Should a college prospect play in High School?

[bigbluevolley]

This may go down as one of the craziest thoughts on the board. As I see it, Club volleyball is a business. It's not anything else. If you don't have it then it would be very tough to recruit. Ask the college coaches if they would rather have club girls or high school girls. I'm not giving you an answer, I'm asking you to find out from the horse's mouth yourself. Can you tell me how many college coaches have been at your high school volleyball games this year?

 

If there wasn't a market out there for club teams then they would all go bankrupt. It's the american way. That's how businesses get started. When one sees a market for an idea and he or she goes after that market. If they were wrong then they close up shop, if they were correct then they profit.

 

Please don't go there with the "elitist" excuse. I've been to many tournaments over the past 15 years and I've talked to a lot of club directors. They have ALL told me that alot of their players are playing for free or discounted prices.

Tarp,
Gotcha and I agree with you. Club ball is certainly hurting volleyball as it is taking many potential national team players away from the game due to the expense. The pool of really top athletes that play volleyball will continue to decrease as this elitist attitude increases. This is not polo, it's volleyball a game invented at a YMCA. Quit trying to profit at the expense of the game. (Not aimed at you tarp, I agree with your outlook).

[bratman]

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.

[mas6volleyball]

This may go down as one of the craziest thoughts on the board. As I see it, Club volleyball is a business. It's not anything else. If you don't have it then it would be very tough to recruit. Ask the college coaches if they would rather have club girls or high school girls. I'm not giving you an answer, I'm asking you to find out from the horse's mouth yourself. Can you tell me how many college coaches have been at your high school volleyball games this year?

 

If there wasn't a market out there for club teams then they would all go bankrupt. It's the american way. That's how businesses get started. When one sees a market for an idea and he or she goes after that market. If they were wrong then they close up shop, if they were correct then they profit.

 

Please don't go there with the "elitist" excuse. I've been to many tournaments over the past 15 years and I've talked to a lot of club directors. They have ALL told me that alot of their players are playing for free or discounted prices.

If you have only been around volleyball for fifteen years you really do not know anything other than club.  Pat Powers told several of us 25 years ago that if we wanted to make money from volleyball, start club programs.  I do believe that club has a place; however, I have seen too many parents come to me in tears after spending enough to have paid tuition only to realize that the scholarships were non-existent or so small that they were not worth much.  I blame this on club directors who may not say every kid will get a scholarship but will never dissuade parents from spending tens of thousands of dollars throughout a girl's teen years in a club program.  If gullible parents and greedy directors are your idea of a "successful" business then so be it.

 

You are nuts if you think that "elitism" is not proper in this case. How often do you see economically disadvantaged kids playing volleyball during club season?  Trust me, I've been to more tournaments than you have and I see many who are trying to keep up with the Joneses and should not be spending the exorbitant amounts, but rarely see really impoverished kids playing.  It cost too much at too early of an age and that is why we are losing many really good athletes. 

 

Oh and by the way,  I have been asked by three different coaches, two in Tn. and one in Al. to keep an eye out for any kids who are not playing club because their seasons overlap with high school.  That is the reason that you do not see college coaches at high school games.  Go to the state tournament and they are all over the gyms.

 

We have several of us who volunteer our time to help kids with volleyball.  There are gyms all over that are starting programs that allow kids to come in and learn skills for $2-3 bucks at a time.  I just wish more people who do have knowledge of the game would step up and help.  This way we are promoting a sport that I love to a wider audience.

[K2ruth]

I love this debate. Brahman, I do not consider Anderson County a Knoxville team. As I have said before what they do year in and year out without having many, if any, club players is impressive, but they are a HUGE EXCEPTION. I don't see them play that often but they bring high energy and intensity to the court and don't seemed to ever be intimidated by anything. Yes, it can happen, but I stand by my statement that an elite player should not play high school and focus on developing her ability in a premiere club. There are two sophomores in Knoxville right now that are D-1 players, if they work hard. They are wasting time on their high school teams that could better be used training for the club season. They also risk burnout. I will predict that if they play their junior and senior years they will not get a D-1 scholarship.

Edited September 24, 2014 by K2ruth

[HardAngle]

KLiar, you are so sadly mistaken but we continue to admire your obedience to your masters. At least you are consistent in being consistently ridiculous. Again, I will say, "Blah, blah, blah."

[bigbluevolley]

Mas6. If you are sending your daughter to play club because that will give her a scholarship, then you are sadly mistaken. Playing club volleyball does not guarentee a scholarship. The club directors don't guarentee a scholarship. Your childs hard work and dedication to the sport will help with that but not guarentee it either. 2% of the athletes in the country get a D1 scholarship. That's not many. I've been around one club for a while and the director never once told my daughter or I that if she played club she would get a scholarship. That's absurd!!!! The PR club was great to be around for a time. Not sure about now. It didn't however produce a lot of D1 players.

 

Keep looking for non club players to become collge prospects. You won't have to work that hard. There aren't many!!

Edited September 24, 2014 by bigbluevolley

[mas6volleyball]

Guess not. I have found 12 in the last 4 years.

[bigbluevolley]

They haven't been in knoxville.

[mas6volleyball]

You are right. Many rural areas do not have club ball and you have to find good athletes with potential. They are behind many club players in skill; however, a good coach can develop the skills as long as they are athletic. It also helps that they have not been pigeonholed into one position(which happens often in clubs) and can be more adaptable if they need to transition from middle to outside. These are often kids who play many sports at a small school.

[bratman]

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?

[bigbluevolley]

Bratman. If you look back on some of my post you will see that I hold Anderson County volleyball in a different category. Their Rich volleyball tradition is second to NO ONE!!! If I could pick one high school volleyball team to watch year in and year out it would be AC. I know how they do it. It's tradition. The program has such a high standard that no one in the school is going to let it down. That's the same reason why Maryville continues to win in football. AC also has and has had many great coaches. This also is part of building a tradition.

 

mas6. We are basically talking about knoxville volleyball. Not any where else. We have no idea of how other places, such as rural towns do volleyball. Thanks for sharing how that works. It great that you are helping girls find a place in volleyball. Keep up the good work.

[beachboy]

Wow lots of good ideas floating around out there.  I agree with Bratman, that the high school program his daughter went to was the catalyst to her success in high school and college.  And they are considered a part of Knoxville volleyball, which I think they will agree about.

I have one question for K2Ruth though.  If the argument that players get burned out by playing high school is true, then  It seems that the year long intense training neccessary to get to D1 at a club facility could also cause burnout.  And if the coaches at the high school level are not that good, then high school might be considered sort of a break.  Just one approach to the burnout issue.  I personally think that players get burned out more from club than they do from high school.  One of the coaches at a club here told me that after a three day tournament on the road, the elite teams came to the gym that week 3 nights for 4 hours at a time.  If that is true, then that is traveling the burnout road.  Just sayin.

Oh, and I still have not gotten the numbers I asked for about how many kids from the clubs here in Knoxville have been developed into D1 players.  Still interested in that stat.  It would go a long ways to proving the point that club is better than high school and more relevant to the elite player. 

Good luck to all of the teams in a couple of weeks when the district tournaments start.  Seems like we just began the season.