EastTnVBFan

Taylor Fink, Sullivan South HS and Big 8 setter of the year has signed her national letter of intent on Nov 9th,2010 to play for Coach Leo Sayles and the Bryan College Lions. Good Luck Taylor!

I was at the South vs Karns match last night. My daughter plays for South and yes, South lost. I dont know who the officials were in the matches that have been reffered to in the above post but I do want to commend the officiating crew that we had last night. The R1 was very very good, she made the ball handling (judgement) calls as well as any official I have seen this year. And yes, she called them against South as well as Karns. She handled the coaches and captains with confidence and professionalism. The R2 might have been the best I have seen this year when it came to calling net and centerline violations. I dont think that she missed anything. The line judges were very competent and were a huge part of the success of the whole officiating crew last night.

So, yes, there is much opportunity in the area of officiating improvement and training within TSSAA as well as all states associations. But its very encouraging to see that there are still some awesome officials out there and that they were assigned a match that reflected their abilities....

Congratulations to Sullivan South and Dobyns Bennett for their wins last night in Morristown. I have the utmost respect for what both teams and the coaching staffs have accomplished over the years at both schools. I also have so much more respect for the girls on each team. The girls are what make both teams a “class actâ€. Not the parents and not even the coaches, although I feel that both have contributed well in establishing both as “class actsâ€. These 2 teams have a great relationship between the girls off the court and on court. These girls exhibit this relationship on court and with their friendships that take place away from the court. This is a perfect example of what sports can accomplish. It’s a shame that we as parents sometimes try to tear it down. I to, over the years have been as guilty as anyone so please don’t bash me with all the tomahawks and Rebel flags.

Volleyball has allowed me to meet many parents and I have gotten to be good friends with many that also are great people. Some I would have never thought that I would even talk to or that they would talk to me, after getting to know them, I see that they also just love their girls and respective schools and East Tn VB and simply desire the best for all in that order.

Bottom line, volleyball has afforded me with the opportunity to get to know these young ladies and they are really wonderful. Both teams are filled with remarkable young ladies. Some of these young ladies will go on and play at the next level and some will choose not to. For most, volleyball will be over after high school, as it was for my oldest daughter as she chose. For some, it will just be 4 more short years at the next level and it will be over. In the end, it will be about the friendships that were created because of volleyball and that will be the only thing that will be left other than memories.

Just a short response to this topic follows.

As a parent of a South player I am very proud of our South girls and our coaching staff. As a parent of a South player, I will cheer for South this year no matter whom they play. But as my girl and I have proved over the years, we are East Tennessee volleyball fans also. When South didn’t make it to State last year, South’s season was over, but East Tn. volleyball was not. My girl and I drove all the way down to State last year on Friday morning for the purpose of supporting our East Tn. volleyball representative DB. My girl wore a DB t-shirt and I even dug deep into my closet and brought out a maroon shirt. I think there was even one time I might have did the chop.. That was probably an accident..Lol... We sat with the DB faithful, cheered alongside parents/friends from DB, we were happy for and congratulated the young ladies that played and coaches that coached for DB and represented East Tn. fantastically. They won state AAA for DB high school, Kingsport and East Tennessee volleyball fans. I would have loved for it to have been South, but nevertheless, when I travel and see different teams and coaches from other regions, I am proud that South and DB have earned the reputation and are recognized for the attention that they have brought to East Tn VB.

So, let’s allow the coaches to coach and our girls to play. Coaches make decisions that we don’t like, hey, that’s life.. It’s the same way in the work force, church and all aspects of our life. Coach Ratliff made a strategic coaching decision that, according to the TSSAA reps that make the rules (not the Big 8 coaches), was absolutely permissible. To me, it took a lot of courage to make a decision like this, knowing that there were going to be tons of negative comments. At this point both teams will meet tonight to determine who will get to host the home game Thursday. Last night’s matches were not meant to determine where they play tonight. I know Mrs. Shaffer, as with any other Big 8 coach or any other coach worth their salt for that matter, given the same allowable option, a wise coach would have made the same wise coaching decision. And certainly, both coaches have earned the right to be called “wiseâ€. So, go easy on the name calling and the rumor mill about what this girl said and that one said, our girls from both teams are watching….

I hope that both teams advance all the way to state and that we can continue to cheer for the girls that are playing for us all.

Proud parent of a South player and proud supporter of East Tn Vball,

R.Fink