Druhna Chris: Volleyball Recap

I’ve got the Falcon Spirit up in my head, down in my feet, deep in my heart, and all over me. One of the Future Leaders favorite songs was out in full force as our National Youth and Adult Volleyball Tournament was held in Pittsburgh. There was great camaraderie among the 4 teams that were mixed from different areas. As always, we saw great improvements and great play as the weekend wore on.

Our teams were mixed with adults and all age groups of our Youth Members. The Falcon Spirit came through as the older athletes helped the younger athletes and even the athletes who never played volleyball before. Someone was always helping anyone who needed it. We had some very shy people who came out of their shells and the very confident ones who just enjoyed being at a Falcon event.

Our largest contingent arrived from St. Louis, Nest 45. They were followed by Nest 86, Hamtramck. A large Nest 8, Pittsburgh group attended as well as another Pittsburgh group from Nest 176, Lawrenceville. Nest 118, Pittsburgh was represented by one athlete also. All together there were 2 teams of 7 people and 2 teams of 8 people.

To make the weekend a little more fun we added a Cornhole Tournament to our agenda. We had 16 teams compete in a Single Elimination Tournament. What a nice little twist to the weekend.

Before I give you the list of winners, I want to share my appreciation of the following people who shared their Falcon spirit with us to help make this event a success…

To the National Falconette Commission for their donation to help cover all the costs of the Tournament. The Falconettes also purchased the t-shirts that all participants received at the Tournament. It all comes with your support of the raffle. Thank you to everyone for that!

Thank you to Nest 42, Chicago Heights for the donation of $100 for snacks for the weekend.

Thank you to District IV Pittsburgh for the delicious South Side pretzels for snacks on Saturday and to Melissa Puskar for picking them up and delivering them to us.

Thank you to Rege Paschel Nest 8, Pittsburgh for the donation of Gatorade and water for the entire weekend. Also, for all his help with the food and anything that we needed at the gym for the weekend. It was great to have him there.

Thank you to Druhna Trish for her delicious cookies for our dessert on Friday. Also, for her help keeping score all weekend and anywhere else help was needed.

Thank you to our scorekeepers and helpers: Patty Lawrence, Ruth Mangan, and Carol Ann Kuczma from Nest 118; Sam & Melissa Palombia, and Jan Rump from Nest 8; Janet Knauber from Nest 86. Thank you to Jason Yeske and Todd Gould from Nest 86 for helping me reassemble the balloon arch for the dance. It added a nice touch to the dance and the photos.

Special thank you to Patty Capozoli who is my right hand at the Youth Events. She keeps me organized and ready for anything.

Thank you to Brad Puskar who is always willing to take photos of the group. He does a good job of it too!

Last but not least, thank you to my husband Mark who helps with everything at all my events. There is not enough room to share every way he helps me before and during and after these events.

Thank you also to the people who coordinated the groups who attended. I know that in these COVID times it is difficult to get people to travel for things. I am grateful to those people who organized their groups and got them here to have a great weekend.

It takes a village to run our events. These people were my village for the weekend. Thank you for sharing your Falcon Spirit with me and all of the participants.

The Volleyball Tournament was completed on Saturday and the following are the order of the winners:

• 1st Place
  Brooke McPherson – Nest 86
  Sammy Palombia – Nest 8
  Ellen La Londe – Nest 176
  Bella Hoffman – Nest 176
  Jason Yeske – Nest 86
  Todd Gould – Nest 86
  James Blessing – Nest 45
• 2nd Place
  Haylee Hoke – Nest 45
  Devin Yanick – Nest 45 friend
  Molly Yeske – Nest 86
  Dorothy Kalinowski – Nest 176
  Michael Blessing – Nest 45
  Nicholas Blessing – Nest 45
  Brad Puskar – Nest 118
• 3rd Place
  Desiree Yanick – Nest 45 friend
  Tyler Hoke – Nest 45
  Parker Palombia – Nest 8
  Chase Burks – Nest 8 friend
  Kristen Johns – Nest 86
  Maya Yanick – Nest 45 friend
  Michael Johns – Nest 86
  Kayla Yanick – Nest 45 friend
• 4th Place
  Adam Hoffman – Nest 176
  Stella Urquhart – Nest 86
  Reese Bertich – Nest 86 friend
  Mary Blessing – Nest 45
  Grant McPherson – Nest 86
  Matt Zyntiak – Nest 45
  Jaidon Jones – Nest 8 friend
  Ryanna Di Meglio – Nest 8

The Cornhole Tournament was completed after the Volleyball and the following are our winners:

• 1st Place
  Todd Gould and Stella Urquhart Nest 86
• 2nd Place
  Ryanna Di Meglio Nest 8 and Jason Yeske Nest 86
• 3rd Place
  Matt Zyntiak and Desiree Yanick Nest 45
• 4th Place
  Patty Capozoli Nest 118 and Jaidon Jones Nest 8

We finished up early enough for everyone to get back to the hotel and relax for a bit before the Awards Banquet at the hotel. We had a delicious dinner and passed out the awards for both Volleyball and Cornhole. We followed with our usual evening dance. Thank you to our DJ’s Kristen and Michael Johns and Melissa Puskar. You kept everyone moving and having some fun. Our evening concluded with the usual closing song “Romeo and Juliet.” Everyone went their separate ways, departing at different times depending on where home was.

I have to say it was so nice to be in person doing our thing again. My favorite part of the Volleyball is seeing how much everyone improves as the weekend progresses. It is all because we share that Falcons Spirit and help everyone to get better with every game we play. Thank you to everyone who was a part of the Tournament. It really was a fantastic weekend!

I got that Falcon Spirit all over me to stay! See you at Camp!

Czolem!
Druhna Chris Puskar

• Click here to view photos from the 2022 Tournament.