 Gabriel Gardner, Instanbul 2007
USA national team player G. Gardner is writting about volleyball in USA. USA is country of many sport dreams, but not for volleyball players.
CompetitionHow many teams play in the competition?
About 65 mens volleyball teams have NCAA (national collegiate athletic association (governing body of USA college sports) sanction to field a mens volleyball team and universities throughout the USA.
How many go lower, how many come up?
To determine the champion of USA college volleyball, there are three zones in the USA from which the top 3 teams from each zone arrive at the Final Four of mens volleyball. These zones are West, MidWest, and East. Within each zones, the colleges from those zones have a sort of mini playoffs tournament to decide who goes to the final four from that zone. The final team is a wild card or at large team, which basically mens the best team after the top three as decided by vote from the NCAA.
Which system do you play? ( basic part, play-off, play-down ) – See above
When does the competition start, when does it finish? How many matches a week?
The mens season in the USA starts in January, and final four is usually mid May. There are generally 2 matches per week.
Matches on TV? What time do the matches start?
Some matches are televised throughout the season, and the final four is 100% natinoally televised.
Visit rate of matches?
Depends on the team/university. Some universities such as Hawaii have full capacity crowds that number at about 10,000 people. A good draw for most schools on big matches is 2000. However there are many teams that have 1000 people or less for most matches.
Level, quality of league, legionaries are ( maximum number ) ?
Quality has decreased in recent years as most talent has gone to other bigger sports with existing professional leagues in the USA (basketball/NBA, Football/NFL, Baseball/MLB). These are the money making sports where you can live and play your sport in the USA.
Which balls do you play with?
Mikasa
Cups: How many teams are in the LM, CEV and the other cups?
N/A
WWW pages where I can find the statistics?
NCAA.org
How many stars would you evaluate the competition? 1-bad, 5-the best
TravelingDepartures to matches?
Bus or air.
Maximum distance, length of journey?
3 hours max, depending on which team
Infrastructure, quality?
Highest quality. Its the USA.
How many stars would you evaluate the traveling? 1-bad, 5-the best
ClubsDo they give or pay:
A car?
no
A meal?
no
An accommodation?
no
Clothes?
yes
Vitamines and food adjuncts?
yes
Language teacher?
no
What about rehabilitation, doctors, masseurs?
yes
How many stars would evaluate the clubs? 1-bad, 5-the best
MoneySince volleyball is an amatuer sport in the USA, the only team that pays players is the USA national team. Universities can only compensate player in the form of scholarships to the schools the athlete attends. For some of the largest and most prestigous schools in the USA, the full scholarship can cover roughly USD $35,000 / year. Again the player receives none of this money. This goes directly to pay for room/meals/and university fees. The player must work on the side or have parents to give extra money that they can use.
How many stars would you evaluate the money? 1-bad, 5-the best
LifeHow much difficult is the language to learn?
English is easy, everyone knows that.
Life style, entertainment?
The best. You can find anything to do in the usa with your free time.
Women and their charm?
Beautiful women from around the world.
How much is 1/2 l of known beer in the restaurant? ( Heineken, Budweiser...)
$4-6 per beer
How much is 1 km by taxi?
Expensive. About $3/ mile in the USA. We dont use taxis unless you have to. Usually everyone has their own car.
Climate, hot or cold?
Depends on where in the USA you are. IN California and many parts of the USA, the climate is like the Meditterenean. However, in chicago and new york it is very cold and very hot at times of the year.
How many stars would you evaluate the life? 1-bad, 5-the best
Again a note to mention that this is different from every other country in the world because there is no professional mens indoor volleyball in the USA. Only beach volleyball is professional (www.avp.com) . Your only chance to play volleyball in the USA is to either get a scholarship and attend university, or play on the professional beach volleyball league.
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