bratman

My friend is really excited about the freshman class. He really brags on the young girls and their parents.

The Anderson County Lady Mavericks JV team cruised to a JV District Championship. JV coach Kelsey Dew, a former Lady Mav all-stater, led a loaded freshman team to the title! Way to go!

BBV are you including Anderson County? My daughter graduated in 2002. In just the past 10 years they have had 15 girls attend college on a volleyball scholarship. Five of those played club, 10 did not. Two were small D-1 schools. One of those was for a club player, the other did not play club. I don't know how they do it at your school, but our high school coaches knew most of the college coaches within a three or four hour radius. 53 players went to college on a volleyball scholarship. I would estimate less than played club. The majority of these were not D-1, but many were. Now that we live in the Midwest I can tell you that the level of high school volleyball in TN is not what they have up here. I don't remember a Big Ten or SEC prospect ever coming out of Knoxville. Am I wrong?

My daughter played for the Hames at Smoky Mountain and had a great club experience, but I agree with BBV, it was run as a business. She played in college, on a scholarship, and it was because of the coaches at high school. We were recruited by several schools, including a small D-1. My daughter was a setter, left handed, big block. Her high school coaches at Anderson County made calls, put together tapes, and helped her find a school that was a good fit for what she wanted to study. Not the small D-1. I strongly disagree with the high school comment. Besides the AC coaches I thought Coach Jones, Coach Brock and Coach Berry were all great coaches, and superior to what you get in college. Club is made up of all star teams. Great high school coaches teach and build from the ground up. We loved our time at AC, and would do it again. 5 of my daughters teammates also played college, non played club. Buttttttt, if you are an elite player, and I don't know if TN produces that many, club is a must.

I wanted to give a shout out to my TN friends at Anderson County and Farragut. I called my buddy to see if there was an update on Coach Moore (there was, and it is great news, praying for you buddy) and learned these two powers played an old fashioned tri match tonight. My friend said Farragut has been playing great all season and with a senior heavy team should make a run at a state championship. AC was down two starters with injuries and the reserve went down in the first match so they played with a make shift lineup. Both teams did great with AC going up 22-21 before losing 25-23 in a war! When my daughter played we loved the Farragut matches, I am pleased the rivalry is still there! AC starts two freshman, and three sophs, and has come on strong lately winning 20 out of their last 25, which you would expect with a young team with few club players. Farragut has been the best team all year and are the team to beat! Good luck to old friends at both schools, and to the Lady Admirals let Coach Moore know that his old line judge friend is thinking about him and pulling for him, his family, and his old team!

Is the CAK coach new? We left in 06 to move back north. It was a lady when I was there. I agree with BBV end EBETHER. This sounds more like a coach that wants the attention to be on himself, not the players. I played on a high school baseball team that won two titles and I play D1 ball at Miami before a four year shot playing pro ball. You always recognize the athlete. The Lady Vols retired Parker's journey last night. Small college jobs are awful jobs. I did it for three years. No money, you are the driver of the bus and washer of the jerseys. Unless it is an established D1 program I would put it lower than a strong high school program. Surely this coach doesn't talk about that being a good thing. High School pays more if you teach. I had never watched a volleyball game until my daughter started in 2002 as a freshman and had never touched a ball. She was basketball and track. I was blown away. I have said before it I was blown away by the experience, it was run better than a college program. 100% of the focus was on the girls. Everything. After evert game the seniors picked who rang the victory bell. If someone made a hustle player they got to wear a special yello jersey for practice. The coaches were all positive all of the time. When my daughter was a junior Coach Cantrell and his wife took us and our daughter to dinner to talk college options. A lot of our players came from families where neither parent had gone to college and they used this time to explain how it works. Everything was about team, but Coach Cantrell felt it was important to recognize individual accomplishments. He would not give interviews to papers, he had the players do it. Also, the players get alot of voice in practice. He was firm, and demanded that the girls give their best, but you could tell he loved these girls. EB I agree with you, it is the coaches job to make sure these players get recognized. It seems like these coaches promote themselves as opposed to the team. I think it is a bad idea for the high school coach to have a money interest in club. It should be about the girls. I support what you parents are doing. It is important, they are your daughters. Also, don't get me wrong, I had struggles at AC. I was really critical when my daughter did poorly and would call her out during games, the coach came up to me and told me to dial it back. That surprised me, but he said he was trying to build confidence in her, and that what I was doing was making her afraid to fail. I got my nose bent out of shape and thought I knew more about how to coach than a high school girls coach. I was wrong. My daughter is a strong, confident young woman because of how she was treated and what she accomplished in volleyball. Hold these coaches accountable. The can destroy a young girls esteem. My kid still gets a letter or a call year asking how she is doing and telling her about the team. I hate getting on here because I don't know these teams, and I feel I talk to much AC. But these coaches made a big, positive impact on my child life and I appreciate it, and became friends. When I am in town I try to stop in and say hello. This year I read that they missed the Regional tourney for only the third or fourth time in school history. i called to say sorry, and got a thirty minute lecture on how this team was one of the schools best. They kept getting better(he said they were young and small) but played hard and never quit believing in themselves. He then proceeded to tell me how great the girls were and that the coaches were already coming up with a new offensive structure for next season. If you don't know him, coach is a world class TALKER and wore me out about how great the girls did. No negatives were said, or excuses made, just predictions of how much fun this year was and that they had a great shot to get back to state next yea. You parents are doing the right thing. Hold coaches accountable. All it takes to have a winning team is for the girls to work hard and for the coaches to build them up and instill a belief within them that they can win Again, I don't know the CAK or Bearden coach. But it seems like you parents are asking the right questions. I did no the Karns coach and thought all she did was promote herself. Keep up the good work. P Hey how is the weather. We had a massive power outage and I built a fire this morning, that's why I am up so early! Our high today is a balmy zero!

I agree spike4. I still subscribe to the News Sentinel just to keep up with Tennessee happenings. Volleyball coverage was a joke when we lived down there and still is. Up here volleyball is big. We actually get weekly STANDINGS! My daughters junior and senior year AC didn't lose a game, not a match mind you, a game,to a Knoxville area team. Yet the Sentinel didn't rank us either year in the pre season poll and we didn't have a single player make the prep extra team even though they we had four girls play college ball. I agree with the importance of tradition. Our players had to learn the history of the team and the names of the great players. Our banquets were paid for by the coaches, and lasted almost three hours. Every player was recognized and a special story was told about them. They ended with what we needed to work on for next year, none of our girls played club so the coaches gave the girls individual, private, written break downs of their strengths and what they needed to do to get better. Also, you had to earn your spot each season. My daughter worked her butt off her senior year because we had a soph who worked hers off. Man, this makes me miss it! Oh well, I will be a GREAT grand dad in another 15 years!

Anderson County has produced somewhere between 70 and 80 first team all state players. When my daughter played the state also recognized second team all state players, but I don't know how many AC players were recognized. I can't imagine that Farragut or Catholic have more than 7 or 8. For some reason Orcat despises AC and never gives them credit for anything. Ebther what does CAK do to recognize the girls? One of my daughters favorite memories of playing was making all-state. The school hosted a ceremony where she and her teammates received flowers, and the local paper did a story. The AD would then have a large picture made which is hung on the wall of fame. Every year at the start of the season coach Cantrell would bring the entire team together and go over the history of the program and recognize each player that had made all state or gone on to play at college. It takes over an hour but it lets the girls learn about the history of the team, and who wore their number in the past. He then challenges them to make their own history. It was cool.

Wow, I don't log on for a few weeks and look what happens! First, I would be surprised if Coach Cantrell would leave AC but you never know. A more likely hire would be one of the assts. When were there alot of young coaches would work there and then move to head jobs elsewhere. Our JV coach took the Oak Ridge head job and I know that several of ACs assistants went on to take head jobs. At summer camps they would come back and help. One girl I really liked won a state title in Georgia, and another won a state championship in one of the Carolina's. Do they have any young assts? I think an AC coach would be a great hire, but I think it would have to be an asst coach. I highly doubt Karns pays near what AC pays, and AC has too much tradition and community support. I don't know of a better coaching position in the area. Another thing is club. It seems like alot of posters on here are loyal to a particular club, I know for a fact that at AC they won't push club. If the girl wants to play they support her, but they wouldn't tolerate the type of behavior that is talked about on here. As far as other coaches go is Coach Jones still in town? Catholic was the other good team in Knoxville when we were there (only Knoxville team that ever beat us in our four years) and Coach Cantrell had a TON of respect for coach Jones. He would be a great hire. I also liked Paul Brock at GPS and the Sullivan South coach, but they would be tough hires. Just like at AC, they are in powerful programs. I would not hire a club coach. High School varsity jobs are HARD. You have to be a real coach, and not a SALESMAN like these club coaches. They have a place, but they don't have any idea about real coaching. They perpetuate themselves by tearing down programs that don't feed them money. Stay away. I don't like the middle school idea either. Get an established coach, with a track record of success, or a talented young asst who has worked for and played for strong programs.

Why did she resign?

This really saddens me. I played ball my entire life, and both of my girls played multiple sports in high school and were scholarship athletes, one at a Big Ten school. There is no way that a high school coach should be allowed to operate a for profit club team. First, they send the message to the girls that they have to play for that club. Second, they do what is best for the club, not the high school team. Also, don't give up on high school. At Anderson County our banquets lasted for ours. The coaches would show videoes, and Coach Cantrell would spend at least 5 minutes talking about EVERY player and how she contributed. He would also send thank you letters to the players and parents for their hard work. He and the other coaches never pushed us towards club. We played club, and asked him about it before we committed. He told us that it would help improve our skill level because we would be in the gym. He told us to be careful about money, and to make sure we had a good coach. He never tried to force us to play. I know alot of negative stuff gets said on here. Karns and Bearden are right to expect their coach to put the school first. If you want to coach club, or own a club, do it, but don't use your coaching position to make money. I will defend the AC coaches, and coach Jones at Catholic and coach Smith at Oak Ridge. They were great. I wish more people would brag about the good coaches, or there won't be many left.

Who are the good ones?

I thinks that fantastic. Blue, which club would you pick? And am I wrong about wanting to be in the gym while my daughter practices. Also, is it fair to scream at these kids? Do you agree about checking out the new coaches? Also, do you respect any of the local coaches?

Big blue I don't disagree with you. The only high school coaches worth a dime when we were in the area in knoxville were the guys at AC and coach Jones at Catholic. I don't doubt that hasn't changed. In fact, some of the coaches were just awful. Most of them, in fact, just didn't care. But you can't say that all of these club coaches are top shelf. You probably have a couple that are good, but I wouldn't pay several thousand dollars for most of them. Good volleyball coaches in east TN are rare, high school or club. But....I dare say that there are that many D1 prospects in knoxville. Here in Iowa, to play in the big ten, a hitter has to contact a ball at 10 feet. MBs have to contact higher. Can any player in Knoxville contact the ball at 9 feet? Probably not. Play all of the club you want, if you aren't a special athlete you are not playing big time ball. Do you agree? Also, don't rag on the smaller schools. In TN Lee, where Hopi's daughter played, could have beaten alot of D1 schools. Blue, you are right, IF an elite athlete wants to play at a big conference D1 school they have to play club. But when was the last time that Knoxville produced that caliber of player? Club will not make you 6 3 with big jumps. In Knoxville the better athletes play basketball, not volleyball. There are some great high school and club coaches out there. But there are more duds. Don't look at club as a ticket to D1.

I will weigh in. I played for a state championship level program in high school, a competitive D1 college and spent a few years playing minor league pro ball. My oldest daughter played for a strong group of high school coaches at AC, played for the K2 people when they were still with Smokey Mountain and played college volleyball. Several high school coaches impressed me in TN. As I've said before we had powerful coaches at AC, Coach Jones at Catholic was great, Coach Brock at GPS and Coach Berry in middle TN were all better coaches than my daughters college coaches. The husband and wife tandem who are now at K2 were her club coaches. The wife was solid, and I thought a good teacher. I thought the husband was a wannabe coach. Coaching is teaching, motivating, getting the player to do her best. Club is good for certain things, but to be honest, I was not blown away by any of the club coaches. My daughter benefitted by playing club because she got to touch alot more balls in the offseason, and as a result she became a better fundamental player. But, I did not like the player first mentality of club, and I think she got burned out by her soph year in college. Very few, if any, of the players in east TN will become elite vbers in college. East TN is basketball country. Club is a business, go into it with that in mind. Coach Jones, Coach Harshbarger and Coach Cantrell are really good coaches, as good as you will find at high school. There is alot more to coaching than teaching a spike. Life lessons are taught. Be wary of who you let your girl be around. A bad club coach can do worse than teaching bad habits, they can break spirits. Other than the husband and wife team at k2 I don't know any of the new club coaches. I would not let my daughter play for a team where I was not allowed in the gym. That is not debatable, these are high school girls, not college athletes. You don't have to play club to play in college. At the bigger schools it is all about athleticism. At the smaller schools its about charachter and coach ability. I would not let a coach scream at my daughter. That does not build charachter it breaks spirits. Be careful of clubs, do your homework, and ask the local high school coaches who have been around, and who are respected. These coaches will give you an honest answer. Remember, these clubs are run to either make money for the people who own them, or to help a specific high school program like PR, or both. They are businesses. No one is licsened or monitored, they are selling a product. Club has a place, and can really help a player improve, but do you homework.

I thought AC won the District last year? I would say the last two years they have been as competitive as ever. They won their district and beat all of the area big schools and privates like they do every year. They got upset in the Regional by a team that they beat earlier, that is just sports. I think being in AAA is harder. AC is not a large school. The athletic pool is smaller. Also, not having access to year round play does hurt, but that is not the schools fault. Lake City, Andersonville and the other rural communities that AC covers simply don't have the money or resources that the private or wealth west Knoxville schools have. That's no excuse, the coaches job is to make the most with what they have. When lived in TN for almost 20 years. During that time a school would have a good class come thru and have a great two or three seasons then disappear. Each year AC was one of the top two or three teams in the area, big school, small school or private. I agree with club only. Good coaching will keep you competitive year in and year out. A quality coach, in any sport, will adapt to the talent hey have and stay competitive. Good post.

Thanks for the response Club Only, I don't get on here often but I do remember you speaking well of AC. I think AC will be fine. Oddly enough I had dinner in Chicago with coach Cantrell last weekend. He was in town and he and his wife met me and my wife for dinner. We have remained friends since we left, He told me that Jayme Smith, a former player and assistant, and Randi Mellon, a former college setter coach and he were coaching. He told me they graduated Five seniors who played alot, and this years team was freshman sophomore filled with one or two upperclassman. It's funny, but I asked him how they would do and in typical fashion he thought they would win the district! Those who know him know that he is one of the most positive minded coaches ever and his enthusiasm is infectious. I liked what you said about getting better, because what I remember most was their love of teaching the game and using ever opportunity to improve. I think AC is in good hands.

I got mad and posted on another thread, so Ill post here too. My daughter played at AC back in 01-04. We thought hour high school coaches were great, and I got to know Coach Jones at Catholic and thought he was great. My daughter and none of her teammates played club. It was expensive, they all played other sports like basketball, track and softball, and she got a scholarship and so did most of her teammates. I hate it when people get on these anonymous boards and slam high school coaches just to promote their clubs.

I have no idea who this player is, but that is a bold statement. Are you including Anderson County and Norris High School in the area? Those two schools have produced dozens of College Players many of who have played college ball at Division 1 schools including the Univ of Tenn and the Univ of Alabama. My daughter played with Rachel Templin who was a three time all- state player who set the state record for kills in a game with fifteen in the state semi finals. She turned down an offer to Ole Miss and went to another D 1 school closer to home, Campbell Univ, where she was all conference three years and she's not even considered the best to have played at AC. I hate these statements where parents get on here and make these wild statements just to blow up their own kid. I think it is disrespectful. Again, I don't know anything about this player, she may be great, but I can't imagine that coming from Clinton she is the best ever!

Answer my question. Has coach Foster ever beaten AC?

Talk about small worlds. Coach Johnson played high school at Norris High school for the legendary Coach Rita Hackler who is credited with being the driving force behind getting the TSSAA to recognize volleyball as a sport. Coach Hackler won over 500 matches at Norris before it closed in 1982, and she became the first coach at the newly opened Anderson County. In 1983 she hired Coach Cantrell, who is still there and closing in on 1000 wins. At the same time Coach Johnson hired Coach Paul Brock who went on to coach at GPS. When my daughters played at AC they were required to learn the history of the Norris/Andeson County program. This included learning about the former players and coaches. I became close friends with Coach Cantrell and Coach Harshbarger, and still talk to them often. I also got to spend time with Coach Hackler who is simply one of the coolest people I ever met. Reading from my daughters high school volleyball program, here is her coaching tree: Coach Johnson who begat Coach Brock both still active Coach Cantrell, still active, who begat Coach Harshbarger (retired) and current Coach Smith, all three have state championships. From Hackler and Cantrell came Coach Thurman who coached at King College, where she was an all American, and who won a state championship in Georgia. Coach Marcia Wade won a state championship in North Carolina. Coach Randi Mellon coached College and High School. I think these players also coached, though not listed in my daughters old program, but I cheated and called my buddy so his fault if these are wrong, or I leave anybody out: Coach Hacklers Daughter and Niece Kim and Pam, who both played at Norris then at the Univ of Tennessee. Amy Eckerly, Lori Purkey, Melanie Templin, Ashley Pittman (currently at CAK), Karen Jolly, Kelsey Dew, Lindsay Hall, Kim Ohmstead all coached high school or college. Pretty neat from one high school program. Great post coach Johnson. We need more of these posts and less trash talk ,

Orcat, are you serious? I don't know enough about the current state of knoxville volleyball to make an intelligent comment about who is good and who is not. But I am still friends with several AC folk and your comment about Coach Foster is way out of line. My daughters played club for Smokey Mountain and really liked Coach Foster, but to make this statement is silly. How many games did AC lose in your district the last two years? Has Coach Foster EVER beaten AC. EVER? And you say no one else compares?

Good post! Not a lot of fun for us former dads who live out of state to read some of the recent junk. I need a volleyball fix! I know he will get mad that I mentioned his name, but Coach Cantrell at Anderson County has to get some recognition. He has over 30 years in and is still going strong. He has only served as the head coach on two different occasions the last time he lost to East Ridge in the state finals and was named coach of the year. When my daughter played he was the associate head coach. He does not teach and before the tssaa allowed non faculty coaches he did so on an unofficial basis but is the driving force behind AC volleyball. He was the first coach of any sport from Anderson County to be put into the hall of fame. Several years ago the Knoxville paper tried to do a story on him because he had over 900 wins as an asst/head but he refused to give an interview. He told me that all of the focus should be on the players, not the coaches. I will admit that you either love him or hate him because of his intensity but every girl who every played for him would do anything for him, and he would do the same. He loved our daughters like they were his own. I played pro ball after college and I can honestly say he is the best coach I ever saw close up. One of my favorite memories when my daughter played was at the state tourney, when all of the matches were played at the same venue. During a break I sat in the corner after a big win in pool play and I saw Coach Neely come over to Coach Cantrell who was sitting by himself. I thought there was going to be and argument because these two old war horses at gone after each other during the match. Instead they hugged and sat down with each other. Soon after Coach Brock and Coach Shaffer walked by and joined in. They were all laughing and telling story and you could tell they genuinely cared for each other. That night I asked him about it, and said I was surprised. He told me that the four of them had known each other for twenty years and that he respected all of the older coaches because they are why we have volleyball. PH keep the posts focused on the positive sde of our sport. Thank you for helping celebrate these coaches. We will never have another group of Neelys, Cantrells, Shaffers etc. who worked so hard for so long. How these folks still have that intensity and passion is wonderful. As a former dad, thanks to all of you great coaches!

PH, thanks for the update on Pageman. Tell him I send my best, and that I miss seeing those old suspenders!!!! He, Cowboys Up, the Ghost and the Great Line Judge and I had some good times. Hard to believe that almost 10 years has past! My next volleyball will probably be grandkids. I read in the Knoxville paper today an article about AC winning their district. Way to keep the tradition alive. Do they still do the Maverick Rumble? My friend from TN has a daughter that plays at Oak Ridge and he says that the AC setter, Hayak? is something to watch. Good luck everybody, don't tournaments start soon?

I looked back at the thread and it looks like the predictions are pretty close? I know AC is 1, but wouldn't Hardin Valley be ahead of Farragut? According to the paper Webb just had a libero sign with UT. Have they played Farr, HV or AC? What is the head-to head of those 4?