(00:00:00) Hi, this is J.G. Preston. And this is portfolio Okay, so it's still the middle of winter and maybe you're not thinking about volleyball but the Minnesota monarchs are the monarchs in case you've forgotten or in case you never knew play in Major League volleyball, the only professional team sports league for women in this country and their second season begins next Friday night with me this afternoon of the coach and general manager of the monarchs Walt Weaver and monarchs player Linda Chisholm who was a member of the u.s. Olympic team that won the silver medal at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. He'll have a chance to call him with your volleyball questions as well at to 276 thousand. That's two two seven six thousand here on sport (00:00:45) folio. (00:00:48) Four minutes after 12 o'clock. I'm J.G. Preston and we have volleyball people here in the studio Walt Weaver. That wasn't well that was me banging the the Kong there while we were as a coach and general manager the Minnesota monarchs. Well nice having you over here with this nice being here. And let's see if you're white quirks Linda Chisholm who plays as of this year for the Minnesota monarchs. Thank you for having me. Well, you said you were shy that's not a very shy so listen, we got an hour to talk about volleyball here basically is what it comes down to is that we don't have an extra headphone sitting around for Walt do we Scott? Okay. Okay, we'll find some it's we're not going to use them for a little bit. We'll find some I'll get the phone number out of the way again, then we'll start having a serious conversation or you can keep yours on land. That's fine. Okay, unless they hurt. Can you hear anything? Okay, I'll fill it with that 2 2 7 6 Mm is our phone number. Okay here on sports that works. See I like to do this technical stuff on there. So people can see what radios really like 2276 thousand is our phone number. If you have questions about volleyball about the Minnesota monarchs or about anything else. I'm not guaranteeing will answer any of them. But if you have a question or just wanna hear your voice on the radio to 276 thousand is our phone number on sport folio. Now both of you Linda and Walt are new to the monarchs this year. And since you're the boss Walt I let you talk first. You've been the coach at Apple Valley High School for the girls volleyball team there for more than a decade now, I guess going back to 75 and now here you find yourself frosting into the professional volleyball ranks. Do you find that there's a big big difference in coaching going between the high school and professional here? Well, I think so. The high school is more a Technical Training kind of program. We teach kids all about skills and they start in ninth grade in our school and go all the way through 12th grade. And so you're constantly teaching basic. Skills basic skills basic skills and those things are the differences between winning and losing in high school on the other hand in the kind of volleyball that Linda plays all of the athletes that are here are extremely proficient in their skill level already. I mean their development is at a level that you don't spend any time virtually talking about basic skills, and it's more of a training situation where you train the basic skills over and over and over again and even more importantly than that would be the the team strategy of putting together the kind of offense and defense and practicing that that you feel would lead to a championship. So it must be kind of fun for you as a coach to have this kind of opportunity at did something you never have a chance to do in high school this kind of coaching. It's a it's an exciting thing. It's exciting thing to work with athletes at that level and to see them work in a complex offensive system in a complex defensive system. It's something that I have been around in in a number of ways in my Life but never have actually worked directly with making those decisions. I was chatting with the Dave Peterson the Olympic hockey team coach about a month ago. And I asked him what he enjoyed most about the whole Olympic experience and he said it's great being able to coach athletes that are this good and they can do what you ask them to do. I mean, whatever you you want them to do, they're good enough that they can pull it off and he said, you know a lot of it was the same work he'd do with with ten-year-old kids on a playground on east side of st. Paul but it was really nice to be able to see kids with that kind of both motivation and dedication and ability that could really the sky was the limit as far as what they could do on the ice. He said he really enjoyed that. Well, that's exactly right. And you know, I respect a Peterson a lot we taught together for five years and he has a he has a great respect for volleyballs. Matter of fact, he had his hockey players. He called me about this is a number of years back when he was doing camps in out west and called me in the middle of summer and asked me to send him some stuff on volleyball because he said we're finding out that we have sand courts out here and Our hockey team likes to go out and play in the sand. He said I like to have them do it because I think it's so fantastic for their coordination and their leg development. No kidding. And yeah, we you know, we stay in contact here and there but I have a lot of respect for him. He understands a game and he understands how to motivate people that's kind of that that's been part of the dry land training for hockey players often. Yes, it is, huh? Well, I would imagine that maybe not to such a great extent with basketball, but I'd imagine there's a lot of sports. We're just the kind of physical skills of nothing else that you get through volleyball could you could really hone them that way it takes a great athlete to play volleyball. It combines so many different things, you know, a tremendous jumping ability with a great deal of Power with a great deal of gymnastics ability all of the skills and volleyball require probably as much athletic ability as any sport that we have because volleyball hasn't been so much a spectator oriented sport in this country and there aren't you know, the hardcore volleyball fans who really know athletes are few and far between people probably Don't understand what kind of talent you have with the monarchs and through the whole league which you've got people like Linda we've been Olympic team members who've been professional players in other countries. I mean, you're looking at the with six teams in this league, you're looking at the really rich cream of this crop of volleyball players in the entire United States. There are many players in this league who could play on the national team and have played on the national team for short periods of time and there are players like Linda who have been silver medal winners and and played at a high level all the way through. I'd like to say about your comment in terms of people not knowing the sport. I will guarantee I will give you a personal guarantee that any of your listeners who come to a major league volleyball game in Minnesota and watch the monarchs play. I guarantee you they will walk out saying my gosh, I don't believe that that could be done. I can't wait to get back here. Mmm, we found that to be true all last year. I record was not great, but I never saw one person leave the building that said I could I believe how entertaining this sport is watch at the level that these people play it, you know this year. We will be I believe stronger than we were last year. Excuse me in more able to even generate a higher level offense and defense. Well, you were a kind of a quiet success story but still a very notable success story in Minnesota sports last year not so much on the court, but despite having the worst record in the league the the monarchs had by far the highest attendance in the entire league. That's true. That's true. We had I think at our Opening match or well over 3,000 people. Hmm at the next match there were 3,000 people. We moved to Edina Community Center because the auditorium was booked for the rest of the season and we had capacity at Edina Community Center. In fact, we gotten some major trouble with the fire marshall because one night they had told us we could hold 2,500 people there and we had over I guess slightly over 2500 and the fire marshal came back and said it doesn't hold that it only holds 18. Now you tell us yeah, and so they were not happy with us, but it was an exciting thing for us to see that many people and that was you know, that problem of course was the reason why we moved from Edina Community Center now to Augsburg College which holds according to Augsburg College about 3,000 people. So you'll be playing on campus at Augsburg this season. Yes, we will at Simon will be Hall which is right off Riverside easy to get to central location lots of parking we've we've talked to st. Mary's Hospital which as you know is right next door and they have least us their parking facility. So there'd be no trouble with parking and we have a real nice central location. Now with a larger seating capacity volleyball is the topic here is portfolio this afternoon, I'm J.G. Preston here on ksjn 1330 and we invite your questions for Walt Weaver the coach and general manager the professional Minnesota monarchs and for Linda Chisholm. I'm just letting sit here quietly for a few minutes before I start grilling or here if you like to ask them a question. Give us a call at 2:00 to 7:00 6,000 ever Vigilant Jeff mcandrew sitting by waiting to talk to you and get you on the are two two seven six thousand our phone number on sport folio. I should mention that the reason that we have you in here today. The one of the compelling reasons to do it now is you're actually you're in training camp. You're getting ready for a season. It's going to start on Friday. I mean, it's not volleyball weather, but maybe I supposed to play indoors. There's no such thing as volleyball weather. Well, it's been a pretty exciting for us. Actually the team just got here on Monday this past Monday and we have one week to select the eight players who will fill the final roster and in Minnesota. We've that would give us in a week to practice before our first match but we've decided that we're going to do an exhibition in Winnipeg Canada. Oh really and we'll be leaving for Winnipeg on Tuesday morning and we will play in Winnipeg on Wednesday against the six-time national Canadian championship Collegiate team and be kind of a similar thing to the USA team may be Against the North Stars and some of the tours that they've been on Hmm. This team is a easily the strongest team in Canada and we'll have our hands full but we felt that our choices were to play that match or else to practice another four days when we thought that maybe the playing of the match before our are opening on Friday might be a good thing. So the the match next Friday that'll be one that counts in the standing. That's a major league volleyball match and it's at Augsburg and you're playing the New York team. So we are kluber tease with Mary Jo plur I don't know if your listeners are familiar with Mary Jo but Mary Jo is probably considered often the best female athlete in the United States. She's been around for a couple decades. She won the first Superstars Women's Championship. She's been on national teams and Olympic teams for volleyball just a tremendous athlete. She is a coach and the starting player for that starting center for that team. One of the exciting things about that match to is is Major. Volleyball is a contract with ESPN and some of the games are shown nationally on cable. And this game next Friday night will be one of them. I'm Toby showed that on a tape delay on ESPN. That is correct. It we ESPN will be there. They'll film on film our first match and that will be shown. I believe the next day or it might be on Sunday. We play Friday. It might be shown on Sunday in the Twin Cities at 11 p.m. Hmm. No probably get on a couple times for the week is over. I'll for sure. I think that'd be a great sport for ESPN. I mean, I've seen volleyball televised off and on in the action is nice and concentrated and it seems like it's easy for a camera to follow in it's exciting. So I would I would think that they would get a lot of mileage out of there viable, but I think you should talk to Linda about that because she is also involved beyond the monarchs with the beach circuit and I know that she's been on ESPN a lot throughout I watched her on TV and in in our state in the Summers and she could probably tell you a lot about the television part you kind of get to be a in the entertainment business like Marty said that we got Marty. We got a real live entertainment person sitting in the corner over here. I was born Mention that but I did but but no TV in volleyball seem to mesh together just fine. Uh, yeah last summer was the first time that we ever had any television coverage and reach circuit on the beach circuit. Yeah, and we had three tournaments covered and there, you know played maybe two or three times over and over again and even back here people have said that, you know, they've seen me on TV and and it's kind of strange. Could you just think of beach volleyball being in you know, Los Angeles and Southern California area, but it's been televised Nationwide got a caller on the line. I want to get to and then we'll talk some more about beach volleyball and the monarchs here with the Linda Chisholm and Walt Weaver. 2276 thousand is our phone. Number two two seven six thousand. I got a caller standing by and White Bear Lake. Hi Phil. (00:12:29) Hi JD, how are you doing? Good. Okay. I just had a quick question for Walt one of the problems are going to see volleyball games is the you never know. If you know you can have a quick match 3 games 15 to pretty boring you're out of there and you know, 45 minutes or you know, our exciting five-game match where all the games are closed and I was wondering if there's ever thought any thought given to having top Regional or area USU be a teams play exhibitions before the monarchs games or else may be forming a men's professional volleyball league not a beach league, but you know indoor volleyball league to and then have you know teams in both cities men's teams and women's teams in both cities playing each other. (00:13:11) So you'd be kind of guaranteed a full night's worth of entertainment. Mmm. That's a good question. I think it's something that hasn't been thought a lot about but I would say that the problem that you have presented has been thought a lot about the league has done some extensive thinking about that exact situation. They have considered going to a different scoring system that would guarantee a certain length of time for every match. I have decided against it for this year. I'm not exactly sure as to why they've also talked about Doing a nights when the match would only go three games. Let's say they talked about doing a exhibition doubles match between some of the the beach players like a Linda Chisholm to to develop an interest in the summer kinds of volleyball that are available and Major League volleyball actually would like to get involved in the summertime Beach tours and use a players to play in Major League volleyball for that. So they're considering an exhibition series on nights when the match only goes three games. I I will say if if you followed the the team last year, I don't think that any of our matches in the Twin Cities went three games and most of the match has lasted somewhere between an hour and a half to two hours which would be about the length of a contest in basketball or most of the sport events that we go to here. I think that you bring up a good point though that we would like to certainly keep the volleyball communities. Involved evidently your USB be a player yourself and that's been my background in US V ba and it would be interesting to do that kind of a thing as far as men's volleyball is concerned. There is no question about the fact that we would like to see that developed. I think that it is going to have to get started in a in the young people's lives in our high schools and our Junior High's before the level of interest is enough to promote that kind of activity. But well, I'll bring your I'll bring your comments to the to the officials of the league and see what they think about that kind of arrangement, but it's a good idea appreciate that thanks for the coffee appreciate it. So you go basically with the same kind of system. You would see in a high school volleyball match you play games up to 15 points in the first team that wins three games wins the match and so you've got a real potentially variable length of time involved. That's one of that has been one of the problems in in volleyball is the the fact that you can never predict the length of the match and therefore You know how TV time is you're involved in in entertainment and public radio and I'm sure you're aware of the TV situation to and people like to know what time things are going to happen. And for instance the finals last year Major League volleyball that match went five games and I think two of those games were over time. Wow, and it was the most exciting match of the Year. There is no question about that. But ESPN had a problem because the match went somewhere around two and a half to two hours and 45 minutes and that's a lie, lie blind out about an hour and a half. That is correct. And so they have been struggling with that. They've thought about a 30 point system where it's been tried before it's been used before in Europe and in Canada where you somebody scores on every serve and that makes the length of the of the match much more predictable. They're the only be right now only the team that serves can score that is so if you if you lose a service you have no scoring and that could go on for a while. That's right. And so you could you could ultimately there you could go. I'm to Infinity sure if without a single point being for correct, and so by saying that somebody scores on every point the only unpredictable part of that was we would be if you said that a team has to win by 2 points and the end it could go back and forth. Hmm, but it would be much more predictable and they've considered that but for somebody who's planning is not very well familiar with volleyball planning to go check it out. They should probably allow for maybe a couple of hours in there are matches last year or two. We hit we played 11 matches here. Mmm, they either went some went five someone for I don't think we had any of that went three and they would I would say two hours would be a time. That would be that's probably the closest to correct. I would also say this that one of the goals of the league right now and the reason that Linda Chisholm is sitting in front of us right now is that the league itself wants to create a situation where the teams are more equal in other words they want To parity and to do that they have made sure that they have sent to each team in the country now players that they think overall will be more equal than last year last year. There was no question about the fact that Los Angeles and San Francisco Were A Cut Above everyone else because that's where the volleyball players are. Well that's where they were and they weren't willing necessarily to travel to Minnesota to play and so it's very difficult for us to talk people into coming here at the beginnings of the league now, however, after the league is gone here and and the people who are eligible to play are realizing that we might be around. They're more interested in becoming players in the league. Well, Los Angeles is team is full and San Francisco's team is full and so they have to start looking for other places to play and so the league is said if you want to play in the league You will you know we're going to send you to Chicago or we're going to send you to Phoenix. We're going to send you to New York. We're going to send you to Minnesota and they have to agree to do that. Well this year there was no problem in the players. I think Linda will verify this the players that we have here. This year are very very very good players. We're going to have an excellent team and I think once you have that parity between teams in the league, you are assured that each match while you're not assured but you're closer to being assured that each match will not be, you know, a blowout of gentleman says of three games. And so that this year that's what we're hoping to achieve is some parity and by the parody we will also reap we hope achieve respect and also build some interest all around the league and with luck keep everybody's jobs for a while longer because they'll be more widespread interest and we'll just kind of collapse because one or two teams are dominating. That's correct that there's a whole interesting structure to the league that we'll talk about later, but I'd let Linda sit here quietly too long as this has to stop you're listening this portfolio. You're on ksjn 1330 by the way, I'm J.G. Preston and our phone number if you'd like to talk to Linda Chisholm or Walt Weaver, the Minnesota monarchs volleyball team is 2276 thousand as 2276 thousand. Now you grew up in California, right Linda. Yes, I grew up in Los Angeles. And so I suppose your first week of Minnesota's been a real shock. Well, actually no because I've been playing over in Italy last three years and from September to May where it snows quite often, but it's not quite as cold as this so you were able to actually play volleyball for a living in Italy. Yeah, right after 84. I took a month off and then went over to Italy and then when I come home and may I say play on the beach and then go back again and September so it's a year round thing. Did you enjoy it over there? Yeah, I did very much. I was able to play in three different cities in three different areas in Italy. So I had a culturally I learned quite a bit which was nice as for volleyball over there. It's not quite as strong as here in the United States and coaching isn't quite as good either so you really have to push yourself outside. To keep in shape and to work hard by yourself. What's the what's the fan support like over there? They pretty rabid volleyball people. Yeah. They are they are it's really the second winning sport. They're really below soccer. So you have quite a lot of people that come and watch we had like 2,000 3,000 people sometimes hmm. So and our vendor quite rowdy crowd to they always kick the Umpire after stand. So I suppose you're able to make a pretty decent living off of it then yeah right now, you know volleyballs just getting started here professionally for women and over there. It's been going on for about four or five years. So financially it's a little more stable there, but it's growing here. So many of us would rather stay here and play then traveling, you know abroad is that why you decided to come back and play in the state's now? Yes, I'd rather stay here and you know staying with my family and friends and I like America little bit better than anywhere else didn't quite want to declare yourself. An Italian 03 season's over there. No 227620 (00:21:39) Those (00:21:39) are phone number and we've got a caller on the line in st. Paul with the Linda Chisholm. And what Weaver the Minnesota monarchs. Hi Bob. Thanks for (00:21:45) calling. Yeah, Sam some good volleyball down in Madison. I saw the Cuban national team. I think it was a women's team and I do think it's an exciting sport of like having prayed some non-traditional Sports. I can appreciate his hard to get squared away with a kind of narrow audience in the United States isn't rug isn't isn't volleyball the type of game that if you have two teams one may be a little better than the other the lesser team if they have very good teamwork can't they generally beat the better team (00:22:25) Linda let you take a crack at this because I also wanted to ask you about the whole subject of teamwork in volleyball just in getting this team together, but maybe you can talk about about Talent versus team work and how they weigh in. I've been in positions on teams where we have six in Ja stars that you are great athletes, but just don't work. Well together. Sometimes it has to do with attitude or physically everybody's great. But you just don't have the same person that you have personality conflicts once in a while and you tend to fight on the court. We're what I noticed about this team in our tryouts that we all are happy to be together. We congratulate one another were, you know, pushing hard throughout practice and I see that with this team with the monarchs for instance. We do have a lot of good physical talent, but I think mentally were were quite a strong team. For instance. Like I know I've practiced with the Los Angeles Starlights last year and I noticed that even though they did win they weren't too happy happy team. They fought quite a bit and I think that this year now that we have a good strong communication and we work well together on this team. I think we have a good chance of beating a team like Los Angeles that you know, each individual is physically a great player, but mentally, I think that they just don't work well together as well as we possibly can. I mean be I guess probably non volleyball fans are players don't realize but I mean you like actually have plays in volleyball me. Like there's actually coordinated things going on all the time involving several different people who have to get the timing down just right? Well the center's you know, like a quarterback of the team and we run an offense and we do need to practice, you know, it takes time and we do have different type of playsets there faster. There's some that are higher and you have to get to know your cetera and your Center has to get to know your hitters. So throughout practice, you know, we communicate to each other and it seems to be working. Well. Well, did you play basketball as a kid is a teamwork kind of similar between two sports? No, I never played basketball. I was always doing you never played basketball volleyball very very good. That's good. So now here are you been with the monarchs now for less than a week and your spine is you got people who maybe have played with each other from time to time somewhere along the line played together with the Watson. I played with her on the national team for about a month or two and then (00:24:39) A (00:24:39) lot of us played in college against each other or USB be a tournaments against each other. So we all you know know each other have been acquainted before how easy is it then even given the fact that you're familiar with each other to kind of mesh together and start to play like a team on the court. Is it something that can happen in a week and a half and then be ready to kind of be a well-oiled machine by the time the season starts Friday night. Um, yeah, I think so last night was a real positive practice, even though we're all you know kind of tired because we have double sessions. We don't know if mentally we were just all full of energy and real excited and we played real well together and even though we played against each other. I just think that we we know each other personality and know how to get along with each other on the court now growing up in Los Angeles. I suppose volleyball is just kind of a mean a natural fact of life out there. You must have grown up clearly if you didn't play basketball, you must have grown up with volleyballs just a goal as a sports goal for you. Yeah, I started in high school and then continue through college and then joined the national team and and a lot of us when Not playing in college or on Club teams were down at the beach playing. So it's really a year-round sport. The the beach is kind of like the volleyball equivalent of the playground in basketball, isn't it? I mean, it's the place where even the best players when they're not playing for a living. That's where they are playing for fun. Yeah, it's quite true. There's a lot of players that go down at the beach. Do you can also play beach volleyball you around because of the weather there in Los Angeles is you know, it's quite warm throughout the whole year. So I was just, you know, go down and pack her stuff and play and you play on Sand right usually two against two most the time same size of quarters are the smallest size of Court. That's the same height. You have a lot of cortical over there. Yeah, I suppose especially with the sand the legs really get to work out. Oh they sure do it takes about, you know, two to three weeks to really well. You have to change your approach and when you spike and trying to run in the sand you have to get used to it backing up going forward, but you play barefoot in the sand then right right unless it's a little too hot then you'll wear socks. Uh-huh. But no not sandals with socks socks, huh? Yeah. Did I hear right you were on the the national championship to person beach volleyball team last year? Yeah myself and Jaclyn Silva Brazilian said a from the 84 Olympics, which also tried out here last year for the monarchs. We played together this whole summer and we won nine out of ten tournaments this year and I guess at least I'm led to believe that they have some pretty impressive crowds for these things out there. They are starting to get a crowd there hasn't been much money for publicity. Hmm and up until last year. We've had a few sponsors that came in and really Pub, you know advertise the tournaments and there were quite a few people that showed up especially the ones that were televised on ESPN. Hmm. So it's a good start. We have Linda Chisholm of the Minnesota monarchs with this here on sport folio and Walt Weaver whose a coach and general manager of the monarchs. I'm J.G. Preston. It is just after 12:30 here on ksjn 1330 listening this portfolio. And our phone number is two two seven six thousand. So if you have a About question for Linda Chisholm or what Weaver? Give us a call. We've got some caller standing by and we'll have time to get to you as well. Two two seven six thousand of our phone number here on sport folio. Mr. Bridgewater, please would you like to have mr. Rai stayed on that card there? Tell us what he's doing this afternoon police. Thank you. Good afternoon. This is Mark heisted reminding you of the week in review comes up next at one o'clock this afternoon here on ksjn 1330 this week. We'll look back on the results of the Iowa caucuses and look ahead to the New Hampshire primary and local political developments will examine the governor's budget and spending proposals as well as the speculation over Saint Paul Mayor George Latimer's political future now at 3 o'clock on the best of midday ABC television, Sam Donaldson talks about the presidency and the Washington, press Corps that's coming up this afternoon here on ksjn 13:30. Thank you. Mr. Rai said Morris portfolio now here to to 76 thousand with Linda Chisholm and Walt Weaver, and we've got a caller standing by Minneapolis. Hi Dick. Hi, how you doing? I'm doing I'm doing well. Thank (00:28:40) you. Good I guess this question would be for Walt. I was a big fan of the Minnesota Phillies and I was pretty dismayed when that bleep did not work very well and I wonder whether the volleyball league has thought much about the experience of the women's basketball league and learn anything from it in terms of marketing or League organization. (00:29:05) Yeah, I think talking about the whole way that major league volleyball structured that's almost an hour and itself because it's clear that in this league is radically different in its organization from any other Pro Sports league in the country. But yes, it is. It's dick. I'm I'm from Minnesota myself, and I've been in Minnesota all my life. So the Phillies were part of my growing up also and I don't know a lot about the league structure. I can tell you that the the way that this league is set up financially makes it impossible really for it to fold in a certain amount of time it is it is one person owns all six teams at this point next year. It'll be different the franchise a little Beyond independently in each City, but at this point all of the teams are owned by one person and that person has committed himself to make sure that that the that the league succeeds so it's like one company with six offices. That is correct and because of that we know for instance that last year we were going to make it through the year and that made a big difference and we know this year that the that the league will make it through the year and that makes a big difference. There is already plans being made. Next year and next year there will be Ten teams. At least they have already sold most of the franchises for those 10 teams. So I think the future of the volleyball league is far different than than the way that the Phillies were structured the salary scale is not exorbitant and yet a person is able to make good money if they fall into the bonus kind of like a for instance if a Linda Chisholm was the high percentage hitter for the whole season. She would make more money than her base salary if she was a most valuable player in the league. She would make more money than her base salary so that last year the highest paid player in the league. I think made somewhere around 28 or 30 thousand dollars for three months season for three months season after bonuses. Mmm and everyone else made a you know, a enough to survive for those three months and then of course went back to the things that they were doing because there's kind of a base salary for everybody and then there are performance bonuses on top of that. That's correct. And then also I would say this also that that the difficulty for women's basketball is to me there's two things involved in one is that in Minnesota at least all over the country for basketball. There are so many men that play basketball that people are always comparing and volleyball in our state is something that the girls kind of have a handle on because they are the only ones that really play it on an organized level over an extensive area. There are like 15,000 young women who play volleyball in high schools right now, and of course, there are no boys volleyball program so you can showcase the female talent in volleyball much easier than you can showcase female talent and basketball on the same side of that coin volleyball has things for women that perhaps basketball doesn't there is very little ability for a woman to be spectacular in basketball. Is because of the physical setup of the Court the height of the net height of the basket, you know, now they've made the ball smaller that's made things a little bit better but the basket is still for most women Out Of Reach to do the spectacular things that men can do in volleyball just the opposite is true that females are much more graceful than men and when you start looking at the kind of defense that you see in a very good volleyball match you'd understand it with Dives and rolls and the spectacular kinds of moves that they make that's where the excitement comes from. The same is true with power in most people go watch a sporting event to see Power and Grace and you know, something spectacular and in women's volleyball the power is developed through spiking and it is exciting to watch we have players. It's I guess I would go back to what I said before if if people come and watch the matches They will see things that they will not believe that can be done last night. We did a clinic at one of the sports clubs in Hopkins called medalist clinics. They had their grand opening and we went there and did an exhibition for them last night and it's fun for us because it's fun to see somebody absolutely in shock. I mean that the spectator sitting there really could not believe what they saw one of the most exciting instances is when one a ball that one of our players hit bounced on the floor bounced up hit a clock broke the clock and the clock Shadow against the floor because the ball was hit and it was the clock was at least probably 15 to 20 feet in the air and it was and that was when one bounced off the floor. I mean that ball is being hit like a hundred miles an hour in until you see it in person up close you do not understand. What can be done and then to have somebody hit a ball that hard and have somebody else on the other side dive headlong across an entire court and pass it like it was just tossed to you, you know for somebody else to set you know, it it's pretty exciting or even worse get in the way. Why would anybody want to block us bike? It just just boggles my mind. Yeah. I say thank you and go ahead serve it again. Let's see. We have a better luck this time Linda. We have one girl on our team that sometimes when she hits the ball we kind of run from her awfully hard. Who's there? That's ruthless wonsan. Really? Yeah. At what point did you start thinking Linda that you might be able to at least make some kind of living off volleyball. I mean, you know women in our day didn't grow up maybe thinking like they had the kind of professional sports Outlets that boys always felt like they had well what happened after the 84 Olympics a couple of Italian people came over and Scout it our team here. And they talked to a few other teammates of mine like flow Hyman and and Rita Crockett and some other girls about going over to Italy to play and here we had no professional type of volleyball Beach or endure. And so I still knew that I wanted to continue to play and grow further as a player and the only opportunity I had was to go over to Italy to play but you never really thought about it as a source of income until the Olympics. No, not until after that and then all of a sudden were like, okay, what are we going to do? Because we still want to play and there's not an opportunity here. Mmm. Now do you find are you do you hold down some kind of job during some part of the year. Now. Are you able to pretty much just go with volleyball right now? I'm able to go just with volleyball and it's like for instance last summer we made over about 10,000 and then, you know playing over in Italy I made enough money to live, you know throughout the year and even save some and then next year. It's going to continue to grow on the beach where tournaments are going to be up to twenty thousand apiece. So it's growing and it's going to continue to so you're not living like Kirby Puckett, but you're not having to pursue a Job on the side. Yeah, but got some more caller standing by for Linda Chisholm. And what Weaver here on sport folio. You're listening to ksjn 1330. I'm J.G. Preston. 2276 thousand is our phone number. We got another caller Minneapolis. Hi Steve. Thanks for waiting. (00:36:21) Hi. I just wanted to comment that when I was in high school. Our women's volleyball team did really well, (00:36:28) which I schooled you go to Steve (00:36:30) Athens, Wisconsin. Oh, very small (00:36:32) town in that case. They're not listening. So I'm not going to say anything about well (00:36:34) if this 10 years ago to okay, but it was really something that sort of support they drew and I it's something I remember and listening to this woman speaking the confidence that she speaks within the fact that she's following her career. And this man, I don't know if he left his job and secure job at Apple Valley High School to do (00:36:57) this. Did you water you still coaching in Apple Valley? I did Coach our team this fall, but I'm not teaching in Apple Valley this year you were teaching there before? Yes. I've taught there for 12 years following this. (00:37:06) I think they're because I've seen it in the past that there there can be something that can grow in this and I hope that it does so thank you (00:37:14) for calling support. Okay. Thanks Steve preciate it preciate that 2276 thousand is our phone number and we have another caller IT Minneapolis standing by with a question for Linda Chisholm. Go ahead Maureen. (00:37:24) Hi. I've got a question about press reports when they refer to kills as a statistic and I think that in volleyball, I'm not sure that that's appropriate it kind of slights the pass in the set which which set up the hitter and I'm wondering if it's worth kind of giving people a statistic that they can report in the papers. (00:37:46) First of all for the for the non-initiated Walt Define a kill for us because you know, you do see if you read volleyball reports you do see that referred to something. That is correct. A kill would be a spike that a player hits it hits the floor or scores a pointer aside out would be designated as a kill but it has to be a spike. It doesn't it has to be an offensive attack. It could be a it could be a tip. It could be any well would have to be it would have to be on an attack level. In other words a Spiker would have to do something with the ball to get it to get the floor and to go off a black and and it also scores a point. It would score a point on your side out. Oh, okay. So whether you get a point for it or not that it yeah, right, whether whether it's done by the serving team where the receiving team it still counts as a kill. Yes. So do you agree with the Marine that maybe the Killer is kind of an overrated measurement for judging your volleyball player. I do agree with Marine that there is more to finding out who is effective than just listing The Kills of one player that it does take a great past and it takes a great set for that killer to put the ball down. It's an important statistic. However, because it relates very, you know closely to winning. Hmm, and we do have statistics that for instance you get an assist for every set that is that a player kills that is an assist for the setter the person who if there is one makes a pass that leads to that. Mmm. Unfortunately right now volleyball still at a point where the Press has not does not have a clear-cut system of putting things in the paper and whereas we carry stats on every single skill that a player has so we know what their passing ability is by a percentage. We know what the setting ability is by numbers of assist in a percentage. We know how good a Spiker is by how many killers she has / games and how many errors she has / games and that's called a kill efficiency an error signal goes into the natter out of bounds or so. Yes, so Kills - errors over attempts gives you a proficiency that we use to determine how good a Spiker is. It's just like a batting average, you know, if Kirby Puckett hit 300, you know, he's a good baseball player at our levels if if Spiker hits at 300 level we know she's a good volleyball player and those are important statistics to have but I like Marines comment that we also need to give credit to the center and to the pastor because without them the Spiker would never do what she does best. See this has come as a great Revelation to me getting press releases from the U of M during the volleyball season because people who listen know that I have a great fondness for baseball statistics and the basketball statistics to I love them. I would have now you've got statistics you have box scores. I mean, you've got all kinds of things that you keep track of in volleyball and I guess it's pretty easy to keep track of this stuff, huh? Well, it's not effective type of things. It's not a subjective thing at all, and we have a stat crew that keep stats at all our games and there's a running total of any number of stats that occur in each game with passing. Digging blocking and you've also tried all these things into the financial structure so that there's there's performance money on the line keeping track of these statistics. That's true. I would ask Linda go ahead perhaps lender would like to comment on how statistics have affected her life because she's been on teams where statistics have been very important in relationship to whether you know, she played perhaps or didn't play or I know that they followed them very carefully when she was on the national team. So yeah, we did Ari Salinger was coach of the national team back in 1984 and he relied on statistics quite often and I just remember a few times if you had you know, a negative hitting average you wouldn't be starting the next game or you know, he'd be quite upset with you but I can't say that, you know, I'm actually I fall I haven't really realized that my son statistics. I don't know what to say or are they are they fair and accurate measures of how Actually doing in volleyball. I still think that I don't think the senator gets enough credit and I think that the setter a lot of the times will make it where you're only hitting against one block or rather than 2 so it makes it a lot easier for the hitter and hit are always usually gets you know, the glory for for each play. I still think the setter should get, you know more of a pat on the back to because she does a good job on isolating The Hitter hmm and actually kind of like an assistant basketball where it's not so much the pass itself, but choosing who to pass to write choosing words open and watching your opponent's on the other side. It's you have to you know, have a good peripheral vision and watch the blockers on the other side of the net so she can set the ball where whether or not um, okay. So when you work on the the new and improved volleyball Stat system, then we'll call it the Chisholm system and I'll be known far and wide and no stats winning at the be the only one that's right. It's 14 minutes before one o'clock here on ksjn 1330. I'm J.G. Preston, you're listening this portfolio with the Linda Chisholm and what Weaver of them? Two monarchs and we have more college to get to be happy to talk to you. We've got some time 2276 thousand is our phone number. I need to remind you that the Democratic candidates for president will be debating this afternoon in Manchester New Hampshire and you'll hear it live here on ksjn 1330 starts at four clock all seven of them still left. I guess none of them dropped out yesterday. So you can hear the Democratic candidate for president this afternoon live in debate for clock all things. We'll all things considered will begin an hour late as a result at five o'clock. No Firing Line This Week Firing Line returns next Saturday at 5 here on ksjn 13:30 then tomorrow equal time for the Republicans who did lose somebody yesterday General Haig went to the great Missile Ground in the sky. The Republican candidates will debate in Manchester, New Hampshire tomorrow and you will hear that live tomorrow afternoon same time for clock here on ksjn 1330 get a few people with some passing political interest wandering through the Sports World here. So I want you to know you can hear it live here. All right back to the telephones to 276 thousand is our phone number on sport folio. And we have a caller and far-flung Shakopee barely in the range of this ksjn 1330 signal. Hi Tom, (00:44:06) right? We're picking this up real. Well (00:44:08) really know what maybe we get all the way up to the Western Carver County. Then I'm going to check this out. (00:44:13) I am interested in a call earlier gentleman talked about the structure of the financial structure of the leak. And apparently there's one gentleman who owns everything but I am wondering or I would like to know more about the the local support and in how other than being a fan how I might be able to become involved in In supporting this team (00:44:42) good thing. We got the general manager sitting right here. Mr. Weaver. You're the challenge is thrust upon you. Well, I would say that first of all is if he's asking about the financial structure or in that type of support. I think Tom wants to help keep this thing afloat. Somehow I would say this that we've been very fortunate in this year to have some corporate help from from the area from SuperAmerica and and team choice and Greenway Athletic Club where we train and there seems to be much more than last year there seems to be a lot of people coming forward saying we would like to be involved. I was saying to the Players yesterday when we went and talked to SuperAmerica. It was the very first time in my life that I have gone to a major corporation with a volleyball Enterprise and had them say you bet we want to be involved sounds very exciting. It's something that we support where Community organization we very much want to be part of the Minnesota monarchs and you just tell us what you want us to do and and we'll try and do it team Choice same thing. They what they said was We would like to be instrumental in developing volleyball from the ground floor up. We don't think that there's a sporting good chain in the in the Twin City area that has on a retail basis have sort of Taken volleyball assigns that we want to be important in volleyball and team choices. We would like to do that. We'd like to help volleyball grow. So the excitement is definitely there for that. I'm not sure that that Tom's comment was directed totally at the financial structure. I don't maybe he would like to clarify how he would become involved. Tom's gone we have to do it on our own now. Okay. Well now the Monarch the monarchs will be a free-standing franchise next year under the current plan in Major League Vale. Yeah, right the I mean right now if the monarchs were to not do so well, which last year was not a problem since they had the best attendance in the league, but with one ownership Central ownership for all the teams, the the ones that are doing well can support financially the ones that aren't doing well, so it's kind of a de facto Revenue sharing because all the money goes in the same pocket, but next year that will be different. It sounds like I think it will the the Minnesota team has been sold for for next year already. The the owners have basically wanted to remain anonymous until the end of the season because Robert Burton of it who is the owner of the league will run the whole franchise this season and then the owners will be announced the new owners will be announced in June for the I 1989 season. So they're really kind of out of the picture for this year. Yes, but they've already Ambush their interest for next year. Yes, and you know it from the point of view of an individual becoming involved there. We would hope that there's there's just all kinds of ways and you know for I would say we hope to that they would come to the games to begin with but to become involved on a number of different levels as an individual. Once you're at the game they could if they would like to call our our offices we certainly would like to get them involved in helping us promote volleyball in the state helping them us promote the monarchs. I think there's a lot of ways for an individual like time to be involved. If you would, you know, if you would like to be now you have what a 22 game regular season in the lake. We have a 22 game regular season. We played Augsburg 10 times. Mmm. We are going to eclair what's going on the road for one of our matches in our homes our Wisconsin. Uh-huh, and that date wasn't available. Large we we thought it would be a good opportunity to take the team to another part of the Midwest and and they're real excited about it. They have sponsorships there and they have an arena that holds about three to four thousand five thousand people and they've just been a static about us coming. So we're excited about that too. Volleyball hotbed in Eau Claire. That's right. That's right. We play in so we play 10 here and then want to know Claire and then we play 11 in the other cities in the league. You play pretty much on weekends, or do you know, they kind of scattered throughout the the week dates all of our matches in the at Augsburg are either they're mostly on Fridays and Saturdays. I think we have two Sundays and one Thursday in there. So it's mostly weekend oriented League sure and any of your listeners that would like a schedule of the matches sometimes right now SuperAmerica is printing major schedule posters for us and those will be out soon and all kinds of schedule cards, but we have a monarchs brochure that that they can they can Call the office star ticket office or the general monarchs office at 9213335. And we will mail them a brochure out immediately will tell them the schedule of the games and the ticket prices and everything. They need to know. Okay, so seven minutes before one o'clock here on sport folio on ksjn 1330 still a few minutes for you to get a question in for either Walt weaver or Linda Chisholm of the Minnesota monarchs got Associated Press News at one o'clock and then Mark Heist at as the week in review after that. So if you have a question get better get it off your chest now 2276 thousand is our phone number here on this portfolio. Wild a couple times over the course of the hour. So far, you've said that once people see it. They're excited about professional volleyball. So I guess the question for you A wise and all-knowing general manager is how do you get people to see it? Who who've never seen it before? (00:50:14) I (00:50:15) think that's why we're here. You talked to him online ksjn. It's a great idea. We talked to one ksjn and we try to get out in the media. But you know volleyball is a couple of your calls have alluded to the fact that they play USB be a or they've been involved with a high school program and volleyball is a Grassroots. It is spreading throughout the country on a Grassroots level and there are a lot of quiet people out there that that perhaps don't bombard the media with questions about why isn't volleyball this and why isn't volleyball that but we have found in every volleyball Endeavor in Minnesota that we have ever done that there is a large group of people out there that love volleyball that love to come and watch it in 1973 when the Olympic team came here in played the Japanese women at Williams Arena. We had over 13,000 people there when the Japanese women played, I believe when Linda came here in 1983 before the Olympics, there were 12. Was in people to see them play the Japanese women everything that we have done from Junior Olympic tournaments volleyball tournaments two summers ago that we put on there were six or seven thousand kids here playing volleyball at all. The Saint Paul College is Hamlin McAllister all during a three period of time there's a great deal of interest in Minnesota that unless you are around the volleyball Community. You don't always know so I think as that keeps spreading and also I'm not sure if you're aware of the fact that in our in every one of our suburbs in the area and every one of our towns, there are recreational volleyball leagues in Apple Valley for instance right now in the winter. There are over 1200 adults playing volleyball in their recreational program in Apple Valley alone and Apple Valley alone. And that is true of every suburb in the area and all those recreational people. Those are the ones that little by little were finding our kind of going. I really love this game. I wonder what it's like on the Will that they play and they end up coming to one match and they're the ones they're walking out going Mile and I cannot believe they do that and then they want to get better and they go back and they have a renewed excitement and they tell somebody else and it's it just is a Grassroots kind of spreading of the word. So basically just by effectively tapping the people who are already connected to the volleyball Community somehow his players themselves. You've got the potential there to do very well with a professional franchise. Yes and more and more and more people are hearing about the monarchs all you know, we have talked I've gone to businesses to radio stations the TV stations and it seems like the person that we're talking to always now has a connection either my wife plays volleyball and she's a fanatic and she wants to come to all your games or last year a good friend of mine called even in fact Dave mon. I don't know if you I know he's in a competitive radio station, but all friends in the end. Yep. That's right. And did you know Dave Mona had last year on the air? After one of our matches we played on the same day as the University of Minnesota football team had their inter-squad spring scrimmage and one of the caller's called in and said, you know, I don't know. He said I yesterday I went to the University of Minnesota football inter-squad scrimmage and on the same night. I went to the Minnesota monarchs Pro volleyball match and he said I cannot tell you how excited I was to see that match played. He said that is a great Sport and Dave Mona said, you know, what's ironic that you say that because I was laying in bed last night 11:30 and a friend of mine called and said Mona you got to get to a pro volleyball match. I just got home. This is an exciting thing. And so the end result of that is that we've had some contact Now Dave morning he works with us in PR also so but it's a It's that kind of thing the word when you got a good product. And you can you just get people into the stands if somebody goes and sees it as excited about it. They go tell somebody else and pretty soon it spreads and now the newspapers are involved. We've met with both of them this year just had meetings with them last week and you know, the all of a sudden the assistant sports editor at the st. Paul Dispatch in Pioneer Press turns out to be a fanatical volleyball player herself and you know, she's excited about it and it just it just keeps growing that way. So we think that you know with the that Augsburg College holds 3,000 people and we're excited we're looking for sellouts and I think we'll get them. I wish you both the best of luck and I thank you for coming over Linda Chisholm of the Minnesota monarchs. Welcome to Minnesota. It's been a cold week but it gets better after this. So thank you. You got better times. Look forward to I'm sure hope so and what Weaver the coach and general manager has been here long enough to know that the weather stays like this for a my ha ha ha. Thank you for coming over wall. I appreciate it. Well, thanks J.G. We really appreciate you having Yes, it's this kind of support in this kind of opportunity for us. It's going to get the word out and you and you start the 1988 season Friday night at Augsburg College against the New York Liberties. That's right. And anybody who wants information on tickets just needs to call 91 3335 during the weekdays and we will see that they get it. Okay. Thanks for being with us here on sport folio. My thanks to the people who made the trains run on time here to our associate producer in absentia Sue winking who makes the arrangements to have this happened to Jeff mcandrew who answer the telephones was a busy young man today and ascott Bridgewater who it's been a while hasn't it Scott since you've been in sport folio chair. You haven't haven't lost a beats got good going. Thank you for listening. I'm J.G. Preston. See you next week here on sport (00:56:01) folio. (00:56:35) This Is ksjn 1330 Minneapolis st. Paul it's almost one o'clock coming up next is world and national news from the Associated Press Mark High state has the week in review after that and don't forget the Democratic candidates for president live in debate at four o'clock this afternoon.