A Turn of Events

We had the chance to talk to Kolby yesterday; his plans have changed a whole bunch. I didn't know how to put it into words so this post is from my dad. 

So Kolby's Volleyball Journey is coming to an end today after 4 days of tryouts.  The experience was an amazing opportunity for him and he had a great time playing with some really good people and making some new life long friends.  The tour didn't live up to the hype and the tryout was under whelming, not a lot of scouts looking and looking for other positions.  With the economy like it is there aren't as many opportunities to sign decent contracts to stay and play. The body is tired, shoulders ache, playing at the high level he has for as long as he has taken its toll and it may be time to hang up the volleyball shoes. So after a lot of soul searching and looking back on the last 5 years of volleyball, the amazing places it has taken him, the friends he has met, the relationships and all the memories, he and 4 of his friends from the tour decided to leave and spend their remaining time traveling.  They are getting some of their money back and they are going to use it to see the world!  They have left and are in Venice today and have spent some significant time studying maps and charting their course but last we heard it sounds like Austria and Switzerland, maybe Norway or Sweden and then back to Rome on the 24th to head home.  We are so proud of him and what he has accomplished!  We have mixed feelings for him but we missed him a lot so we are super happy he is coming home and won't be gone for a year so that's a plus. He is in a great place mentally and he feels good about his decision.  We are so proud of him and what he has accomplished, we are going to miss the tournaments, traveling, games, friends, parents and in general just hanging with him in the gym but we are also excited for what the future holds and having him back home with us. Way to go Kolby! We love you and are so proud of you! 

Tryouts 08/12/11 & a scrimmage!

We didn't think we'd hear from Kolby yesterday because it was a travel day for him. We had given up hearing from him at about 4 o'clock our time midnight his time. I got an e-mail saying Kolby "liked" my status of facebook so I hurried and got on, and got to talk to him for a few minutes. It was about 2 o'clock his time. They had just gotten back from the scrimmage and here is what he had to say about it!

we didn't play Cameroon. i don't know where we went but it was a four hour drive and it was some insanely nice training facility on a lake.. we played the Italian youth national team.. so basically a bunch of Taylor Richards except i don't think anyone was below 6'6" and they could all jump way high and were way good haha... i was kinda bummed cuz i got all warm thinking i was gonna start and i played the last three games of the match so i was real cold when i got in and didn't pass too great and it took a couple swings to get my shoulder back into it.. when im warm i feel good but in between my body is killin me.. i hit pretty well against them but just didn't pass too great.. its really frustrating me cuz i know im a way better passer.. the drive was pretty cool we saw a lot of the country and smaller towns.. a lot of towns are up on hills and they all surround a church. they are really cool. some of them are even built on little cliff things and some of the cliff was just carved into to make buildings.. i tried to get pics but it was too far for my ghetto camera.. after playing we ate there and then drove back.. the drive kinda sucked and the roads are ghetto anywhere except the freeway.. lots of pot holes.. since we went today and got back late we get to sleep in tomorrow and miss the first part of the day.  this whole bring it promotions is an agency and they officially represent all of us... so they negotiate and get a small percent of our deal.. anyways i think if i pick up my passing things will get better so that's what im gonna work on tomorrow.. but its two am so im gonna go to bed but ill have more free time tomorrow so ill write again as much as i can tomorrow. 

My mom woke up to another message from him today

Ya so since we played last night we get to rest this morning and just play in the afternoon. so me and this canadian kid are gonna get some eats and go to the grocery store. there are some cool kids here. lots of them have been all over and make me wanna travel more. i havent talked with tim about me specifically. i need to just focus on playing better and hopefully he'll come to me and tell me i have people looking at me. the only coaches there were the ones coaching the junior national team. they all coach in leagues though so it was a good thing to go play in front of them. the roads arent that bad and almost all the ones we went on were paved. ya tim went with us. i dont know the place where we were he never told us and i couldnt understand the signs. sorry! haha but it really was amazing. i got a picture of the sunset and there is a giant castle in the background its pretty cool. in the pic you cant really see the castle. i dont know if im gonna go to venice. tim said he will buy us tickets wherever we wanna go as long as were in pordenone on time. from what it sounds like venice is expensive and crowded so me and this kid were talking about going to verona. tim said there is a lot of cool stuff there and a huge castle.. so i dont know yet. well ill get back on after practice and dinner later! 

Things sound like they are going well for him. He just needs to step up his game a little bit!!! Hopefully we will hear from him within a few hours and I'll let you know how tryouts went today!

Tryouts Day 1 & 2 8/10/11-8/11/11

Lots to catch up on! Kolby had his first 2 days of tryouts. It's been frustrating trying to communicate with him cause his internet sucks! Here is what he had to say about day 1:

hey mom! so we woke up today and met up with charles and tommy and hung out with all the guys here.. we shot around and just hung out outside by the bball court.. then after that we went and got food.. the food here is way cheaper! after eating we went to the grocery store and got some water and fruit for snacks in between meals. we took a charter bus to the gym and the gym is pretty ghetto.. there are three courts for all 47 of us. we started out by playing back row threes then got split up a little according to talent. i was on the top court the whole time! after that we played sixes for the rest of the time. there were a lot of outsides but i felt pretty good about myself. so the first day went good and we have to be up early tomorrow so im goin to bed! ill write ya tomorrow to tell ya how it goes! 

Day one in the books! It sounds like it was a really good day for him! it took him a minute or two to figure out the difference in balls  and air but he caught on real quick and had a really good day! 

Day 2: he said today was a little bit more frustrating, they didn't split up based on talent today so he didn't play with anyone really good, he was pretty down on the whole day but then we got this from him: i just found out i was one of the guys chosen to go play a scrimmage somewhere tomorrow. i think were playing the camaroon national team!! We are stoked! He didn't know where it was the main guy just told them to pack their bags and they are going on a road trip tomorrow! We are super excited for him and hope that tomorrow will be a great day for him!!

Rome 8/5-8/9

finally in bologna.. it took us so long to find the right bus once we got here.  the train ride out was really cool we saw a little more of the country side and the houses and land were really pretty. i ate red peppers tonight you would be proud of me haha. Kolb arrived safely! They got all checked into their hostel and are ready for the tryouts to start tomorrow, he's getting really excited to get playing. He said that pretty much everyone in Rome speaks English and in Bologna there are quite a bit that don't speak any English. Luckily the person that was running the hostel speaks English so they could get checked in with out any help! He says that Bologna is a lot cleaner than Rome and he thinks it's prettier than Rome. When I think of hostels i think of really trashy, here is what he said about it, there are regular beds.. its not way ghetto or way nice kind of just a plain building with some hang out rooms a place to eat and an outside area. there is a bball court and i shot around a little. one of the guys brought a ball so they peppered too. our room is ok sized with two small beds and a bathroom. not too shabby. They are in this hotel for the night then they have to checkout and check in to a new room tomorrow. Kolb posted a bunch of pictures on facebook if you want to look at them on there! He starts volleyball tomorrow so as soon as we know how it goes I'll post about it!

Rome Pictures 8/9/11

Today Kolby is making his way Bologna, they got on a train so they could make it early for the tryouts that start tomorrow! He has had very little internet service so he's had a hard time posting pictures. Ryan, his friend that he is traveling with has had a little bit more, so he posted some pictures of Facebook of what they've been up to. I stole the pictures so I could show you all! The last 2 days they have toured the Vatican and the Colosseum, Kolb said it was awesome! I guess you aren't supposed to take pictures either in the Vatican or of the ceiling. We aren't really sure if its both or just of the ceiling, but what does Kolby do? Of course he takes pictures in the Vatican and of the ceiling. They seem like they are having a lot of fun and getting to see a lot of cool stuff. Tryouts start tomorrow so I'll keep you posted!! Wish him luck!

 

Rome 08/05-08/06

Kolby's been in Rome for 2 days now. He is loving it! His biggest complaint is that there isn't big enough portions of food. He is starving! He's been able to use facebook a little bit every day so we've gotten to talk to him quite a bit. Facebook is our newest best friend! His flight out of Salt Lake went smooth then he got to New York, made it to the terminal got on the plane and it was delayed 2 hours! He didn't get to Rome until 4am our time! He was so tired! We have a friend from Italy who has a niece that lives in Rome, she was able to pick Kolby up from the airport which was awesome! Here is a little message from Kolb from his first day!

hey! i slept great! my bed was kinda small but still comfy and i was so tired from no sleep the night before. well chiara dropped me off and i found Ryan right away so that was nice. We went upstairs to our room and hung out for a while then took the shuttle into the city. its about 15 min away from the Colosseum and everything.. we got some food as soon as we got in. i don't really know what i ate but it was some flat bread with red sauce and cheese in it and it was delish. then we walked around for a while and saw a bunch of sights. i took a lot of pics of the newer buildings and the ruins. i don't really know what anything was called except for the Colosseum haha. its really nice here though. pretty humid but its only way hot in the sun. the shade is real nice. me and ryan both kinda wish we came a little later cuz we think were gonna be bored. finding food and doing everything is kinda stressful haha cuz we both eat a lot and Europeans don't. we got hooked up to go up into this club room upstairs at the hotel and were supposed to get free wifi so well see how that works! today i think were gonna go back into the city and see the Vatican and some other sights. should be fun! well i miss you guys and tell everyone hi! keep the emails coming and ill write whenever i can! love you!

 

This one was from today:

ya there are tons of tourists everywhere! we found lots more food today that is a lot cheaper and everything so far has been delicious.. i don't think we have run into any gypsies. lots of people speak English and are helpful. the servers at restaurants can speak a little but we have to stay to the basics haha. how was bikes for kids? what are you guys up to this week? ya we are gonna head up to bologna on the 9 and hang out there and maybe meet up with some other players. tomorrow i think were gonna do the tour of the Vatican and the tour of the Colosseum. i'm stoked! we accidentally took a 4 hour nap today haha it was really funny.. but we still saw a lot. my comp isn't working here for some reason so i will have to upload my pics somewhere else. ok well ill talk to ya soon! love ya

 

Hopefully we will be able get some pictures from him soon. He is having a lot of fun and getting a lot of exposure to different cultures which is awesome for him!  We miss him but we are glad he is having a blast!! Tryouts start on the 10th hopefully I'll be able to post again soon!

See Ya Later!

While Kolb is in Italy/ Europe I'm gonna blog for him! Here are some pictures of his going away party! He had lots of friends and family show up to say goodbye! It was a fun party!!! I'll post more once he sends me some pictures!!

-Blair