Game Recap: These past two weeks we
have only had two matches. One against the youngest team in our league,
Kourtane, and the second against a team similar to ours, HPK, featuring a
former LSU tiger Marina Kender. The girls on Kourtane are all younger than 18
and are coached by one of the Finland National Team coaches. It's a great way
to expose the future of Finland's National Team to the talent already in
Finland. Playing against more experience players definitely give these girls an
advantage as far as development goes in comparison to the U.S. Typically in the
U.S. high school players compete in off-season competition under Junior
Olympics, similar to AAU for basketball, against girls there age or a few years
older. There are only a handful of teams that consistently compete above their
age group. In contrast, European league play is the only opportunity for women
interested in volleyball to compete, so ages can range from 16-30 on a team.
It's always fun playing against a younger team, not solely due to the fact that
scoring is easier, but they have much more heart and passion. When they get a
big block or point it's like they won a National Championship. On the flip
side, it's also harder to stay focused when you know you're going to win. The
first set we beat them to the ground but the next two sets our team became
complacent and we balls that usually are taken without hesitation started to
fall and clear communication disappeared. Although we swept the young team, our
coach was disappointed with our performance so we made a game plan and went
hard the next day in practices to reenergize and refocus our team.
The game this past Wednesday against HPK went
better than our match against Kourtane, mostly due to the fact that they're
only one of the three teams that stand in our way of winning the league this
year. In our second preseason scrimmage against them we didn't play too hot, so
that coupled with the fact that one of their best hitters, Skender, was out
with a hand injury made it really important for us to capitalize on this
opportunity to put a "W" against them in the books. HPK relies
heavily on their outsides offense, making them easier to defend. In the first
two sets we came out with good focused every and took care of business but, as
every team does, we began to play more lax after the break in the third set and
ended up losing after being up 23-20. Losing that set was yet another good
teaching moment of how quickly momentum can change after just one error in the
game of volleyball. Our team has been placed in a lot of different situations
this early in the season, which is beginning to transfer well onto the floor.
Despite dropping the set we were able to bounce back and take the set and match
for the win.
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Communication in the Absence of Language
When talking with friends and family back home, one
of the first questions people ask me is: "What language do they speak over there"? Well, like any other
country they have do have their own national language: Finnish. If I had to
describe it, I would tell people to talk very fast, with a lot of
"ee" and "ah" sounds, throw in a couple of rolled R's then
assign one word with up to 15 different meanings depending on the context of
the sentence and you have Finnish. Learning hasn't been as hard as remembering,
everything sounds the same to me, but I have picked up the basics. Thankfully,
however, the majority of the country speaks English. With the younger
generation beginning to learn English around 3rd grade and the lack of Finnish
words that can cover English, i.e. smoothie, it has been said that Finnish may
be a dying language but until the babies of the current generation have babies,
I think the 60 year old citizens and stubborn men -- men are least likely to
speak/learn English, probably has a lot to do with pride -- are going to be
just fine.
However, in the instances when English and Finnish
collide in an unknown world of language confusion, I’ve learned that
communication can still exist in the absence of verbal language. Facial
expression and the use of hand gestures has helped me in numerous occasions,
thankfully I have an extremely animated face and have a habit of talking with
my hands in the first place. This approach has been very helpful with my
assistant coach who speaks little English…or so I thought. His booming voice
with a harsher tone was first interpreted as him always yelling just to be
yelling but as I got to know him through his interaction with my teammates I've
learned he's quite funny. He's a technical coach, which I love, but it always
bothers me when he gives my teammates feedback but nothing to me mostly due to
the language barrier. One day while we were practicing our 4-to-4 shot, he was
speaking with my teammate when we made eye contact, another HUGE aspect in
communication, and he continued explain with various arm motions, pointing out
certain points of his arm swing as he explained to her, in Finnish, the shot.
My next swing I really focused on the technique he was explaining to her but
showing me and got it on my first try. Throughout the next week of practices I
would continue to watch his interaction with players and apply them to my game.
During one practice I made some comment about the organization of the drill and
he responded…IN ENGLISH! Come to find out he knows quite a bit of English but
refrains from speaking because he is unsure of the direct translation. Another
common occurrence in Finland. There are many people who know English but are
unsure of their skills and become shy. Shyness is a very Finnish trait. Many
Finn's will avoid eye contact when speaking and are beyond humble when
receiving recognition. Imagine my surprise as a loud, in your face American
lol. However, all of that goes out the window once a few Lonkero's and Minittu
shots are in their system. ;)
6 Tips To Communicating With Foreigners
1. If you
know how to say hello in their language, don't be rude. Say hello.
2. If you do
say hello in their language and they continue to speak, politely say you don't
know how to speak “X” language and you only speak English. MOST of the time
they will appreciate the effort to speak their native tongue and speak English
if the know how. Otherwise they'll politely smile and go on about their life.
3. When
speaking with someone not fluent in English, speak slowly but not like they are
actually slow. Let me reiterate that, just because they don’t fluently speak
English doesn’t mean you need to over emphasize pronunciation or speak louder.
You’re not talking to your 70-year old hearing-impaired grandmother or mouthing
to a friend outside your classroom. As American's we underestimate the rate at
which we speak and just like listening to your foreign language teacher speak
in high school, they will be lost if you go on speaking at American-hyper
speed. (Remember how many times you wished your teacher would play back the
listening comprehension of your exams? Same applies here people.)
4. Speak
clearly, don't beat around the bush. Learn how to speak in direct sentences
avoiding "like" and “uh” as much as possible. Also, feel free to
exercise your poetry skills by including common descriptive words.
5. Feel free
to use your hands but don't over do it. People will think you're being too
aggressive and might hit them.
6. Smile, even if you're both lost in
translation. A smile is a smile in all languages.
…Live your passion :: Love on purpose...
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