to get get lactic out of the legs.

I hope I've proved myself and can hold the starting spot for the season as it will be so rewarding.

Updates will keep coming after games, first one is away this weekend against Laufenberg.

Ruggers

A month

ruggers — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 21:07:00 GMT

So it's been a month since I have arrived here in Lausanne and to be honest it has flown by. Starting off at a very slow pace things have picked up momentum and really starting to feel very comfortable here. Never knew so much could change in a month but it certainly has been a roller coaster ride and I don't expect it to be anything less over the next 7 months.

My room mate has moved in, Pierre from Paris. A nice bloke who speaks pretty good english for a frenchy. He's studying at the local uni but doesn't seem like the bloke to have fun on the weekends like yours truly as he said he will go back to Paris most weekends to see family etc.

Had an interesting skype with Mark and Josh the other night after they put a few too many down the hatch, was hilarious to see two blokes argue on skype. It was mostly talking about Mark and I's trip next year over the European summer. Mark put the suggestion of a cheeky month in South America before tearing up Europe, it was later corrected that it was more the bourbon talking and was way out of our price range. It's safe to say I'm more excited to explore Europe for 3 months with a best mate than play volleyball. Being over here has put things in perspective, but I'm not taking anything away from this opportunity, definitely going hard at training and games.

I've definitely learned a lot about myself and the way to approach the game. I've always thought its 90% mental and I'll stand by that. Started to find some form last week at training with some consistency and got some confidence back finding my feet in a new team, new venue and everyone speaking a totally different language. Last night we had a photo shoot before training which went for an hour and a bit. Individual photo's in our new uniforms with about 50 different poses with and without the ball. We then did fitness work for the first hour of training, then there was serve receive for the pass hitters and then blocking for the middles. Only for the last 20 minutes did I even properly get involved in training with myself and the other setter doing the most gruelling drill I've done in my life. For 5 minutes straight free balls are knocked over to our libero with 3 middles, and the outsides hitting. The other setter went first setting D's and middles then I went setting Blacks and quicks, but then had to back it up straight away setting Reds and quicks. So I essentially set for 10 minutes straight jump setting every ball.

Afterwards I was very frustrated with myself as I wasn't prepared enough as the drill kind of came out of the blue and I didn't perform at my best. The previous trainings I had rocked up a bit early and prepared myself mentally so I was ready. I'll definitely learn from that and always be ready and firing to go no matter what the situation is.

We have our Pre Season Cup (Supercup) on the 22/23 and the season starts after that on the 29th so it has come up fast. Exciting times ahead and plenty of challenges for myself to play at my best.

Next update will be after the Supercup

Peace out

Ruggers

Autumn has arrived

ruggers — Sat, 1 Sep 2012 23:15:00 GMT

Autumn has definitely set in here with the temperature dropping to a max of 15 degrees and the sun going on holidays. Really not looking forward to winter where temperatures get down to -20.

A lot has happened in the past week and a bit. Training started out with being a bit of running centered around hideous amounts of ab work. Sitting up in the morning was a serious challenge. Its more focused on skill and ball control now. Myself and the other setter are doing heaps of reps to get a consistent speed of the sets. Over here it is speed out the front and quality out the back, so its a shooter to the stick and a set that drops in the zone for the opposite to have a good shwing at.

Most of the drills are the same with cross court pepper and serve receive a big focus. We had a photo shoot after one training with the other new players which will be published in the local paper so i'll try and get my hands on a copy!

Jack and Cat came on Monday for a few days which was great to see a familiar face and have chats about stuff without having to listen carefully to the broken english. Jack trained with us on the Wednesday night and was glad to get the lungs going after a couple of months doing nothing. Safe to say I let him know about a few passes that went a bit wayward. We went down to Ouchy which is the suburb right on the lake and Cat whipped out her camera right in her element to take a few postcard shnaps.

Had a lovely dinner down at the lake and after necking a massive sicilian pizza we walked along to check out the beach courts where two indian blokes asked Jack and I to play. I was reluctant and told them we had never played before so the pizza I just ate wouldn't come up half digested. Jack was super keen and they were pleasantly surprised with our skill and called the game off only 10 minutes in.

So it's now Saturday arvo and I'm crook as a dog after my first shift at my new job last night. At a bar in the city called The Great Escape, finished at 4am and could feel the throat getting a bit tickly before I left. Pretty loose crowd with everyone getting legless to some interesting music. Staff are young around my age which is good for the social side of things. Having just watched Freo beat Melbourne and head into the finals next week there are plenty of things to look forward to!

Really relieved to get the job side of things sorted, planning on hitting the european summer hard in 2013 so to have some income flowing in makes the saving that much easier.

Until next time, Rug over and out

Keep dominating life people

First week in Suisse, Lausanne

ruggers — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 23:44:00 GMT

Had to say goodbye to mama and papa rug at Milan train station with mum letting the waterworks flow a bit. Took a 3 hour train and got picked up in Lausanne and taken to my flat. To be honest, there was a small element of shock when i arrived at the apartment. Literally nothing in it with just a bed and some clothes storage pieces.

My room mate doesn't arrive until the 30th of August so I've had some time to myself to get settled and get to know the area. Don't tell anyone but i haven't bought a train ticket yet as the places I need to get to are only 2 or 3 stops away. Feel a bit stinge but it's a rich country.

One of the big things I have noticed is that EVERYONE smokes. 13 year old kids to Grandma's. So gross. Going shopping was also an experience, no cadbury, nestle or harvey fresh milk to choose from. I bought Lit Milch, what the hell is Milch?!?!? Luckily it's Light Milk so I don't have dry Corn Flakes. Also that juice is a very scarce commodity. It's all soft drink, couldn't find OJ anywhere which was quite disappointing.

Played beach volleyball with my coach earlier in the week against guys who are in the university team, Lausanne University Club or they call it LUC. (they came 4th last year so pretty confident blokes) My coach introduced me and said I was the setter from aus and they instantly knew who I was, had a good conversation about our league and how they've seen the video etc. Was kinda weird. Anyway my coach (165cm) and myself proceeded to school whoever we got put up against. Aus 3 Suisse 0. Take that. What I found weird was that when we had a drinks break a few of them lit up and had a smoke! No wonder they were sucking in the big ones.

Best part about the beach courts is that they are metres from Lake Geneva which is absolutely amazing. Can see the mountains from up close which is something I've never experienced before with the clouds below the peaks. We went for a swim after and diving in to what i thought was going to be salty water, another surprise as the lake is fresh. (duuuuhhhh)

After the swim had a froth with the coach and had a big chin wag about the upcoming season. For anyone that doesn't really understand I'll be playing for Volleyball Club Lutry-Lavaux (Red, White, Black) in the NLA - National League A. Website is volleyball.ch for all results. vbcll.ch (club website) As players we get free uniform (2 playing tops, shorts, warm up top, polo, training top, tracksuit etc..) free gym, free travel to games on team bus (some are 5 hours away) and the kicker is we get free beer after games as one of the sponsors is boxer beer. So stoked seeing that our games are every Saturday night which makes it so much more social.

Got a lift home from my coach and rode on my first scooter where we passed the FIVB and the IOC and also the International Table Tennis Federation if anyone wants to go there.

Other than having a few more hits of beach I've just been chilling out and going down to the lake before training starts tomorrow night. Have to say never been more excited to get on the court and play in a different environment with different people. Going to be a sponge and take in as much as possible to help develop as a player and a person.

I'll keep you all updated so watch this space

Keep loving life

Rug

Milan/Venice

ruggers — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 23:08:00 GMT

The final leg of the 18 day trip before heading to suisse ended in Milan where Mama Rug met up with Dad and I in Milan. We stayed at Dad's Great Aunty's place where she and her son lived. They didnt speak any english either but it was good to have mum to speak to as well instead of Dad having to do all the talking.

We split up the week by having a cheeky couple of days in Venice where we stayed at a hotel which was built in the 400s. Yes, the place is 1600 years old. They've done it up a bit since then to a 5 star hotel but just to think what it was like when it was first built and to have so many people go through there. Blows minds

Cinque Terra

ruggers — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 23:01:00 GMT

If anyone has the chance to walk the Cinque Terra please do, it's pretty amazing. On the coast near a town called La Spezia is a 12km walk going through 5 towns along the cliff face on the coast. Some of the views are absolutely amazing with small fishing towns getting heaps of tourism with people walking through.

One of the paths from a town to the next town was closed so we had to make a detour and with our great sense of direction ended up in the middle of the forest 2 hours walk from the coast. Looking back it was pretty funny when we finally found a signpost nudging us in the right direction.

Finally getting back to the coast was a big relief and seeing the views was something pretty special

Pollica

ruggers — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 22:50:00 GMT

From Rome Dad and I went down south to a small town called Pollica which is in the mountains, where we visited the rellies for a few days. We hired a car and with much discussion we both got to take the wheel which was on the left hand side and driving on the right side of the road. Tripped us out at first but got used to it. Going 120 down the highway with cars flying past was something also to get used to.

No one spoke english in the town so was a tough few days trying to communicate with everyone but was great to meet all the relatives and see the roots of the family and where I come from.

We went to the local cemetary one day and to my amazement literally 2/3 head stones were "Ruggiero". It's like smith but it italy!

Rome

ruggers — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 22:18:00 GMT

Never done one of these before, don't know what to say so it's pretty much going to be me thinking and just typing. So after 26 hours of flying from Perth to Singapore, then to Doha then to Rome, Dad and I finally arrive at 7am and set out to hit the streets of Rome. First stop, the Colosseum. Like everything on this trip didn't really know what to expect but it is effing huge. My first thought was how they built it and with Dads constant reply of "winches mate, winches" but still can't believe they did it. To me it's the perfectly built stadium, unlike subi you can actually walk the whole way around on each level with an awesome view from wherever you sit.

From there we went to the Emmanuel Monument (look it up) which was also MASSIVE. Climbed those stairs and got to see the most amazing view of Rome (check photos). This monument overlooks the roundabout that has a crash on average every 30 seconds. Unfortunately it wasn't very busy so didn't get to see any bingles.

After that it was the Trevi Fountain, the one where you throw a coin in and make a wish, that was stupidly busy with soooooo many tourists. Along the way there are these Sudanese blokes trying to flog off dodgy louis vuiton bags, gucci stuff and watches. When the police come they pick up their stuff and run like Usain, pretty funny stuff.

Next on the agenda was Vatican, where there was pretty much no line. So we went straight in and yep you guessed it, it is HUGE. Wandered around there for a while and then climbed the 570 odd steps to the top where there is no better view in the world. Definitely worth the effort

Photos: Rome, Milan, La Spezia, Pollica, Venice

ruggers — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 03:28:00 GMT