Knoxville Area Teams

[clubonlyforus]

I agree Knack.  I am not going to take anything away from AC's past success, but volleyball has grown by leaps and bounds in the last several years in East Tennessee.  In order for a player to stand out and not play club, she would have to be amazing.  When it comes to scholarships being given out and a college coach has say 100 girls to look at, and 80 of them play 9 to 12 months a year and the other 20 play only 3 months, it is not hard to see which way the coach may look.  Even if a player is really good, she can never have the "experience" of someone playing as much as a club player.

 

Also, unless a lot of recruiting is being done by parents and high school coach, colleges dont have the resources to go to dozens of high school games to look at dozens of players.  They can go to a couple of big club tournaments and look at hundreds of players.

 

I think for the most part, a player needs to decide on one sport by high school if they plan on playing at the next level.  There are always exceptions, but generally speaking, I think that is the case.

[bratman]

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.

[theknack]

Surely AC hasn't dropped so far that they measure success by winning districts.  I was referring to zero state tourney or even sectional appearances since moving to AAA.

 

Good coaches make something from nothing or at least don't mess up what you inherit from someone else.  With few or no club players, AC coaches must be at least good.  Great teams require both good players and coaches and playing club helps develop good players.

[bigbluevolley]

Bratman. With all do respect I haven't seen anyone on this message board try to push their club. This is not about club volleyball, it's about high school volleyball. It is, however, often mentioned that the teams with the most club players usually are more successful then the others. When AC had their good years,( I don't measure "good years" by winning district. The district STINKS when it comes to playing volleyball) club volleyball wasn't very big in our area. Now that it is you see the drop off. AC has a decent team. They win district championships and if that's your goal then congratulations. The girls that I know have a goal to WIN the state championship. No one is trashing anyone on here. They are just talking about high school volleyball on a high school volleyball message board. I think its pretty fun and interesting to read how everyone feels. Enjoy the message board!! 

[jumper]

It will interesting to see what develops from adding clubs in Knox County and merging clubs in the area. Remember when we had 1 club? SMVC thank you CF. Love K2- national competition teams. PR for moderate players. The new VBall Academy - if it does officially open will have potential. It's great to see increase interest in the middle school age group as well. They will create more talent at high school and beyond. Each club will position themselves like retail; high, medium low. Qualified thru levels by price/quality/competition/opportunity. Personally, I like to see new clubs; it pushes existing clubs to improve. It also says a lot about the expansion and popularity of women's volleyball in East Tennessee. This is great for the game. Just like middle and west Tennessee(and nationally) the growth of VBall has expanded through new club programs and stronger interest; then better compensation--> then quality coaches. Ultimately better teams and increased opportunities for girls VBall scholarships. Go Go Volleyball!!

Where will the good coaches come from? Although players can become coaches, there is more valuable prerequisite than "I played college" or "I need a part-time job". Good coaches put a team first over personal interests, good coaches think of the values they create in a program over having personal goals. Thank you Pat Summit for your "12" rules. Wish she had played volleyball. Imagine!

[BigmiddleUT]

To be honest Anderson County has been way over hyped for a long time.  I always here how good they are going to be or once was.  They were always just okay not elite like some of the other programs. I never thought that the coaches were all that special.  i do like the new girl. 

[Utkfan00]

Hardin Valley will still be a contender this year. They have ZERO seniors on their team, but they have club players and will still be a competitor. While they lost some of their outstanding players from last year's team, HVA will still be strong.

 

Karns will be strong if they use Sievers correctly.

 

I agree that CAK and Farragut are the best teams in the area.

[Truthtellerdad]

Why is everyone so hung up on Severs? Yes, she's very good. However, you red to watch closely and how smart the Karns middle is. She outplays Severs almost every game.

[orcat]

Oak Ridge and Karns. As predicted.

[orcat]

We don't even prepare for the middles. Seviers is the team, and the district MVP.

[Truthtellerdad]

Give it a break Orcat.

Edited October 7, 2013 by Truthtellerdad

[orcat]

What? Seviers was voted by her coach to be the District MVP. Why did you edit your post slamming her?

 

I have bragged on Karns all year, unlike some of the supposed Karns fans. Seviers is fantastic, we would love to have her. She is your best hitter, server and passer. If you don't have her you don't win the district. Who is better?

 

The middles are ok? But you can't honestly say they are better than Seviers. When we played she absolutely killed us the last three games. The two we won she didn't get set. The coach figured it out and told the setter to get her the ball.

 

This time we have a player that may be better. Our freshman is great. You don't see us critiquing our best player. Coach Foster gets her the ball.

 

When a player has a great year and wins an award, GIVEN BY HER OWN COACH, you say well done.

 

We will be ready on Wed.