K2ruth

East Tenn should be really competitive this season, with an all time high number of club players. Anderson County is easily the best team in the Knoxville area and Sullivan South will be the top of the upper east TN teams. AC got hit hard with injuries and illness the last week of the season or they would have made noise at the state level.

I would rank the top ten as follows:

1) Anderson County, big, athletic, senior heavy;

2) Sullivan South, nobody up east has the talent to even challenge them, easy road to sub state;

3) Hardin Valley, took advantage of ACs injuries last season to break thru, great Libero,

4) Catholic, sneaky good, well coached

5) Karns, great OH, big setter, could upset HV

6) Sullivan Central, my dark horse

7) Tennessee High, great athletes, could make a move

8) CAK, great OH, little to simple of an offense, shouldn't be challenged AA, should be in state finals

9) Webb, best of the privates

10) Farragut, the other big winner when AC got the injury bug, over achieved last year, weak district helps

CAK should compete for a state title in AA. They have a D-1 player. Coach makes some odd moves but they have a ton of talent.

HV may have the best player in Knoxville in their L. She can do it all. She is also the teams best hitter and can crush from the back row. Their middle is up and down. They use her too much, and if they move the L to OH and get her the ball they could make the state tourney. Reagan is one of the best players to ever play in Knoxville. If they use her right watch out.

Karns is dangerous. Jessica their OH is the best player Karns has ever had. She is a hammer. If they had a better setter she would be even better. She has to hit balls three feet off the net, and she is still effective. They will experiment with setters to find out who sets her best then it is on.

The Early Bird is next weekend. The better teams are there. I will give updates.

Nice thought.

Please pray for the Anderson County team. A car wreck last week claimed the life of a young father, and two players were injured. It has been a rough few months for this school. In the spring five students were critically injured with life altering complications, all were players.

Puts things into perspective.

Has Mike Jones at Catholic been fired?

PH, the problem has to do with great team, vs great player. Ravenwood has a GREAT TEAM. Top to bottom, They have no weaknesses. Karns had that the last 2 years. Sometimes people mistake great teams for great players.

Next year Knoxville will have 5 elite players that are Division 1 ready, 4 seniors and 1 junior. 1 at Karns, 1 at CAK 1 at HV and 2 at Anderson County. CAK will do well in small school with a great player. Karns probably won't make it out of district because they have to play AC and HV. Does that diminsh the Karns player?

Karns and AC offer better instruction than CAK does that diminsh the CAK player?

I don't think so. All 5 of those girls will deserve all-state.

I think that the best way to evaluate the quality of a program is to look at how many players go onto college on a scholarship. Our club has begun making that a point of focus. Last year Karn's great senior class went onto college. Unfortunately, other than Anderson County, we don't have many Knoxville schools push college.

Does anyone know how many former players are currently playing in college?

Cheap shot. All State recognizes the BEST PLAYERS in the state, not the best teams. Hayek was the best setter in the state, any classification. Just ask the college coaches. Winstead at HV is an elite player and a D-1 prospect. I scratched my head at Crockett and would agree that Hartmann is probably not deserving. Crockett was not the player that Seviers at Karns or Couples or Smith at AC. Either of those 3 should have made it over her. Seviers got overlooked because she is a soph and on a mediocre team. I think she is fantastic and would argue that she may be the best soph in the state. Couples and Smith got hurt by the fact that AC played poorly in the tournament. Again, not making excuses, but AC got hit hard with 2 pretty serious illnesses which resulted in 2 of their best players (Smith included) being hospitalized. They had a great season up to the last week of the season and the tournamnet. Without the illness they were final four caliber.

I agree on Hartmann??? Lot of discussion on here about funny business with her mom and coach making up fake stats?

I think the top college prospects from this group are Cerino/Hutson from Ravenwood; Hayek the Anderson County Setter and Shaunessy from Soddy. Have any signed yet? Not sure if the Ravenwood hitters are seniors?

Great job to all of the Knoxville girls!

Stop this thread.

However, I don't think this had any effect on the Ravenwood game. Ravenwood is playing well.

Cheating, yes. Illegal by TSSAA standards, no.

Certain schools will do unethical things for a win. I think that is cheating. These aren't prohibited by TSSAA thus they get away with it. I think there is a "charachter" "integrity" elemeny that has to come into play.

Is it wrong to lie about stats?

Is it wrong to recruit?

Is it wrong to play players from out of zone?

No question, it is wrong. These are not the lessons we want to teach our daughters.

Is it illegal?

We have become a culture of grey, as opposed to black or white.

These parents, coaches, and AD's are the ones that have to sleep at night, and look themselves in the mirror.

Do I agree with it? That is my decision. Do I want my daughter to learn these lessons? No.

Some people believe that winning is more important than integrity. That is not something that TSSAA will get involved.

It is what it is. Farragut as a team, coaching staff, and school chose to follow that path. Let it go. Cheer for them, or against them. They played within the rules. They think it is ok. Let it go.

Farragut has all K2 players!!!!

I was at the district and was on the fence who to pull for between Farr and Cath. No both teams well. I have said before that Catholic was coming on strong, but I think they benefited by some bad decisions by Farr. Too many tips. Also, I want to back up on something that I said earlier, I actually think Farr went to the outsides too much. Catholic adjusted and almost won when Farr didn't change back.

The Right side hitter for Farr did not get near enough sets. She is playing great right now. It almost felt like the Farr OH was getting too many sets, so they became predictable? why the change? AG did the coach lose confidence in the MH and the RS?

AG, calm some of these posters down. If you lose to AC the season is over, no sub-state, over. Farr looked tight in the finals against Catholic.

Also, AC has been playing hurt. One of the Oak Ridge parents told me that their big outside hitter didn't play in the tournament because of an illness that she had been battling. She is the best all around player in Knoxville, without her it is a big loss. Also, this AC team is young, only 1 senior. They play up and down. When they play "up" they are fantastic.

This was the WORST possible draw for Farragut! You guys are giving them way too much bulletin board material. My advice is to get off coacht until after the match. AC has alot of talent, and pride. I would suspect that they will be ready. I know you said you wanted AC in the first round, well now you got them. My fear is if AC takes the first game they will get on a roll, and Farragut may have a rough night.

I am rooting for both Farr and Catholic and will remain neutral if they meet in the finals.

I have not posted for several weeks because of my relationship with several of the Farragut families. The only issue for this thread has to do with the posting of false stats in the paper.

Mr. Hargis, the TSSAA won't get involved in this type of situation because it falls outside of what they control. Please don't encourage people to go to the TSSAA on issues that they shouldn't be involved in.

There is no rule that prohibits a coach from making up false stats. It is an ethical consideration. As the CAK fans have pointed out, this is happening. Just look at the paper. Also, the fact that the regular Farragut fans that visit this cite are being silent shouldn't be considered as anything beyond embarassment.

I don't see how anyone can defend this type of behavior. It is unfair to the setter and the team to put false information out there. This isn't a dating web site!!!

This is a matter for the Farragut AD and the principal and no one else, especially not the TSSAA. If the parents have a problem let them handle internaly. There are some great girls playing for Farragut, they shouldn't have to worry about this. If the school and the parents are ok with publishing false stats then that is their decision.

Now that the KIL and Early Bird are history, maybe we can get a clear look at the top Knoxville teams.

Several Farragut posters (and the local paper) were touting the Lady Admirals, but as expected the best area team is Anderson County, by a mile.

AC has the best setter, libero, and hitters and they are young. They beat Farragut, at Farragut, and almost won a tough early bird. The only other Knoxville team to make the gold was Farragut who AC put out in the 1st round.

Each should win their district, but Farragut could be upset early.

Hardin Valley looked good, so did Webb and Heritage. Karns is not in the top 10 which is too much of a drop off for a team that made state the last 2 years. Oak Ridge is also weak. Catholic and CAK are good (I think Catholic could win their district) and I liked Grace Christian. Bearden and Maryville will be good.

Here is my new ranking.

1)Anderson County (by alot)

2)Farragut

3)Hardin Valley

4)Catholic

5)Webb

6)Heritage

7)CAK

8)Grace Christian

9)Bearden

10)Maryville

What surprised me is AC has 6 or 7 college prospects, and only 1 club player. What do they have in the water.

It won't be DB!!!! I went to Oak Ridge to see DB play Signal Mountain (a team I really liked) and the only 2 teams that looked like they could make state were Anderson County and Soddy Daisy both of which won their pool.

PH I know you are an AC (and anybody else from ET hater) but they are 5-0 and started three girls over 6 ft and looked pretty impressive tonight. Farragut is the only Knoxville team that could compete with them and I think AC is better.

I am going to hit Farragut tomorrow, I want to see Blackman.

DB was slow, and small. They won't make it out of district.

Apparently AC beat Heritage in 5 at Heritage last night. Was anyone there? We have a parent that said AC lost the 1st game 25-23 and lost a senior captain to a hand injury. They already had a hurt OH, MH and Setter. Heritage then won pretty easily but then AC came alice and blew the match open. T]Our parent said that once AC started hitting they couldn't be stopped.

I stand by my earlier posts PH AC, eventhough they are young, will be the best team in East Tenn if they get healthy. Apparently none of the injuries are serious, but the AC coaches are using this time to let the players get healthy and give some reserves some time.

I think Catholic and Heritage will compete with Farragut for the District, but if AC gets healthy they will win the Region.

Catholic may be the surprise of Knoxville. I think that by October they could beat Farragut and win the district.

I think Farragut may be as good as they are going to get. Catholic is better coached, and Farragut does not play well under pressure.

I am critical of the Farragut coach's decision to hide from the better teams in the Early Bird this weekend. It sends the wrong message to the team. It says that she is afraid of playing the stronger teams. This helps the record, but you don't get better. You can't hide in District.

Also, I think I may have overlooked Heritage earlier. From what I here they are as good as Catholic or Farragut and almost made it to the Regional last year. They are so far east that I don't see them ofton, but I am hearing that they are loaded.

This district is shaping up well. I thought with Farragut's talent they would win it easy but now I think Catholic, Heritage and Bearden could all finish 1-2.

Farragut should make the semi-finals of the early bird pretty safely with the way their coach stacked the draw. 3 of the better teams won't even make it to the gold round because the coach fixed the brackets.

Heritage has a good test tomorrow night against an injured AC team. They scrimmaged Catholic last week and still have 3 of their best players hurt or out. They hope to be healthy by Labor Day. Heritage should beat them tomorrow, but even if they don't I still think they could beat Farragut.

Good luck to all.

I wanted to update my "predictions."

Catholic has moved up to being equal to Farragut. Also, add Heritage to the mix, just ahead of Karns.

I just got off the phone with a Farragut and K2 parent and reread this post.

First, other than Catholic K2 is NOT associated with any High School program, and have more Farragut and West Knoxville girls than anywhere else. We may get 1 AC girl a year, 2 at most. We care a great deal for the athletes at Farragut, and think they are terriffic young people.

I just commented that Farragut should start the season better because of club play, but they did last year as well. Their coach relies on club to train the players, and nothing is wrong with that. I also have the opinion that some players are in the wrong position, and some should be playing more. Just an opinion.

The idea that AC is ancient history must be a joke? Of the last 20 state tournaments I think they have been in 17. 2 years ago they missed it because they had a young team and were placed in a district with Karns who had a powerhouse. Last year they had a coach quit and another get really sick right before season started. Still they should have made the tourney. To be honest they overlooked a strong Farragut team in the first round of the Region played at Farragut. I was at the tournament. AC had beaten Farragut the week before, and quite frankly was looking past them to a Karns rematch of the District Finals? It happens.

I like Sullivan South. I stand by my prediction that South and AC (if AC can get healthy 3 players an OH, MH and setter are injured) will make state.

And to the not so anonamous AG if Farragut is so confident why did they place themselves in the weakest pool for their own tourney while they put AC, Dobyns Bennett. Blackmun, GPS, Karns and the other strong teams together? I guarantee that AC wouldn't have done that. If you are so confident why not replace that TOUGH matchup with Powell that you have in pool play with AC?

Didn't think so?

If you want to be taken seriously play the tough teams.

PH, made me laugh!

First, CAK does NOT have the best AA coach. I think that title still belongs to Coach Neely at East Ridge. Not even the best in the top 5 in coaches in Knoxville. 6'6" is more like a 6'3" work in progress. I don't want to embaress her by using her name. Please don't because this is a nice family.

I would not put CAK in the top 10. In Knoxville Farragut, Karns, HV, and Catholic will all be better, as well as AC and Maryville which are close to home.

As far as Orcat, I think she is a little disappointed with the direction of the program. Sad that a school that was in the sub-state a couple of years ago will probably not have a winning season. Maybe coaching still has a little bit of impact!

I think play days are poor indicators of a teams strengths. When do the first real tournys start?

The 2 teams that will represent the east in the state tournament are Anderson County and Sullivan South.

Upper East TN is down this year. South is the best of the mix, but overall the Region is week. DB is not in the discussion, and I am surprised about the talk around Central. I would expect either Science Hill (the best coached team) or TN High, the most athletic team, to join South in the sub-state. It wouldn't surprise me if South got upset along the way because they play hot and cold, but they have a good setter, are well coached, and if they win their Region and can play at home they should make state. If they have to travel it could be 2 Knoxville teams that go.

Concerning Knoxville, this is a GREAT time for Knoxville volleyball. Hardin Valley, Bearden, Heritage, Maryville, Catholic, and Karns will all have strong teams and will compete with front runners AC and Farragut for the title.

Here is what I know, you can't judge AC's team by what they do in July/August/or Sept. They truthfully play for Oct. They don't have many girls that play club and start slow. Their coaches are as good as they come, and they have support from a long line of ex players and coaches. They seem refocused, and have a ton of talent. The best setter in the region, the best Libero in the region and the best group of hitters. They will find the groove.

I like Farragut. Ton of talent (maybe MORE players than AC) but I have concerns about who is playing and who is sitting. They have some girls that aren't in the rotation that are fantastic. They are good enough to challenge AC talent wise, but it depends on if the right girls are in the right spots.

Karns lost alot but has super soph Seviers to fill in the holes. She is already the best hitter in the KIL and should be able to take over the games. She is good enough to upset either AC or Farr.

I love Bearden and HV. Lot of energy!

My darkhorse is Catholic. I think they have enough athletes to win the Region. Last season they quit listening about mid season.

I rank ET as follows:

1)AC

2)South

3)Farragutt

4)Karns

5)Catholic

6)Hardin Valley

7)Science Hill

8)Bearden

9)TN High

10)Maryville

Good post Jumper. I agree with alot of what you say.

At Karns this year the 2 middles and the setter were strong enough to attract attention if they played club. If they didn't play club would they have gotten a scholarship? Don't know.

I think the high school coaches should do more. At most schools they rely on the club coaches and that is simply not feasible.

Now that I have become familiar with what Anderson County is doing I would suggest it as the model for what the other schools should be doing. They play girls whether they play club or not. This is because of the following:

1)Reputation. The coaching that the athletes receive at AC is equal to or superior to what the athlete will receive in most small colleges. The college coaches know what they are getting.

2)Grades. Does any other school place the same emphasis on grades? I was told by one of their coaches that the first question the colleges want to know is the GPA (not the vertical) and the charachter of the athlete.

3)Relationships. The AC coaches take the time to build relationships with colleges in the southeast, and take the time to help the athlete.

I can't beging to tell you the number of coaches that have contacted a club player and said "Hey, I called the AC coaches looking for a setter and they said they didn't have one, but really bragged on you!"

How cool is that.

Do you think the AC coaches would be willing to hold a workshop on this issue, and do think the other high school programs would even come?

I started another thread where I gave the opinion that the best school to attend if you want to play in college and I stand by that staement. It is sad that more schools don't do more.

Another thread has started that talks about the problems that the Karns players have had with scholarships. That is a shame because they had a great senior class.

It shows how lucky we are in East Tennessee to have a program the caliber of AC, because they help everyone. The AC coaches have been great in working with other schools and helping their players get scholarships.

Bratman, Bigfoots daughter played at Karns which probably had the most talent in a single class that Knoxville ever produced. @ big middles, a fantastic setter and OH (who was a great all around player) were fantastic. They are a good illustration of the point being made on a previous post about why Anderson County is the place to play if you want to attend college. AC had 4 seniors, all short. 3 received volleyball scholarships.

The difference is the history of the program. I agree with Bigfoot that in some situations like Karms and Farragut (both of whom have strong programs) the athlete has to do more. A school like AC has had HUGE success in placing athletes in college.

Bigfoot is right, at most places the athlete has to take the lead. At K2 we try and help. Also, the AC coaches will usually help any local player. Over the years they have been fantastic about giving references to local players, and have helped dozens of athletes in East TN get scholarships. We are lucky to have a program the caliber of AC in our area. It helps promote volleyball for everyone!

Great Post.

Hopi, you are too kind. Kelsey is a special young lady. She and Ashley Pittman, along with another AC player Jordan Bollinger, were alot of fun. Her senior year was the year that I thought Tennessee volleyball was at its peak. AC and Greenbriar were fantastic, as was Ryan and Brentwood.

bb317 you made me think about Ryan. When we got to TN we had already heard about Father Ryan volleyball. I actually think that Ryan has the number volleyball program in the state followed by Brentwood then Anderson County. I see AC more, and am probably so impressed by them because they don't have the talent pool of the other schools.

Volleyball is an expensive sport to play. AC is a rural school where the coaches pretty well have to teach the freshman each year how to play. Hopi's daughter is a good example. She had never touched avolleyball before coming to AC as a freshman. By her sophomore year she was setting in the state finals.

Schools like Ryan, AC and Brentwood have it figured out. They all are first class programs.

Good job!

It was Gardner Webb. She is the best Libero I have ever watched in high school, and she will probably start her first year.

Hopi, your daughter is FANTASTIC! I think she will break the ceiling this year and bring the title back home to Tennessee!

I liked your post. I agree that this program, and these coaches are special. Did Kelsey enjoy playing at AC, or was it all work?

What would you say is the secret to AC's success?