Gus served out... TWICE!
aka Warrnambool 2007
Three Renegades teams dusted off their camping gear and made the annual pilgrimage to the seaside town of the dirty angel to compete in another long weekend Warrnambool tournament.
Gus commanded a team of young juniors and div 1 players whose average age was only just kept out of the teens by his inclusion. Under his guidance the team played some good volleyball and looked like final contenders until an unexpected last game choke / loss saw them finish 3rd on points percentage, earning the honour of dutying for the Monday morning final.
After the loss there were scattered reports that Gus was witnessed to have served out during the game. There were also whispered stories and secret cables being passed around the underground saying that he may have actually served out TWICE (in a row)! If there's any truth to the rumor, then it must certainly involve spaceships, aliens, and a Madame Tausaud's Gus Cirillo replica. Either that or young Michael was trying to impersonate his dad again. We'll keep you updated in any breaking news on this issue (so long as the witnesses don't all mysteriously disappear in a series of disturbing accidents).
Our division 1 entry this year (superbly led by myself) also had a good tournament. With a mixed team (myself, Paolo, Bedrich, Jesse, Jeremy, Alan, Nick, Dan, Chris and Miles) we managed to overcome our differences and click from the first set with every player contributing valuably in crunch times throughout the weekend.
After winning 4 games on the trot and going into our final pool game undefeated we started to question whether blue shirts vs red was the difference that held us back all these years (and the shirts seemed to trick the Draw Gods as well, having late starts and glorious sleep ins through the weekend). But then we came up against a few past and present Renegades and the old Latrobe Uni men's honours team. Despite not jumping as high as they did in their prime, an average height of 6 foot HUGE made that a redundant factor as the clubs new division 1 women's coach set superbly to his hitters who could see far too much of the court over our outstretched fingertips. We suffered our first defeat of the tournament at their hands in the final pool game, going down 3-0.
Looking for inspiration to turn the tables in our rematch in the 9am Grand Final, we did as every great Warrnambool tournament team does and consulted the bartenders at Whalers. After much discussion we realised by about 3 that despite being fine purveyors of various entertaining liquids, the bartenders volleyball knowledge really did suck. So we resorted to Plan B (as we do every year), divining the spirit of the Bouncy Grass in order to jump higher (and get a little giddy). Despite the continuing drought the locals really had turned out a fine patch of Bouncy Grass for our spiritual intervention, and I'm happy to say that nobody (especially me) was injured in this years session (though Reece did come off second best after a run in with the Hedge of Harshness and Prickly Things).
After the arduous build up to the game, 9am next morning was soon upon us and we were on court and fired up to take on Mattsagirl and even the score. The game was ferocious (and fast), and soon after a thumping 3-0 scoreline was produced. Our improvement was huge, once again vindicating our pre-match routine and traditions. This time we had seen a set point on the way to defeat and an overall second place in our division.
While not as successful on court, the Renegades girls playing in the Honours division also produced some solid volleyball which bodes well for the season ahead. The squad was undermanned and short of some key position players, but were well led by Nicki throughout the weekend (with some help from the div 1 womens coach Chris, and a few of the teams boyfriends). Unfortunately they started the tournament slowly and while they finished strong it was too late to have a shake at the finals as they finished second last. Wearing red they also didn't escape the attentions of the Draw Gods with 8am starts through the 2 days of pool matches so their non-volleyball activities were limited. They did however contribute greatly to the division 1 teams grand final preparations, with Jess even sacrificing her thongs to the spirits of the Bouncy Grass.
So another fine Warrnambool tournament has passed, providing a great build up to the state league season for those who took the drive (only 2 short weeks away). Hopefully we've laid the foundation for a good year and I look forward to winding down with a few more tournaments at the end of the season.