huntz
High School
Posts: 9
|
Post by huntz on Aug 2, 2005 0:06:04 GMT -5
I know that there aren't very many of us here that played volleyball in Arizona, but it just seems to me that the quality is going down just a little. My senior year (2001) saw players such as Matt Bender (Hawaii), Teddy Lilies, and Tyler Hildabrand (Both now start for Long Beach State). The funny thing is that they weren't even considered the best players at their positions! My junior year was considered to be even better than that! To further illustrate the point In 2001 Club Cactus took third in the Open Division at Junior Nationals. They were considered the second best club team in the state that year (Club Red beat them four or five times during the club season and won the region championship, but for some reason they chose to play in the Club Division at Nationals). This year I didn't see an Arizona team finish in the top 20!
I, along with a few other guys, attended the 2005 state finals and we were pretty disapointed with what we saw. I don't know exactly why that is, but I think a part of it is that there are no College programs in the state. Another would be that not enough quality coaches that are willing to coach a boys team.
Any thoughts on how the state can improve it's programs and players?
|
|
|
Post by palo on Aug 2, 2005 10:11:35 GMT -5
Yes I do know how your state can make strides in the sport. And that is through people like you coming back and putting your passion for the game back into the community. I am not claiming to have much knowledge about the state of Ball in Zona but I know how it is in Chicago. And it thrives because those who came before are willing to come back and pass on the torch. Former players who love the game coming back to coach is what keeps the sport growing. I think there is a major impact that the recently graduated players can have on the younger kids.
A few weeks back we had a player return from college, fresh off winning the national championship. He came to a practice and you could tell from the boys that it was a big deal to have him help them out.
The sport won't just keep developing on its own. It needs the hard work of some good individuals. We in the midwest have been lucky enough to have some very dedicated people towards this cause. I encourage you to get involved, if you are not already.
|
|
beachdude
Junior
The Volleyball Made Me Do it!
Posts: 423
|
Post by beachdude on Aug 2, 2005 10:41:15 GMT -5
Huntz:
You bring up a good point. It would be my guess that volleyball is cyclical in the valley of the sun. Zona has had some great athletes run through the program and the talent level might be down now, but it will pick up again.
|
|
|
Post by Beachy on Aug 2, 2005 19:14:40 GMT -5
Club Cactus won the18's MLK qualifier in So Cal last January beating Riptides in finals, taking out SCVC and LBC along the way. They finished in the Silver Division in the Boys Classic in June, the tournament many consider second only to JO"s. Unfortunately, they bombed a bit at JO"s, drawing an extremely tough pool on Day 2 after winning their pool on Day 1. They finished 21st but had only 4 match losses. Their overall record was better than several teams that finished higher. (i.e Adversity had 7 match losses)
|
|