I really thought this match would be tighter. St. Henry played Mercy much closer early this season.

 

Exactly right! I have seen the top three dogs now and St Henry is playing pretty good right now. Should be interesting at the end of the yr.

Louisville volleyball is played at a much higher level than NKY...they are successful because they receive high level coaching YEAR ROUND...they are continually improving as opposed to NKY players who only improve during the club season...the Louisville players have a very sophisticated understanding of the game...also, they are very team oriented...the entire volleyball community is supportive of each and every player...selfless volleyball is successful volleyball...until the ELITISTS in NKY learn this they will continue to be second best.

The coaching in Louisville is, without a doubt, very good. However, I imagine the enrollment numbers play an equally important role in Louisville's dominance of the sport.

 

The "Elitist" comment, remarks about the more sophisticated comprehension of the game and superior support from the community reeks of someone with an axe to grind.

Just calling it the way I've experienced it....the difference between Louisville VB and NKY VB are like night and day in every aspect....I would love to see a NKY team beat a Louisville team but it will take major changes in the system to make it happen.

Just calling it the way I've experienced it....the difference between Louisville VB and NKY VB are like night and day in every aspect....I would love to see a NKY team beat a Louisville team but it will take major changes in the system to make it happen.

 

I agree the coaching in Louisville is outstanding. The size of the drawing area for the Louisville schools is far ahead of N Ky numbers, not even close population wise. So that plays a large part.

 

The Louisville area also has 4 large volleyball facilities for Club ball. One of these has been around forever. This without question has tons of advantages also.

Trust me, I am not trying to take anything away from the excellant coaching in Louisville (it is strong) but the sheer numbers give them a huge advantage over N KY. With that many people to draw from it gives them a big advantage in the # of players and coaches available to choose from.

 

N Ky is far from a doormat in KY volleyball just don't quite have the same numbers to compare.

Wasnt there but I heard Mercy dominated - 25/12 25/15 somewhere in that range . Last game was closer but Mercy won.

 

I was reviewing the roster of NDA. Is every girl on the team from Edgewood?

 

25-12, 25-17 & 25-22

Notre Dame looked really sluggish the 1st 2 games. Played much better the 3rd game.

I disagree with the argument that Louisville is dominant because of a larger population to draw from. I believe if you look at pure natural talent and athleticism, there is little difference between the Louisville and Northern KY players with the exception of outliers like Kaitlyn James. Historically, the Louisville programs have not had tall teams and NKY does have tall teams. Therefore, the difference is in the development of the athletes. I think St. Henry does a nice job of getting the best out of their players. In contrast, I think NDA relies on the best players showing up at tryouts but they do little to develop them. Assumption, Sacred Heart and Mercy also rely on the clubs to develop athletes but then they continue the same level of training and learning during the High School season. When the next club season begins they are ready to move on to a higher level whereas, NKY players have regressed and have to play catch up to attain their previous level of play. NKY needs to recruit and retain coaches who have experienced high level volleyball and can develop the athletes to that level. Hindsight is 20/20! Just my opinion.

However, if you compare Louisville to a more statistically equal population base such as Cincinnati, you will find that the talent and development is very similar to that in Louisville. Both have strong Club programs (MAVA, KIVA vs. Team Z, Cincy Classics) and perenial powers that are very comparable in Assumption, Mercy and Sacred Heart vs. MND, Mother of Mercy and Ursuline. I would also add that the quality of coaching in the GGCL will be very similar to that in the Louisville High Schools.

 

As for St. Henry being superior in talent development when compared to Notre Dame I would disagree with that also. Although Notre Dame has gone through numerous coaching changes in the last 7-8years, their coaches have been extremely talented. Bob Wood, Yoon Ha, Jen Woolf (Matt Long) are all very respected for their technique and skill teaching. They are also much more envolved with club coaching than is St. Henry's staff.

 

Coach Kaiser does a very good job at St. Henry, but the recent success that they have enjoyed must be attributed, in some part, to the talent that has recently donned the CRU red & white uniforms. Prior to the exceptional class of Otte, Luckman, Issac, Dooley, Meineke, Baker and Price (Neimer one year behind) St. Henry had not won a regional title for some 20+ years.

 

Once again, Coach Kaiser does a very good job and is certainly one of the most talented coaches in NKY. Her teams are always well prepared and competitive.

 

However, it still sounds as if you have an axe to grind with the Notre Dame program. The Louisville club teams are very accomplished and I'm sure that the experience there was well worth the investment.

I'm not sure why you are so defensive. I am merely expressing my opinion about the differences in Louisville and NKY (not Cincinnati) volleyball. I have nothing to lose or gain by this conversation but you might. Notre Dame does not live up to its potential because there is no comprehensive program in place for player development. My comment about St. Henry was not intended to compare numbers of championships. I was pointing out that St. Henry's coach gets the most out of her players making them the best they can be as did Matt Long at Beechwood. NDA should be dominant in the state with the talent they have but they don't develop it to its full potential. So...turn a blind eye and keep hoping and I won't give my opinion anymore.

I'm not sure why you are so defensive. I am merely expressing my opinion about the differences in Louisville and NKY (not Cincinnati) volleyball. I have nothing to lose or gain by this conversation but you might. Notre Dame does not live up to its potential because there is no comprehensive program in place for player development. My comment about St. Henry was not intended to compare numbers of championships. I was pointing out that St. Henry's coach gets the most out of her players making them the best they can be as did Matt Long at Beechwood. NDA should be dominant in the state with the talent they have but they don't develop it to its full potential. So...turn a blind eye and keep hoping and I won't give my opinion anymore.

 

 

 

 

 

If you think that a large area to draw from does not make a big difference also then we will never agree. To me it is only common sense that when you have a very large populated area there will be much more talent to choose from and therefore enable that area to have more teams at the top of the heap in HS and Club. As I said earlier Louisville also has 4 large facilities to help too. The Louisville area volleyball people have taken great advantage of all of their resources and done a terrific job of turning Louisville into National powerhouse for volleyball. Lots of areas of the country are trying to catch up with Louisville area volleyball.

 

Louisville is the 16th ranked most populated city in the U.S. Add in all the close surrounding counties and it is pushed up near 10th. Not quite fair to compare it to N KY just on numbers alone. Again taking nothing away from the Louisville programs they are excellant as their many sucesses prove.

 

I think there is excellant volleyball in N KY as well with ND and St Henry always at or near the top. ND was State Runner-up last year in Coach Woolf's 1st year there and she has been involved in club volleyball for many years.

 

Not quite sure what you mean by ND not developing their talent?

Continue on your path...

Notre Dame does not live up to its potential because there is no comprehensive program in place for player development. .

 

I have no player on the team, never have, never will so I'm curious to hear more aboutg the "no comprehensive program in place" comment.

I'm not sure why you are so defensive. I am merely expressing my opinion about the differences in Louisville and NKY (not Cincinnati) volleyball. I have nothing to lose or gain by this conversation but you might. Notre Dame does not live up to its potential because there is no comprehensive program in place for player development. My comment about St. Henry was not intended to compare numbers of championships. I was pointing out that St. Henry's coach gets the most out of her players making them the best they can be as did Matt Long at Beechwood. NDA should be dominant in the state with the talent they have but they don't develop it to its full potential. So...turn a blind eye and keep hoping and I won't give my opinion anymore.

 

I think everyone is defensive because you come out of the gate talking smack. I even agree with you for the most part, but I'm not thrilled with your delivery of the message.

 

Having said that, Mercy was very motivated for this game because it was te game before the BIG ONE - Assumption on Tuesday night. They were pumped.

 

Mercy does have the advantage of having most of their starters play club ball on the same team, which is very successful as well. They play virtually year round together. Is that the same with the Pandas?

 

Most clubs in Louisville have a smattering of many schools on their teams, with a focus maybe on one particular school. KIVA is Assumption, MAVA is Mercy, etc. Not sure how many Assumtion girls played together. My daughter was with KIVA, until she quit growing!!!