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Post by SportyBucky on Dec 15, 2014 11:41:48 GMT -5
As a fan of another team but one who has really enjoyed and appreciated the UW team's play I wonder if the newcomers will be able to duplicate how well the departing seniors were able to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. Plugging in new players, who may or may not be better talents, is not necessarily the point. Will they contribute to the team play as well as the departing seniors? There were a lot of BT teams that had [on paper] as good or maybe even better "talent" but UW won the championship as a team. If molding a cohesive, everyone has a role and does it very well, team was easy I doubt UW competes as well and wins as much the last two years. It will be interesting to see if your coach can just "plug and play" with the new players. He's good enough a coach to do that. Anyway IMHO the value of the departing seniors to UW's success can not and should not be underestimated. Good news is several of these players have been part of the culture of the team for at least a year, some longer. It is infectious. You see what needs to be done and hopefully emulate it. Time will tell. Gotta think new players joining the team are doing so because they like the style of play, coaching and teammates. That bodes well for continued success, effort, chemistry, etc...
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Post by rainbowbadger on Dec 15, 2014 11:44:32 GMT -5
The biggest thing I've wondered about is whether we'll be able to have more flexibility with the lineup throughout the season.
I've noticed that PSU, Purdue, Illinois, and Nebraska all have flexibliity in one or more positions - players who are ready to be subbed into the lineup if a matchup isn't working. They're "starter ready," though they might not always start. Sheffield seemed very locked into one lineup this year. Is the dropoff in talent/skill from Bates & Chappy to Frick really that significant? Wouldn't it benefit us to have the ability to switch things up a bit if one player is struggling?
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Post by bucky415 on Dec 15, 2014 12:12:39 GMT -5
I think it had a lot to do with how the team was built. Fricano still looked kind of raw from her very limited swings this season, and I don't think she fit well into what they were asking the left sides to do. A lot of the good passes went middle/right to get kills, leaving the lefts to take more of the out of system swings. The Badgers just needed them to keep many of those in play so they could win the point later due to their defense. They did that pretty well, and I can't argue the results overall.
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Post by badgerbreath on Dec 15, 2014 12:13:33 GMT -5
Yes, some flexibility would be nice. Seems like other teams with more depth are always the initiators on that front this year. Would be nice to be in the drivers seat now and again. Really interested to see what Fric and Blake bring next year, and to see if Sheff sticks to a hard and fast lineup.
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Post by bucky415 on Dec 15, 2014 12:21:03 GMT -5
It is good to have depth when you need it, but things really have been better for the program over the years when it had a set lineup. I think when players fear the hook, they end up playing tentatively and you don't get the best out of anyone.
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Post by badgerbreath on Dec 15, 2014 12:33:33 GMT -5
I guess I was thinking more about matchups than pulling the plug on struggling players. Also, if a starter gets sick, it's nice to have some cover that isn't too much of a step down.
I remember a couple times that Sheff said his team really struggled with the creative substitutions that other teams (Neb and OSU come to mind)were using to mess up our defensive assignments. Not sure what he meant exactly.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2014 13:24:40 GMT -5
If Duello starts you got issues, if she plays 6, stick a fork in the Badgers!! That being said, Carlini could make me look good!!! I walked by a few trees in Greeley when we played, gotta have a couple seasoned options to fill graduation losses.....I could be wrong about Duello but don't think so!!! why do you say this about Duello?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2014 13:26:56 GMT -5
The biggest thing I've wondered about is whether we'll be able to have more flexibility with the lineup throughout the season. I've noticed that PSU, Purdue, Illinois, and Nebraska all have flexibliity in one or more positions - players who are ready to be subbed into the lineup if a matchup isn't working. They're "starter ready," though they might not always start. Sheffield seemed very locked into one lineup this year. Is the dropoff in talent/skill from Bates & Chappy to Frick really that significant? Wouldn't it benefit us to have the ability to switch things up a bit if one player is struggling? It would have been great last weekend when Nelson was hitting -.350 and Chapman -.250 to have other options, yes! I"m surprised he didn't give other players more time as well, one negative from this season.
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Post by rainbowbadger on Dec 15, 2014 13:38:29 GMT -5
I guess I was thinking more about matchups than pulling the plug on struggling players. Also, if a starter gets sick, it's nice to have some cover that isn't too much of a step down. I remember a couple times that Sheff said his team really struggled with the creative substitutions that other teams (Neb and OSU come to mind)were using to mess up our defensive assignments. Not sure what he meant exactly. Exactly. Sometimes teams just have one particular player figured out, but maybe they don't have as much tape on another player, or the way she goes up for her approach fakes them out, or something. Whatever. There's a difference between demonstrating lack of confidence in your players by pulling them at the first sign of struggle - something Waite did too much, IMO - and having the ability to mix it up if a matchup is just not working. Also, I had noticed this year that when Jules or Tori did come in, LC seemed a little more hesitant to set them. Perhaps the connection isn't as strong with them as it is with the regular starters because LC would feed Dom/Haleigh and Court in practice, while EJ was used to feeding Jules and Blake? But if your regular starter is ill, you need your setter to be comfortable feeding them the ball.
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Post by BadgerAce42 on Dec 15, 2014 14:14:48 GMT -5
I realize this the "2015" thread, but Lauren Carlini's successor, Sydney Hilley, has been doubling as an OH this season for her HS team and man, she is an impressive hitter. If you YouTube her, this is the first time she's hit and hopefully she becomes a mini Courtney Thomas.
Apologies, carry on.
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Post by badgerbreath on Dec 15, 2014 14:29:21 GMT -5
That's great to hear!
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Post by rainbowbadger on Dec 15, 2014 14:31:39 GMT -5
I realize this the "2015" thread, but Lauren Carlini's successor, Sydney Hilley, has been doubling as an OH this season for her HS team and man, she is an impressive hitter. If you YouTube her, this is the first time she's hit and hopefully she becomes a mini Courtney Thomas. Apologies, carry on. That'd be excellent. And it's called "Wisconsin 2015," but it's really a "this team + future" thread, so go for it.
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Post by badgerbreath on Dec 15, 2014 14:41:51 GMT -5
I realize this the "2015" thread, but Lauren Carlini's successor, Sydney Hilley, has been doubling as an OH this season for her HS team and man, she is an impressive hitter. If you YouTube her, this is the first time she's hit and hopefully she becomes a mini Courtney Thomas. Apologies, carry on. Is she growing? She's still a bit small for an OH in the B1G, but still pretty young.
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Post by BadgerAce42 on Dec 15, 2014 14:51:03 GMT -5
I realize this the "2015" thread, but Lauren Carlini's successor, Sydney Hilley, has been doubling as an OH this season for her HS team and man, she is an impressive hitter. If you YouTube her, this is the first time she's hit and hopefully she becomes a mini Courtney Thomas. Apologies, carry on. Is she growing? She's still a bit small for an OH in the B1G, but still pretty young. She's 5'11" going on 6'0" so an inch smaller than Courtney, same height as Bates, and same size as current USA setter, Alisha Glass (I had to put it in perspective, because I found myself wishing she was Lauren's height). It'd be awesome for a growth spurt since she's still a sophomore, but apparently she's also a good jumper. She's been training with Lindsey Berg which is amazing for her. Anyone know about current players (any team) that went through a growth spurt 2nd half of high school?
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Post by rainbowbadger on Dec 15, 2014 14:59:55 GMT -5
Is she growing? She's still a bit small for an OH in the B1G, but still pretty young. She's 5'11" going on 6'0" so an inch smaller than Courtney, same height as Bates, and same size as current USA setter, Alisha Glass (I had to put it in perspective, because I found myself wishing she was Lauren's height). It'd be awesome for a growth spurt since she's still a sophomore, but apparently she's also a good jumper. She's been training with Lindsey Berg which is amazing for her. Anyone know about current players (any team) that went through a growth spurt 2nd half of high school? For females, growth typically tapers off around menarche because estrogen causes the growth plates to fuse. They may get another inch or so, but are unlikely to get more. Athletes can have delayed menarche due to lower body fat percentage (less estrogen), so it's not impossible. However, I wouldn't be nearly so presumptuous as to ask any prep player details on that front. I heard somewhere that top level players are now getting x-rayed to determine the status of their growth plates. Is that really a thing? Seems excessive.
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