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Post by NobodySpecial on Feb 4, 2019 18:20:27 GMT -5
Latest U.S. Women's National Team update - bit.ly/2419WNTupdateIncludes info on Michelle Bartsch-Hackley and Lauren Carlini helping Novara win Italian Cup title by rallying past Conegliano with Kim Hill and Karsta Lowe, European Champions League schedule this week and Kelsey Robinson's latest vlog highlighting behind the scenes footage of VakifBank's trip to Montpellier for Champions League.
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Post by ToddyJ on Feb 7, 2019 0:45:32 GMT -5
Lowe came in clutch in Conegliano's 3-2 win over Schwerin in CEV Champions League. Imoco is very close to missing out on the quarter finals. They are in last out of all of the 2nd place ranked teams. Top three second place teams across 5 pools make the cut. Hopefully they make the cut.
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Post by jay on Feb 8, 2019 15:41:58 GMT -5
If anyone wants to watch Lowe's MVP performance in Imoco's recent 5 set win in CL here is the link. Start at set 3 to watch. She totally turned the match around for Imoco. I'm not sure that she earns starting time over Fabris just due to team chemistry but certainly any time Fabris falters she comes on the court.
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Post by ironhammer on Feb 8, 2019 21:00:12 GMT -5
When Glass was on the team, there was no question who the starting setter was for every match. Kiraly has benched Lloyd. Hancock was the backup for most of WCH. And he cut Carlini altogether from WCH. (Carlini started over Poulter at Pan Am Cup, but Kiraly was not the head coach for that tournament.)
Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself with Poulter, but the setter position is up for grabs, imo.
If anything is clear, it's that Karch feels as though he needs to let Lloyd lose the position herself vs. taking it from her. He's given opportunities to whoever her back-up has been to come in and attempt to make a difference when she struggles, and he's given opportunities to make an impact on the double-sub too. There is more evidence that he's unhappy with Lloyd than the contrary, so we agree that the setting position is not locked in. It is, arguably, the most competitive position in the gym (from the fans' standpoint). That's not a good thing less than two years out from Tokyo. So you can mind-read Karch eh? You make no sense whatsoever, to say Karch want to make Lloyd to "lose the position herself", if she is otherwise not injured, what player would voluntarily give up their spot on the NT and a shot at Olympic glory? The coach cuts the players, players do not say: "I'm sorry coach, I am not good enough to be on your team". If anything, if Karch determines Lloyd ain't up to it, he WILL decide to take it from her, he could be saying these stuff to make the process a little less unpleasant for Lloyd, to give her a hint. But a coach does not wait until a player decides she is not good enough on the team, that is no way to coach.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2019 23:19:56 GMT -5
Two months later...
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Post by ToddyJ on Feb 9, 2019 1:06:09 GMT -5
If anyone wants to watch Lowe's MVP performance in Imoco's recent 5 set win in CL here is the link. Start at set 3 to watch. She totally turned the match around for Imoco. I'm not sure that she earns starting time over Fabris just due to team chemistry but certainly any time Fabris falters she comes on the court. THANKS for this! Even though there isn't any sound it is good to get to watch it!
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Post by ironhammer on Feb 9, 2019 1:23:24 GMT -5
So? My point is valid now as it was then.
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Post by ToddyJ on Feb 11, 2019 15:52:58 GMT -5
Anyway willing to guess what the chances are of US winning gold in Tokyo? Currently? I would rank China, Serbia and Italy as the three medal favorites. I would place the USA, Netherlands, Russia and Brazil in the next bracket. Russia and Brazil are on the decline and the Dutch are continuing to improve. Many of the Dutch starters are playing on the best teams in Turkey, Italy and Germany right now which will only improve their prowess.
The USA is holding steady but not IMPROVING. Part of this is due to the continued investment in older players still seeking Olympic glory and Karch's inability to make sweeping changes when things don't work out. This includes during matches and in making roster selections.
I am very concerned for the USA in this 2019 Season. Why?
The chronological order of this season's tournaments is ridiculous.
First we have the 2019 VNL. This should be a development tournament but because of the IOQT immediately following it most teams will be bringing the big guns (with some development happening though probably not for the USA) in order to prepare for the IOQT.
Then we have the IOQT in which Pool C is a JOKE. USA could start their C/D line-up and still sweep the pool. But we qualify so everyone is happy and thinks we are on the right track.
Then we have the World Cup. This would usually be the first Olympic Qualifying tournament but is now relegated to a tournament for world ranking points.
The USA is currently an island on the World Ranking Table. We are 3rd with 256pts. Serbia(322) and China(320) are well in 1st/2nd. Brazil(200) and Russia (198) are in 4th/5th.
The World Cup could also be a developmental tournament. Any coach with a brain is going to see this and not bring their star players. Even if the USA ended up anywhere between 3rd-5th we would likely not lose our current ranking.
What I fear is that Karch will continue to bring our Olympic veterans to ALL of these tournaments and with other NT's not bringing their big stars (especially at the WCup) the USA will continue to "seem" unstoppable. Then we get to 2020 and at the VNL our team barely makes the finals because SURPRISE.....in that tournament you had better believe that all countries qualified for the games will be out in force preparing for the Olympics later that summer. The USA will be standing there going....our "best" isn't good enough.
At this point....we will be screwed. I legitimately see a quarterfinals loss in 2020 as a scary possibility.
On the flip side....maybe the 2018 WCH was a fluke and our team just had a bad tournament. Maybe that was what they needed to elevate their game. Maybe our system really is the enemy. Maybe this is Karch's last quad and he doesn't care about development. On any given day our current roster could still win a gold medal. I just don't think the likelihood is in our favor anymore of that outcome being a reality.
I will just be furious if we see the same damn roster across all three major tournaments this season. Not to mention there are the Pan-Am Games, Pan-Am Cup, NORCECA Championships, Montreux VM......plenty of court time could be had by all 30-40 players in the gym.
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Post by NobodySpecial on Feb 11, 2019 18:40:31 GMT -5
From USAV Twitter: #USAVupdate: US Women's National Team members continued to have solid performances in overseas pro leagues including the @cevolleyball #ChampionsLeague last week. And aspiring players have until Feb. 13 to sign up for #USAVwnt Open #USAVtryout. Update | bit.ly/21119WNT
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Post by ironhammer on Feb 11, 2019 20:09:05 GMT -5
Anyway willing to guess what the chances are of US winning gold in Tokyo? Currently? I would rank China, Serbia and Italy as the three medal favorites. I would place the USA, Netherlands, Russia and Brazil in the next bracket. Russia and Brazil are on the decline and the Dutch are continuing to improve. Many of the Dutch starters are playing on the best teams in Turkey, Italy and Germany right now which will only improve their prowess.
The USA is holding steady but not IMPROVING. Part of this is due to the continued investment in older players still seeking Olympic glory and Karch's inability to make sweeping changes when things don't work out. This includes during matches and in making roster selections.
I am very concerned for the USA in this 2019 Season. Why?
The chronological order of this season's tournaments is ridiculous.
First we have the 2019 VNL. This should be a development tournament but because of the IOQT immediately following it most teams will be bringing the big guns (with some development happening though probably not for the USA) in order to prepare for the IOQT.
Then we have the IOQT in which Pool C is a JOKE. USA could start their C/D line-up and still sweep the pool. But we qualify so everyone is happy and thinks we are on the right track.
Then we have the World Cup. This would usually be the first Olympic Qualifying tournament but is now relegated to a tournament for world ranking points.
The USA is currently an island on the World Ranking Table. We are 3rd with 256pts. Serbia(322) and China(320) are well in 1st/2nd. Brazil(200) and Russia (198) are in 4th/5th.
The World Cup could also be a developmental tournament. Any coach with a brain is going to see this and not bring their star players. Even if the USA ended up anywhere between 3rd-5th we would likely not lose our current ranking.
What I fear is that Karch will continue to bring our Olympic veterans to ALL of these tournaments and with other NT's not bringing their big stars (especially at the WCup) the USA will continue to "seem" unstoppable. Then we get to 2020 and at the VNL our team barely makes the finals because SURPRISE.....in that tournament you had better believe that all countries qualified for the games will be out in force preparing for the Olympics later that summer. The USA will be standing there going....our "best" isn't good enough.
At this point....we will be screwed. I legitimately see a quarterfinals loss in 2020 as a scary possibility.
On the flip side....maybe the 2018 WCH was a fluke and our team just had a bad tournament. Maybe that was what they needed to elevate their game. Maybe our system really is the enemy. Maybe this is Karch's last quad and he doesn't care about development. On any given day our current roster could still win a gold medal. I just don't think the likelihood is in our favor anymore of that outcome being a reality.
I will just be furious if we see the same damn roster across all three major tournaments this season. Not to mention there are the Pan-Am Games, Pan-Am Cup, NORCECA Championships, Montreux VM......plenty of court time could be had by all 30-40 players in the gym.
I really don't get why FIVB decided to remove Olympic qualification slots from the World Cup. That was the whole reason top teams sent their big guns to compete to win. Now it is just an extra VNL. Maybe even a redundant tournament.
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Post by speegs13 on Feb 11, 2019 21:38:25 GMT -5
I really don't get why FIVB decided to remove Olympic qualification slots from the World Cup. That was the whole reason top teams sent their big guns to compete to win. Now it is just an extra VNL. Maybe even a redundant tournament. I thought it was because Japan is already qualified as hosts for the Olympics, and qualified teams cannot participate. But the tricky part is that the contract (TV deals I think) was already set and they have to go through with the tournament anyways, but if you don't allow Japan to participate, what's the point of hosting a tournament in a country without the host nation? I can't find the link, but the deal for the 2015/2019 World Cups were made all the way back in 2013, and I don't know if Tokyo was already selected by then for 2020 (usually seven years out). As soon as Tokyo was selected, I wonder if the FIVB was kicking themselves over making the deal - but honestly who knows. EDIT: I found the link to the article - www.fivb.org/viewPressRelease.asp?No=37459&Language=en#.XGIyuS3MzOQThis article was released on January 2013, and Tokyo wasn't selected to host the olympics until September of that year. I don't know what the landscape for picking the Olympics looked like at that time (like, was Tokyo the favorite?), but I guess in the FIVB and JVA's defense, it was hard to predict that this current situation would happen.
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Post by ironhammer on Feb 11, 2019 21:49:37 GMT -5
I really don't get why FIVB decided to remove Olympic qualification slots from the World Cup. That was the whole reason top teams sent their big guns to compete to win. Now it is just an extra VNL. Maybe even a redundant tournament. I thought it was because Japan is already qualified as hosts for the Olympics, and qualified teams cannot participate. But the tricky part is that the contract (TV deals I think) was already set and they have to go through with the tournament anyways, but if you don't allow Japan to participate, what's the point of hosting a tournament in a country without the host nation? I can't find the link, but the deal for the 2015/2019 World Cups were made all the way back in 2013, and I don't know if Tokyo was already selected by then for 2020 (usually seven years out). As soon as Tokyo was selected, I wonder if the FIVB was kicking themselves over making the deal - but honestly who knows. EDIT: I found the link to the article - www.fivb.org/viewPressRelease.asp?No=37459&Language=en#.XGIyuS3MzOQThis article was released on January 2013, and Tokyo wasn't selected to host the olympics until September of that year. Yeah that makes sense. The previous practice was always for the Olympic host nation to not participate in the World Cup. And the Japanese TV network must have really squeezed the balls of the FIVB to get this kind of arrangement. I can't imagine them being happy about this.
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Post by ToddyJ on Feb 11, 2019 23:49:10 GMT -5
I really don't get why FIVB decided to remove Olympic qualification slots from the World Cup. That was the whole reason top teams sent their big guns to compete to win. Now it is just an extra VNL. Maybe even a redundant tournament. I thought it was because Japan is already qualified as hosts for the Olympics, and qualified teams cannot participate. But the tricky part is that the contract (TV deals I think) was already set and they have to go through with the tournament anyways, but if you don't allow Japan to participate, what's the point of hosting a tournament in a country without the host nation? I can't find the link, but the deal for the 2015/2019 World Cups were made all the way back in 2013, and I don't know if Tokyo was already selected by then for 2020 (usually seven years out). As soon as Tokyo was selected, I wonder if the FIVB was kicking themselves over making the deal - but honestly who knows. EDIT: I found the link to the article - www.fivb.org/viewPressRelease.asp?No=37459&Language=en#.XGIyuS3MzOQThis article was released on January 2013, and Tokyo wasn't selected to host the olympics until September of that year. I don't know what the landscape for picking the Olympics looked like at that time (like, was Tokyo the favorite?), but I guess in the FIVB and JVA's defense, it was hard to predict that this current situation would happen. Ya know....the more I read about the ineptitude of the FIVB....the more I wonder just how much further the development of Volleyball would be if we didn't have utter morons upstairs running the show.
I mean...as a coach.....I would be furious with the 2019 schedule. The changes alone this quad have been quite sweeping. I am not opposed to change...but I think proper notification and planning should have been present and they just were not. I think it is only fair to present the "road map" for the Olympic quad IN THE FIRST YEAR OF THAT QUAD. By the time the 2017 World League/Grand Prix rolled around....everyone should have been shown a snapshot of what the quad was going to entail.
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Post by ToddyJ on Feb 12, 2019 0:48:22 GMT -5
Here is what the USWNT gym could look like in 2019: S: C.Lloyd, M.Hancock, L.Carlini, J.Poulter, K.Hunter OH: J.Larson, K.Hill, K.Robinson, M.Bartsch-Hackley, S.Lee, A.Mitchem, A.Anae, M.Foecke, K.Plummer, V.Jones-Perry MB: F.Akinradewo, C.Ogbogu, L.Gibbemeyer, T.Dixon, R.Adams, H.Washington, H.Tapp, M.McCage, R.Alhassan, P.Tapp, A.Rolfzen Opp: K.Lowe, A.Drews, K.Murphy, D.Cuttino, S.Atkinson, A.Holston L: M.Courtney, A.Benson, C.Kan, K.Tupac(Hahn), K.Maloney, M.Hentz Somewhere here I believe is an Olympic Golden 12 player roster. Athlete's are in depth order. NCAA players are at the bottom only because they are pending participation. Any missing names would be cut.
Bolded Players are Tokyo 2020 locks. If they aren't chosen they will have played themselves out of the roster.
Thoughts? Changes?
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Post by ironhammer on Feb 12, 2019 0:55:43 GMT -5
I thought it was because Japan is already qualified as hosts for the Olympics, and qualified teams cannot participate. But the tricky part is that the contract (TV deals I think) was already set and they have to go through with the tournament anyways, but if you don't allow Japan to participate, what's the point of hosting a tournament in a country without the host nation? I can't find the link, but the deal for the 2015/2019 World Cups were made all the way back in 2013, and I don't know if Tokyo was already selected by then for 2020 (usually seven years out). As soon as Tokyo was selected, I wonder if the FIVB was kicking themselves over making the deal - but honestly who knows. EDIT: I found the link to the article - www.fivb.org/viewPressRelease.asp?No=37459&Language=en#.XGIyuS3MzOQThis article was released on January 2013, and Tokyo wasn't selected to host the olympics until September of that year. I don't know what the landscape for picking the Olympics looked like at that time (like, was Tokyo the favorite?), but I guess in the FIVB and JVA's defense, it was hard to predict that this current situation would happen. Ya know....the more I read about the ineptitude of the FIVB....the more I wonder just how much further the development of Volleyball would be if we didn't have utter morons upstairs running the show.
I mean...as a coach.....I would be furious with the 2019 schedule. The changes alone this quad have been quite sweeping. I am not opposed to change...but I think proper notification and planning should have been present and they just were not. I think it is only fair to present the "road map" for the Olympic quad IN THE FIRST YEAR OF THAT QUAD. By the time the 2017 World League/Grand Prix rolled around....everyone should have been shown a snapshot of what the quad was going to entail.
True. Although if they were competent in sports administration, they wouldn't be working at the FIVB, but maybe the NBA or NFL.
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