EBTHER

This was one of the deciding factors when my daughter was trying to decide whether or not to play basketball this year. She had a very promising career in either basketball or VolleyBall. She chose to not play Basketball in high school to lesson the risk of damaging her college volleyball career with a costly knee injury. I have witnessed several knee injuries in Volleyball as well. I believe it happing due to the fact that competition level has risen in every sport and the demand for kids to be bigger faster stronger is pushing young bodies to and over the limit. They are asked to preform like professional athletes at a much younger age then when i was a kid. I guess it is the new age of the athlete. There will come a time when you wont make it thru 4 years of high school with out some kind of a surgery. Not sure if that makes sports better or worse.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2013/dec/30/tswa-all-state-volleyball-teams/ Heres the list. Congratulations to all who made it on the list.

I cant believe that no one has CAK on their list for AA. If Hooper was playing i would have them at the top or close to it. This would have been her year and I dont think anbody could have stopped her. I think they are really struggling right now trying learn to play with out her but i think they will get it toghether towards the end of the year and will make a run. Even with out Hooper they still have plenty of talent. I can still see them at the state tourney.

Shouldn't the All State team been selected by now or did I miss the annoucement? Why does it take so long every year for this to be annouced?

Club I agree about the belittling comment. Everybody has there own reasons for leaving or joining a club. like you said, enough said. My daughters team had some players on it that drove long distances to bring there daughters to practice as well but the fire that would be started over letting some parents stay to watch practice and kicking some of them out would be wild. To be fair you just have to kick them all out and close practice. I am more guilty than anybody on this post of being that parent that thought they new more than the coach and tried to tell my daughter what to do in the practice and the games. I am ashamed to say that more than once I made her cry on the way home from a game saying things like: " You absolutly did nothing in that game today!' and " Whay are you not in this position or why are you moving there. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!" I as do with most parents we put way more pressure to preform on our kids than any club coaching staff will ever do. I had her to the point that she was going to quit the sport that she loved so dearly. I finally cut the strings and let the coaches have control and she has now blossemed into the a player that i could have never concieved her to be. Strong, Confidant and one of the leaders of her team. I applaude the directors decision to close practices and limit contact with the players at the tournemants. It allows the parents and the player to decompress after a tough game. I have learned (very stubbornly) that this is a great benefit to the players growth. I think that other clubs should look into doing the same. I am not proud of some of the things i put my daughter thru as she was learning to play her sport. I am hoping that this post will help others look inside themselves and see what pain and damage they might be causing there daughters. My expectations of her talent were far above the level of skill that she had at that moment in time. Every parent wants there child to be the superstar of the team and are jaded to the fact that they just might not be at the level you think they are. I am with you and cant wait for the tournements to begin. It is going to be an awesome season. Good luck to all.

I can speek for myself. Chris an Jay have been nothing but great to my daughter and my family. I know some of the parents did not like the idea of closed practices but i understand why they did it. Too many parents that have been involved in there childs development from the time they were little kids have a hard time letting go. I have seen parents coach there child from the side lines at PRACTICE. When my daughter was younger I did the same thing and I get it. I have since learned that this underminds the coaching staff plan for teaching the and developing the player and team. Some of the parents did not like that the teams were traveling alone ( no parents) and were not allowed to spend time with the parents on away trips. Once again this was done to keep the parents that think they knew what was best for their child from underminding the coaching staff at the tournaments by telling their child to do this or that no matter what the coach said. I bet if you asked the kids they would say they loved it. I know my daughter loved not having to hear her parents assessment of how she played after the games. I have read and heard some of the comments about some of the Language that some of the Coaches use at K2. I personaly have not heard it. I do not believe it needs to be used to motivate players but im sure they are used to hearing much worse at their schools. Still not an excuse for that language. As far as the claim of Be-littling a player, I have not seen that either. I know that there have been times when my daughter has come home and said that somebody was told to leave practice because they were not giving one hundered percent or their attitude stunk and it was affecting practice. I dont know what has been said to kids in their program but i am sure when it is translated from the child to the parent, some of the details may have been left out to make it seem as if they are slamming the kid. I was not there so i really can comment on it. What I can comment on is that we have had a wonderful experience at K2. Jay and his staff have been tough on the her but i know when she goes to college she will be physically and mentaly ready to play. I have seen several highschool kids go off to play college sports only to leave those programs because they just werent ready to play at that level. Jay has even taken the time contact colleges on my daughters behalf and acompany my daughter on college visits. His exact words to my daughter were" I want you to go to the college that is the best fit for you no matter what level D1, D2 etc. My wish for you is that when you graduate you come back to me and tell me that you had a great experience at college." I know that this is just one experience and I dont speak for the club or any other parents. I am sure that the other clubs in the area are doing the same things for their players and the kids will have great experiences and get the training they need to continue playing the sport they love. I hate that a couple of bad experiences can smear an organizations name or put a rumor out there about them but it happens. Give it some time and it will happen to KVA as well. Some parent will get upset about how their child was treated and start spreading terrible rumors about the club. I think and hope that all the clubs in Knoxville and surrounding area have the players best insterest in mind. Each club will have its own format on how to develop the players and promote their club. I guess you have to find the one that best fits your family and childs needs.

Hsfootballfan Well a week has gone by and no word on Hooper in the paper. Of course they have not report on any of the games CAK have lost in the past week either. McMinn Central and Grainger County had their way with the Warriors and not a peep from the KNS. I will say this, If Hooper is in the line up for those games CAK has a much better chance of winning. I know that Hodges would not have scored 25 on them last night. Hooper held her to 11 points last year. CAK is not the same team they were last year with her absence. Somebody is goig to have to step up and fill that spot. Kudos to Hodges, she was tough to gaurd and made her way to the rim with ease. Now we will see if GC can get over the hump this year and make it to state. Congrats to GC for a game well played.

UH OH! CAK lost and it would not suprise me if they mentioned Hooper in the paper again and the lack of her presence on the court probably contributed to the loss. That wont make Footballfan very happy. Wing I think Hooper is doing well. Her parents say she is working out everyday with her club. I saw her at the game last night and she looked a little uncomfortable watching her team lose, knowing that if she played they win that game. The Warriors are going to have to pull it together and give Hammaker some help. She is good but she cant win games by herself.

They will never put a shot clock in the highschool game and heres why. Whos are the schools going to get that is qualified to run it. Who is going to pay for them. i cant see Knox county paying for them and if it is going to unified thruought the state sombodys got to pay for it. Third, every tournament that i have been to in aau that has a shot clock they never work right. when they break who is going to pay for them. I would love to see them at the high school level but dont see it happening anytime soon.

WB keep watching her. She is almost a better volleyball player than she was a basketball player. Cant wait to follow her as she plays thru college. She is committed to play for the University of Central Florida. that is an up and coming program as is there football team is. she should have a nice career there.

The team has not played a opponent with a strong inside game yet. That will be the game that will tell the tale of how successfull they will be with out her. Naler is doing a fine job in her place but is not as aggressive on defense as Hooper was. Cheyenne had 188 blocks last season, that aspect of her game will be sorely missed. Oh and FYI, Dont make it sound as if she just left the team high and dry and doesnt care about her fellow friends and teammates. She was going to play this year but her club volleyball schedule would not allow for it. She is on the roster but there is little chance you will see her in the 52 Jersey this year. She is commited to getting better as a future collegate volleyball player. Yes she does get a lot of press for not playing but when you 6'6" tall and you forgoe playing basketball for your highschool team, unfortunatly that is big news. Give it a while and it will die down as the team wins without her. If Grainger Cnty beats them this year because Allison Hodges takes it to the rim about 20 times you will hear her name again.

Orcat It has been fun with the back and forth here. It has been a been a great season, even without a championship trophy. I told my daughter to keep her chin up, A lot of teams dont even get to go to state. CAK has been there three years in a row. It is a great experience for everybody involved. Players and families. Losing will only make the fire for winning grow and will increase the will to work harder to be better next year. Thank for the compliments to the girls and the families of our team. I have noticed the majority of the volleyball parents are the same way. Very passionate about the game but mostly respectable the girls and fans. I think that is what makes it so enjoyable. Teams tailgating at the tournements and so many girls playing club together makes for a real family atmosphere. Much more than other sports i have been involved within the past. Congrats on getting married! Hope you have met the love of your life and all goes well. Hope to meet on the club circut this year, Its been fun.

Congrats to Hume-Fogg and Sullivan South. Both team played great and rightly deserve to play for the championship. I think it is anybodys game. CAK played well but part of the team just seemed to shut down. I love our coach but being a man i think he has a hard time relating and motivating teenage girls to get the most out of them. I dont think we will see CAK at state next year as they lose there setter, our best outside and one if not both of our middles. The big girl, the libero and several key players return but the ones we lose will be a big hit. I guess we will see.

Orcat He wont move the big girl to the middle now or ever. Will they beat HFA? I don't think they will. To many girls on the team don't have their heart in it. I believe HFA will beat SS in the Championship game tomorrow. I don't have an update on the game yet but CAK has a few problems right now. Mainly the Lebiro we think is coming dow with the flu. She is playing at abour 40 percent rigjt now. Will be suprised if they win a set.

WOW! did anyone see the scores from Hume-Fogg vs Paige 25-2 25-12 25-12. That was not a typo 25-2 was the acutual score.

I feel your pain Orcat about not being at the Tourney. If CAK makes it to the championship I am going up on Friday. I think both of these teams have talent. Both have good hitters on the front row. I think this game will be decided by the back row. The team that gets under the ball and makes a good first passes will win. I know that CAK beat SS at Catholic this year but all bets are off right here. I would say there is a good chance that they will have to play each other twice this week to decide on a champion. Hume Fogg could be a sleeper here. They are the only team that might challange the loser of this game. Dont think any other team can can hang with these two.

Orcat Looks like South is cruising as well. Like CAK they have yet to break a sweat. Both have only lost one set so far. I don't think CAK has played very well to this point. It should be a very good match today. It would not surprise me to see it go to five. Sullivan will be looking to avenge the loss the Warriors handed them earlier in the year.

Typically the strongest hitter in HS is going to be your outside or your middle. It is not as easy as moving your outside hitter to the rightside to avoid a 6'6" rightside blocker. CAK also has a middle that is 6'1" who is effective as well. these two girls are on the floor at the same time and build a pretty big wall. Our setter is short but also seems to block very well so i dont think it really matters where the big girl is. She is also hitting some outside and the middle at times as well on a few of the rotations so he is using her all over the front row. The Coach at UCF has recruited her to play right side so if it is good enough for him, why not?

Beach I understand Orcat's argument. Last year she played Middle and was very effective. If she had worked as hard at middle as she has on rightside she would be awesome there. i dont think her speed at middle on offense is a problem. they have set her several times at middle this year and she is so quick at the hit that you can not defend it. I think she would be a force to wrecken with at the middle but her goal is to play rightside. Plus we have another tall player in the middle. she is very green but i have been impressed at how quickly she is learning. she has very little power on the hitt but is getting smarter at where she places it.

EHS Having 6'6" at the right side might slow down the outside at Sullivan.CAK has beaten them once this season. Lets hope we can do it again. the better question is, do they have some one that can slow our right side hitter. She is a completely different animal than she was at the beginning of the year. She is much stronger and smarter with her choices of where to put the ball down. If they meet, im sure it will be a great match. I think the Dark Horse in this tourny will be Hume Fogg. Heard they were pretty good this year.

Just let go already Orcat!

CAK wins in 3 over east. 25-16, 25-16, 25-22. Way to go Warriors.

CAK over East in three 25-16, 25-16 and 25-22.

Would you please get off that soapbox! She is a rightside hitter. She played rightside all summer at K2. She was recruited by several D1 schools as a right side hitter. She has committed to a D1 school to play rightside. And her coach is working with her to get her ready to play D1 volleyball at the rightside spot. And from what i have seen she has done a great job at the rightside. Ask any of the OH that have hit against her. She has shut them all down and her hitting has greatly improved. Our coach has successfullly coached up two middles. One who did not ever play volleyball untill this year. The other who had very little experience at volleyball. He is winning with this combo. It is the highschool coaches responsibilty to the athlete that will play at the next level to prepare that player.. Not to sacrifice that players development for the sake of wins. That is what a real coach does.

Orcat Your right that was wrong of me and i apologize to all the posters here and the girl + Family. Just saying that she is a great player with a heck of an arm. Her attitude is holding her and her team back. Any College scout is going to tell you, the firs thing they look for is your attitude, how you interact with teamates and how you handle game situations. She and her team would be unstoppable if she were the senior leader she should be, thats how good i think she could be. I can't believe a coach would let her get away with acting like that. Our coach was accused of letting parents dictate what positions their kid played. FALSE! This coach lets the kids do what ever they want?. Im sure he has his reasons. The Catholic Coach may be a stand up guy but he whined at every call and then basiclly threw a fit and got yellow carded. I know it happens in the heat of battle. CAK does have talent but they have issues as well. I dont think they could have played Goodpasture five times and won two times. That was a very good team that won the title last year. I think that both teams had talent and CAK had played a few more games in the tournament last year playing out of the losers bracket. Fatigue may had something to do with it. You have been very critical of our coach all year, and here we are, poised to make another trip to states if we can get over East. He has been there three years in a row. He might make it there again this year. I think credit is due. Does he always make the right decisions. No, but who does! Maybe if he can pull out a championship this year he will get some respect then. Just caught the comment of the Catholic coach being twice the coach than what CAK has. since we have beaten them 3 times this year when i think Catholic has just as much talent CAK has. I believe i will keep our coach. I dont know what great talent we have. it is the same thing most teams have.We have one Player that is taller than every other player in the state. So what! she is only on the court for half the time. Catholic still could not capitalize at those times against two middles one of wich has never played volleyball before and one with no club experience at all. Two #2 team club players and a couple of freshman. We have a pretty good Libero that nobody talks about. and a pretty good setter but not better than what Catholic has. I would say CAK's coach is doing a great job with what he has to play with.