In basketball it is significant to get the younger players excited about your program as early as possible. For most middle schoolers, playing up is a positive experience and gets them excited about their future and being a part of your program.

 

It also keeps them from having a bad 8th grade basketball experience. With a lot of the top players moving up, good players left behind in the 8th grade league can have a long year with unbalanced skill sets. If girls lose interest in basketball in middle school, there are plenty of other options to choose from.

 

At Notre Dame your never going to have middle schoolers playing sports. Other schools use them when there is a need for it due to numbers to field a freshmen or JV team or the public school team that has a stud in system they play up with. Nda with enrollment of only females and somewhere in the 600 range of them is never going to have a need for numbers. Plus feeder school kids aren't a guarantee to go there . Are you suggesting taking 8th graders over tuition paying students at nda to get them excited and give them a good experience? I'm guessing that wouldn't go over very well especially when the kid may not even enroll at nda . Plus like I said why doesnt the volleyball and soccer 8th graders need the high school teams to be excited and have the good experience yet those teams are the best in nky and the state. I still think it boils down to kids in those feeder schools that serve nda grow up wanting to play soccer and volleyball and basketball is just something to do in the winter until the soccer and volleyball club seasons start. Nda hasn't had a star bball player the last few years and the team has struggled.

Looking at the roster there are a few that play more than one sport. The problem is to play volleyball or soccer at NDA you need to be on a pretty serious club team adn train year round. That leaves very little time for school basketball much less club basketball,summer ball etc.

 

Sacred Heart has two Volleyball players on their Varsity roster.

At Notre Dame your never going to have middle schoolers playing sports. Other schools use them when there is a need for it due to numbers to field a freshmen or JV team or the public school team that has a stud in system they play up with. Nda with enrollment of only females and somewhere in the 600 range of them is never going to have a need for numbers. Plus feeder school kids aren't a guarantee to go there . Are you suggesting taking 8th graders over tuition paying students at nda to get them excited and give them a good experience? I'm guessing that wouldn't go over very well especially when the kid may not even enroll at nda . Plus like I said why doesnt the volleyball and soccer 8th graders need the high school teams to be excited and have the good experience yet those teams are the best in nky and the state. I still think it boils down to kids in those feeder schools that serve nda grow up wanting to play soccer and volleyball and basketball is just something to do in the winter until the soccer and volleyball club seasons start. Nda hasn't had a star bball player the last few years and the team has struggled.

 

Notre Dame doesn't allow MS kids to play Varsity sports. I think only Holy Cross is able to pull MS kids up. I could be wrong but this is what I have been told.

At Notre Dame your never going to have middle schoolers playing sports.

 

I didn't say that they SHOULD, just that it is a factor that you quickly dismissed and I believe it is a factor.

 

Other schools use them when there is a need for it due to numbers to field a freshmen or JV team or the public school team that has a stud in system they play up with.

 

There are far more middle school girls playing JV and freshman than you think. It is not just reserved for the "stud" players. Maybe for varsity, but plenty of middle school girls get to play Frosh and JV.

 

Plus like I said why doesn't the volleyball and soccer 8th graders need the high school teams to be excited and have the good experience yet those teams are the best in NKY and the state.

 

Soccer has a many more competitive options for younger kids. Hardcore training academies start before kids even get into middle school. Competitive, athletic girls get hooked on soccer because it is easier to get a taste of the top competition at an early age.

 

Plus, you can not play varsity soccer as a middle schooler and the club season is at the SAME time. Most players that do play high school still prioritize their club and only show up for games when they can, or they are playing for their high school because most middle schools do not have a soccer option.

 

I still think it boils down to kids in those feeder schools that serve nda grow up wanting to play soccer and volleyball

 

Exactly. Which is why getting out of middle school basketball is so important. a bad 8th grade year can turn girls off to the game. I've seen it happen

You have all the talent in the world at that school to pick from. You shouldn’t be losing that many games and they aren’t losing close games they are losing by a lot.

 

Really? There are lots of other girls at NDA that are better than the players on the team? I truly do not know that answer, but that must be what you mean - right?

 

I think when most people say things like that, what they really mean is that there are a lot of great athletes at the school - swimmers, golfers, soccer players, track stars, etc.

 

Isn't that different than having a bunch of great basketball players to choose from?

"Really? I don't buy that. Good sales pitch by club coaches. So you don't need to play select basketball? Why not?"

 

Not sure what you are saying you buy or not, but just to clarify the club thing is the issue at NDA. Club volleyball and club soccer for junior high girls is significantly more dominant and popular than any one AAU basketball club. The programs are massive. They start them young and programs develop them up through high school. AAU basketball for girls, from what I've seen, is more of a few good parent coaches that got a few things organized, and girls who were dedicated to their training. It is a very big difference, and club soccer and club volleyball dominate feeding kids to Notre Dame.

 

I've heard, but don't know for a fact, that NDA basketball and track coaches, currently are not overly flexible sharing time. It has been the problem with some of NDA's best talent not playing basketball.

 

That said, the current freshmen year and in coming 8th grade group is very talented specific to basketball. Will see if they get it worked out.

Notre Dame doesn't allow MS kids to play Varsity sports. I think only Holy Cross is able to pull MS kids up. I could be wrong but this is what I have been told.

 

I think it is because the private catholic schools do not have designated middle schools. They can pull from any other middle school in the diocese.

 

For example...... Bishop Brossart has St. Joe's Cold Spring, St. Mary, and St. Peter and Paul as their designated feeder schools. But those kids could choose to go to NCC, Covington Latin, St. Henry or Campbell County. Middle Schoolers that go to say Holy Trinity could decide to go to Bishop Brossart.

 

So how can you bring up middle school kids if you really have no idea what high school they will go to?

"Really? I don't buy that. Good sales pitch by club coaches. So you don't need to play select basketball? Why not?"

 

Not sure what you are saying you buy or not, but just to clarify the club thing is the issue at NDA. Club volleyball and club soccer for junior high girls is significantly more dominant and popular than any one AAU basketball club. The programs are massive. They start them young and programs develop them up through high school. AAU basketball for girls, from what I've seen, is more of a few good parent coaches that got a few things organized, and girls who were dedicated to their training. It is a very big difference, and club soccer and club volleyball dominate feeding kids to Notre Dame.

 

I've heard, but don't know for a fact, that NDA basketball and track coaches, currently are not overly flexible sharing time. It has been the problem with some of NDA's best talent not playing basketball.

 

That said, the current freshmen year and in coming 8th grade group is very talented specific to basketball. Will see if they get it worked out.

 

I started another thread on the volleyball club question instead of debating it here. Please add your thoughts about club volleyball there.

 

http://bluegrasspreps.com/ky-volleyball-high/volleyball-club-problem-362809.html

 

But you bring up another related issue in your post - sharing athletes between sports. We could probably start a separate thread on that because that topic applies to all schools, not just NDA. I am curious for discussion in this thread about how NDA handles sharing athletes. Should the AD get involved in that issue? Is it ok for coaches to have rules that go against sharing athletes with other sports?

"Really? I don't buy that. Good sales pitch by club coaches. So you don't need to play select basketball? Why not?"

 

Not sure what you are saying you buy or not, but just to clarify the club thing is the issue at NDA. Club volleyball and club soccer for junior high girls is significantly more dominant and popular than any one AAU basketball club. The programs are massive. They start them young and programs develop them up through high school. AAU basketball for girls, from what I've seen, is more of a few good parent coaches that got a few things organized, and girls who were dedicated to their training. It is a very big difference, and club soccer and club volleyball dominate feeding kids to Notre Dame.

 

I've heard, but don't know for a fact, that NDA basketball and track coaches, currently are not overly flexible sharing time. It has been the problem with some of NDA's best talent not playing basketball.

 

That said, the current freshmen year and in coming 8th grade group is very talented specific to basketball. Will see if they get it worked out.

 

From feeder schools? Right now only IHM and St. Pius play in the Public Middle School. All the other feeder schools only play in the NDA Saturday league.

 

From feeder schools? Right now only IHM and St. Pius play in the Public Middle School. All the other feeder schools only play in the NDA Saturday league.

 

Yes, but alot of them play AAU together on a team. They have for a few years, and very good. It's a bunch of 5'8" athletic kids that run and defend. The Thelen kid could end up very tall, and she can do it all. The point guard from St. Pius is a dominant player. My guess would be this group + at least 3 tall athletic freshmen + Thapar will put NDA back on the map in two years. (Assuming they all play)

 

From feeder schools? Right now only IHM and St. Pius play in the Public Middle School. All the other feeder schools only play in the NDA Saturday league.

 

Yes, but alot of them play AAU together on a team. They have for a few years, and very good. It's a bunch of 5'8" athletic kids that run and defend. The Thelen kid could end up very tall, and she can do it all. The point guard from St. Pius is a dominant player. My guess would be this group + at least 3 tall athletic freshmen + Thapar will put NDA back on the map in two years. (Assuming they all play)

 

Don't most of them play other club sports (volleyball and soccer) too? Let's see how many of them decide to continue playing multiple sports after their Freshman year. If we go by past NDA history most of them won't continue to play Basketball.

The last Coach to have a team with multiple sports athletes was Coach Levandusky.

The NDA Saturday league is generally horrible. I am not sure what the answer is. When my daughter played a few years back they literally only had a good game against St. Pius for TWO YEARS. If you come from a school that is not lucky enough to play in the public school league your only hope for decent basketball is for your team to get in Ohio tournaments or do AAU. This cannot help. There are a variety of reasons schools aren't in the public school league most of which are not really fixable. After two years of bad experiences some girls lose interest. This is where the schools that allow kids to "play up" have a bit of an advantage, but that is not particularly fair if you have enough freshman for a freshman team.

The NDA Saturday league is generally horrible. I am not sure what the answer is. When my daughter played a few years back they literally only had a good game against St. Pius for TWO YEARS. If you come from a school that is not lucky enough to play in the public school league your only hope for decent basketball is for your team to get in Ohio tournaments or do AAU. This cannot help. There are a variety of reasons schools aren't in the public school league most of which are not really fixable. After two years of bad experiences some girls lose interest. This is where the schools that allow kids to "play up" have a bit of an advantage, but that is not particularly fair if you have enough freshman for a freshman team.

 

I don't think anyone from NDA runs or shows up to that league anymore. Not that would change anything about the league but you think it would give allow the program to get to know some of the incoming freshman and their parents.

Thought I would throw my 2 cents in..as a former scout I have talked to a number of athletes, coaches and parents. The student athletes of today are being forced in many cases to choose what sport to "specialize" in at earlier and earlier ages. There are a number of reasons why..1)many of the kids and their parents are told if they want to play at the next level, this is what they have to do..2) many coaches demand year round participation in their sport and off season programs in order for them to be on the team and give little to no leniency to those who do not conform.(do you see where im going with this?) The ironic thing is when you talk to college coaches most like to see kids that play multiple sports because they say it shows the athlete is multi talented but mostly it shows they can be coached by different coaches with different styles and philosophies. My daughter played multiple sports throughout grade school into middle school but in seventh grade she decided on her own basketball was her love and quit playing all other sports, much to the chagrin of my wife who played softball up into college lol...There is a big difference between a kid that chooses to make that decision and one that is forced to. And now I'll step on some toes... a lot of the blame imo rests on the shoulders of the H.S. and club coaches. Im not saying every coach, but if you're a parent and have had a kid playing sports you know what I mean. But some blame must fall on some parents who, and believe me I understand, shell out hundreds if not thousands of dollars to club teams for fees, travel, and the thing that irks me the most, Admission to the events. Some of these parents decide that since they're shelling out that cash that their kid is going to specialize in that sport. I had a kid that i was interviewing for the program we had and was a stud. All Region, All State honorable mention. Played AAU ball all through middle school through junior yr. The dad had the check book on the table ready to sign him up and I was thinking about what I was going to do with the commission check I would be getting lol! It was a lock! Then I asked him one simple question...Is playing college ball your dream? Is it what you want? His answer...NO..I guess my point is to parents, talk to your kids about what they really want; dreams, goals..you will save yourself a big let down at the end of the journey and probably save some money along the way.

Thought I would throw my 2 cents in..as a former scout I have talked to a number of athletes, coaches and parents. The student athletes of today are being forced in many cases to choose what sport to "specialize" in at earlier and earlier ages. There are a number of reasons why..1)many of the kids and their parents are told if they want to play at the next level, this is what they have to do..2) many coaches demand year round participation in their sport and off season programs in order for them to be on the team and give little to no leniency to those who do not conform.(do you see where im going with this?) The ironic thing is when you talk to college coaches most like to see kids that play multiple sports because they say it shows the athlete is multi talented but mostly it shows they can be coached by different coaches with different styles and philosophies. My daughter played multiple sports throughout grade school into middle school but in seventh grade she decided on her own basketball was her love and quit playing all other sports, much to the chagrin of my wife who played softball up into college lol...There is a big difference between a kid that chooses to make that decision and one that is forced to. And now I'll step on some toes... a lot of the blame imo rests on the shoulders of the H.S. and club coaches. Im not saying every coach, but if you're a parent and have had a kid playing sports you know what I mean. But some blame must fall on some parents who, and believe me I understand, shell out hundreds if not thousands of dollars to club teams for fees, travel, and the thing that irks me the most, Admission to the events. Some of these parents decide that since they're shelling out that cash that their kid is going to specialize in that sport. I had a kid that i was interviewing for the program we had and was a stud. All Region, All State honorable mention. Played AAU ball all through middle school through junior yr. The dad had the check book on the table ready to sign him up and I was thinking about what I was going to do with the commission check I would be getting lol! It was a lock! Then I asked him one simple question...Is playing college ball your dream? Is it what you want? His answer...NO..I guess my point is to parents, talk to your kids about what they really want; dreams, goals..you will save yourself a big let down at the end of the journey and probably save some money along the way.

 

 

Spot on!