State of the State

[wxyz]

Just found this info on prep volleyball...Assumption had 7 seniors sign NLI earlier this week

 

Six will play Division 1 and one will play Division 2. Only 4 of the 7 received significant playing time this season.

 

In contrast, NDA had 2 seniors sign NLI this week. Both played significant roles in the Pandas season.

 

Assumption is so deep that D1 scholarship athletes sit the bench. Sacred Heart is in Assumptions region, they are also deep, they had 21 on their freshman team. Mercy only had 1 senior, basically the whole roster returns.

 

Assumption finishes the season ranked 6th in the ENTIRE country and Mercy finished 7th. What a tribute to volleyball in our state!

 

I hope this helps everyone put what NDA did this season in perspective. Hats off to the girls

[Clyde]

I remember Assumption's team from a few years ago that had a sub go D1. It was the team with the big hitter who went to Nebraska.

 

They're obviously deep.

[Big sale]

The state of the state is all-girls Catholic schools are dominating girls sports across the board in Kentucky. The state of NKY is Notre Dame is dominating girls sports across the board.

[TripleSevens]

The state of the state is all-girls Catholic schools are dominating girls sports across the board in Kentucky. The state of NKY is Notre Dame is dominating girls sports across the board.

 

To say "across the board" is a bit of an exaggeration. Volleyball? Yes, dominate is the appropriate word. But across the board...no.

 

 

When it comes to basketball, winning 2 out of the last 10 9th region tournaments does not qualify as dominate.

 

Actually Boone county has a stronger claim to dominate in NKY when it comes to girls basketball. They have won 5 out of the last 10 9th region tournaments.

Edited November 21, 2013 by TripleSevens
corrections

[Big sale]

I meant across the board as in all sports combined. Take every girls' sport offered for a given school, plot where the team finished in Region and State, and find the average. Think of it like the Capital One Cup. I'm guessing ND would be at the top in NKY.

[Zap]

I meant across the board as in all sports combined. Take every girls' sport offered for a given school, plot where the team finished in Region and State, and find the average. Think of it like the Capital One Cup. I'm guessing ND would be at the top in NKY.

 

An all girls school that has in excess of 600 females and draws from all over is this a surprise? I would be more inclined to say what took so long. They should and better be winning or something is really wrong. Plus they have had some very timely additions to the softball, basketball programs to aid them.

[redleg13]

I look for McCracken Co. girls teams to challenge Louisville private schools in tennis and softball. They weren't too shabby in Volleyball.

[wxyz]

I look for McCracken Co. girls teams to challenge Louisville private schools in tennis and softball. They weren't too shabby in Volleyball.

 

I think the better more teams get, the better girls sports will be across the board.

[tark the shark]

I always wondered why Lexington has never really competed at a high level. BGP'ers, any thoughts or insights why this may be?

[wxyz]

I always wondered why Lexington has never really competed at a high level. BGP'ers, any thoughts or insights why this may be?

 

There is a club called Lexington United that is doing good stuff in Lexington. It is run by former Pitt head coach Chris Beerman. His daughter is a 2015 recruit committed to Indiana. Nice player. I think their biggest problem in Lexington is they do not start volleyball early enough in club or school. In Louisville and NKy, the girls start playing competitive club ball at age 8. They start school ball in 3rd grade (in the private schools). Believe it or not, it is hard to catch up if you don't start until 7th grade.

 

I am not saying I think this is right, just answering the question.

 

As for high school, if there are not strong clubs, you won't have strong high schools. Louisville schools benefit from KIVA, MAVA and Union. NDA, St. Henry and Ryle benefit from mostly NKYVC. In order to compete, the girls need to be playing year round at a very high level. Lexington and the rest of the state just isn't there....yet. I hope the sport continues to grow throughout the Bluegrass.

 

I must admit, I was very envious of the Sweet 16 boys basketball tourney. It was the first time I really paid attention to it since my kid is friends with the CCH players. What an amazing experience for the players, coaches and whole community. I would love for something like that to surround the state volleyball tourney. We are years away and until a team can break Assumption's stronghold on the Championship, it is hard to reach that level of excitement.

[tark the shark]

Thanks wxyz for the input, I think you hit the head on the nail with starting in 6th grade instead of the 3rd. Private schools have a great advantage in that arena.

 

Gray's Craig Steiner is one of the best middle school coaches in NKY, they are always playing catch up to the feeder schools. Ryle is very equal in talent in 1-5 to 1-6 players, it is NDA's bench does not drop off much 7-10 players.

 

I've always said that the girls that get cut at NDA, would crush every school but St Henry and Ryle. My friend's daughter is a senior at UK, her girlfriend and her do very well with private lessons and coaching volleyball for extra money in Lexington, both were NDA Vball players.

 

Thanks again for the input!

[wxyz]

Thanks wxyz for the input, I think you hit the head on the nail with starting in 6th grade instead of the 3rd. Private schools have a great advantage in that arena.

 

Gray's Craig Steiner is one of the best middle school coaches in NKY, they are always playing catch up to the feeder schools. Ryle is very equal in talent in 1-5 to 1-6 players, it is NDA's bench does not drop off much 7-10 players.

 

I've always said that the girls that get cut at NDA, would crush every school but St Henry and Ryle. My friend's daughter is a senior at UK, her girlfriend and her do very well with private lessons and coaching volleyball for extra money in Lexington, both were NDA Vball players.

 

Thanks again for the input!

 

I agree about Craig.

 

Gray middle school teams the past 5 years at least have dominated NKY middle school teams. A few years ago St Agnes and BSac both had nice 8th grade teams that could beat Gray (current sophomore class) but, other than that it has been all Gray.

 

The problem for Ryle is that only those players feed into Ryle. NDA then gets the top 3 from ALL the other schools in the middle school league. They all come together as Pandas and the domination continues.

 

However, theFreshman class in NKY features many strong players but none go to the same school. The top players are 1 from Ryle, 1 from NCC, 1 from Cooper, 1 from St. Henry, NONE from NDA and the rest from Ohio. But because none of them join forces in high school, the high school does not benefit.

 

Thankfully for Panda fans the current 8th grade class is strong. The Pandas continue to attract talent from outside the regular feeder schools with at least two girls coming in- one from Campbell Co and one from Ohio.

 

One other key to Louisville domination is the fact that Ron Kordes (Assumption/KIVA), Todd Garvey (Mercy/Union) and Eric Garvey (Sacred Heart/Union) are all very heavily involved in coaching and directing club volleyball. Ron and Eric both coach 14's, players feeding into their high schools. NDA, St. Henry have never done this. Tasha from Ryle coaches club but on a Regional level. The three big Louisville schools' head coaches are all volleyball, all the time.

 

I remember back in the day when club first started and legendary NDA coach, Joan Mazarro, first started coaching with NKJV....low hat age did she coach...14's. It worked back then and it still works now.

[Crosley]

I don’t think anyone should bemoan Ryle’s situation because they only have one quality volleyball program (Gray) feeding into it. Ryle has as many as 800 girls to choose from each year for their volleyball program. Mind you, I’m not sure really sure what their total enrollment is, but it’s a guess.

 

Also, I’m not sure what Notre Dame has from an enrollment standpoint, but it could be as many as 600 girls. Based on the fact that they are fed from the many parochial schools that start playing volleyball in third grade, they should always have a great program. And in most cases, they have not disappointed when it comes to regional championships. NDA has dominated Ninth Region play for over 10 years.

 

In my opinion, both of these schools should be able to put together what it takes to win the state. One is fed from a very strong middle school program (Gray) with a strong enrollment that is probably over 1000 kids (500 girls). The other (NDA) is fed by the parochial schools that start playing in third grade. Nearly all of these girls play club volleyball. .

 

I look at this a different way. I ask the question “what would Ron do?”. Ron Kordes apparently has this figured out, so I would look at the personnel he puts on the floor and the coaching he puts around those players. I get that KIVA is somewhat an extension to his program at Assumption. That is huge, but the fact remains that Ron Kordes is looking for certain types of players. He surrounds them with very good coaching, and the bi-product is a successful club / state and national high school powerhouse.

 

As for the other schools in the NKY regions, I think it would be very difficult to win the state championship. That doesn’t mean I don’t think the other schools couldn’t win the Ninth Region. I believe St. Henry and Scott have done that in recent memory. It’s just very difficult for many of the schools to consistently come up with 6 – 9 excellent players. It’s usually because they either don’t have the enrollment numbers, or they don’t have enough girls playing at the Open / National levels of club volleyball. Let’s face it; there are certain things you need to make a strong team. You can’t have a 6 excellent libero’s and win at the net. Volleyball, like other sports is a sport that requires the right mix of strong players. To me it comes down to personnel and coaching.

 

BTW – I would expect Gray to do well year after year simply because they have some 500 girls to choose from for volleyball. I would think the other schools they play have either smaller enrollments or haven’t committed to volleyball like Gray has. That said, I don’t want to take anything away from Gray. There are other large middle schools that don’t have the volleyball program that Gray does.

[wxyz]

I don’t think anyone should bemoan Ryle’s situation because they only have one quality volleyball program (Gray) feeding into it. Ryle has as many as 800 girls to choose from each year for their volleyball program. Mind you, I’m not sure really sure what their total enrollment is, but it’s a guess.

 

Also, I’m not sure what Notre Dame has from an enrollment standpoint, but it could be as many as 600 girls. Based on the fact that they are fed from the many parochial schools that start playing volleyball in third grade, they should always have a great program. And in most cases, they have not disappointed when it comes to regional championships. NDA has dominated Ninth Region play for over 10 years.

 

In my opinion, both of these schools should be able to put together what it takes to win the state. One is fed from a very strong middle school program (Gray) with a strong enrollment that is probably over 1000 kids (500 girls). The other (NDA) is fed by the parochial schools that start playing in third grade. Nearly all of these girls play club volleyball. .

 

I look at this a different way. I ask the question “what would Ron do?”. Ron Kordes apparently has this figured out, so I would look at the personnel he puts on the floor and the coaching he puts around those players. I get that KIVA is somewhat an extension to his program at Assumption. That is huge, but the fact remains that Ron Kordes is looking for certain types of players. He surrounds them with very good coaching, and the bi-product is a successful club / state and national high school powerhouse.

 

As for the other schools in the NKY regions, I think it would be very difficult to win the state championship. That doesn’t mean I don’t think the other schools couldn’t win the Ninth Region. I believe St. Henry and Scott have done that in recent memory. It’s just very difficult for many of the schools to consistently come up with 6 – 9 excellent players. It’s usually because they either don’t have the enrollment numbers, or they don’t have enough girls playing at the Open / National levels of club volleyball. Let’s face it; there are certain things you need to make a strong team. You can’t have a 6 excellent libero’s and win at the net. Volleyball, like other sports is a sport that requires the right mix of strong players. To me it comes down to personnel and coaching.

 

BTW – I would expect Gray to do well year after year simply because they have some 500 girls to choose from for volleyball. I would think the other schools they play have either smaller enrollments or haven’t committed to volleyball like Gray has. That said, I don’t want to take anything away from Gray. There are other large middle schools that don’t have the volleyball program that Gray does.

 

Excellent points and Ron does, indeed, get it done year after year. Assumption Administration believes in him, supports him and he plays the players who deserve to play. I have know Ron for 20 years and when he first started at Assumption he had the same complaints and problems that every other coach faces....he stuck it out, the administration got behind him and you see the result. He now can have 8 seniors on a roster and have the majority not get any significant playing time and everyone sits there and claps and smiles. He deserves that kind of respect, he has earned it, but don't kid yourself into thinking he didn't earn it in his early years.

 

The problem at NDA is that the administration is too short sighted and let the parents run the show. When the coaches try to do what they think is best, based on being at practice, watching tape and scouting their opponent, the coaches get lambasted and the administration offers NO response to the parents. NDA has had, in my opinion, 3 State Championship caliber teams in the past ten years but nothing was able to be done with the talent because of the culture that exists. It befuddles me that parents of the kids that are playing, let the other parents ruin what could be a state championship for their child. I will never understand that.

 

I believe Ryle has a similar culture to NDA. Coach Lovins has lasted as long as she has, with somewhat mediocre results (besides 2013) because she plays her seniors and doesn't work the girls too hard. Parents will accept mediocrity before they will accept their little princess not getting to play. Sure they will moan and groan a little when they lose to teams they shouldn't but, as long as the seniors are getting to play as much as the parents think they should, most coaches can get away with it. Heck....look how long Bob Wood lasted at NDA even after losing two back to back regional championships. But he played the seniors and kept the masses happy.

 

St. Henry is the only other contender in the Region and even Coach Kaiser has to put up with the belly aching. She coaches to win but because of her tenure, the fact that she is an alum and her relationships with the administration and AD's, she is able to withstand much of the fallout, particularly when she has a Freshman who is good enough to play varsity. Parents complain about her, write their anonymous letters, have their meetings with the principal but Kaiser pretty much is above it all because the administration doesn't listen.

 

No coach is immune when they play the 'wrong' people but the difference is that back in the day when Ron Kordes was building Assumption's dynasty he got the support he needed and deserved from the administration. This was right around the time NDA's domination was ending, mostly because Joan Mazzaro resigned to move to North Carolina. She was another one no one messed with and if they did you can bet your butt Sister Mary Virginia Ann (principal at NDA) had her back.

[callwhatyousee]

To keep this in NKy for a sec I was wondering what schools NCC & Brossart pull from. Do they have good feeder programs to pull from? If so which schools?