The Coaches Group Chat
Grab a drink and a seat at the table with hosts Matt Houlihan, Arielle Houlihan and Chad Gordon as we chat about the world of volleyball, coaching, business, and whatever else Arielle feels like!
The Coaches Group Chat
E2: First Point Collegiate Challenge, December VolleyBender, AVCA Rankings
Prepare to up your volleyball IQ as we serve up a jam-packed episode from courtside chaos to strategic playbooks of the past two weeks. We're volleying across the board, from the thrills of the SoCal Cup right to the heart of the AVCA convention, and then setting up for the intensity of the Austin First Point Collegiate Challenge. Witness as top-ranked teams establish their authority in the men's collegiate volleyball scene, and join the conversation about NCAA rankings that's sure to get your competitive spirit fired up.
This round, we're digging deep into the rising tide of boys volleyball, celebrating the sport's soaring participation rates and the community's passionate support in Texas. Hear how the Lietzkes' professional event execution and the backing from the Texas women's team are elevating the game to new heights. Plus, we'll share insider anecdotes from the January volleyball escapades and Emmy side trips that prove life outside the court is just as lively.
As we wrap our play-by-play rundown, catch the nitty-gritty of tournament life – the triumphs, trials, and tactical shifts that mold a formidable team. From our own tournament tribulations to Marcello's meteoric rise to MVP status, we've got game-changing insights for everyone from the newbie to the seasoned pro. And because no volleyball discussion is complete without a bit of friendly debate, we'll dig into high school volleyball rankings and the nuanced dance between players and coaches. So, throw your headphones on and join us for an episode that's all about the highs, lows, and incredible dynamics of volleyball.
Are you willing to do what it takes to win Dan? Maybe Put that NIL money in there.
Chad Gordon:It was for robotics, or like the debate team Okay cut, cut, cut. I'm for boys volleyball. I love you, dan, cut the crap.
Matt Houlihan:Producer's. Y'all can cut over here, we're back. We're back, episode 2.
Arielle Houlihan:Are we doing?
Matt Houlihan:this. Honestly, this is like a episode Still in question.
Arielle Houlihan:This is episode 2, but we've filmed two half episodes in between episodes. It's in between episode 1 and 2.
Chad Gordon:Yeah, it's been a full week On location.
Arielle Houlihan:Yeah, yeah, it's episode 2 on location and honestly this is a different location than last time it was on location.
Matt Houlihan:It's cold in the garage, so we're here now.
Arielle Houlihan:We filmed out there, we filmed in there, we filmed out here.
Matt Houlihan:Yeah, we're just mixing it up. We just got to keep people on their toes. We've also been on a volleyball bender, so I think we should talk about our volleyball bender.
Arielle Houlihan:We've been on January volleyball bender, chad and I over the last couple years have been consistently going on December volleyball bender, which is included, going to SoCal Cup to the final women's. Abca convention in final four, then back on a plane to Power League finals.
Chad Gordon:Sure.
Matt Houlihan:So, it's like an 11-day. One of those things is not like the other. Let's be real.
Arielle Houlihan:All of them are. There's a hierarchy of those events. Number one is the final four, number two is SoCal Cup and number three. Number four is the last is.
Matt Houlihan:NCBI, can you fill in the viewers on the final four? And with that in mind, I don't think people really understand what goes down at this event.
Chad Gordon:Yeah, so I've been going.
Arielle Houlihan:How many of you been to?
Chad Gordon:Man eight, nine at this point.
Arielle Houlihan:I've been to 27.
Chad Gordon:Yeah, but we'll get into a topic of why you've been to 27 at a later date. I think that's a topic on the docket. That may not be a joke. Sure, yeah, I started going to 2014 and originally it's like, oh, you go to these sessions and you learn a bunch of stuff. And it's like, oh, this is great, I'm here to learn. And then the more you get to know people, the less you learn. Sure, but you just go to no sessions the more you learn. It's a different kind of education.
Arielle Houlihan:Sure, it's a convention for volleyball coaches and people to go to to learn about volleyball, and then also there's games being played.
Matt Houlihan:Sure Like the women's games.
Chad Gordon:The women's games.
Arielle Houlihan:Also those.
Chad Gordon:It is mostly a social get together for a group of professionals who are busy the rest of the year, right, and so this is really the only time everybody gets to see each other, so we get to see people we see, you know, one time, for four days a year, and they end up. Of course, there are some of our closest friends.
Matt Houlihan:Who are you?
Chad Gordon:Cacker, the cool ass, assistant coaches. Reception Cacker party.
Arielle Houlihan:Party of the year. It used to be small, no other than Joe Jabonsky.
Chad Gordon:And now it's been corporate, now it's big time. We've got sponsors. You pick up the tab. You need to buy tickets. You buy tickets.
Matt Houlihan:So you guys followed up December volleyball.
Arielle Houlihan:Oh, so we had. We have so much fun on December volleyball every year that we were like, let's make January volleyball.
Chad Gordon:Yeah, it's not a problem Technically.
Arielle Houlihan:I've got February volleyball bender coming up too.
Chad Gordon:I'm going to.
Arielle Houlihan:Hawaii too, and then I'm going to Capitol Hill, you want to come to Capitol Hill.
Chad Gordon:You actually do want to go to Capitol Hill, I don't want to work. Capitol Hill, you want to go hang out, but I don't want to work.
Matt Houlihan:Okay.
Arielle Houlihan:Yeah, are you going to?
Chad Gordon:like not do that much. Yeah, I've got children.
Matt Houlihan:Exactly, I'm going to do fun things.
Arielle Houlihan:We're going to the zoo. The zoo is sick.
Chad Gordon:The zoo is sick in DC.
Matt Houlihan:Our producer Bob Bob is ecstatic about the zoo. Bob loves the zoo.
Chad Gordon:Bob loves the zoo. Oh man Bob. All right, so 30 to 90 percent chance.
Arielle Houlihan:I'm in DC Okay.
Matt Houlihan:So February volleyball bender will be coming. So now you guys have literally a quarter of a day of volleyball bender and I come over to your house on a Tuesday night.
Chad Gordon:This is your fault. It's so fun though.
Arielle Houlihan:Okay. So we decided to turn January into a little stint of volleyball bender, which included going again to SoCal Cup for four days and then going.
Chad Gordon:We really went to the Emmys and they were happy to be volleyball.
Arielle Houlihan:Yes, we'd went to the Emmys and then there was volleyball, and then we flew back for a day and then we flew.
Chad Gordon:I had to get 30,000.
Arielle Houlihan:I had one day, one day for laundry, and then I flew to Austin, Texas.
Matt Houlihan:POV of Austin. Yes, pov of Austin. Year three Stanford going to first point collegiate challenge We've got a Texas kid on the team. Nathan Litzke. His parents run the boys tournament and the girls tournament that goes on at the same time and they do an awesome job. They're big in the volleyball world and they kind of set up this kind of men's collegiate showcase in the preseason.
Matt Houlihan:So the first year we went, it was good it was a good event but, like the overall level of the tournament was lower, last year got a little better. We had Hawaii when they were ranked number one, but still like, not full, like every team being legitimate contenders. This year, everyone's top 15. All the teams were legit. We got number one UCLA. We got Ohio State, who was number I think five or four at the time.
Chad Gordon:Top of the Meeva.
Matt Houlihan:Penn State's top of the Eva they were at seven. Stanford was eight, usc was like 11. Everyone's like the JIT teams, ball State too, and Ball State, I think, was 13 at the time of the ranking A much better cohort for sure, a very good level across the board for all the teams, and each year we do a clinic the day before the tournament begins for the boys and the girls and the day before play begins.
Matt Houlihan:Girls are there too, but not for the boys clinic. There were girls in some recruiting showcase, but the main thing is it's a fundraiser for the first point Foundation, which is trying to create more opportunities for boys volleyball in the collegiate setting, so adding men's volleyball programs. The first year we did it there was 60 kids in the clinic. Second year we did it there was 120. And this year there was just under 200.
Matt Houlihan:And so you can kind of see these little barometers of how things are going and the overall level walking around in the club setting also there was some good level that was being played. It's not the highest level in comparison to an AAU event or a SoCal Cup event, but there are definitely teams where you can kind of see some really good pieces and some really good kids that are playing. So that part's been kind of cool to see us going back for now three years and then obviously getting to see Nathan, the homegrown awesome kid, getting to play in his hometown. It's not something that would have ever happened without a group like the Litskies and what they run coming in and putting something together and they did a really professional job. So I'd love to hear what you guys think about it and what you saw actually being at the event this year, in comparison to like running normal things.
Chad Gordon:Yeah, for me real quick. Glenn and I met Kathy for the first time this year and it's so obvious that they are the right folks to be running something like that and you can just tell, because I've been there now for two of the three years and just the amount of butts and seats, the number of kids that are interested in coming over to go watch the men's collegiate game it was packed and there were probably three matches in a row, like a 1.34 and a 6.30 or whatever that was, and it made me not that first one because people were finishing out their pools from the morning, but the second and third matches.
Chad Gordon:They were fans all the way up to the top and we haven't had that problem before.
Chad Gordon:We tried to guess how many people were in the building and Keith thought maybe just under 2,000 that sounded like around 2,000 probably something like that, but they had the same setup the past couple of years and the bleachers were maybe half full and now it's like wow, like Stanford's playing whoever it's to the top UCLA's oh man, they're coming to watch. Merrick Merrick was an. Austin Junior's kid too, along with Litzke. And you have people now coming out, not only from the boys side, but the Texas women's team. We were sympathetic. Skinner and the kids were a little bit back in the stands and it was like, wow, do you have people that are?
Chad Gordon:really interested in this and the community that the Litzke's have been able to form around this event is really cool.
Arielle Houlihan:It's definitely a little hotbed of growing the sport and everything.
Matt Houlihan:It was an awesome event. You could see also just what they've kind of put into it too, production value-wise. Last year, when it was year two of the event, they brought in the Hawaii production crew in the actual production of the games. This year they had Flow Volleyball, which some people have pains with because it's a little bit more expensive in terms of watching the event, but did a really good job of. Flow Volleyball is actually based in Austin, or Flow Sports is based in Austin. So they did a ton of content around the players, the coaches, they did media interviews and a number of different things. But they keep on trying to take another each year what they do. So this year they brought in, like all of the Gir floor floors.
Matt Houlihan:They bought the floors from the women's national championship and brought that in and so just kind of always elevating the space, and they always ask for feedback. But I thought one of the really cool things that I saw behind the scenes with the Litzke's is why they do what they do. So they, during the clinic that they run before the event that takes place, all of the teams that are participating come in and for 20 minutes each of the six teams run basically a drill, and so you get to work with the players, work with the coaches and hear from the coaches and they all kind of do their thing and at the end of that they pay all the players. They pay them 100 bucks Amazon gift card for the 20 minutes, so they didn't pay to be there too.
Matt Houlihan:And Kathy gave this great speech about why they are doing what they do.
Matt Houlihan:Number one is the idea of players needing to see it to achieve it Right.
Matt Houlihan:So having a bunch of Texas boys who don't have a college program that they get to go see like we're spoiled getting to have Stanford in our backyard to go see Stanford and all the other schools play they want to bring that in so Texas boys can see what it looks like.
Matt Houlihan:And then, number two, it's it's the opportunity for guys like Litsky and guys like Merrick and a number of the players that come from Texas to be able to come back and play in their home state, which wouldn't be possible without that. And so she had had pulled the team aside at the end and kind of gave that that whole speech and was really cool and the players all loved it and it makes total sense as well. And so I think there's just a lot of goodwill that has come from that event each year and seeing it kind of both grow in the clinic side and grow from, just like Chad was saying, of the actual spectator side, there's actual interest and there's actual like oh, this is, this is an event that we enjoy and that we want to go to.
Arielle Houlihan:Yeah, so that part's been cool. For lack of better words, the Litsky's give a shit Like they just they just care about creating good events and like obviously there's a ton of people in the space trying to make make events go and make make money off the sport, but the Litsky's give a shit, like they care about pushing it in the right way and that's the people that should be running events in the space Like it's they did a great job when they're there.
Matt Houlihan:So totally yeah, it's not. It's not a moneymaker event for them at all. Right, it's all to fundraise. For first point, yeah, and don't get me wrong Like they kill it with their events because because they themselves and the group that they have together, kills it very on top of it, but this event is a passion project for sure, and it's it's paying dividends in my mind, right.
Matt Houlihan:At least getting to see it from year one to year three and watching them grow and watching what they've done. It is a very cool thing to to see, and so that part was that part was awesome. And then just obviously it's Austin like Austin. Texas is a great place. So, much fun, so many things to do, so many, you know, so many different places to kind of bounce around to and just and see and enjoy both as you know as a spectator, as a fan, as a just even, even as a coach.
Chad Gordon:In that setting, it's a lot of cool things that we got to see there, so I mean, if you're just a spectator, right, you get to hang out in Austin, like, let's say, you're not from Texas, you're just one of these teams coming in right, so, like, rafa was there right, and you're just you're coming from Colorado.
Chad Gordon:You get to hang out in Austin Cool, roam around, all that good stuff and you get to watch, like pretty kick-ass balling, yeah right, like. Oh, I got to watch Ohio State and UCLA and Penn State and Stanford and Ball State and SC. Like a lot of these kids don't have that opportunity to ever see that live, yeah, right. So I mean, just like the level of talent that was out there, you got to see some of the best players in the country. Right, kids are gonna be on the national team in a few years.
Matt Houlihan:Yep, all kind of under one roof, I mean yeah, secondary of it too is like you're bringing the college programs in and that club tournament is going on. So now those college coaches are walking around, right, they're in that event, and they're walking around and they're looking at those players that are there. So now that perspective has widened and that opportunity is already.
Matt Houlihan:Just like they're, they're taking care, they're already there, so maybe maybe someone's in the building that can help Stanford side out, right you know it's an easy, it's an easy plug, and so those things, those things are longer term plays, but they, they're gonna pay dividends down the road as long as it continues to kind of to keep on rolling and this is also probably a call for more event owners to bring men's teams into their events. Yeah, I mean, it's such a good make so much like the Litsky's killed it Like.
Arielle Houlihan:this is such a good look for event owners to bring like good events like like make their event look more pro by bringing pro into your event. Yeah, it is truly a way to make your event look better.
Matt Houlihan:Yeah, it's not easy. It's not easy at all.
Arielle Houlihan:And and it's cost money, like it is not cheap and but it does progress the sport in a good way. Yeah, and there needs to be people in power that are doing that for the sport. Yeah, yeah, so there's a good.
Matt Houlihan:I was thinking about first point and kind of comparing it. The other good examples that I've seen throughout the years is actually so coke up did a good one with the community colleges.
Matt Alongi:Yeah, if you guys remember, it was an OCC event.
Arielle Houlihan:Travis's tournament there in an OCC that's like kind of there and doing it on the courts next to our kids too, was such a cool thing.
Matt Houlihan:Where they're like. Our kids were walking by being like oh, this is yeah the community college level is really good yeah they need to do that again.
Chad Gordon:We lost on the court that OCC was going to play Springfield on.
Arielle Houlihan:Yeah.
Chad Gordon:And it was tough because it wasn't a good tournament for our team. And then Jared Anderson walks up to me and is like what's up, coach? I was like hey man, oh my God, there aren't that many people that could make me feel a little bit better.
Arielle Houlihan:Yeah, totally, what are?
Chad Gordon:that's just the best person to see in that moment. I mean, but you're just in the middle of everything, right? I mean it's so cool for those guys. Yeah, it's a great idea.
Matt Houlihan:And it's also just one of those things where it's like that's, that's something that most kids don't have an understanding of. A lot of kids are going to look down on a community college or that aspect of you know making a decision to go do that, and there are so many people that community college was the absolute perfect path. John Costy is Stanford Great example. Community college guys goes to Santa Barbara, has a good experience, is in the volleyball world for a long time. Joe Wallace, one of our former players, goes to OCC for a year. Trains develops, gets picked up by Santa Barbara. Now one of their, one of their liberos, is going to ton of play time. Then again, yeah, Neil Fett, yeah, so many guys that it goes through and it's not. It may not be your first choice path, but it is a actually wonderful path for a lot of people. That's really, really good volley yeah.
Matt Houlihan:That you wouldn't High level and you wouldn't know that if you hadn't seen that many, like many kids, and so just dotting them amongst the tournament and being like, who is this team, this point over here? Who is a Long Beach City College? Oh, who, what is Orange Coast College? And you see that, and then all of a sudden you're like, huh, yeah, that is something that looks pretty cool. Well, that's something that looks like something I could do, and now that option becomes a little bit more viable in your mind. So those things are really cool. The only other one that I thought of was at a user's faster they did VL, like they did the VLA, like Tournament on the championship courts.
Arielle Houlihan:I was happy with that because we got to see Blake and we got to see Nico. Yeah, it was not well attended.
Matt Houlihan:It was, yeah, it wasn't, it wasn't really pushed, yeah right, and so it wasn't a showcase in that sense. So it was a little bit more like a surprise if they did it again.
Arielle Houlihan:Yeah, I want to be stuff of like it wasn't well yeah.
Chad Gordon:Promoted or yeah, it wasn't really promoted at all.
Arielle Houlihan:I would say I don't really know it.
Matt Houlihan:I'm not called a side show it seems disrespectful, but it was more like it wasn't something that they were like pushing also You're at nationals like, yeah, the last thing yeah. Everyone's so dialed every team that should be dialed is dialed. I'm not going to like I'm not.
Arielle Houlihan:Yeah we're going to watch film of the team we're playing tomorrow. Yeah, there's.
Matt Houlihan:That's a little bit of a different. Next, on the dock, it's still kind of on the next on the dock next on the dock, still on the kind of the Texas train and C double a rankings. Did we see did?
Arielle Houlihan:we. Can we talk about Ohio State really quick? Yeah, it was loud, I'm sure, but I was trying to be loud. You cannot jump from number five to number one Based off of what you did this a five-set win against UCLA. Sorry, that is not enough for me, do we? Long beach didn't lose. Why is it Ohio State number one?
Chad Gordon:I think if you Smoked them in three totally like hey look, no problem. You're. They're returning a lot of the same guys.
Arielle Houlihan:I watched them play this weekend. They are not this like unanimous decision on number one. That's a number two or three.
Chad Gordon:It's, it's pretty aggressive.
Arielle Houlihan:Yeah, you could bump up somebody like Long Beach and just give them time.
Chad Gordon:I mean sure We'll see.
Arielle Houlihan:Like.
Matt Houlihan:Question for you all. This is this was ABC a rankings right?
Arielle Houlihan:No, this is coaches pole.
Matt Houlihan:Exactly, that's ABC. So it's coaches pole. So they're voting and I tried to look it up. You know they used to, you used to show they.
Chad Gordon:don't they hide that now?
Matt Houlihan:Yeah, I was trying to see. I was like how, who voted like who?
Arielle Houlihan:Got one, and you know who the one was maybe.
Matt Houlihan:Well, look like I agree. I don't think Ohio State should jump to the one. I think they go. I think they go up. I would have gone long.
Arielle Houlihan:Listen. I'm okay with it if it's deserved. Like Going from five to one is. I saw how state is number one and I was like what in the world are you talking about?
Chad Gordon:Yeah, yeah, yeah, but it's also like what week one and a half sure you could have dropped UCLA to two.
Arielle Houlihan:You can move Ohio State to three. Can we just say nobody's number one this week, everybody's like mid so kind of like here you go.
Matt Houlihan:Stanford to the moon. Here's. Here's how much Ohio State got 12 of the voting coaches 12 first place votes. Ucla got four and Long Beach State got seven. Ohio State was ranked one, ucla two, long Beach is three.
Arielle Houlihan:How does UCLA get two men?
Chad Gordon:So there are 23 coaches, but how does that happen?
Matt Houlihan:Yeah, I guess that's. That's the.
Arielle Houlihan:Seven votes, and that you're the two and they're the three because that somebody other coaches voted Long Beach lower than three. Yeah, cuz there's.
Chad Gordon:Yeah, it's like a point system. It's like Mario Kart you get points for.
Matt Houlihan:Yeah, so Now I think I got to watch the Ohio State UCLA game. It was epic pastor Mm-hmm. My god, yeah, that's real deal.
Arielle Houlihan:He is amazing doing that game. We were sitting there. Watching guys were pregame I was.
Chad Gordon:I was drinking a moonshine with the parents and we were like, oh my god, it's going to five. We have another 20 minutes, get another round. Oh wait, I was there. I don't know, I have no idea, I Don't think you get it.
Arielle Houlihan:No, I was, I was. I was the Eric Sullivan. That's what that? Okay, I was. I was sitting with Eric Sullivan during that.
Matt Houlihan:Okay, right, I don't know, I was watching the game. Listen, I was the parents.
Arielle Houlihan:I have early onset dementia, so like that. Like I have to, like dark, go back. No, it's like a thing Like I just can't remember things, that like where I am, so like.
Matt Houlihan:I'm aware I'm married to you. I know you forget things all the time, so like I have to, I'm just like recapping.
Arielle Houlihan:I'm having you guys recap for myself.
Chad Gordon:Good, good, pretty, sir Larry. That's what I said.
Arielle Houlihan:But the martini that I'm drinking, but it's fine. It's fine, yeah, maybe a combination of factors.
Matt Houlihan:All right, so I'll state moves the one little suspect, not not saying they're not deserving it's aggressive. I would. I wouldn't say that they're gonna jump the undefeated Long Beach state, who was ranked number two before.
Arielle Houlihan:It's making a case for any person that beats number one needs to be number one.
Matt Houlihan:Yeah, I think it's just too, it's just too early, right, it's just too early to be able to like.
Chad Gordon:I think it's just lazy on the coaches part.
Matt Alongi:Yeah, I just roll them up to one.
Matt Houlihan:Yeah, sure.
Chad Gordon:UCLA. They're undefeated. They're the one. I don't know who you 23 are, but that's why I went and looked.
Matt Houlihan:I was like, give me, I want to see, because they used to tell you every coach, the votes and what they put, so that you can nitpick it.
Chad Gordon:And now they don't so that's, but again, it's week one and a half like yeah it's like, yeah, we'll see how this pants, I'll see how the top back on three weeks.
Matt Houlihan:We got a house data one, we got UCLA two. We got Long Beach State at three, hawaii's at four, grand Canyon's at five.
Arielle Houlihan:Hey, they all.
Matt Houlihan:Ucla has lost once, hawaii has lost once, grand Canyon's undefeated Stanford just outside six and oh, at number six. And then you've got her bias.
Arielle Houlihan:Who's three and one? You feel a little biased right now.
Matt Houlihan:You feel a little like in my bias, of course I'm by coach for the team. What do?
Arielle Houlihan:you think Stanford deserves right now?
Matt Houlihan:I don't care, ask me on May 4th I.
Arielle Houlihan:Okay, but what do you think Stanford deserves right now?
Matt Houlihan:sure six is fine, I don't care.
Arielle Houlihan:I said four, four, I said Four. I was walking from the bar to the Convenience center with a bunch of the parents and I said if Stanford wins tonight, I think four is realistic.
Matt Houlihan:Okay, I could. I could see the case being made because Hawaii has lost to Loyola and we beat Loyola. I could see the case being made because we beat Grand Canyon last year.
Arielle Houlihan:Sure, this is all biased twice.
Chad Gordon:I put you in the top five and I'd probably put Hawaii at six or whatever. Then, just because of that loss, Sure, but I think Hawaii will find their bearings.
Matt Houlihan:Yeah, exactly, oh, all of it, yeah, all of it. To me on the rankings is like all right, doesn't?
Chad Gordon:it literally ask me on a fourth. That's the only thing that matters, literally. Still, it's week one and a half, nothing to change the last four minutes.
Arielle Houlihan:Okay, so, since you're asking, number one for me is yes, please.
Arielle Houlihan:You forgot who your number one was gonna be no, it's not true, All right we'll see number one for me is Long Beach, just based off of they haven't like lost right five and I and like I Don't think they have enough pieces to be number one, but like that's okay right now, based off of their number one. Number two to me is UCLA still, because I know that that is a take, even though they just lost, and I would still put them over Ohio State. Can I ask you a question about UCLA?
Matt Houlihan:Yeah, this is one thing that I got a little little like watching them I got a little vibe of was the post championship like Hangover, yeah, hangover. Or just like Identity crisis?
Arielle Houlihan:I love an identity crisis. That's no problem. Which early on, and I think Sprague gets it.
Matt Houlihan:I think he totally understand he's. He's trying to figure out who his labor is. He's broke. O2's and he can afford some losses, like they can afford to do some stuff totally. But there definitely was like watching them play. There definitely was a little bit of a sense of like Obviously just weren't as crisp as they were oh, I was early could be the best thing that ever happened to a team like that.
Arielle Houlihan:That's totally fine. I still have. Ucla is number two. I Still want to put them number one. Honestly, like, even with a loss, like I still want to put them number one, yeah.
Matt Houlihan:I yeah, in like, in your like, if you were bedding in a like I have an actual education in volleyball, and UCLA is number one. I just thought it was interesting because you dealt with the post championship hangover. Oh yeah 17s to fall, no problem and they were like we can't play volleyball anymore, we are.
Arielle Houlihan:It's. It is an actual thing of like, like trying to figure out what this team looks like as opposed to the team before I.
Matt Houlihan:They only really lost the libero, though.
Arielle Houlihan:Good choice, great and he was, but everything else is the same depth that they have gives so many reasons to Flip around so much and it's hard to get some rhythm and it's hard to get like, like, this is who we are. Yeah, it's so much easier for coaches when there's just no decision making to be had.
Matt Houlihan:Yeah, no, that I mean there's a ton of decisions like Cooper Robinson, who didn't play a ton last year, legit.
Arielle Houlihan:Zach Rahman gets out there and looks like he is like flying over top of people.
Matt Houlihan:Zack is that grandma looks like. All right, that's a Olympic level outside hinder right there.
Arielle Houlihan:That makes sense that there's a little bit of a yeah Protection things around how the how kids project as opposed to how kids play right now, and Connection with the team and figuring out like what works here. It's hard to figure out.
Chad Gordon:Yeah that was also really similar to what like Hawks was doing with boyola. Yeah, it was like, hey, they were gonna get, we're gonna get some of the other degree. Yeah, we're trying to. We've got a roster of 39 kids Right, we're gonna be on this road trip. We're gonna play six really tough matches.
Arielle Houlihan:Let's just kind of see what we have Sure like otherwise, why don't you just roll the same? Yeah, but I don't think UCLA should be worried about not getting an at-large Bed.
Chad Gordon:I don't think they are. I mean that's, I do a shit. Loyola, probably should be right.
Arielle Houlihan:So that's why it's different.
Chad Gordon:I'm not saying that. I said exactly what he should have done. Sorry, I'm just acting. I'm just saying what he, what happened.
Chad Gordon:Yeah, sure if you're UCLA, though, it's like, hey look, I can't spend the day with a lot of these guys and know that Alex and Ethan can side out, yep, right. And you have guys that are battle-tested and can and can receive serve at that level. Rama hasn't really had that, robinson not as much, right. And then you're trying to replace a really, really strong libero. And they have the kid from Japan and they were double liberoing with.
Matt Houlihan:They somebody else, the the Balboa freshman outside that they'd kind of turn it to libero and it was. I'm blanking on his name, but he's been on the teach a couple years, it's good and they double a barrow so they couldn't swap right. So once they plug that in, that was their two liberos the whole match and so those guys stuck and then, yeah, I'm blanking on the name but I mean, it's sort of like good players.
Chad Gordon:Yeah but if you're sprawl it's like, hey, look like let's see what these guys can do in real matches early in the year. No, in red, to your point, right that they're gonna be in it at the end.
Arielle Houlihan:And we sound pretty MPSF bias here.
Chad Gordon:All right, ucla number one, you heard it here seventh.
Matt Houlihan:Yeah, so do we have any other hot takes on the NCAA right now, after watching some teams play this weekend?
Arielle Houlihan:or anything on those lines. Rotman stole my player there, hey that was a good pick, got ABC.
Matt Houlihan:You made that pick two weeks ago. First week through the season, will ramen first ABC a player of the week, which is Correct me if I'm wrong. You have to win that award to be considered for player of the year right, I know that's crazy to me right. You have to win a player of the week award.
Arielle Houlihan:You have to be you have to be your, you have to be the player of the year in your conference to be considered for it.
Matt Houlihan:Oh really.
Chad Gordon:That's their job, like your job is to be ready when somebody goes down. It's how a team functions.
Matt Houlihan:That and for five years, for five years. Adam Chang has just been doing it like in practice Literally never complains literally always doing his job is great and he finally gets an opportunity and he just took it. The best part the whole thing was Jackson no.
Matt Houlihan:Within the first, like six points, there was an overpass. It goes to Chang gets the overpass kill and I look over it to Taylor. I'm like that was the best case scenario, because Chang was so nervous before the match. He gets an early kill and then all of a sudden Chang was a monster. And he just was up earlier than any other middle and was just hitting zero tempo and Penn State didn't give him a ton of respect early. And then all of a sudden, after set two, he's got five kills on five swings.
Chad Gordon:He's got like five assists from the middle setting out a couple of those balls. That was great yeah.
Matt Houlihan:And now all of a sudden he's got one of the top middles in the country, toby, just commit, blocking on him, yeah, and we're just flowing balls around it and we're just looking on the bench like Adam Chang.
Chad Gordon:He's going off right now. He's just doing his job right. His job is not to go out and get 15 kills, whatever, like they might need Toby to do at Penn State. Yep, but his job was hey man, be up super early. Yep, demand the rock, set the ball in transition. If it comes to you Like just don't do anything crazy, yep, we're giving you a few of these opportunities and the other great part about Adam and his situation.
Matt Houlihan:We've used him as a serving sub multiple times, like we use him all of last year as a serving sub, and now all of a sudden he's getting three rounds of serving, or two to three rounds of serving each set, and he's scoring yeah, and it was a huge plus. He's had a good serve, yeah, and he was just a total unknown, and so you're just like you're hoping and praying that it's just going to be good for him. And he went out and he made Lemonade of lemons. It was beautiful.
Matt Houlihan:And a single tear shed from my eye as the match ended here. All right, here we go Waving hands again I don't know, cutting all this out Every.
Matt Alongi:Wave your hands, hands In the air, like you just saw there. Cut this out people, everybody, left, right. This is. Bob this is where we should get the distance.
Arielle Houlihan:Can you go left, matt Left. That's right, right Left, right, left.
Matt Houlihan:Cut it All right, here we go. So Calc what an intro. So Calc up recap. Here we go.
Chad Gordon:We go 15th, we're going 15th first. Yeah, youngest, youngest All right.
Matt Houlihan:It was like the feeling of when you were riding a bicycle and the chain is like not fully on and you're trying to ride and you're like, no, if I keep on riding, it'll it'll, it'll catch, it'll catch.
Arielle Houlihan:It'll catch.
Matt Houlihan:It'll catch, it'll think it'll be smooth and it never clicked. It was just like constant, like we're going, we're going, kicking, kicking, kicking, kicking, kicking. Three point run against us.
Matt Alongi:Kicking, kicking, kicking.
Matt Houlihan:Three point run against us. I mean I have to get something back. So we ended up losing 14, 16. The the chain came off the bicycle, yeah, and yeah we went out. We had an early exit in the first round of gold. It was still like we finished in gold. That was. That was a positive. But it was very clear, like after the break we like went away from a ton of things that we'd been working on and we were not able to kind of get back to it. So there's plenty for us to to, to look forward to for the summer portion.
Chad Gordon:So for us it wasn't so much up and down, it was a little bit more down and then up really late. And so our guys, we came in a little, just a little bit flat and we, we ran into a, a smash team out of Boston that you know I don't know if they're just starting the season or whatever I mean we had those. The two teams that we lost to on day one, that knocked us out, were, were both in gold and they were strong teams and we were just not, we did not approach it as if they were capable of beating us. And then you, just you just call it what it is. It's like look man, this this just sucks. This isn't what we wanted, this is what the parents wanted, this isn't what we want as a coaching staff or as players or anything, cause we're all competitive.
Chad Gordon:I was out here trying to lose and and then, once we kind of made that switch, honestly it was one of the best tournaments that we've had this year. We had so much fun, both like on and off the court with with the kids, with the parents. Everybody was able to, I think, really enjoy the progress this group has made so far this fall season and being out of gold right Actually allowed us to work on some of the big rocks that we had been been tinkering with in practice the last few days. So our team that hadn't run a lot of BIC, a lot of D any anything like that, we were starting to run a lot more back row attack guys who weren't comfortable with their spin serves getting back there and just ripping it. It allows you to play your entire roster really without fear.
Chad Gordon:It was what it was and hopefully we we walk away from this with a lesson like hey man like we need to warm up hard for that 8am match Right Cause that that could be the one that you need to survive in advance when you get to Orlando on July 3rd or whatever it is.
Arielle Houlihan:So 17s.
Chad Gordon:Great tournament.
Arielle Houlihan:We won the tournament Right. Yeah, Won the tournament. Good tournament bro.
Matt Houlihan:On what standard? I don't know what you're talking about.
Arielle Houlihan:It was a good tournament, right Like could have been worse. Definitely could not have been better. Actually, it could have been better. We could have played good the entire time but like every time I've ever won a tournament, we've been bad at times in the tournament, so very dramatic effect. Very on brand for me, yes.
Matt Houlihan:Yes.
Arielle Houlihan:We lost the first match of the tournament and that's so wild to me In dramatic fashion.
Matt Houlihan:Was it in 2 or 3?
Arielle Houlihan:It was in 2.
Matt Houlihan:It was in 3.
Arielle Houlihan:Absolutely shit on, it was in 3. No, it wasn't, it was in 3. Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was in 3.
Matt Alongi:I remember walking up I also have early onset dementia.
Arielle Houlihan:so I don't really remember. I just remember losing and then Third game wasn't close. Okay, so losing in 2. 2 and a half.
Matt Alongi:We won the first game after being down pretty big stole. The first game Won like 26-24 and then got beat 26-24, oh yeah, and then, got beat.
Matt Houlihan:That's what 15s did in the first round of gold Didn't play particularly well in the second.
Chad Gordon:Sure.
Matt Alongi:And then wasn't really competitive in the third yeah. I don't remember that at all. We just started off the tournament with just a like holy moly, gut punch.
Arielle Houlihan:Yeah, well, we also hit negative on every match, like every set. Yeah yeah, yeah, like. Yeah, it was bad. Then we had a 4 seed in our pool. That was a 1 seed overall. Yes, they ended up placing first.
Matt Houlihan:What was their team in last year? Oh yeah, san Juan, san Juan, so Puerto Rico, but they all switched to GVA.
Arielle Houlihan:Yeah, and he sent an email to the tournament being like listen, we're not a 4 seed. And the tournament never sent him an email back and I was like no, you sent me an email and then I will get a switch, because I never want to see you as a 4 seed ever again in my life.
Matt Houlihan:Yeah, that was a tough 4 seed, yeah, yeah, and then who's our? I don't remember the other one.
Matt Alongi:Coast. No, no, no OCVC.
Arielle Houlihan:OCVC, and then we beat OCVC in 2.
Matt Alongi:Had to win in 2 to advance yes and we did.
Arielle Houlihan:It was just like weird vibes on day one, right Like weird vibes that outside on the Puerto Rican team was. The best player in the gym, the best player in the pool, yeah.
Matt Houlihan:Oh yeah, that kid was legit. No, very legit. That was a very large, Like Puerto Rican kids. Normally you get like a 6-1, 6-2 outside.
Arielle Houlihan:No, no, no, no, no, no, 6-4. That dude was big, Like legitimate, like yeah, yeah that was a big. Yeah, I would say that like weird vibes on day one and we were going into day two with like some stuff, right?
Matt Houlihan:tension. There was just like not energy.
Arielle Houlihan:Yeah, it was just like a little weird, right, yeah, okay, so we go into day two and we are the four, yeah, in the pool.
Matt Alongi:Which Underrated schedule.
Matt Houlihan:Oh, absolutely. I was just about to say the same thing pretty good schedule off play, no, play what you don't love play.
Matt Alongi:Play, yeah, I don't love.
Arielle Houlihan:But also get warmed up. Beat your. Your number one game is your most important game of the day. Great, awesome. Number two, okay, but then like three, yeah must win.
Matt Alongi:Sure, we knew we were getting into and that third game you play a team that is also coming off of back-to-back.
Arielle Houlihan:So you get them on the back, right on the end, so like, and then you're right, and then we're no, you ref last.
Matt Alongi:Are you ref last? Okay?
Arielle Houlihan:like kind of three, he's the best schedule kind of great schedule ish for what you're trying to do. So we knew our first was aggressively important. We have easy fear as a like hot team that goes hot and cold.
Matt Houlihan:No they were in gold. They're in gold in December.
Arielle Houlihan:Yeah them extremely seriously took it very seriously, beat them in two.
Matt Alongi:Mm-hmm.
Arielle Houlihan:Then got absolutely wrecked by Rockstar.
Matt Alongi:Little tough rotation and then wrecked.
Chad Gordon:Yeah, got wrecked by Rasta Rockstar a little bit served off the court.
Arielle Houlihan:Yes, and and we were like fine, whatever, jekyll and Hyde team great, awesome. Lose the games you don't want when the ins you do, since the attack a Weird, weird vibes in that game. Right Like this is a must win in two for us.
Matt Alongi:They had a really emotional win, right before rock star yes. And then they also had an emotional win against easy fear. So they're to know both.
Arielle Houlihan:Both wins in three and they go into our game and it's like quiet Right. Yeah, we played really well and we played great and Beat them in two. Yeah, beat them in two and took Second, second the pool.
Matt Houlihan:Oh damn, that team was two. And oh yeah, yeah, wow.
Matt Alongi:They'd be both teams.
Matt Houlihan:They got screwed on math. They got screwed on.
Matt Alongi:Yeah that's the worst, yeah but we knew going into that is if, if we two and oh, because of three and three.
Arielle Houlihan:Yeah, we did a lot of math both days. Like so much math. That's usually a bad sign, so much so much pen and paper that was going into like a lot of trips to the tournament desk. No, no trips to the tournament desk, or you did, but like, like parents coming up to me being like, I've already done the math and I'm like yeah, I know I've already talked to this person, this person, this person, like it was a whole thing. Um so in like the vibes are weird in that game, right.
Matt Alongi:Yeah, I think something about losing a Match on day one. Like your mindset switches to just totally survive, survival yeah. I didn't. I didn't feel the need to take first anymore, because we are Not about like it's just like our path. How do we stay in gold?
Arielle Houlihan:It was get through the entire time and, like wolf, we'll see what happens.
Matt Alongi:Yeah, yeah cuz like anything can happen sure as we know.
Arielle Houlihan:So we we get out in second again on day two and we go against SC legends had lost a match who had not lost a match, and also we got out at 945 on day two and we had a work at eight play at nine schedule, which is brutal stuff P brutal going pm.
Matt Houlihan:That's the tough part about pm Way.
Arielle Houlihan:I told them everybody is in this same place, like everybody here is the same exact but like. Work at eight, play at nine sucks yeah it's not great. But we get to SC legends and we look at film of SC legends and we're like this is a gift. We are better than this team and and we did. We were like every single kid on this team showed up on time, ready to go, like warming up.
Matt Alongi:You made a comment that this is like the most, like before the most lock.
Arielle Houlihan:We've ever been bags.
Matt Alongi:We're like the bags for lined up yeah.
Arielle Houlihan:Everyone's, everything's a straight line Everybody everybody is so like I'm gonna do my job, because also we have set this expectation over the last four tournaments of like you are not doing your job, like this is not how we prepare, this is not how we do things like this is the way that we're supposed to do things, and it's hard to get kids from different states and different places on the same page all the time. It takes time.
Matt Houlihan:Yeah, I mean, tournaments are like the biggest place where you guys make strides only place where we make strides like that's, that's where we thrive.
Arielle Houlihan:So, and Not just where we thrive, it's where we fail and we teach lessons and it's important for us. So we get to that game and everybody is like I bought an extra breakfast burrito that day, being like somebody has not eaten. I'm gonna make sure that somebody's eating, and nobody. I threw the breakfast burrito away Like that's how, like we were. You're like I'll meet you there you also had a baby there.
Arielle Houlihan:The baby was great too. The baby helped us. Great, you're the baby, johnny's the baby over there. So Clarence SC legends Greg fault. Greg Falkner, former trainer, coach. Great, awesome, get through it, no problem. Awesome, played well and be surfed next.
Matt Alongi:Really good team, super strong very strong team.
Arielle Houlihan:Physical team Absolutely housed us in the first. I got rolled, got rolled in the first. I'm a big believer in a lull teams to sleep type of move.
Matt Houlihan:You know, like, like, let's get rolled in the first sneak attack on like let's get rolled.
Arielle Houlihan:The first beat of the winning. The second is hard, yeah, and like anything that happened at third, kind of like gold. Like you make it to gold, like who? Knows what's gonna happen, like I love a good little sneak attack thing there, right, yeah, third wasn't close third wasn't not close. We were you guys were hot, like hot. At that point like, if you get hot, who cares they?
Matt Alongi:couldn't get the ball on our side right like who cares when you're hot?
Matt Houlihan:that. Yeah, I'm hands over the block, the blocking in that third. So they get that. Sure was everybody.
Matt Alongi:Yeah, middles had a couple blocks. Yeah, it was great.
Arielle Houlihan:Okay so and be surfed were. We get shut down in the first and then we, like, are lulling them to sleep in the second, then we get hot in the third. Great, awesome. We watch six three. Oh, coast, which, I thought. Six three I was gonna win, which they were up. They were up. Honestly, I wanted six, three. Oh, we had screwing to them we're. I was like I want you guys great Coasts and up, winning in three. We had a bunch of time before the match.
Matt Houlihan:Coast does the beta-bates here before Playing us, I knew they're, I knew they, I knew they lost the second the moment that they did that, I was like one, two, three, four, a coast to coast.
Arielle Houlihan:You guys are the worst okay awesome We've got you now yeah great. Um, we go up seven zero. They take a time out. We roll them in the first.
Matt Alongi:Honestly, wasn't like Super close, and I mean it was a little closer in the second it's close. We uh we got out to a lead and then they. They stormed back a little bit, but then pulled away again at the end.
Arielle Houlihan:I think we were just like playing.
Matt Houlihan:good yeah, you guys looked at you guys looked very in charge.
Arielle Houlihan:Yeah, that's much.
Matt Houlihan:And I do think that that I was like watching your players, because I'm sitting there on the silence, I'm watching your players and some of them are like looking over there, like Did they just do what? I think they did yeah and there was just this like it was looking to each other and being like yeah, yeah, cool. Yeah, we're gonna take care of business now.
Arielle Houlihan:No, we were. We were very locked on that, like coast was not a yeah.
Matt Houlihan:I've seen that team play before.
Arielle Houlihan:They've played much higher team has beaten our team before, like yeah, their middles were. It was an interesting matchup for us because it was middle heavy.
Matt Alongi:We put a lot of emphasis into that.
Arielle Houlihan:Going into it Like who do we want?
Matt Alongi:Yeah, what do we want to see? And it was like I just think, if our outsides help a little bit to make sure that we have hands over the net, we're gonna be a very similar Stanford Penn State matchup of like middle heavy yeah being ready, yeah, a lot, of, a lot of bunch ready to help and we should be able to pick up some plays behind them, sure.
Matt Houlihan:What I thought you guys did a really good job. That kind of negated the middles was you guys just served so well. Like we're the 07, the 7-0 run was Rafa jump-serving. Yeah, they were off the net. Yeah, for six of the seven.
Arielle Houlihan:Well, yes, being off the net when you're a middle heavy team is a nice way to do that Exactly the one time they're on the net.
Matt Houlihan:You have max who's in there and he help blocks. We get a touch there.
Arielle Houlihan:Transition kill but also we were running the offense that we started to figure out that we wanted to run. Which is hard when your setter isn't in the state and like you're not really like. There is only this, this projection of up with this team, of when you have a setter like Rafa To run an offense the way that we're running it, like it is, yeah.
Matt Houlihan:I mean, I turn it to you guys just get so much better. Yes, you have so much time together.
Arielle Houlihan:Yes, so Roll through coast, go into the finals. Hot we lost Chad and and we should laundry when we went.
Matt Alongi:We're on the back of skull what it is.
Chad Gordon:We.
Matt Houlihan:I mean it was a very similar setting of the ambi surf game, like first set was.
Arielle Houlihan:It was very similar setting to every 17s. Anything that I've ever done in my life of like first set was Real flat yeah, like flat and like settle in and then and then like Just lull him to sleep.
Matt Houlihan:I Will say, watching from the sidelines you were not on the sidelines.
Arielle Houlihan:You were on the bench.
Matt Houlihan:Yes, I was on the sideline on the bench Watching, okay, the rock star opposite yeah, and set one yeah Zion to shoot Like.
Arielle Houlihan:Yeah okay, that was right here, right from here to here, out of shoe this shoe was yeah was had popped off of.
Matt Alongi:So pop the shoe. Do you like? Find a kid on the bench with the same side.
Matt Houlihan:And so he stayed in. He was trying to like, trying to figure it out, but it was like I saw that happen. I was like that's. What about that plays out? Sure enough, he got subbed out at some point, yeah, and then he came back in. I couldn't pick up. If you'd like change shoes or what was going on, but it was like that's a word definitely happening, he certainly did not play the same way he played us the first time, not saying it was just the shoe Also did not play the same way.
Matt Houlihan:Correct, we also play. We also played much, much better.
Arielle Houlihan:So we start putting the ball in the net a little bit. We've got like We've got Marcello jamming and Jamming at this point.
Matt Alongi:The tempo is what we had imagined it being a day.
Matt Houlihan:Oh it's fast, it was one-on-one and there. Marcello is Jamming, jamming, wiping. Jamming like he is orosh Kova Chevich, out there in a 17 year olds body.
Arielle Houlihan:Full on two hand Putting the ball down so fast that yeah, he was.
Matt Houlihan:He was playing international. So the parents on the other side are not living like there is a 40 year old that is in the stands and he is beside himself.
Arielle Houlihan:Legitimately yelling at a 16 year old kid.
Matt Houlihan:Yeah, like like he wanted to murder the kid screaming, hit the ball With some expletives in there and Marcello is just like and, honestly, marcello is Tripping back at him.
Arielle Houlihan:I am full about letting the kid go.
Matt Houlihan:He was getting a kill Staring right in the stands at the dad was yelling at him going. What are you gonna do about it?
Arielle Houlihan:Yeah, Honestly with with the way that we were doing things. I was so good with that. I mean, yeah, you can't, you can't be yelling at a 16 year old and yeah, and also expecting a 16 year old to not like defend, like what he's doing and what like I'm, I am all for it.
Matt Houlihan:My favorite part if I can't interject on it was in set three.
Arielle Houlihan:He did, he'd interjected a lot. Well, I'll.
Matt Houlihan:Will allow. Thank you. Set three Marcello gets a fast tempo ball set out to the outside and he goes up and he Swings and Yats is a ball down the line.
Arielle Houlihan:Yats is a ball down the line I was like this is the rangiest shit I've ever seen in my life.
Matt Houlihan:Yeah, so he's. I mean, he's been all game Just like this. The block is struggling. He's jamming into the seam. He is power to be down the line. He's two-handed wiping off the block. He's doing all these things in the blockers just trying to. He's trying to figure it out, and so fast, from the setter coming out of the hands, he yachts, he's this ball like full-on swings and he lets out all of the emotion into the stands. Rockstar calls a timeout and he just comes in the huddle just.
Arielle Houlihan:You middle-aged.
Matt Houlihan:Man More harsh than that it was incredible. But yeah, man, I mean the kid is getting yelled at by an adult and he I mean rightfully so he's emotional about it.
Arielle Houlihan:There's no world that I would ever yell at a kid like that.
Matt Houlihan:Yeah, it was like like that.
Arielle Houlihan:Like like, if a child of mine is Gonna yell that, I'm gonna let the child go but I look at myself. I'm like Keep doing what you're doing back.
Matt Houlihan:It's backing it all up right now. So I'm gonna I'm gonna let him keep doing what he's doing.
Arielle Houlihan:No, we were up 14 to seven and it was like I at that point, like I was like we're winning soca cup here. Yeah, it was. It was actually why.
Matt Houlihan:Marcella was your OH3. Oh, it's pretty much all of all going into the tournament.
Arielle Houlihan:He was a rich with OH3.
Matt Houlihan:Oh, it's three and he finishes the season as MVP at the tournament yeah. From OH3 to MVP feel good story.
Arielle Houlihan:Yeah, it was a Upward trajectory tournament for 17 ones and we are happy about it.
Matt Houlihan:All right. High school rankings Boys NorCal high school. It's coming up, I think, to tease what we're about to do with our top 10. So start with who we've got as Maybe the top three.
Arielle Houlihan:Okay, my number one.
Matt Houlihan:Yeah.
Arielle Houlihan:Is Bishop O'Dowd.
Matt Houlihan:Oh okay, bishop O'Dowd, it's a heartache, but I don't care but we didn't lose anyone, really.
Arielle Houlihan:Bishop O'Dowd has Cameron Costi, rowan and Toby.
Matt Houlihan:Three, and they have Will Mullen, who also sets for 18 Club and that is just a recipe for Kids that can do anything.
Arielle Houlihan:That can win high school.
Chad Gordon:That's four very good players. Yeah, obviously Harker number one, not even close, run out of.
Matt Houlihan:Harker number one names new head coach. So is this new head coach Gonna live up? Yeah, the story, story program that is.
Chad Gordon:He matches both the hype and the story. He enjoys an excellent Shabu that's key. That's key, because that's that's bonding with your assistant coaches. Yep, yep, there's, there's a lot of value.
Arielle Houlihan:chamber game yeah, there's just a lot to that right. I mean chamber, it's a big plus and you're just pick up you're just gonna have a coaching staff who's super into it.
Chad Gordon:Yeah, harker, obviously in my top three. Valley's got to be in my top three. Yeah, I got a Greg Lee and Alden.
Matt Houlihan:Greg Lee Alden, andy Zoo. They have a.
Chad Gordon:They have a keep really the same team. They also added a Elon Elon's.
Matt Houlihan:Miss. Like seven games, but like that's a little. No harm, no foul, that's a legit then, harry, she had a little. That is a legitimate team. That's a club team, right?
Chad Gordon:So I think Harker Valley, and then I would either take midi, I could also buy the Costi Toby yeah, Owen. I. Could also buy the Bishop of Dad.
Matt Houlihan:Yeah, are you willing to do what it takes to win Dan? Maybe put that NIL money in this robotics or like the debate team Producers yelling cut on here.
Arielle Houlihan:Back in work, like you just don't care again and on that note, let's cut to the yellow text on the black screen.
Matt Houlihan:It's the coaches.