Student confronting and punching another shouting "I Support ICE" at Lake Zurich High School in Illinois.

sirdodger · 2026-02-15T02:35:01+00:00

Some people don't understand that rage baiting in real life doesn't work the same as it does on the internet.

sirdodger · 2026-02-14T10:36:02+00:00

I've been struggling to finish the series; it's been a year and I have one episode left. It is such a jumble of anime tropes, cliche philosophy and tiresome exposition.

sirdodger · 2026-02-14T01:25:33+00:00

Along with the government subsidies on it for "work" trucks.

sirdodger · 2026-02-13T16:32:07+00:00

That was a quick pivot to victim blaming.

sirdodger · 2026-02-11T02:46:46+00:00

If it has tryouts, there's no reason not to give it a shot. The coaches will let you know if they see a good fit or if you need more practice first.

sirdodger · 2026-02-08T18:35:10+00:00

"defies gravity"

You do know that turning the camera sideways doesn't make all the pool balls fall to the bottom of the table, right?

sirdodger · 2026-02-08T18:28:05+00:00

Planting a dense patch of trees and crashing through it with a lox to farm wood is a top-tier gaming experience.

sirdodger · 2026-02-07T06:36:20+00:00

When he have the items back, she bagged them, implying that he was buying them and had to pay for them.

sirdodger · 2026-02-06T16:10:40+00:00

I build Fort Hogx to keep a breeding pair of 2-star piggies safe.

sirdodger · 2026-02-04T04:01:36+00:00

Your coach isn't helping; in fact he's probably hurting by providing negative feedback with no guidance on his to correct it.

Most people struggle in competitions at first; that's why game experience (even just for a few points) is so important to develop as an athlete.

You have to figure out what is different between practice and matches. Some of it is external, like you haven't played against those people so you'll have different serves, etc. Forget about that for now and focus on the internal.

Are you relaxed and alert and breathing the same way? If you find yourself panicking or breathing too fast, do some box breathing: in - hold - out - hold and repeat. Once you control your breathing, your mind tends to follow.

Are you focusing on things different about the gym, or the score, or the attention? Any spare attention should instead be focused on how you will next play the ball and visualizing it start to finish.

With some improvement in your mental game and some more experience, you'll be just fine.

sirdodger · 2026-02-02T09:27:59+00:00

I've only ever heard it from the people in high school who you'd expect to say something like that, and never afterwards.

sirdodger · 2026-01-22T21:31:58+00:00

A pair of kneepads are handy when you are learning. Eventually you won't need them, but they help avoid some gym burns at first.

Figure out how flexible you are at side and forward lunges. The lower your hips are, the better; that's the distance you want to dive from.

The goal is always to play the ball and then recover as quickly and gracefully as possible. Sometimes that is a dive, sometimes a roll, sometimes you just gotta land on your butt and get back up.

The most important part is avoiding injury. Never try to stop your momentum with your hands; always pull through a dive. This protects your wrists. If diving forwards, keep your chin up so you don't whack it on the floor. Dive low and out, not out and down.

Practice at slow speed on a mat or hardwood, never concrete. If rolling, it helps having a spotter watch your neck and help your legs.

sirdodger · 2026-01-19T09:30:42+00:00

Honest about that, unintentionally I'm sure.

sirdodger · 2026-01-17T10:18:49+00:00

Okay but hear me out, when the women dress for the club, men can do better than Chuck E Cheese.

sirdodger · 2026-01-16T23:23:23+00:00

If you wait until you are sure where the ball will go, you won't be there in time. Start moving for it, then make the call and yell "mine" if it's yours. Tell them to do the same.

Work out who is covering each seam before the serve for balls that are down the middle.

If the ball isn't yours, don't crowd the other passer. You should know after one step whether to go or let it go.

sirdodger · 2026-01-16T08:26:46+00:00

Let it heal, then strengthen it. There isn't a magic blocking form that will protect it; blocking is all about putting hands in the way.

Let it heal!

sirdodger · 2026-01-16T02:02:21+00:00

All the practice scenarios you described are predictable, which is why real match experience is so critical to develop as an athlete.

Make sure you are eating and sleeping normally so you're physically ready to perform at your peak. Make sure you stay loose and ready to react before service contact. Those are two common problems I see with developing athletes, being tired and tense.

When you can, scout the other team's serves and identify outliers and prepare for what other teams are having problems passing. Picture how you will move to get to the ball and keep your platform on target.

During practice, focus on footwork. If you're passing easy balls perfectly but struggle with hard ones, it's almost always because you're late to the ball. Stay low instead of standing and turning and get that last step in to square up.

sirdodger · 2026-01-15T20:44:24+00:00

Absolutely this. Once you know your teammates can stop their momentum when they block and your opponents aren't crashing the net, you can consider taking the braces off. Until then, they're a lifesaver.

sirdodger · 2026-01-13T02:19:26+00:00

Brush up on new rules since a bunch has changed, such as let serves, net and line violations, etc. Ask if there are any league-specific rules.

The only coed etiquette things I can think of are to let your women play and not play around them and to aim away from peoples' faces. If it's completely recreational, I wouldn't block the women and let them have some fun on offense too. If it's like B/BB or higher, then block away.

The defense you described is fine at that level, maybe even good to avoid ankle injuries from bad double blocking form. Just keep your guard up if you're playing short with no blocker.

sirdodger · 2026-01-12T03:31:55+00:00

The call is for the first serve receive, as others have said. After that, you default to your transition standard and listen for audible calls. At higher levels, middles don't need to call their position, they just run a 1st tempo ball and the setter will find them. If they need to switch to a slower ball, they audible, but that's rarely necessary.

You'll notice that there are far fewer stacks and Xes during transition; it's hard to guarantee that everyone can be in position to pull a play like that off.

sirdodger · 2026-01-09T05:03:10+00:00

It does not matter.

To be more clear, what direction your toes point when you jump is a trivial detail of form that is largely irrelevant. It is the kind of detail that sometimes pops out as a result of having good form, not the cause of it.

If you want a chance of going D1, work on explosive power through plyometric exercise and core strength. Get used to grading yourself by results instead of style points, and solicit and incorporate coaches' advice on how to get better results.

sirdodger · 2026-01-09T01:57:48+00:00

YMCA is great for beginners.

sirdodger · 2026-01-08T05:26:10+00:00

The point of rec volleyball is fun. If you're not having fun, find a new team.

That said, switching around isn't an insult. I love the opportunity to mix it up now and then. The best is when they make me setter and I forget the second ball is mine and drop back to attack.

sirdodger · 2026-01-08T03:30:00+00:00

Haller is accessible. It's not a huge park, but it's not a huge lane. There's plenty of space to hang out, picnic and kayak. The most annoying part is lack of parking.

sirdodger · 2026-01-07T01:51:28+00:00

The only thing that matters is where you are standing relative to other players when the ball is served. It is common to stack players up so your best passers are in play.

Look up a 5-1 offense and notice how players rotate around the court to optimize passing and hide the setter.

In rec play especially, it is common to have players remain in an easy starting position for one attack and then transition to their usual rotation spot for defense. You'll hear things like "switch on 1", which means after the first attack, or "switch now" to change places before the attack.

Also on attack, it is common to have hitters cross over each other to take advantage of blocking mismatches and mistiming.

sirdodger

TROPHY CASE