Rob Lutz, Director

  Wow! what a weekend in Birmingham, :o)  We had our most successful (to date) tournament in GA5 club history.  From a competition standpoint, please consider these facts -
 
1)  Going into the tournament, 11 of our participating 12 teams were ranked in the top 3 of their respective divisions.
2)  2 teams were seeded #1
3)  11 made it to the Gold Bracket on Day 2
4)  12-Tom played in their first travel tournament (another GA5 historic touchstone)
5)  2 teams qualified for the quarterfinals and a 5th place finish:  14-Sara and 15-Bryan
6)  3 teams made it to the semi-finals:  13-Deanna, 14-Haylee and 18-Jeff
7)  6 Teams made the Tournament Finals:  15-Mallory, 16-Naomi, 16-Luis, 16-April, 17-Ken and 17-Rob
8)  We had our first-ever All-GA5 Final - 16-Luis played against 16-Naomi
9)  17-Ken and 16-Luis took the home top honors (not too mention cool t-shirts) as Tournament CHAMPIONS!! 
  In a nutshell, GA5 DOMINATED the courts at BVC's Birmingham Bash - congratulations to all of our teams.
 
  So often we focus on the wins and losses we lose track of the other goals GA5 Volleyball Club strives to achieve - creating a quality experience for all involved. 
 
 It was really cool to see GA5 take over the lobby of the Hampton Colonnade for breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings (9 GA5 teams stayed there)- it was even more rewarding to hear the hotel staff tell us that we were a "well-minded group and it was a pleasure to have us stay in their hotel."
 
  GA5 Families stick together and help one another - and no, I'm not just talking about the outstanding food tables (keep 'em up, they're great!) - I'm talking about what happens when a GA5 Family car blew a tire on the way home from Alabama.  Not one, not two, but four GA5 families stopped to help and made sure all players and parents made it safely home. 
 
  As your club director, I'm excited to see how well we do on the court.  But these last two examples are what make me really proud to be a part of such a wonderful organization.  To me, this is what GA5 is all about - Character - doing the right thing even when you don't think anyone else is watching.
 
  See you all in the gym  :-)
 
ROB