Sandman32

I don't think going to state is that big a factor in a kids decision on attending NDA over NCC. I think geography has much more to do with it. In every sport there are a few who chase the "State" experience when choosing a school, but for the most part I believe you receive your core kids through normal channels. Blessed Sacrament, St. Agnes, St. Pius have extremely strong volleyball programs and have so for years. That is why NDA is successful year in and year out. They have a core of kids coming from their feeder schools which guarantee they will always be good. The same could be said for St.Henry with IHM, MQH, St. Henry Elementary, and St. Paul. When Campbell Counties parishes put as much emphasis on volleyball as the Kenton/ Boone parishes do, NCC will present a serious challenge to NDA's dominance. From what I hear from my friends on that side of NKY, Basketball and Soccer are still the top sports kids participate in.

Not really at you Feeling Good even though you were fairly negative about the program, but you do realize that the former coach was one of the two people who made them a top team before don't you? NCC is super fortunate. They have had 3 head coaches in their history and all 3 care immensely for their alma mater. Add to that that all three are outstanding coaches and NCC will have a quality program for years to come. I would not look for anyone to knock NDA off their pedestal this season. They have a great team and Morgan Hentz, who is the best all-around player in NKY. Once she's gone the rest of NKY will have a chance. Just be patient.

My thought exactly... Both those ladies were wonderful coaches while at NCC. Sounds a little like sour grapes to me NKYVB. It always kills me how some people have to run someone else down in an attempt to say something nice about a new hire. Vicki gave NCC 30+ years.... I think that deserves a little more respect then meh... Especially when she stepped down on of her own volition. FYI - When asked about the hire Coach Fleissner said she was ecstatic, and gave Angie a rousing endorsement.

I think some of the answers you seek depend on your situation, ie. club/coaching philosophy you want your child to learn under, your players ability, your players age, potential future coaches, etc. It's a fact that some teams are coached by people who have a vested interest in the development of future players for their program. I'm not sure how you get around that part at any club. Even so, most clubs assign coaches to a specific age group, so you would only have said "biased" coach for one year. It is not in the best interest of the coach or the club to cater solely to a given school, though I'm sure some do. Whatever you do, do not pick a club solely on her potential high school coach. HS plays a minimal part in scholarships. The seniors at Assumption who were alluded to earlier in this thread earned their scholarships at the club level. Most established club's coaching staffs are of similar experience level, so I personally don't think that plays into it as much as the club philosophy. For example, in Northern KY we have several options for players. The top 3 clubs which kids have to choose from have definite different styles of learning. One is militant with a high emphasis on everyone running the exact same drills, another places a high emphasis on fundamentals and allows coaches to be more flexible with their specific team needs, and another stresses fundamentals and learning the game through game play. It may sound the same, but each of them approach coaching differently. What may work well for one does not work well for all. Beyond those are several clubs who offer players the ability to be on a 1's team at their club, versus a 2's, 3's, or 4's at the other three. Then there is a small portion who drive to Cincinnati or Lexington to play for other clubs for various reasons. If you/your daughter has never been involved in club volleyball it's hard to say what level she will land at, or what program suits you best. Regardless of where she goes I suggest supplementing her team practices with bi-weekly private lessons at first. If your child has drive, ability, and coachability she will thrive anywhere you place her. Too often parents measure their own attributes when looking at their kids and blame the coach or club for their child's lack of progress. Find a good system you like, with a good set of coaches, and players and parents you and she enjoy being with. Hopefully your starting this journey early enough to connect all the dots for your situation by the time invitations start being handed out which is 15's in NKY. How old is your daughter? That will steer this conversation going forward. At any rate, Good Luck.

Before you get things backwards, I'm not saying that any team going to USAV Nationals shouldn't go and isn't deserving. Or that qualifying at a National Qualifier isn't an impressive feet. But you made a point of placing the National division ahead of USA per USAV rankings. I disagree with that from a philosophical prospective. I also don't believe in the whole qualifier process and think its a money scam. If I'm wrong then why doesn't all that money they make at National Qualifiers go to some non-profit or to provide a scholarship fund for kids in that region? The culmination of our sports recruiting process is hammered out by watching girls at Nationals. Why would you wish to limit that to 24-48 teams per division? Do you have any idea how many kids play volleyball across the united states? Why not let all the kids worthy of being recruited be recruited? Yes I am A JVA/AAU fan over USAV concerning Nationals. Sue me.

I didn't say easier, I said USAV is not better than AAU. And earning a national bid is done at the region level and in no way compares to the Qualifier process in my opinion. A case could be made for the American division being better at the top end, as only the top American team in a qualifier gets a bid. I know for a fact that the 9th placed teams have gotten bids in some years due to reallocation bids and trickle down bids in the OVR. Again, top 9 of 24 in a region! Wow that's a world beater which deserves rewarded. The open field is limited to how many? The USA? National? American? Do you have any idea how many teams are in the US? How many of them have kids that are just as good if not better than many who earn a regional bid to nationals? Sign your registration form, send your check, and then step onto the court AND EARN your place, while being seen by every college coach in the country. That sounds fair to me. There is quality volleyball being played in multiple levels.

Honest answer, I don't know that they would beat them, but I don't believe they would be embarrassed into a 25-2 loss either, which is what is implied with the "they're not playing Open" arguement. And NKYVC has already taken four kids from this NKJV's team in the past (2 of which are on the current NKYVC 16'1 team) and have attempted to lure a few others. That team is very strong, and I would hate to think they would replace any of those girls.

Your wrong about USA. All it takes is to be in a big region like OVR and attend their Regional Bid Tourney, or in a small region like ours where no one attends. They give out National and American bids in the OVR like water. If Qualifying was about more than money why do you have 4 qualifiers on the same weekend? How watered down is that? How many teams at NKYVC qualified Open last year? NKYVC's 16's team got a National bid, which is a LOWER than the USA division that NKJV is about to play in, and they only had to beat two teams at our Regional Tourney to get it, one of which was their own 2's team that nearly beat them. KIVA, who has been a TOP 5 club in the United States for longer than NKYVC has been around, doesn't go to ANY USAV Qualifiers or Nationals and strictly goes to AAU. Going to a national championship is great experience for a player and is important to their development, whether its USAV or AAU. It is also one of the primary recruiting events for college coaches. If AAU was a lesser event why would they have more collegiate scouts than USAV does?

So neither team plays their top lineup during a scrimmage? Come on, yes its a scrimmage but you refuse to HEAR that winning, competing and beating someone like a red headed step child aren't the same thing. These three teams have played very competitively when facing each other. I'm sorry you don't see that. If NKYVC could beat NKJV 25-5 at NKJV's house your darn right they would have. There is no way they would have pulled their punches. They did not. FACT, NKYVC played four sets against NKJV and didn't win them all. (2-1) The fourth was undecided due to time. Maybe they had an off day... I don't know. Fact: Based on head to head, NKYVC beat NKJV in 3 sets..... wow, what an embarrassment.

Does the fact that they scrimmaged Both NKYVC and Tri-State and that the results of those scrimmages showed a competitive outcome escape you as a fact? Just curious.

I do see it. I think I pretty much said there was a difference, but NKJV lost to Kiva 16-White by two points Saturday in the third set. Hardly a blowout, and NKYVC didn't dismantle them at Central Zone either. Tristate finished first the weekend prior to the scrimmage at the Presidents Cup where YVC came in 7'th. The teams are very similar, much more than you are willing to admit. I think the next thing you'll try to convince me of is that USAV Nationals is superior to AAU.

I know how it started as well, and there is a big difference in 16 year old Open and 16 year old Premier, and most of it has to do with overall team talent, not necessarily individuals. But there is also a huge difference between those and 14's at any level. NKJV 16-1's scrimmaged Tri-States 16 1's the other night and each set was 25-22. They also scrimmaged NKYVC's 1's earlier and the results were similar. The separation between these teams is not as drastic as you imply.

Yep, you're obviously correct. I stand corrected. They're horrible. I think they all need to quit and take up cricket. They got blown out of every match. Disgraceful. And their opponents didn't finish well either. :ohbrother: Pool/Bracket Opponent Schedule Result Score 1 R1G1P9 TI Elite 16-Molten (HO) (9) Court 13 (EXPO) at 3/7 11:00 AM NKJV 16 McElveen (PR) Won 2-0 (25-12, 25-9) 2 R1G1P9 AVC Clev Rox16N Bojan (OV) (16) Court 13 (EXPO) at 3/7 12:00 PM AVC Clev Rox16N Bojan (OV) Won 2-0 (28-26, 25-7) 3 R2G1P1 COA 16 Red (HO) (17) Court 21 (EXPO) at 3/7 6:00 PM NKJV 16 McElveen (PR) Won 2-0 (25-19, 25-12) 4 R2G1P1 Asics KIVA 16 White (PR) (1) Court 21 (EXPO) at 3/7 7:00 PM Asics KIVA 16 White (PR) Won 2-1 (25-21, 22-25, 15-13) 5 G1C2 Empowered 16U A1 Elite (HO) (2) Court 36 (EXPO) at 3/8 9:00 AM Empowered 16U A1 Elite (HO) Won 2-0 (25-18, 25-23) 6 R4Silver Alliance16 MOLTEN (SO) (9) Court 34 (EXPO) at 3/8 11:00 AM NKJV 16 McElveen (PR) Won 2-0 (25-23, 25-9) 7 R4Silver Elevation 16 Elias (OV) (12) Court 35 (EXPO) at 3/8 1:00 PM Elevation 16 Elias (OV) Won 2-1 (25-23, 17-25, 18-16)

116 courts at the expo center and another 10 off site. It had to be the biggest Bluegrass Tournament ever.

OK, This will be my last post on the subject. First it was said that she didn't play tough enough competition, but then you just proved that she did by admitting her club team played "Open" at the Central Zone Invitational, yet now it seems you are saying that they didn't win enough matches to qualify as a "good team". lol Look at the set scores and where the teams they lost to finished. They competed and could have won quite a few matches that they dropped in an open tourney in January. I could possibly see your point if they lost 25-5, but that is not the case. They finished 12th in Open, well ahead of the last place finish in premier that one of the 2's teams seeded ahead of them in the Bluegrass tourney recorded. The seeding at the Bluegrass or any early tourney is suspect and anyone in club volleyball knows it. Where you finish is the only thing that's important. Also there is a limited number of spots in Open, and at large tournaments Premier generally has quite a few Open caliber teams in it due to the two day format. Try posting how they finish next week when its completed and you might have a leg to stand on. Your implication that a 2's team should be ahead of them is funny. There are 9 kids on that team, and 8 of them started for their HS teams last season. Yes, even at 13 and 14 years old the elite volleyball players around the country are encourages to try out for the HP Program. And Yes, not all elite players in the United States try out, but her division had the largest turnout in 2014 of all the divisions in the HP Program. Over 6500 if I remember correctly. Regardless, thousands upon thousands of kids attend tryouts each year, and she was selected top 55 for the Summer, and played on the USA Select A1 White Team, which was the top team in that division. Then was invited to the Top 42 Holiday Camp after all camps, clinics, and competitions were completed for the year. The may be 42 kids better in the Kenton County, there may be 142, I don't know. But I do know that of all the thousands of kids in the United States who competed for a spot on Team USA she was named to the Top 42 of her age.

Please get your facts right. She was on the A1 National Team during the summer, and competed in a Team USA Jersey in the HP Championships in Tulsa. She has been on the A1 National Team the past two years. Also, all of the top kids in the country do go to the Holiday Camp. There may be some phenom's who aren't in the HP program but all the kids in the top of the program are there for a reason. At the recent AVCA convention almost all the top freshman in the country were HP Kids. Her NKJV team is very good. You know not what you speak of. As far as the NKGVCA is concerned, typically these types of awards go to seniors or juniors, not eight graders. (Abby Thelen won player of the year over Morgan Hentz who is a Junior. ) How good does an eight grader have to be to make 2nd team over all those girls who made honorable mention or no team whatsoever. And nearly all the "TOP" NCAA Players are in, or have been at one time as "juniors", members of the USAV HP Program.

Sorry, I stand corrected about Rachel, I was confusing her with someone else in my head. And I agree Korey has a bit to go yet, but we will see. Let's just hope they live up to the hype we've created. lol

We will agree to disagree it seems, and thats ok. I don't expect you to waiver on your choice of who's better. I just figured you'd say why after you posted the head to head comment. If it's a feeling that's ok with me. I looked up both girls National records and didn't see anything to change my thought that Leah has played up two years above Maria, so therefore is mentally farther ahead in her understanding of the game, and the overall level of play that she faces on the other side of the net. Plus she has played at the varsity level in HS and succeeded. Maria may well be able to outplay her all day long head to head, but at the moment that is unproven and unfounded. Hence I asked for you to explain why you thought so. I expected something like an analysis of their positions, strengths and weaknesses, etc., seeing how you said you were familiar with both. At the very least I expected more about Maria and what makes her great. In the last ten years you have Liz McMahon- Illinois, Korey Moster - Michigan State, Lauren O'Conner - Kentucky, and Lexi Dannemiller - Michigan just to name a few at the D1 level. Moster is on the USA A2 Womens National Team, and is slated to be on the next olympic team if things keep progressing. There are many more who are at the top of D-III and NAIA too. Rachel did well at Georgetown, no question about it, but I wouldn't say she's a hands down pick.

No nerve struck, and I'll say again Leah plays on a 16-National/Open team. NKJV has teams at all levels and plays their teams accordingly. So does Tri-State Elite. They do not force teams into open that obviously aren't like some clubs. Leah has played up on the same team for the last 6 years. She has competed against Notre Dame, Ryle, Cooper, St. Henry, Simon Kenton, Scott, Conner, Boone Co and anyone else you can name. That's her level. Very curious who the #1 player you're thinking of is. I know of several and wouldn't necessarily say one is better then the next.

Leah has never played at the same club level as Maria. There is a huge difference between 14's and 16's in club, and even if you discount her being invited to the Top 42 camp based on all tryouts, camps, and competitions that Team USA has across the United States, I totally disagree with your assessment about how the All-Opponent team is created. First, the players are put forward by the players coaches for consideration, that is true, but it does not guarantee you a spot on a team. There are many kids who show up to the event that do not make a team or honorable mention. And coaches are NOT allowed to vote for their own players. She earned second team Division 1, which means was picked as one of the top 12, in a division with Notre Dame, Ryle, Cooper, Simon Kenton, Scott, Boone Co., Campbell Co., and Conner. All great volleyball teams with loads of Sr's Jr's So's and Fr's. If you're not impressed, go to the banquet and see how many girls show up and how many girls don't receive the honor of being placed on a team or honorable mention. It's not as easy as you think. Ashley Bush who we all believe is an excellent volleyball player and one of the best in NKY didn't make a team or honorable mention this year because she was hurt most of the season. We all know she deserved to be on it based on her skill level, but that fact she wasn't tells me that the coaches actually vote based on how kids play.

I know that she took the placement test at St. Henry. I don't think they've committed to one or the other though. It would be interesting to see her and Tobertge on the same team though.

What do you base this on other than feelings? Have they competed against one another in the past? Metzger was selected as one of the Top 42 Players in the Select Division for Team USA as an OH the past two years? That division comprises kids from all over the US who are currently in 8th and 9th grades. She's the only kid in KY, or the Tri-state for that matter to be selected. She earned NKGVCA 2nd Team All Opponent Team Division 1 as an eighth grader playing for Dixie (of all places) in a division laden with talent from Notre Dame, Ryle, Cooper, Simon Kenton, Scott, Boone Co., Campbell Co., and Conner. (You do realize that two of those teams were in the state finals right?) She was named Team Captain at Dixie last year by her teammates, and is playing club right now at the 16-Open/National level.

15 girls went down to state 2 senior 1 starter 1 bench player 5 Jr. 3 starters 5 So 1 starter 3 Fr.

my bad, there were eight kids on the team that was 2nd in state on the team this year. 5 Sophmores, 3 Freshman

Correct, but last year they had 7 returning girls from the state team. This year they had 3, 5 if you count the freshman they pulled up that sat the pine. The cupboard isn't bare.