VolleysoccerDad

As a Knoxville Area Update, I understand that Farragut and Bearden were undefeated in their matches at KIL. Obviously, they didn't play each other. Catholic was 5-1, losing a close match to Bearden. Halls and CAK also had winning records. Karns, Blount County schools and Anderson County schools did not play in the KIL, but have played some matches that count for the record books. Karns swept both Heritage and Maryville and appear to be the class of the region, as expected. Meanwhile, both Maryville and Heritage defeated Oak Ridge and also defeated Anderson County, which will surprise some. In other matches, Oak Ridge lost in straight sets to Sevier County. I don't know any specifics about injuries and so forth, but right now, it would appear that Karns is the team to beat for the entire region. It also seems that District 4 is developing some depth with Farragut, Bearden, Catholic, Maryville and Heritage. I have also heard that William Blount is improved, but have not seen any results for them. Intense district play may allow the winner of district 4 to compete with Karns at the regions, which competes in a district with less quality depth. Any first hand observations of the play so far would be appreciated.

K2ruth, I'm glad that you've come around to my contention that Bearden would be tough to deal with. Their young players will make them better than last year which was pretty good. I wouldn't completely count out Oak Ridge. They may actually have the best middle in the area. She is very powerful and tall and has good hands. They also have a good setter and a couple of other weapons. Very tall team and better conditioned than last year. If their passers come around, they will be tough. Right now, I agree with you that they are 3rd in the district. Catholic replaces a lot of players, but I think that they will be very competitive in the district. Until AC beats Karns, I will have to give Karns the nod, but I guess thats why they play the matches. All of the teams in Knoxville need to get better, because I still think that District 3 and 4 are behind the best districts in the state. The teams need dogfights match in and match out to develop some toughness to compete at state. Right now, no team in Knoxville has what it takes, IMO.

PHargis, You obviously have been around the block a few times and have a sense of "perspective" about what it takes to have a quality program in the long run. Things like coaching, community support, demographics, quality feeder programs (both club and school), school system support, and even a little luck. Its striking to observe a school like Dobyns Bennett or Brentwood and the depth that they have. I imagine that these schools probably have 15 to 20 girls, many club trained, trying out for Freshman ball. Right now, these schools' programs benefit from all of the mentioned factors. That could change in the future. In and around Knoxville, several teams are going through transitions which are likely to impact their volleyball programs. Rezoning last year is redistributing talent from Farragut and Karns to Hardin Valley and somewhat to Bearden. Reclassification has moved Knox Catholic and Anderson County to AAA from A-AA. These schools will re-calibrate as they try to compete at a higher level. This is very striking for Catholic which, as the only private school competing in in AAA, not only cannot recruit, but is playing against teams three times its size. This doesn't mean that these schools are not good programs, but it will likely impact their results. The Knox County school system is not particularly supportive of volleyball and does not sanction the sport for middle school, which affects Farragut, Bearden, Karns and Hardin Valley which all have a significant level of interest from the community. From a demographics standpoint, some communities have a critical mass of interest that make club ball easier. I know that club teams in Nashville travel, but they really don't have to in order to face some good competition. Chattanooga is within two hours of Nashville and Atlanta, which helps. Also, parents from more affluent communities, such as Brentwood, can better afford to pay for club ball. Anyway, the sport provides a positive influence to a lot of kids around the State and it seems that we should have a more positive communication rather than diminishing the accomplishments of our competitors. It wouldn't mean much to beat our rival if they stink.

From what I understand, CF has mad a lot of positive contributions to the Knoxville volleyball community and impacted the lives of many athletes. She has earned the honor and I am sure will positively impact the lives of many athletes in the future.

K2 has done a tremondous job as evidenced by the SRVA rankings. This will pay future dividends for the Knoxville volleyball community, particularly as the little girls get to high school. No. 1 11-year old team, no. 2 12-year old team and no. 3 13-year old team. I've been curious how the results compare with last year but SRVA does not seem to publish the prior year final results on their web site. Does anyone know how to access the final 2009 SRVA results? It would be interesting to put some actual numbers to our perspective, from both a quality and depth standpoint.

Does any one have access to the final 2009 SRVA rankings? It would be interesting to compare them to 2010 to see how all of the mergers, spin-offs, coaching changes, etc have impacted the results. It would also be interesting to see the numbers of teams at each age level to guage the relative health of the sport in the region.