Knoxville Volleyball Academy vs. K2 vs PR

[Volley22]

What's the deal with the new volleyball club in town? Lots of talk about unhappy parents at K2?

[beachboy]

There are alot of rumors out there about what you are saying for sure.  it wil be interesting to see if Knoxville can support 3 clubs.  There are rumors out there also about a 4th club maybe starting up.  Very early for that though.  We shall see as things develop.  Sure is fun out there with high school and then club right behind.  Never a dull moment, that is for sure.

[K2ruth]

I would be wary about KBA. It and Phoenix Rising are run by high school coaches to help them recruit and to year round play.

 

PR has been around, and it is not competitive.

 

KBA is just starting, be careful. The owners and coaches don't have much experience. The Bearden coach has I year. He owns it with the person that runs the recreational league. This person gets paid for both. Also the CAK coach is involved, also to recruit.

 

Research a club before you join. How good is the coaching? How competitive will they be? It's not all about price, you get hat you pay for.

[clubonlyforus]

k2ruth, I would expect that kind of response from you about KVA.

 

I agree that PR is not competitive. I dont know if they choose it that way to keep costs down and to keep players from having to travel all over the country or what. But for as long as they have been around, they should be better.

 

K2 had the knoxville area sewn up until they decided to move outside of knoxville, push the parents (customers) out, and have inexperienced coaches and/or coaches that are so insensitive to the girls that they quit before the season is over. Had K2 done their job like they should have, there would have been no reason for parents to decide to branch off and start another club.

 

KVA has some really good things going for it. First of all, the bearden coach has coached volleyball for YEARS. While coaching the two team at K2 for a couple of years, he beat the one team several times because he knows how to coach up the girls instead of screaming at them and then expecting them to play better. He was able to take bearden to state his first year without the best talent. KVA is also offering a hybrid that is between rec ball and club travel so players and parents can get a feel for club ball without spending a fortune. This is something that knoxville has needed for a long time. KVA also has a heated facility with six courts instead of 3. Yes I said three since baseball, and karate took over the 4th court at K2. KVA is also heated instead of being in the TEENS through the winter (that is ridiculous). It is also in KNOXVILLE where it should be. The parents are also allowed to travel with their players and stay in the same hotels because it should be a family thing with all the time and money that club ball consumes. etc, etc, etc.

 

K2 had done us good and we had a good time and experienced a lot, but they decided to push the parents out and thats just what happened, we went elsewhere.

[bigbluevolley]

PR is TRULY set up for Karns High School players. It's all about the coach. The teams don't compete at a high level. They had one team play some "open" events but for the most part they play all "club" level and their players don't get seen like they would in an "open" level. If KVA doesn't do "open" level for their teams then they won't be sending anyone to D1 colleges either. Good luck in figuring this one out. This area cannot support 3 teams.

[clubonlyforus]

KVA will certainly play open level for the top teams. That is something all of us have talked about before is PR playing club everywhere they go and not being seen. Also, we have played open before and been whooped, but we got better as the season went on because of playing better competition. If you are winning tournaments, you are not playing up enough.

 

For the first year, KVA will have at least a couple of very competitive teams.

[bigbluevolley]

Clubonly.....That sounds good about KVA. They should be playing in the open division. What will the Bearden Libero do since she plays for KVA club owner? Do you know?

[beachboy]

Very interesting comments by bigblue and clubonly.  By the sound of it both of these folks seem to have been involved with these clubs and sound like they have the experience to voice

knowledgeable opinions.  Maybe if we are going to discuss advantages and disadvantages of club volleyball we should begin a new thread.  There are some things I would really like to hear opinions about concerning the club culture.  Not just in Knoxville, but the overall state of things on a regional and national level.  If anyone is interested, we can start something new, and this thread can continue discussing AA volleyball.  That is a great place unto itself.

[bigbluevolley]

Beachboy. This isn't in the AA volleyball thread.

Edited September 17, 2013 by bigbluevolley

[bigbluevolley]

The problem on here is that as most of us are not hiding behind a false name,some of us are. These people hiding have their own agenda. For instance K2ruth. Everyone thinks he/she has someting to do with the club K2. I for one don't think this is true. Therefore we all must understand that what some people say on here might not be a true representation of what the club they are pushing feels. I have experience with PR. I am not involved in their managment or any thing like that. I am strictly a parent of a player. So now you know where I am coming from.

[Volley22]

The Bearden Setter's dad started KVA. The Libero is graduating and heading off to the Univ of louisville to continue her playing career.

 

Club volleyball is expensive and each player gets to make a choice. I'm thrilled there's a new club in town so K2 isn't the only open level club in ktown. K2 parents have endured unorganized owners, phone calls going un-returned, mis-information, jacked up prices because of unorganized owners who can't handle money appropriately, and promises made at the beginning of a year that are broken by the end of the first month. K2 players have endured a nasty gym, a hot and cold gym, bad coaches (some are very talented but get stifled in the wake of the owner), nasty verbal abuse (the reason the parents are no longer allowed in the gym), kids of all ages getting thrown out of the gym for made up reasons in the middle of practice with no ride home, and losing seasons in a lot of cases. The 17 team played club level this past year and the 16s and 18s Elite teams finished in the last pool in most of their tournaments. K2 has had some success but mostly in the younger age groups where physical attributes are more equal across the country. There are some gifted volleyball athletes in Knoxville because of God given talent not because of k2.

[bigbluevolley]

Volley22..........I'm guessing you are sending your daughter to KVA? Is that a good guess? Because you will not get any better coaching or quality team composition at PR. From reading your post this is how I see it. K2 will be losing 80-90% of their players due to (what you have described) terrible conditions all around. You didn't mention one good thing about the club. So thank goodness for your daughter's sake and for the sake of the other girls, there is KVA. Now will KVA be able to deliver what you want? How is their coaching staff? I'm sure they have a web site. I will go on there and see their staff for myself. Was you daughter on (what you call) the elite team or non elite? This thread should get good. Let's keep it factual!!!