Osage

TSSAA has a tendency to be vague with guidelines. In this case, the argument will come down to what a "coaching link" is. It seems pretty clear to me there is a link there... the kids actually played for his organization. But if the standard is higher than just the appearance of a relationship, then SCS has a shot.

I don't think this is as big an issue for the Performance kids. None of them are the level of college prospect Shay Eggleston is, and if they were, the coaches would find those kids regardless of where they were playing. While it's true that colleges are scouting 14's and 15's, let be honest with ourselves... those are the Power Conference schools who are in an escalating arms race with each other to lock down elite kids as soon as possible. Of the thousands of kids playing club volleyball nationally, we are talking the top 50, 100 kids most in each graduating class. There are probably aren't 20 such kids in all of Tennessee right now, across all classes. Most of the kids playing college volleyball out of Middle Tennessee are not going to power conference schools. Recruiting attention for this level is more of a 16's / 17's window, with offers coming after that (if at all). I have no idea what schedule the older Performance teams are playing, or even if they are playing Open-level events at all besides AAU. (I do hope / assume they will have teams playing Open at AAU.) I'll just say generically that it would be foolish for a PSA of that age, who is playing club volleyball for exposure to college coaches, to join a new organization without knowing exactly what events they'd be playing in.

TT, a couple of questions for you. First, when you say Sports Performance, are you talking about the Mother Ship (IE, Chicago group) or the Mid-Tenn satellite? I'm going to assume the latter... Second, are you saying that they are taking top-team level kids and assigning them to lower-level teams? That's stunning to me. The Chicago-based organization decidedly does not do this. However, they do reserve the right to move kids back and forth across teams (and even ages) during the season. They consider that a benefit of their training model: after kids spend a few years in the program, they are sort of interchangeable. And finally, a couple comments... I'm not surprised at the weak schedule. They need to establish a culture of winning. They'll have teams go out and win some of these events, post those results on social media, and at the end of the year, celebrate all their championships and top finishes. If they went head-to-head against top and second level teams from Alliance, Ethos, MidTenn, Choo-Choo, K2, etc., and DIDN'T beat those teams, families might begin to question the model. As to "exposure", they need to build out their club from the bottom up. Exposure is for older kids, and while they have those, those kids and teams aren't the future of the club. I seriously doubt club leadership is losing sleep about getting their older kids recruited. Those players and families are paying forward, keeping the lights on until the younger generation is ready.

Do tell...

Was this his Official visit? How many more does he have left? How many offers is he weighing? I went to 247 but couldn't find any of this...

I don't think Penny thinks a AAA championship is much of a bar to clear. Looking at the schedule they'll play, he wants this team on the National radar. To that end, Boyce and Wiseman's absences will be felt. Still attention is good, it's good for his brand, and, by extension, markets his kids well.

Franklin lacked size on the defensive line, and needed more difference-making skills players on the offensive side of the ball. As has been discussed elsewhere, both of those issues will be solved in coming years by welcome additions from sub-varsity. That aside, they took some razor-think close losses against a few really good teams. The season was a failure, but it was closer than you might think just looking at results on paper.

Wow, TSSAA has teeth after all? Who knew?

Honest question here... I'm reading here that 40+ freshmen start their FHS careers playing football, while Franklin regularly graduates only about half that. What level of attrition would be considered normal (or acceptable, if that is a different answer)? I think I remember reading somewhere that Brentwood had like 40 something seniors this year. I have no idea if that is normal, nor do I know how many freshmen started playing in the Fall of 2013.

I hope the Wrays find what they are looking for.

I thought the amazement about club costs was feigned. It's not like Munciana is ignorant about what people at other national-caliber clubs are paying. Perhaps they were just taking a swipe at paying that kind of money for lesser training and level of competition. Munciana is a very different situation. They own their facility, and the overall COB is much lower there than almost anywhere else in the country.

Back to the original question, what's the back story? A couple years ago, the owner (or just operator?) of the Franklin Fieldhouse, being a businessman, was in the market for a tenant. He generated some interest from Munciana, one of the premier volleyball clubs in the country, and started issuing press releases to the effect that Munciana would be launching a satellite organization based out of the Fieldhouse. Curiously, those stories were also accompanied by wonderment from Munciana about the costs of club volleyball, and how expensive it was here, and their new program would be keeping costs way below that of competing organizations. In parallel, he also went to the press with lots of stories about how A-Game was going to have to close down. Shrewd on his part, timing these releases to create the impression that he is in the midst of building the only nationally competitive volleyball community in town. But then both stories quietly went away. To be fair, A-Game is still in some sort of limbo, but it doesn't seem to be slowing Alliance or Upward Stars down any. A year later, basically the same scenario played out, only this time with Sports Performance. Hence this. By the way, TP is every bit as expensive as every other club in town.

By the way, Ravenswood is an outstanding maker of Zinfandel and other hearty red wines from Northern California. It is also a destination on Chicago's famous mass transit system. Ravenwood is a Williamson County high school whose football team is still playing.

MP says Wiseman is eligible, part of their reasoning behind crowning East as the preseason #1 team in the country. MP Preseason High School Top 25 Boys Basketball National Rankings

So any insight into Wiseman's status? Hard to see how TSSAA makes him eligible without explaining themselves...

Strictly speaking, Sports Performance wasn't banned from USA Volleyball... only the Club Director was. As a result, he was the leading force behind the creation of the JVA, which eventually merged its end of year season championship with AAU. AAU, for its part, has had its own issues with sexual abuse allegations. Sports Performance (and its incarnations throughout the country) are safe, there is no risk they'll be banned from play. In a related note, I was kinda wondering what the top TPV team schedules were going to be, but these are not posted (not publicly, anyway). It will be interesting to see how those teams fare against the top teams from other clubs. On the one hand, it is in TPV's best interests to set expectations low for this first year. After all, their model is to be successful over the long-term, after the cumulative effects of many years of intense training. On the other hand, they have this page on their website, comparing Sports Performance 2017 results against Club West, Alliance, and K2, and making the case that Sports Performance is better than all of them. Which is pretty much indisputable, but Chicago >>> Tennessee in volleyball. Thing is, they don't really specify that it's the Chicago club they are talking about here. So if I am a naive volleyball parent looking for a club in Middle Tennessee, which is probably their target audience, I'm thinking, "Hey, these guys are better than everybody else." That sets some impossibly high expectations.

New story was published in Columbus, adding two more data points. First, the Wray's concern was that when Jake returned from the concussion protocol, he had to earn his starting spot back. Second, they named the other parent who had voiced concerns. Peter's son graduated last year and now plays for Austin Peay. Link: http://www.dispatch.com/sports/20171103/ohio-state-gameday--recruiting-watch-prospects-family-high-school-program-at-odds

I thought this story had died without resolution. And it may yet, but Mom Wray kept it on life support through the local Fox affiliate (see here: http://fox17.com/news/local/franklin-high-school-families-concerned-about-coach-say-football-culture-is-unhealthy) She suggests that Jake was pressured into returning too quickly from his concussion, and that both boys were suspended when she and her husband complained about this. Second, the story adds (in answer to BT Mafia's question) that another parent voiced concerns.

I don't think the success ceiling on mid-state club volleyball is a matter of athletes, it's coaches. Louisville, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Columbus, Austin... all these areas are drawing from about the same population as Middle Tennessee, or less, yet are much more successful fielding nationally competitive teams. Volleyball is culture in those areas. The difference is coaching, and in particular, getting quality instruction for athletes starting at a very young age. Furthermore, it takes years to train a coach to be relevant at the National level. Middle Tennessee is probably a decade or more from having enough coaching depth to maximize its success on the national club volleyball stage.

BT, I am not aware of any other complaints, but neither am I close enough to the situation to have any authority. One would think the journalists who first ran with the story would be doing that digging? That said, what do you mean by singling the Wrays out? Webb didn't initiate anything.

BTW, I had heard on multiple occasions that Max's plan was to early-enroll at THE OSU in January. Not sure how it affects next steps with the rest of the family.

Season starts soon. Has there been an eligibility decision? The idea of James Wiseman playing JV is a little frightening. I hope it turns out to be worth it for the kid.

In answer to the original question... No.

Mom Wray pulled the medical staff out from under the bus, and doubled down on the coaching staff. See here: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football-recruiting/2017/10/86967/father-max-jake-wray-addresses-issue-with-franklin-football-team Her quote: (It's an OSU board, so you won't find any mention in the article or comments about the initial angle to the story, namely, that an OSU coach didn't like what he saw in practice.) I find it almost impossible to believe that coaches routinely subvert medical advice. I'll say it again...if this were true, the coaches and WCS as a larger entity would be subject to some serious litigation. If the Wrays are speaking the truth, I hope they are working with an attorney to file suit. If they don't... it becomes very difficult to buy their version of the story.

Reputable news outlets are a bit hamstrung in what they can and cannot print. They can report facts, pass along statements, and supplement with "multiple sources say". The conversation we are having here is just our collective best attempt to read between the lines of what is (and, importantly, isn't) being said. Absent any other developments or insider insight, I feel like we've reached a reasonable conclusion of the timeline. And it's an ugly, unfortunate set of circumstances. Here's hoping Franklin bounces back next year (and beyond). That would be fitting.