News

Team Pictures
2012 team and individual pictures will be taken by Team Sports Photo of Broomfield.
Team, buddy and individual photos are scheduled for Saturday, February 11th. Watch for order envelopes the week of February 6th.
The schedule is:
9:30 am: 14 National
9:45 am: 16 National
10:00 am: 15 National
10:15 am: 15-3
10:30 am: 15 Regional
10:45 am: Little Spikers
11:00 am: 13’s
11:15 am: 12’s

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Little Spikers League schedule change!
The Little Spikers League start date has been postponed. The league will now begin on Wednesday, January 18 and run through
Monday, February 13, 2012.
Register at www.signuptoplay.com.
See our flyer for more info.

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The National Qualifier schedule is confirmed.
Click here.

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The 4th annual food drive to benefit Community Food Share
was held Sunday, December 4th, 2011.
The result was incredible!
Parent, players and spectators brought 745 pounds of food! Thank you for your remarkable generosity! Bromley Heights Charter School collected several hundred pounds of food as well. Our goal of 1000 pounds of food was reached and even exceeded!  

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Practices are in full swing!
Click here for more practice info.

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We're proud to announce the Coach Roster for the 2012 season!
Little Spikers: Jil Thomason

12’s Coaches: Chuck Cullian and Kim Cullian

13-1 Coaches: Ashley Killhour and Morgan Loche

14 National Coaches: Eric Jesse and Lea Norberg

15 National Coaches: Dolores Christensen and Nancie Halfmann
15 Regional Coaches: Sara Finfrock and Hannah Reid
15/14 Coaches: Sara Coe and Kaelyn Ballinger

16 National Coaches: Ashley Jenkins, Corinne Emory and Erich Otto

Click here for more info about our hardworking and talented coaches!

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Impact Sports Performance
Want to increase your physical training and conditioning?
Flatirons Volleyball Club has partnered with Impact Sports Performance in Broomfield to offer reduced rates for training with certified trainers.
Click here for more info.

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It’s tournament time!
The Power Tournament schedule has begun. Click here for a briefing on how to get the most out of your Power Tournament.

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Spirit Ball

What’s a Spirit Ball?
A Spirit Ball is a gold, black and white ball that is awarded to a player as recognition for a remarkable act, effort or gesture. Each week, a different player is honored with the Spirit Ball. She may leave it at home or in her backpack for the week or bring it to each practice. If you see a player carrying around a Spirit Ball, offer her congratulations or a “way to go”.

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Stacy Sykora - Back from the Brink



Many of you know that Stacy Sykora was in a very serious bus accident in April. She has worked with Flatirons athletes more than once and we wish her a speedy recovery. Click here to read an article about her courageous struggle toward healing.

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Collegiate Sand Volleyball Picks Up Steam

In 2009, the NCAA membership voted to add Sand Volleyball to the Emerging Sports List for women in Divisions I and II, and the field is opening up rapidly. Currently, there are 17 collegiate programs that have confirmed that they will field a varsity Sand Volleyball team for the 2011-12 school year.
More info here.

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Regional Champs: 15 Lanakila!! Way to finish the season on top!

click picture to view/download a larger image

Watch 15 Lanakila rockin' 2011 on YouTube!

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13 'Ohana has done it again . . .for the third time in a row!!
They took first place at the Power 5 Tournament winning all their matches in two games! Better watch out ~ they're amped to the max!

Wow, Wow, Wow!!
13 'Ohana is burning up the courts by winning their second Power Tournament in a row! Congrats to Kenna, Simone, Mikayla, Elena, Abigail, Katia, Sam and Cree for working so hard and so smart all day to go undefeated!
Great job by Coach Jamie and Coach Chrissy . . . you're incredible!

Congratulations to Flatirons 13 'Ohana
for taking 1st place at the RMR Power 3 Tournament
Way to go girls!
We're proud of you!

Congratulations to 15 Lanakila
for going undefeated at the RMR Power 3 Tournament earning a set of coveted pins . . . you rock girls!

click picture to view/download a larger image

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Special thanks to Chris Warner
for his excellent clinic for Flatirons parents. If you missed this clinic, you can see Chris’ Power Points at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Bs3EzYMZBE 

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Food Drive

The third annual food drive was a great success! We collected 530 pounds of food that was donated to Community Food Share.
Heartfelt thanks to all the families who brought food.
And extra special thanks to the Steiners (15 Lanakila) for transporting our donation!

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USA Volleyball Statement in Regards to Youth Membership Protection Safeguards

In light of the recent publicity USA Swimming has received on ABC News’ “20/20” show in regards to its youth membership protection safeguards, USA Volleyball wants to proactively re-affirm to its leadership, coaches, club directors, membership and parents of junior players that we take this topic very, very seriously. We, along with USA Swimming and other National Governing Bodies who deal with a large population of junior-age athletes, have many procedures and policies in place that help protect the safety of our young players.

USA Volleyball supports a very large junior-age membership, a region organizational structure and many privately-owned clubs. For its child protection safeguards, USA Volleyball (along with other NGBs with junior membership) has a safety training program, background screening, educational programs, code of conduct and a procedure to report complaints. Yet, these strong procedures can never provide a 100 percent safety net to halt misconduct in the coach-junior athlete relationship. Even one episode of abuse – sexual, physical or mental – is too much in our eyes and the eyes of every other NGB. USA Volleyball cannot make that statement any stronger to its membership.

For the past five years at the national office level, USA Volleyball has required background screenings and immediately notified regions and clubs when individuals fail. The background screen includes criminal history, charges for sexual misconduct and illegal drug use among other disqualifiers. USA Volleyball also provides educational material on appropriate behavior through our IMPACT level coaching courses and enforces a code of conduct for those involved with minors.

What can USA Volleyball learn from the recent unfortunate incidents in the swimming community? First, we need to constantly evaluate our policies to protect the safety and well-being of our membership. Although our current policies are well-established and provide a solid foundation for protecting our youth, USA Volleyball is committed to reviewing its background screening process, and specifically the disqualifiers, on an annual basis to make changes to more effectively screen out likely offenders. All ideas that may provide additional safeguards for USA Volleyball members are welcomed and encouraged.

Moving forward, USA Volleyball will concentrate significant efforts toward providing better education and awareness to combat these societal issues. We plan to expand these topics further in IMPACT courses, which all junior coaches are required to take. Additionally, USA Volleyball will create an awareness campaign that reaches our young athletes and their parents, stressing the tell-tale signs of abuse and the importance of reporting incidents to the local police or some other appropriate authority figure. We are already testing a Parent Education program in five regions, and these topics will be prominently included. With parent input in this test program, we can craft a better message that hits home across the country.

While USA Volleyball is fully committed to allocating the necessary resources, we know we cannot do this alone. The background screenings required by USA Volleyball and other committed organizations are a good first step to diminish the likelihood of future incidents occurring. However, the background screens are not perfect as criminal charges must be filed in order to appear on the background report. Also, there are additional tools available in this process. USA Volleyball urges all our club and region leaders to assume a greater responsibility for conducting pre-employment screenings, talking to previous employers and performing reference checks prior to hiring coaches and individuals who may have contact with junior members. Clubs must be vigilant in the hiring process, as well as during the season itself to identify and eliminate potential problems.

USA Volleyball is investigating the creation of a confidential hotline system in which all complaints, whether by the victim or a third-party aware of the incident(s), can be filed such that referrals or action can be taken.

USA Volleyball continues to have the most detailed and broadest ranging safety standards of any organization serving volleyball juniors in the United States. Continuing with that commitment, USA Volleyball will devote time to this subject at its Annual Meetings in May. Please come to these meetings with an open mind to discuss this very important issue.

Doug Beal, Chief Executive Officer of USA Volleyball David Schreff, Chairman of USA Volleyball Board of Directors

Douglas P. Beal, CEO
USA Volleyball
715 South Circle Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80910-2368
719-228-6800 (phone)
719-228-6899 (fax)
doug.beal@usav.org
www.usavolleyball.org

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Active Girls Make Better Grades
 
Girls who spend more time in vigorous physical activity may do better in school, even if they are not particularly fit, study findings hint.
Dr. Lydia Kwak, at Karolinska Institute in Huddinge, Sweden, and colleagues examined associations between light, moderate, and vigorous physical activity and academic achievement in 232 students (52 percent girls) who were 16 years old on average and attending ninth grade in a Swedish school.
SOURCE: The Journal of Pediatrics, December 2009.

Click here to see the entire article

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