2Players

RonMexico, i'm not super sure about Nashville, but from what i've heard Ethos is a pretty good up and coming team. They have some really good coaches there. Alliance, I do believe is much more established. I don't think either clubs play on a very high level though.

I don't mind the opinions on here and I think they are great even when I don't agree. What I can't stand is when people post blatant lies as facts. Clubonly, you said that K2 was trying to be like Sports Performance. I don't see the resemblance at all except that there is 1 coach that works there that also worked for sports performance for 3 years. Also, you said that parent's weren't allowed to speak or even bring water to their children. THAT IS A BLATANT LIE! I have NEVER heard of any parent being denied access to their child and yes, including on Tom's team. I have NEVER heard of any parent unable to communicate with their child. The players are expected to pack their own drinks and snacks and to stay together during tournaments. I have been to several tournaments to watch the 15's and 17's (last year). I have had conversations with the parents at K2 (who didn't like the new way things were being done) why they stayed. None of them said that they were ever denied access to their children. They said that they didn't agree with many of the things like the kids not hanging out with their parents or not being able to stay with their kids all night. These are 15 and up girls. It's called College Style Travel which is important for girls that are getting ready to go to college to get used to. My oldest daughter is being recruited pretty heavily and every single college coach we talk to loves the College style travel. It say a lot when you have kids running off the court crying, sitting on parents laps, parents standing at the edge of the court with snack and drinks because their children are not able to feed themselves apparantly. One particular coach says that he actually likes to eliminate those players. It makes his job much easier when you have kids coming to college that are familiar with the way things are done. At K2 as a parent you are expected to act like the parent of college students. Some may not agree. That's what KVA is for. Also, on the money issue, from what I understand, KVA isn't in a much better position and their facilities are pretty bad too. I know this from my own experience. It's freezing in there, big pillars that are totally unsafe, no room to overplay a ball at all, and it smells like gasoline. I think it is safe to say that we all have our favorites and what we want for our children. K2 just installed heating and air too. I really don't care if people don't like K2 and I appreciate the fact that there's another club to go to. That doesn't mean that you should blatantly lie about what's going on there to make KVA look better. I hope the people reading this have a little common sense. How can a club that you are paying for deny you access to your child? How can you not speak to your kid at a tournament? I mean really...smh

Update on Bearden...2 applications in only. One a young, enthusiastic club coach, the other a former coach at a very small college. A little birdy did whisper in my ear that a certain private school coach would be willing to throw his name in and the person it is would be AWESOME for the program.

The "agenda" from the get go was to coach his daughter. My take is that the KVA thing was an agenda too, but it was 2nd. First and foremost was always to be involved directly with his daughter. Sadly, I think it hurt her a lot more than it helped. That girl had small D1 potential...smh. Those "agendas" are what hurt Bearden and why the next coach shouldn't have relatives on the team or a close club affiliation. Coaching at one is ok, but recruiting for your club while in that coaching position is a definite no-no.

My daughter is at Bearden and hasn't heard anything. An out of town, former college coach with no club connections would be perfect.

Parenting has nothing to do with the sorry state of UT volleyball. Rob has overstayed his welcome. It's time to go. It's not just transfers, yes that will happen. It's 5 in one season, at least two of them were all Americans. The transfers also had nothing to do with the fact that he would say harsh things. Like stated above, many really good coaches do that. He's not a really good coach anymore. Knowledgeable, yes. His decision making has turned terrible. How are you a major university, in the SEC, with a 15s team 15 minutes away that came in 3rd in the nation, access to a club that plays on the top level in the country, and you can't even get 1 player to call you back? No one from the most compeititve club in the area wants to even go on a visit? UT is the last resort for many of these players and they SHOULD be able to get first dibs. The girls on this 15s team are ALL D1 recruits and not a single one want to go there. Why? The coaching style is terrible, the team has no discipline, no fire, there's nothing that says that they are ever going to go anywhere unless UT grows a pair and releases him just like they would do any other sport. But it 's a money thing and he does come in under budget. I know one reason why. Because he doesn't scholarship all of his positions...that may have worked 5 or 6 years ago, but now that volleyball is on the rise in popularity and sales, it's not going to work. He provides his players with basics. Nothing extra. That's why he'll never get top level players. Who would go play and pay for their education when they could go somewhere for free. He's not a competitor when it comes to recruiting just like he's not on the court. It's like he doesn't care any more. He's comfortable. Even the girls basketball team (which is still a money maker) kicked them out of their training facility. That's the real reason their building that new facility. I grew up watching volleyball there and it's so heartbreaking to see how pitiful it is now. I mean, it's not bad. It's terrible. I wish him all the luck in the world, but he needs to go.

Really good conversation here. I don't really know a whole lot about what's going on at Catholic. Not really interested but I do love hearing about all of the coaching options right now. I just wish I knew who they were. I do agree that the coach should have no connections with club at Bearden or any other school. At the same time I would love a coach that had the knowledge, experience, and commitment of a club coach. It's like on one hand it would be great to have a club coach but terrible at the same time.

PhillyAl..maybe i'm slow but I don't know what you mean by hoping the "agenda" pulled through. Parents did complain. From what I understand the administration at Bearden knew that there was a strong probability that he was leaving when his daughter left. They were just waiting it out and couldn't accept his resignation fast enough. It's looking like the only people that really thought that he was sticking around are the faithful KVA parents. Everyone else knew he was out. The K2 parents, the administration...Anyway, I just hope we find out something really soon. I've given up hope that we'll get a top notch coach. I'm just hoping for someone who knows what their doing and doesn't have relatives on the team at this point.

There's a D1 commit (Nebraska, one of the top programs in the country) that did NOT play high school vb this year though she did play her freshman year. I asked her personally why she didn't play and she said that she knew that she wanted to commit this year and wanted to get as much training as possible. That wasn't going to happen at her high school. Her freshman year while she was there she broke 4 fingers (which the coach didn't even bother to ask about) and pulled a muscle in her shoulder. All due to no technique and poor muscle training. She enjoyed the team and the girls but her goal was to stay healthy and to get better. She would leave practice and go to either rehab or to her club to get 1 on 1 training with her club coach so that she would not get any worse. I totally understand that. I mean really. I don't think it's selfish it's smart. I think the memories that she'll have from playing college will be far better and last longer than high school. Selfish is not being supportive and understanding that there are others out there who just don't feel the same as you do. Oh, and she plays at K2. Everyone on her club team is a D1 prospect. Even the girls on the bench. That's how far coaching, training, and building relationships with colleges can get you. Doesn't matter about your personal feelings about the club. The proof is there. Though I will say that out of all of those prospects only 2 of the girls did NOT play high school but none of the girls are being recruited from high school. Why don't coaches up their game? Why don't parents allow their kids to be coached hard? Why don't high school coaches actually train instead of relying on club then getting upset when club upstages their program? Why don't they build relationships with colleges? It's mind boggling to me.

ScottRoss, I would have to agree that a high school coach doesn't need to be a club coach. Too much conflict of interest, but I disagree on the fact that Knoxville doesn't have ANY good club coaches. Really? Tom Paszko (who I DO NOT think needs to be a high school coach) has won 3 national championships. Coached at 4 nationally ranked clubs (as the top team coach. not assistant or 2 teams), and took his team to 3rd in the nation last year. And you say NO good club coaches in Knoxville? Will have to agree to disagree on that one. I will say that they don't have many at all. As far as telling people what they should talk about and what they shouldn't that's not for you to say. It's a board. It's exactly for people to say and discuss things. You may not like it, but it doesn't mean that it shouldn't be discussed. I don't think that anyone is trying to harm anyone else or personally attack a person. It's just an opinion. I have said it before and i'll say it again. I don't expect the Bearden coach to be some amazing Olympic caliber coach. It would be nice to have a coach there that actually wanted to coach. Not be a friend, not look over their relative, not promote their club, not to be seen. That's it. I don't care who it is. As long as he or she has the girls' best interest in mind. And really no matter who is hired it really is the athlete's decision whether they want to play or not. If there is a sorry coach hired, my daughter won't play. It's that simple for me. There are other options.

At one time a coach told me that they make about that much but that was years ago. That's nothing for all they have to do. Coach Garland, I'm not sure about. I think that the fact that he doesn't coach on the club level is a + though. Also, that with him being a Bearden alum, he may really be willing to invest some serious time into it and make these girls better, but i'm just guessing. I'm shocked that coach Williams was able to even get another high school job and I doubt that she would be welcome in Knox County at all after what happened at Karns. I've heard terrible things about the CBFO chick. Like, she's crazy. Not sure if any of it's true because i've never had any encounter with her. Though I have heard that more than once. What about the assistant coach at Bearden? Also the JV coach. Sloan, I think is her last name. I've never really seen her actively participate in anything with the girls, but I think the girls really liked her. Not sure if she really knows a lot about volleyball.

To be honest, I don't know a whole lot about Mincey. I know that she didn't do much at Carson Newman and she was the coach of a club team that should have been really good but didn't do anything at all really in the club season. They didn't even play in a lot of top level tournaments. Maybe 3 all year. I don't even think they went to AAU's. I saw her 17s play and I was shocked. You would think that they would have form, technique, plays, at least be in shape, but they weren't. I don't see how her really caring about the girls is going to do anything for that Bearden team. I think it's great that she cares and that she's a good person but what's the point if that's all? I'd rather them have a coach 1st. Not a friend. That's what's wrong with Knoxville's high school volleyball. It involves everything but actually getting better at volleyball.

Wait...did I miss something. What do you Mincey is going to Bearden? I haven't heard that K2R???

I spoke with my friend last night and asked about the Mincie rumor (I have no idea if i'm spelling the name correct) and he said that he's already strongly suggested that it would just be another Dave situation. Apparently, Bearden couldn't get Dave's resignation fast enough. Don't know the details on why but I could guess though. Also, Jason Keeble is out. I asked myself. It's attractive but he's 5 minutes from Heritage and his daughter will be there in a year. That's one name to x out.

Philly, I think I know who BBV is talking about too because he's a good friend of mine and he could influence a lot of what goes on there. He's a Bulldog through and through and is all about seeing the volleyball program succeed (if we're talking about the same person). I'm not sure how far he would intervene with the coaching thing there.

Philly, I never really believed that he was staying. No one who knew his history or his style of coaching would believe that he was staying. BBV, I did not have anyone playing on the team last year. Without giving away too much i'll just say that I don't view things the way that 99% of parents do. We have been to a few practices and several games. I am good friends with several parents and players now and from the past few years. I'm a competitor and I raise competitors...lol. It's not about the "high school experience" for my girls. It's about competing and becoming the best volleyball player that you can become. I had a parent tell me that it wasn't all about winning and practicing all the time but about the experience and having fun. I don't believe that. There's nothing fun about losing and walking onto a court looking like a middle school team. Having more team get together's and fundraisers than time you spend in practice. These girls would have on full faces of makeup and hairdos before the game and then get beat. They'd leave practice and weren't even sweaty. I'd rather take my money and pay for growth and training. That's why I'm closely watching this coaching thing. I don't think there are any Olympic coaches out there but at least someone who is going to practice them. Work on swings, serving zones, running slides, serve receive, and block timing. And most of all a coach who doesn't let parents influence them. Bearden deserves a straight up, old school coach.

I don't have a clue who they would pick. I know who I would like and who I wouldn't like to see there. Parents like me would love to know. It is really going to decide whether my daughter plays high school or does something else. And for the record...Dave told several parents (including myself) that he planned on being around to coach the girls. He always said that he wasn't coaching for his daughter but he was coaching because he enjoyed it and he enjoyed watching the girls get better and have fun playing the sport he loved. Many of the girls he had coached in middle school and he always told the parents that he loved coaching them and that's why he was doing it. I totally get what you're saying K2R, but the parents that i've talked to don't feel lied to but misled. I don't blame him for leaving to watch his daughter, but it should have been made clear from the get go that those were the plans. I don't think anybody would have blamed him. It's just a matter of trust and transparency. Not really dishonesty.

I really don't mind a club coach but I do hope that whoever is hired actually trains these girls. Not just run through drills for an hour and a half. It would also be nice if there was a way to keep club and high school separate. I think that's going to be the biggest issue with the coach there. These girls are pretty much all KVA. It's going to be hard for any other players to fill in and play for a KVA coach on a team with all KVA players if they are at another club. They need to really interview and find out how these coaches are going to handle that. It shouldn't be an issue but clearly, it is.

I agree....ugghhh if Shannon gets the job. Just ugghh11

Btw....Dave announced his resignation Monday

I would love to see a great coach at Bearden. Unfortunantly, I don't believe that there program will succeed unless they get someone who has real coaching experience. The middle that didn't play last year just committed to Nebraska. It's been all over the news there and is a pretty big deal. The libero that didn't play is also a D1 recruit. With them Bearden has a chance, but I don't think they are willing to play unless there is a serious coach there. I mean why would they? Muncie is NOT it. Did you see her coach the 17s in club? For her to be an ex-college coach she seemed to not be able to do a thing with all that talent. I've been asking around and i just haven't heard anythng. Would love to know if Jason Keeble is interested. He has no head coaching experience on the high school level but he has been an assistant. Tom Paszko can get them to the state but he's no public figure..lol. He doesn't mind making girls cry and pissing off parents. Not good for high school. Shannon is just not good and can't draw anyone but KVA players. We need girls from everywhere. Not sure Steve Dallman could keep the parents from taking over. He's just older and over it.

So, do you still have to be a Knox County employee to coach at a Knox County school? If so, wouldn't that put Tom and Chris out automatically? Not sure about the other 2 coaches. I think Chris could coach at Webb because it's not Knox County. I'm really interested in seeing how this coaching thing plays out at Bearden. It will decide whether we play high school volleyball or try black ops next year. I just hope they get someone with real knowledge about the game. Not someone who's just been around it for a while or played it in high school. It's time to elevate the high school game level in Knoxville.

FYI, I was talking to a parent who's daughter is trying out at KVA. She said that she spoke with the Bearden coach about her daughter playing high school ball at Bearden and he told her that he wouldn't be coming back. He said that he would never get to see his daughter play in college if he continued coaching high school. I was told this. This is not a fact. He has not officially resigned.

Clifford20, I don't think that it is just for the elite athletes. I asked several questions while I was there because I know that my child isn't at that level yet (the college scouts there were a little intimidating). True enough 4 of the girls are D1 prospects, but 1 of those is for beach not court. 1 girl doesn't have volleyball at her school so she's doing this. 1 girl isn't a prospect at all and was on a 2 team last year so she just wants to get better. 2 of the girls in the program (that weren't there that day) are in middle school. Also, I learned today that you don't have to come every single day. There is a part time option. That makes me feel much better. Anyway, I think it's for anyone who wants to do it. K2Ruth, i'll check on that. I'm a little scared to though..lol.

Maybe I am but i'm just trying to get different opinions. If there has been another discussion about this on here I would love to know where to find it.