Tell the players on the undefeated Penn State team that Volleyball is a "well off white girls sport ", or for that matter any team that has played Penn State in the last couple of years .:popcorn:

 

Did you go to the state tourney.? I am talking about KY.

 

Check out UK's team or look at any local college roster. It is great that is not the norm for Penn St. but in Kentucky it is.

Look, I certainly did not mean to offend anyone at the Catholic schools. I myself am a product of a wonderful Catholic school education. I was merely replying to a couple of ideas that were put forth. The first one being that coaches need to get their players playing in the off season....that is just not feasible for many. The other one being that the reason the Catholic schools are so much better is that they have elementary programs. (Don't get me wrong, I agree that it helps.) But I know for a fact that there were several girls who played middle school ball in the public schools and then switched over to the Catholic high schools. I am not saying that is unfair. Why not give your child what you can in terms of opportunities and education. But these girls got their start in the public schools so let's not be so quick to judge the lack of preparation the public schools give.

 

As far as the Penn State idea...kind of proves my point. They are able to pull girls from all over the country. They can build an elite team.

Edited November 3, 200916 yr by vbwatcher
spelling error...fingers not fast enough for my thoughts

I think we're missing some of the equation here. One, many of the kids that go to public schools cannot afford the cost of club ball. Two, quite a few kids get their start at the public middle school level and switch over to the private schools for high school. The public schools play with those in their districts, the private schools can build elite teams.

I am not talking about club ball at all. I'm saying parochial grade schools start girls in the 3rd grade playing volleyball. You can't wait until middle school and try to make up 3-4 years of lost time. These teams are coached and supported by parents and booster clubs. Until public schools do this they will never catch up with the parocial schools. This has NOTHING to do with club ball, districting, or building elite teams. It has EVERYTHING to do with parents willing to devote time to start their girls at an earlier age.

KyTmcNcc;3597275]There is a simple soution . If other schools want to compete then the coaches at them have to get their players to play club ball in the offseason to hone and improve their skills .[/color] Campbell Co. does this as does I suspect Dunbar , Manual and other sucessfull programs around the State .

 

This is what I was responding to as far as club ball. Sorry for the confusion. Just think there is a lot to consider when asking about the state of volleyball. Please don't take offense.

Did you go to the state tourney.? I am talking about KY.

 

Check out UK's team or look at any local college roster. It is great that is not the norm for Penn St. but in Kentucky it is.

Yes I was at the State Tournament . My daughter helps coach a team that lost in the semis , and I still take exception with your blanket statement that volleyball is a " rich , white girls sport " Both teams that they defeated had black players in starting roles . As did teams that played in our District ( 35Th ) and Region ( 10Th ) . And I did check out UK 's volleyball team . There are at least two black players on the team . The same goes for Louisville's volleyball team . It might not be a majority but there are black players on many teams . Don't Marginalize them .

Edited November 4, 200916 yr by KyTmcNcc

When do the catholic schools/public schools have there elementary seasons? In the fall, when traditional vb season is? If so when do they have youth BB/middle school BB? In my area youth BB/middle school BB for girls is in the fall?

When do the catholic schools/public schools have there elementary seasons? In the fall, when traditional vb season is? If so when do they have youth BB/middle school BB? In my area youth BB/middle school BB for girls is in the fall?

At the grade school that my kids went to ( St. Therese in Southgate ) Fall soccer for boys and girls , Girls volleyball is in the fall usually on Friday night , Boys and girls basketball in the winter on Saturdays and Sundays , boys volleyball in the spring on Fridays . Then there is spring soccer for boys and girls . Softball and baseball in late spring early summer . When I had kids there our athletic club sponsored all of the teams and help run several of the leagues along with other local NKY Parochial schools .

Yes I was at the State Tournament . My daughter helps coach a team that lost in the semis , and I still take exception with your blanket statement that volleyball is a " rich , white girls sport " Both teams that they defeated had black players in starting roles . As did teams that played in our District ( 35Th ) and Region ( 10Th ) . And I did check out UK 's volleyball team . There are at least two black players on the team . The same goes for Louisville's volleyball team . It might not be a majority but there are black players on many teams . Don't Marginalize them .

 

 

Not trying to minimalize anything, I am just talking about the majority and I did not say rich...I would take exception to that also. I mean well - off as in able to afford club ball. As far as race you are right there are some African American girls that are great but the Majority are white.

 

I have coached at a small school and this is the reality. I am not complaining, just being a realist. It seems that you think I am mad about it. I am not. It is the reality in Ky Volleyball right now. If you want to argue that it is not then that is fine, but if we are talking about how to get teams more even then this is a factor.

 

Look - I have coached and would love to see the small schools get better. My daughter plays and falls into this same category.

Sounds like everyone has the same opinion, just different ways of saying it. I also do not think this is unique to Kentucky.

 

My daughter played club ball for four years. The vast majority of the girls were white, that is true.

 

Location, school size, community and personal wealth are all factors in who participates wherever you live. I know some girls who would love to play club, but have to work, or their parents simply cannot afford it.

 

That being said, there should still be the opportunity for the girls to get together and play, even if it is on a less competetive level. This is where parents come into play. If the desire is there and the commitment is there from players and parents, then all you need is a gym.

OOPS! Double posted!

Does it not make sense that the majority of the vollyball players are white, since a large majority of the population of Kentucky is white? I would think that the makeup of participants in this sport at the high school level would somewhat follow demographics. Is this not a common sense concept?...just curious. :idunno:

Does it not make sense that the majority of the vollyball players are white, since a large majority of the population of Kentucky is white? I would think that the makeup of participants in this sport at the high school level would somewhat follow demographics. Is this not a common sense concept?...just curious. :idunno:

 

All I can tell you is that when my daughter played club ball, they played against teams from across the country. With the exception of Puerto Rico, the vast majority of the players were white.

 

Could it be that clubs are more likely to spring up in areas where there is a strong Catholic Schools influence??? Cincinnati, Northern KY and Louisville are all heavily populated by Catholics and Catholic schools. This is also where the best clubs are.

When do the catholic schools/public schools have there elementary seasons? In the fall, when traditional vb season is? If so when do they have youth BB/middle school BB? In my area youth BB/middle school BB for girls is in the fall?

 

Why do they play basketball in the fall? When do they play v'ball?

Sounds like everyone has the same opinion, just different ways of saying it. I also do not think this is unique to Kentucky.

 

My daughter played club ball for four years. The vast majority of the girls were white, that is true.

 

Location, school size, community and personal wealth are all factors in who participates wherever you live. I know some girls who would love to play club, but have to work, or their parents simply cannot afford it.

 

That being said, there should still be the opportunity for the girls to get together and play, even if it is on a less competetive level. This is where parents come into play. If the desire is there and the commitment is there from players and parents, then all you need is a gym.

 

I agree, however..the gym is our problem. After V-ball season they are full with Basketball ( elementary, MS and HS boys and Girls) so they can not get on the schedule. During V-ball season the only gyms with nets (MS AND HS ) are used by the teams.

 

No money to rent or transport.

 

I wish it were more like BBALL where you just need a hoop to practice.

Why do they play basketball in the fall? When do they play v'ball?

 

 

They say it's due to gym time. But the reality is that many high school girls BB teams use there middle school players to compete. If they would only allow high schoolers to play high school some things could change.

 

There is no elementary vb or youth leagues and middle school is in the spring.