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Ohio Volleyball

Topic: Akron

Topic: Akron

Author

Message

JerseyArnie
General User

Member Since: 12/5/2012
Post Count: 364

Status: Offline

Akron

Posted: 9/23/2023 6:59:07 AM

There is too much talent on that team to lose to Akron. Time to right the ship.

100%Cat
General User

Member Since: 1/17/2013
Post Count: 2,533

Status: Offline

RE: Akron

Posted: 9/24/2023 10:05:15 AM

JerseyArnie wrote:

There is too much talent on that team to lose to Akron. Time to right the ship.

There's talent, but it's a lot of young talent on the floor. At one point I know we had 3 freshmen out there, possibly 4 at another point. Like with all collegiate sports, relying on a lot of youth will typically produce a lot of ups and downs.

Alan Swank
General User

Member Since: 12/11/2004
Location: Athens, OH
Post Count: 7,072

Status: Offline

RE: Akron

Posted: 9/27/2023 5:48:39 PM

100%Cat wrote:

JerseyArnie wrote:

There is too much talent on that team to lose to Akron. Time to right the ship.

Yes and no. With kids starting club ball when they're still in elementary school, players today come to college with tons of experience. I have a granddaughter playing high school ball and I'm amazed at the talent today versus 30 years ago when I coached. Many JV teams today are as good if not better than varsity teams in the 90s and early 2000s.

bobcatsquared
General User

Member Since: 12/20/2004
Post Count: 5,194

Status: Offline

RE: Akron

Posted: 9/27/2023 9:21:36 PM

Alan Swank wrote:

I have a granddaughter playing high school ball and I'm amazed at the talent today versus 30 years ago when I coached. Many JV teams today are as good if not better than varsity teams in the 90s and early 2000s.

Could better coaching be a reason for the difference? Asking for a friend.

Andrew Ruck
General User

Member Since: 12/22/2004
Location: Columbus, OH
Post Count: 4,873

Status: Offline

RE: Akron

Posted: 9/28/2023 10:26:26 AM

I agree the quality of the High School game is insane compared to just a couple decades ago. I went to a JV game of 2 mediocre programs last week and was amazed at how well they volleyed back and forth.

Andrew Ruck
B.B.A. 2003

100%Cat
General User

Member Since: 1/17/2013
Post Count: 2,533

Status: Offline

RE: Akron

Posted: 10/3/2023 9:42:26 AM

Alan Swank wrote:

100%Cat wrote:

JerseyArnie wrote:

There is too much talent on that team to lose to Akron. Time to right the ship.

Not sure how many games you've been to or how close you're sitting to the bench, but one of the home tournament games before the MAC schedule started I witnessed/heard something important that I eluded to with my youth comment. As they came to the bench for a timeout, Caitlin O'Farrell loudly said (paraphrasing), "we have to communicate, there's a lot of new players on the floor but we HAVE to keep talking." In the struggle stretches I have seen in the Convo (and I am NOT a vball expert, just my observations), it seems like there are a lot of communication issues. A return will be coming towards a player and one of our ladies attempts to get to a ball that's coming to another player (basically going after a ball that isn't "theirs"). Players running into each other. These things look, to me, like communication issues. Hearing a veteran player bring it up on the bench made me believe what I thought I was seeing. Communication with sports teams usually is better when teams have more experience playing together. In the matches I have seen, 5 of our Freshmen are seeing time on the floor, with 3 of them seeing a lot of time on the floor. Add in that Winzeler has been playing a lot at setter and she's a Sophomore who sparingly played last year.

That's a lot of players seeing action that haven't played many matches together. Just my long-winded $.02 worth.

Last Edited: 10/3/2023 9:44:50 AM by 100%Cat

Alan Swank
General User

Member Since: 12/11/2004
Location: Athens, OH
Post Count: 7,072

Status: Offline

RE: Akron

Posted: 12/20/2023 6:42:53 PM

bobcatsquared wrote:

Alan Swank wrote:

Could better coaching be a reason for the difference? Asking for a friend.

Coaching is certainly a contributor. When I started in 1977, very few coaches had even played volleyball other than in GAA. Most of the coaches were high school PE teachers who were very good athletes themselves but with very little volleyball experience.

As high school players became college players, some of them ended up coaching. With the club explosion in the 90s, kids started playing as young as 12 years old on club teams in addition to their junior high teams. By the time a player gets to high school now, they have played a minimum of two school seasons and two or three club seasons. Here in Athens, we now have kids playing in the Hocking Valley League starting in 3rd grade with both a fall season and a spring season each about 6 to 8 games long. Logan Hocking Schools built a $9 million facility called the Chieftain Center that has an indoor track, small soccer area and four full size basketball/volleyball courts. There is something going on in there year round.

Last Edited: 12/23/2023 11:19:46 AM by Alan Swank

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