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Wow...2019 HS Volleyball will be here soon!


Rockstar89
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Saw a little bit of a lot teams at A-Game this weekend. Siegel may make a liar out of me after all... 3 kids in boots on the bench, their superstar setter just got out of hers, and one other potential starter is supposed to get checked out this week and could miss the season. I did not see the Libero we were talking about earlier, and couldn't get a straight answer from anyone as to why. "She's not playing high school" was all. Nobody seemed too bothered by it, their backup is a decent player. Libero is the least of their worries.

Was not expecting to be impressed with Stewart's Creek, but I was. Did any of you see them? They might make it out of that district after all... Blackman wasn't as crisp as I expected.

Nolensville looked really good, They'll be in the AA mix. But they were also missing 2 or 3 kids. One of their parents told me those players are not playing high school, and instead will play in the TPV fall league or some such. These are state-championship caliber teams, and kids are skipping their high school seasons in order to "train" (yes they used the air quotes). 

Somebody please explain this mentality to me.

I get it if you are a National-team caliber player, and playing high school would present a safety issue to you, teammates, or opponents. But this is not that.

 

 

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3 hours ago, Osage said:

Saw a little bit of a lot teams at A-Game this weekend. Siegel may make a liar out of me after all... 3 kids in boots on the bench, their superstar setter just got out of hers, and one other potential starter is supposed to get checked out this week and could miss the season. I did not see the Libero we were talking about earlier, and couldn't get a straight answer from anyone as to why. "She's not playing high school" was all. Nobody seemed too bothered by it, their backup is a decent player. Libero is the least of their worries.

Was not expecting to be impressed with Stewart's Creek, but I was. Did any of you see them? They might make it out of that district after all... Blackman wasn't as crisp as I expected.

Nolensville looked really good, They'll be in the AA mix. But they were also missing 2 or 3 kids. One of their parents told me those players are not playing high school, and instead will play in the TPV fall league or some such. These are state-championship caliber teams, and kids are skipping their high school seasons in order to "train" (yes they used the air quotes). 

Somebody please explain this mentality to me.

I get it if you are a National-team caliber player, and playing high school would present a safety issue to you, teammates, or opponents. But this is not that.

 

 

Calling it now, Nolensville will win state in AA.  They drilled Camden (who eliminated them last year) and were competitive with strong AAA teams. 

 

Skipping competitive high school volleyball is a stupid move.  Can't think of another word to describe it.  Brentwood also had a freshman libero who quit to train.  I can only speak about her situation.....evidently, parents felt she should have been varsity but was placed on jv.  Very few elite players get named varsity their freshman year at elite programs.  It was/is the worse decision this family could have made IMO because she will not get a second chance after quitting, the pipe is currently full at that position with a couple of studs moving up from middle school next year.  Just the practices alone would be tougher then the training she'll receive this time of year.  Safe to say that TPV is not endorsing this.

 

Did not see Stewarts Creek.  Brentwood played Blackman and Siegel at the end of the day and handled both with ease.  Blackman has one hitter but they can't get her the ball.  Siegel looked nothing like themselves (hoping its due to injury and they get girls back).  Predicting Houston vs. Brentwood in the AAA state championship game.   

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You and I saw the same Blackman team. I actually think pretty highly of both pins, and they have a halfway decent setter. They should be better than they are, but they're trying to hit home runs on every serve and every attack. You don't win in high school that way.

On skipping high school and doing TPV training instead... We agree that is a dumb move. There is more to volleyball than training. I'm having a hard time believing that TPV management is against it, though.

A very good friend whose daughter is a key cog on a potential state caliber team told me she was asked what her plans were: was she is going to play for her high school, or do that TPV fall training? If I were a lawyer, I would say there is plausible deniability in the phrasing of the question. You could defensibly say TPV is not "endorsing" kids skipping the high school season and training in their gym instead. However, simply asking that question would make me, as a TPV player or parent, consider that maybe there is an answer other than "I am going to help my high school compete for state."

I'm really, really surprised a Brentwood player would do that.

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This very unfortunate development of training instead of playing HS is being driven by one individual not controlled by TPV. That's all I will say.

But as my volleyball player said when I told her about this, HS ball is the reason she didn't give up the sport and the opportunities at the next level. That's where she had the most fun. She said the pressure of open club combined with training instead of being with her HS friends/ teammates would have burned her out. She loved the memories of post season play and the accolades that aren't given in a training facility. And as said above, she also mentioned that she actually got better playing against the best in Wilco and that it would not have happened had she skipped real live volleyball to do training instead. 

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53 minutes ago, SummaryJudgment said:

This very unfortunate development of training instead of playing HS is being driven by one individual not controlled by TPV. That's all I will say.

 

I am not familiar with the first part of your statement but I can vouch that TPV is not endorsing this move.  TPV wont turn girls away who ask for more training plus they are a firm believer in high school volleyball in the area.

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9 minutes ago, TeeterTot said:

I am not familiar with the first part of your statement but I can vouch that TPV is not endorsing this move.  TPV wont turn girls away who ask for more training plus they are a firm believer in high school volleyball in the area.

That's my point Teeter. It's not TPV or anyone paid by TPV who is pressuring girls into giving up HS ball to train.

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I HATE this kind of thing. I am familiar with one case in particular as well. I know for a fact that a well-known club coach talked her into doing this. She really let down a team that needed her, and I could be wrong, but I can only imagine that a years worth of private training probably cost every bit of what the small school scholarship is that she ended up getting. 

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Pressure is: "If you don't skip your high school season and train in our gym, you will fall behind and someone else is going to take your spot next year." I don't think anyone is suggesting this is happening.

But this is subtle pressure as well: "So, are you playing for your high school team this fall?" Those conversations happened. As a result, some number of kids (even for some of the top high school programs in the area) are skipping out on their high school seasons in order to "train". I'll say again: simply asking the question means that there is an acceptable answer other than "Yes, I am playing for my high school team." No kid, no parent should have to defend that choice.

@SummaryJudgment ... you have confused me. You say that you know who is making kids skip their high school seasons in order to train with TPV, and that this person isn't a TPV person. This makes no sense to me. Who has that kind of influence on these kids and their families?

In the one case I know about (and summarized above), the conversation was initiated by TPV. 

 

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3 minutes ago, Osage said:

 

@SummaryJudgment ... you have confused me. You say that you know who is making kids skip their high school seasons in order to train with TPV, and that this person isn't a TPV person. This makes no sense to me. Who has that kind of influence on these kids and their families?

In the one case I know about (and summarized above), the conversation was initiated by TPV. 

 

I’m being very careful here Osage. You can be associated with a club but not under their direct control. In fact it can be the reverse. A person can appear to be a representative of a club but the relationship is not what it seems. Suffice it to say, Teeter is correct. TPV is being neutral in this. They are neither advocating for or against the idea. They are not out to undermine HS volleyball in this area. But they are also not going to undermine the relationship they have with the Wizard behind the curtain. 

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15 hours ago, SummaryJudgment said:

You can be associated with a club but not under their direct control. In fact it can be the reverse. 

This got dark.

So you are saying that the Puppetmaster (Wizard) is suggesting kids skip high school seasons and train with TPV instead, but she is not officially (or at least publicly) affiliated with the club?

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2 hours ago, Osage said:

This got dark.

So you are saying that the Puppetmaster (Wizard) is suggesting kids skip high school seasons and train with TPV instead, but she is not officially (or at least publicly) affiliated with the club?

LOL! Sorry. Didn't mean to make it dark. Yes, the person is not officially affiliated with TPV. But people have the impression that the person is a TPV representative. 

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