One Man Volleyball Team Beats the Odds

Bob Holmes’s volleyball career began when he visited his doctor because of back pain.  His doctor told him that he needed to exercise more.  Bob took up volleyball.  He hadn’t played the sport in high school or college but took an immediate liking to the game.

Fast forward several years, Bob was recognized by Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, as the athlete who has played the most games in any sport.  He’s played some 17,000 games of volleyball in over 5,500 gymnasiums.  And get this, he’s a one-man team.  He bumps to himself, sets to himself and then spikes on many points.  He has single-handedly taken on volleyball teams at all levels of play.

One Man Volleyball Star Bob Holmes takes on the class

In match-ups against athletes from other sports, he’s beaten 6-man teams representing the Minnesota Vikings, Pittsburgh Steelers, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles and the Buffalo Bills (3 times!).  As if playing against 6 players isn’t hard enough, he’ll sometimes take on 100 people at a time, and beat them.

“My most memorable victory was against the Baltimore Orioles,” said Holmes, “A lot of their players play a lot of volleyball, and so they were really good.  We were tied 24 – 24 in the final game before I won by 2 points.”

With a winning percentage that rivals the Harlem Globetrotters, Holmes has only lost only a few hundred games. Holmes’ volleyball game is punctuated by some crazy spins on his serves and his uncanny ability to spike from anywhere on the court.  These tools have enabled him to beat some pretty athletic teams — he’s even beaten some club volleyball teams and a first-place beach team.

Motivated by his mission to rescue lives by trying to put an end to bullying, drug and alcohol misuse, and suicide; Bob began putting on one-man vs. entire team volleyball exhibitions as a way of generating interest for his message.  A typical exhibition for him is at a high school assembly where he’ll play 3 games:  one against a team of students, one against teachers and one against a combined teacher/student team.  The games take about 45 minutes to an hour to play and in his remaining time, Bob spreads his message about the importance of standing up for yourself and making good decisions.

“The hardest thing about playing by myself is that I average about 50-70 games a week and it is sure a drain on my electrolytes,” said Holmes.  However, it’s clear that Holmes loves what he’s doing.

Recalling a letter he received from a boy who had bought rope to hang himself, but changed his mind after hearing his presentation, Holmes knows that the volleyball games are just the attention getter for a more important message.  Holmes said, “I just wanted to rescue lives and that is what motivated me to play so many games.”

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Visit Bob’s website  www.beatbob.com for information on how to schedule a volleyball exhibition for your school or company.

One Man Beating the Odds: The Bob Holmes “One Man Volleyball Team” Video

Volleyball award certificates and coaching forms. Recognize your players with these stylish awards. Personalize with players’ names, team name and individual words of praise. Print as many as you like for your team. Go to www.coachingwhiz.com

History of Volleyball and Amazing Volleyball Rallies

Can you name the inventor of basketball?  No problem for most sports fans:  James Naismith.  Now quick, name the inventor of volleyball.  Not many folks know that it was a gentleman by the name of William Morgan.

Combining elements of handball and tennis, he invented the game that he called, “Mintonette,” as an indoor past time.  Morgan was a physical education teacher in Holyoke, Massachusetts, for the YMCA.  At about the same time, just 10 miles down the road in Springfield, Massachusetts, the game of basketball was just taking off.

Morgan’s first rules established a net 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) high, a 25×50 ft (7.6×15.2 m) court, and any number of players.  A match was composed of nine innings with three serves for each team in each inning, and no limit to the number of ball contacts for each team before sending the ball across to the opponent.  Two serves were allowed if you missed the first.  Hitting the ball into the net was considered a foul (with loss of the point or a side-out)—except in the case of the first-try serve.

After noticing the volleying nature of the game at its first exhibition in 1986, an observer named Alfred Halstead, suggested that it should be called “volley ball,” and the new name stuck.  It took until 1964 until volleyball became an official Olympic sport.

Perhaps nothing captures the essence of the sport as well as a long, well-played rally.  Check out these videos below of some amazing points.

Amazing Volleyball Rally Video

The University of British Columbia Thunderbirds (white jerseys) took on the #1 ranked University of Alberta Golden Bears (green jerseys). British Columbia was up 1 set to 0, and 14-11 when this point took place. British Columbia upset Alberta 3-1 in this CIS Canada West conference match that took place on November 4, 2005.

A 43 second volleyball Rally

Another Long Volleyball Rally Video

Volleyball award certificates and coaching forms. Recognize your players with these stylish awards. Personalize with players’ names, team name and individual words of praise. Print as many as you like for your team. Go to www.coachingwhiz.com

A Special Olympics Story: The “Gem”nast

EDITOR’S NOTE:  Sports Feel Good Stories is proud to present an article written by Auburn Olympian Reita Clanton.  Clanton played basketball and volleyball at Auburn and was a world class handball player and coach.

*****When searching for gold, a miner may move a ton of dirt to find one ounce of gold – a hard task that may get frustrating – but, the miner does not go in looking for dirt; he goes in focused on the potential for gold.

In 1987, I had the good fortune of witnessing an athletic performance that has had a profound impact on my life, particularly in regard to how I work with young people in teaching and coaching.  I was serving as Technical Director of Team Handball for the Special Olympics World Games at the University of Notre Dame.  It was a busy two weeks of setting up the venue, organizing play, and meeting with coaches.  I had one day off, so I decided to be a fan and see as many events as I could.

My last stop that day was at the gymnastics venue.  I found a seat in front of the floor exercise area and enjoyed watching athletes of all ages and abilities perform their tumbling routines.  As the competition came to a close, the last participant was rolled onto the floor in a wheelchair.  Assisted by his coached, the athlete with Cerebral Palsy stood, and positioned himself in the middle of the floor.  Bent at the waist, his arms and legs severely contracted, I realized that every muscle in his body was fighting against his will to control them.  After helping him stabilize, the coach exited the arena with the wheelchair, leaving him standing alone, facing a full grandstand.

A hush tumbled over the crowd as if everyone was thinking, “What is he going to do?”  We had watched athletes run, jump, turn cartwheels, perform forward and backward rolls. I too wondered, “What could his constricted body possibly do?”  For several minutes all eyes were fixed on this young man, as he attempted to hold his body still.  He lifted his right foot, lost his balance, put it back down and steadied himself.  A few more long moments passed before he again tried to lift his foot with the same result.

At that moment, it was apparent that his floor exercise was to balance on one foot.  As if everyone in the stands realized this at once, the energy began to rise in anticipation and support for this courageous Special Olympian.  He tried twice more – gaining confidence with each attempt.  There was another lengthy pause before his fifth try. When again, summoning all the concentration he could muster to gain control of a body that had never followed instructions, he raised his right foot and balanced on his left for almost 5 seconds.  As his right foot came back to the floor, he slowly raised his fists in triumph, accompanied by a smile that lit the hearts of every spectator.

The crowd leapt to its feet with a deafening roar! Some people were crying. Some were smiling. Others stared with looks of amazement.  But, I knew in that moment that we all stood in appreciation and awe for having witnessed another human being’s courage, will and perseverance to achieve his personal best.  Rushing onto the floor, his coach wrapped him in a hug – he stood in her arms for several minutes soaking in the standing ovation.  Finally, she helped him back into the wheelchair and they exited the arena, leaving me, for one, feeling richly blessed.

Over the years, working with Special Olympics taught me many valuable lessons, and that young man’s performance embodied two of the most important ones:

(1) Never underestimate the power of the human spirit and

(2) Never place limitations on anything or anyone based on what meets the eye.

When I began in Special Olympics, all I saw was how limited I perceived the participants to be, but what I learned through countless examples is that every human being has their own potential and the capacity to fulfill it.  So, if I have the opportunity to coach young people, then I have the responsibility to be an advocate for their potential and create an environment to help them bring forth the best within themselves.  And the beauty of that is – when you look for the best in others, you discover the best in yourself. *****

To find out more about author:  Reita Clanton

“If you never failed, you’ve never lived”

With all the thrills and triumphs in sports, there are also the disappointments and failures.  A player might not make varsity, a team might be upset by a weaker opponent or a player might suffer a season-ending injury.

As the video below shows, failing and setbacks are part of life.  Ultimately, people are judged by how they respond to setbacks, not the setbacks themselves.  Life = Risk.  Try your best.  Never give up.

The Best Motivational Video

How yo-yo play has progressed

“Walk the Dog,” “Rock the Baby,” and “Around the World,” were some of the yo-yo tricks that were popular in my neighborhood.  But, oh how yo-yo tricks have progressed.  Check out the video below of Canadian Jensen Kimmitt winning the 2010 World Yo-Yo Contest.

The oldest surviving yo-yo dates back to 500 B.C.  The toys were made of clay, wood or metal.  In the 16 Century, Philippine hunters used rocks with strings attached to hunt animals from trees.  The word “yo-yo” means “come-come” or “return.”

Donald Duncan purchase the Yo-Yo Manufacturing Company based in Santa Barbara, California from Pedro Flores, a Filipino American for $250,000 in 1929.  Although the company did well for many years, sales slowed in the late 1950s and early 1960s.  Duncan paid for a new TV advertising campaign in 1962 that sent sales skyrocketing.  The launch of the Duncan Butterfly was a huge hit.  Duncan ultimately lost his trademark on the word “yo-yo” and several other manufacturers entered the marketplace.

Today, yo-yo contests abound.  In some contests, contestants must perform 25 looping tricks to regulation standards and can only miss one.  Technology improvements have made today’s yo-yo very different from Duncan’s Butterfly.  However, Duncan still sells about 2 out of every 3 yo-yos in the U.S.

Canadian National Champion Jensen Kimmitt wins the the 2010 World Yo-Yo Contest

Rugby’s Greatest Play: “That Try”

According to the BBC, “The Barbarians are a unique rugby club, with no natural home, membership by invitation only and a philosophy based on adventure and attack.”  In 1973, the club’s play matched their philosophy when they took on the touring All Blacks from New Zealand.

The most exciting rugby play — “That Try” — by Gareth Edwards came early in the match and helped the Barbarians to a 23 – 11 win.

Cliff Morgan, the announcer, described the try like this, “Kirkpatrick to Williams.  This is great stuff!  Phil Bennett covering chased by Alistair Scown.  Brilliant, oh, that’s brilliant! John Williams, Bryan Williams. Pullin. John Dawes, great dummy. To David, Tom David, the half-way line! Brilliant by Quinnell!  This is Gareth Edwards! A dramatic start! What a score!  Oh that fellow Edwards.”

Edwards was voted “The Greatest Welsh Player of All Time” at a Players’ Association dinner in 2001.

1973 Barbarians vs. The All Blacks — “That Try”

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