10-6-2007
Being a fellow Gwinnetian I am a little disturbed at the state of volleyball in our fair county. I guess I don't help matters seeing as though most of the training I do consists of Cobb County and Fulton County Kids. Anyway my time at the Gwinnett County Championships was good but a little like watching paint dry. I was able to talk to a lot of people and do what I like doing the most which is talking volleyball. Everyone already knows about Wesleyan and then there is GAC, Norcross, followed by Dacula, Parkview, and Mill Creek. My question is what happened to the talent that used to be in Gwinnett. The athletes still have to be there as the softball, soccer, and basketball teams all rank among the best in the state. How can they rebuild and climb back into the mix?
1. The high school coaches have to get the kids in middle school to start playing volleyball. There needs to be a feeder program at each school. That would be step one.
2. The next step is get your kids to play club. If Suwanee is not an option then find somewhere else even if you have to drive a little to get there. The best players in the county are all playing club.
Senior OH Hannah Nelson (Norcross)
Junior OH Audrey Hipple (Parkview)
Senior OH Olivia Day (Mill Creek)
Senior MB Betsy Smith (Wesleyan)
Junior MB Anne Marie Armstrong (Wesleyan)
Junior OH Hallye Jerkins (Buford)
Sophamore Libero Courtney Weider (Dacula)
Sophamore OH Amanda Komisarow (GAC)
Senior OH August Rhea(Norcross)
Sophamore Setter Rachel Monteagudo (Norcross)
Junior Setter Megan Carnell(North Gwinnett)
Freshman Setter Maggie Smith(Wesleyan)
Sophamore OH Haley Collins (Wesleyan)
3. Get better coaches in the high schools. While there are some good coaches Gwinnett County needs to seek out better coaching. I know a lot of spots go to the football and basketball coaches, but getting qualified volleyball coaches is a must to turn the tide around.
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6 comments:
Three simple steps; that's what it would take for any school to dominate Gwinnett volleyball in 4-5 years.
Regarding #3, does Gwinnett County require head coaches to be an employee of the county schools?Some other counties do. The private schools are under no such restriction. So one thing that would help high schools get better coaches is for the counties to allow the schools to hire good coaches if there are none to draw from within the schools.
There is good news embedded in your observations. The door is wide open for a school to dominate in this sport in Gwinnett. Your football and basketball teams might suck, but if you focus on these three things, you will dominate Gwinnett volleyball.
What talent "used to be in Gwinnett?" Are you saying that talent is better than the list of players you mention below? From my limited perspective, it's not all that accurate to ask how "they can rebuild and climb back into the mix." Were they ever "in the mix" in the first place?
I also wouldn't include private schools in your analysis. I think that looking purely at the public schools would present a much clearer picture of the problems and potential solutions. It also ignores the fact that many of the private school players come from outside the county to play for that school.
While Wesleyan has many players that don't live in Gwinnett they are still a Gwinnett program. So they have and still are very good. Collins Hill, Dacula, and Parkview have had serveral strong teams in the past. Other than Wesleyan Gwinnett has never had teams competing with the top shelf programs like Westminster, Marist, Woodward, but they have been competitive with most of the rest. These three steps are a start to getting better. If you can find coaches that are already certified teachers that is the way to go. Lay Coaches would be the second part of that. There are enough teaching positions at Gwinnett County Schools to hire good coaches for most of your programs. So the opportunity is there to get better. I hope to see the teams improve over the next few years. That would be great for our sport of volleyball. The goal is for the girls to get better and improve. Who cares who gets the glory for it!!!
Question #1: What do you mean by "If Suwanee is not an option..?". Care to elaborate? I'm asking because I've seen a decline in the quality of Suwanee's programs.
Question #2: Do you agree with the Gwinnett Super Six (published early in the season by the Gwinnett Daily Post) - Anne Marie Armstrong (Wesleyan), Megan Carnell (North Gwinnett), Olivia Day (Mill Creek), Nicki Hannon (Grayson), Alex Shelton (GAC), Betsy Smith (Wesleyan)? Big surprise to me was Alex Shelton as I have yet to see anything that makes her standout. More deserving is Amanda Komisarow from GAC, I think.
Question #1 - What do you mean by "If Suwanee isn't an option..."? Care to elaborate? Your comment seems to imply the decline in Suwanee's progams. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Question #2 - What's your opinion on the Gwinnett Super Six (which was published early in the season by the Gwinnett Daily Post) - Anne Marie Armstrong, Megan Carnell, Olivia Day, Betsy Smith, Nicki Hannon, Alex Shelton? Biggest surprise to me was Shelton, as I have yet to see anything special or to make her stand out. Just an average setter to me.
With Suwanee I think there has definitely been a decline. However what I meant by if Suwanee isn't an option is that maybe it is to expensive for some, not competitive enough for others, or to hard to get to in traffic. There are a number of other reasons that you can add to that. I think the coach of your club team is more important that what club you play for. Even the best clubs have coaches that are not that good!!
As for the Super Six or whatever I definitely think Komisarow should be there. Maybe they left her out so they can use her next year. I am guessing they left off Hannah Nelson and Betsy Smith because they were on it in the past. I think Audrey Hipple from Parkview could potentially be on that list as well.
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