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Post by guest2 on Oct 24, 2021 1:02:07 GMT -5
Huge Kerri fan, but her injury track record over the last 8 years has been awful. She has missed maybe 20-30% of events and played many of the others either left-handed (with April) or visibly trying to protect her shoulder and not swinging fully (with Brooke). Short Q period, but I doubt Kerri can last it either there is a risk. However, woudn't the *known* risk of failing to reach Paris as USA #3 with Kolinske, behind #2 Claes+partner be greater than the possible risk with KWJ? Really what I'd love to see is Sponcil with Kim Hill, but Sponcil is not April in terms of life experience and I don't know if she could emotionally navigate the learning curve with Hill. Its a good point, Sarah has a surprisingly poor set of options right now given how good she is. Probably her best bet is an in shape, motivated Kerri and secretly calling Taryn every 2-3 days for the next couple years. (Or just letting the personal stuff with Claes age a little and heading back there) |
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Post by dunninla3 on Oct 24, 2021 1:07:25 GMT -5
^ claes is what she is already. Very little upside. Sponcil on the other hand will grow into her freakish coordination with better decision making and emotional modulation. I am confident that Kloth, and probably at least one other emerging college Big, will give Sponcil a real medal chance in 2028. I tbink 2024 might at this point be a longshot except with Kerri.
In terms of raw physical skill, Sponcil is as good as any little the USA has ever had. It's between the ears that I would love to see continued development.
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Post by robvolei on Oct 24, 2021 3:34:44 GMT -5
Huge Kerri fan, but her injury track record over the last 8 years has been awful. She has missed maybe 20-30% of events and played many of the others either left-handed (with April) or visibly trying to protect her shoulder and not swinging fully (with Brooke). Short Q period, but I doubt Kerri can last it either there is a risk. However, woudn't the *known* risk of failing to reach Paris as USA #3 with Kolinske, behind #2 Claes+partner be greater than the possible risk with KWJ? Really what I'd love to see is Sponcil with Kim Hill, but Sponcil is not April in terms of life experience and I don't know if she could emotionally navigate the learning curve with Hill. Is Kim Hill trying to play beach? She would do well. |
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Post by guest2 on Oct 24, 2021 3:47:53 GMT -5
^ claes is what she is already. Very little upside. Sponcil on the other hand will grow into her freakish coordination with better decision making and emotional modulation. I am confident that Kloth, and probably at least one other emerging college Big, will give Sponcil a real medal chance in 2028. I tbink 2024 might at this point be a longshot except with Kerri. In terms of raw physical skill, Sponcil is as good as any little the USA has ever had. It's between the ears that I would love to see continued development. Not sure Claes is fully formed. She has improved every year of her career so far, not sure why she would stop now. She has some physical limits to be sure, mostly average height and speed for a blocker, but Taryn has a gigantic one of her own - speed/quickness. Not sure there is a player on the AVP or FIVB right now that Taryn could beat in a shuttle run - maybe Ana Patricia because she would probably just quit. |
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Post by tamz on Nov 20, 2021 23:18:39 GMT -5
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Post by deacondive on Nov 22, 2021 23:05:17 GMT -5
If Claes and Sponcil are indeed done. It will be interesting to where Claes goes. She certainly isnât going back to Hughes.
Sponcil and Hughes will likely be looking at the same potential bigs. Kim Hill is a wildcard
I think the prize will be Kathryn Plummer if/when she decides to play beach after 2024
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Post by tamz on Nov 22, 2021 23:15:44 GMT -5
If Claes and Sponcil are indeed done. It will be interesting to where Claes goes. She certainly isnât going back to Hughes. Sponcil and Hughes will likely be looking at the same potential bigs. Kim Hill is a wildcard I think the prize will be Kathryn Plummer if/when she decides to play beach after 2024 Kim Hill said sheâs taking a year off as a break. đ¤ |
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Post by secnewbie on Nov 27, 2021 18:21:14 GMT -5
^ claes is what she is already. Very little upside. Sponcil on the other hand will grow into her freakish coordination with better decision making and emotional modulation. I am confident that Kloth, and probably at least one other emerging college Big, will give Sponcil a real medal chance in 2028. I tbink 2024 might at this point be a longshot except with Kerri. In terms of raw physical skill, Sponcil is as good as any little the USA has ever had. It's between the ears that I would love to see continued development. Iâm not as astute at beach volleyball as the rest of you, but I totally agree about Sponcil. And frankly, Iâm not sure why anyone would want to partner with Claes, who reportedly didnât take training seriously when she was with Hughes, and then dated her coach and seemingly teamed up with him against her partner with Sponcil. To me, Claes seems like an immature brat. |
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Post by newbeach on Nov 27, 2021 22:48:48 GMT -5
I donât know? Maturity is all relative⌠how mature is it to call a younger athlete an âimmature bratâ when, admittedly, what you are repeating is all here say?
Claes graduated high school early to attend USC and graduated USC when she was 21 before starting her pro career (a year and a half younger than Hughes).
Some of the â she didnât take practices seriouslyâ rumors were from the Hughes camp at the time. And yes, Claes probably did miss some practices and may have been a little immature but that doesnât make her a âbratâ. Do you know any of the specifics of the Hughes/Claes dynamics at the time? Missing practices may have been a result of âimmaturityâ and not knowing how to deal with what may have been a difficult situation. Despite not âtaking practices seriouslyâ, Claes managed to put in the work, improve, and become an Olympian.
She fell in love with her coachâŚnot sure if that could be considered immature. Did she team up with him against her partnerâ? Or was it the coach, perhaps, who may have let his personal life interfere with his ability to coach objectively?
Say what you will about Claes, I guess, but young players arenât always âmatureâ. Sara and Sarah could be considered âimmatureâ in their actions at times. Hopefully, they will all grow from their experiences.
As for why pair with Claes? Because she is still one of the best best US blockers.
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Post by haze on Nov 28, 2021 9:03:24 GMT -5
Should be noted that with all the rumblings about the situation, anyone teaming with Claes is also teaming with her husband, who Claes is insisting is going to he her coach moving forward and the teams coach.
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Post by ocbeachfan on Nov 28, 2021 11:27:55 GMT -5
Should be noted that with all the rumblings about the situation, anyone teaming with Claes is also teaming with her husband, who Claes is insisting is going to he her coach moving forward and the teams coach. Source for this? |
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Post by dunninla3 on Nov 28, 2021 22:24:03 GMT -5
I'm gonna do some research on the Olympic process. It seems silly that a new team can't make their way to the Olympics. I could see April and Kerri retiring. A-Team said they'd play with each other for now and haven't made any decisions on Paris Olympics. Maybe Alix and Sponcil team up. Not that she would ever get served but Alix hitting Sarah's sets. Anything Alix didn't hit out would be a kill THAT would be phenomenal to watch... which reminds me, you wrote that Sponcil is "one of the best setters". Who would be her equal? With deep-dishing, change of direction, and all the other crap the FIVB now permits, Sponcil's mitts are the best out there... and she knows just how farto push the boundaries, almost to the point of that popular beach game "throw ball", before getting called. |
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Post by dunninla3 on Nov 28, 2021 22:30:05 GMT -5
My prediction (aka wild guess) is: Day/Flint stay together Claes/Muno I would be intrigued to see Claes/Callahan Cannon/Hughes I donât think it will happen but Iâd like to see KWJ/SponcilBut in all reality, I have no clue who will be with who, just hope they can be 4-5 strong teams If KWJ/Sponcil does not materialize, and if Kloth/Sponcil isn't possible b/c Kloth is committed to Nuss for another year as some say, then why not Kolinske/Sponcil? Kolinske's sideout issues last year might just disappear quickly with consistent, perfect sets. Plus, before Kloth arrived, I thought Kolinske had the best USA block except for Alix. This whole thing is just nuts. Sponcil, with the right mental coach for siding out, is just a couple of years away from being the best defender in the world. Really, this makes me think she should go for KWJ even if it is only for a year. If not Kerri personally, Kerri will have access to exactly the kind of mental/strategic coaching that would turn Sponcil into an elite attacker, her only current (relative) weakness. |
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Post by haze on Nov 29, 2021 0:14:52 GMT -5
Should be noted that with all the rumblings about the situation, anyone teaming with Claes is also teaming with her husband, who Claes is insisting is going to he her coach moving forward and the teams coach. Source for this? No legit source of confirmation, but that's the rumors regarding why her and sponcil broke up. Sponcil wanted another coach and Claes said no. If Claes is t goi g to break that for Sponcil there isn't anyone else she would break it for, and if so then she's simply choosing to downgrade which is stupid. |
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Post by guest2 on Nov 29, 2021 3:00:07 GMT -5
I donât know? Maturity is all relative⌠how mature is it to call a younger athlete an âimmature bratâ when, admittedly, what you are repeating is all here say? Claes graduated high school early to attend USC and graduated USC when she was 21 before starting her pro career (a year and a half younger than Hughes). Some of the â she didnât take practices seriouslyâ rumors were from the Hughes camp at the time. And yes, Claes probably did miss some practices and may have been a little immature but that doesnât make her a âbratâ. Do you know any of the specifics of the Hughes/Claes dynamics at the time? Missing practices may have been a result of âimmaturityâ and not knowing how to deal with what may have been a difficult situation. Despite not âtaking practices seriouslyâ, Claes managed to put in the work, improve, and become an Olympian. She fell in love with her coachâŚnot sure if that could be considered immature. Did she team up with him against her partnerâ? Or was it the coach, perhaps, who may have let his personal life interfere with his ability to coach objectively? Say what you will about Claes, I guess, but young players arenât always âmatureâ. Sara and Sarah could be considered âimmatureâ in their actions at times. Hopefully, they will all grow from their experiences. As for why pair with Claes? Because she is still one of the best best US blockers. There is ample evidence that all three have some maturity issues, namely that they are all somewhat locked out of good partnerships based on non-volleyball personal reasons, Claes x 2 which shouldn't be overlooked. Claes/Hughes' breakup, both Kelly's practice issues and Sara's bridge burning and Sara's idiotic rejection of Kerri based on now-expired BFFness are also pretty significant indicators of same. That said, Claes has gotten better every year of her career in a way that Hughes has not. Sara got a tough break when Summer was injured but that was two full years ago now and what has she done since? Looked lousy with Brandi on the AVP and stunk with several partners internationally? Compare the way Claes performed when she got dumped to how Hughes performed when Summer had to stop playing. 2021 Claes is far superior to 2019 Claes. Same goes for Sponcil, but imo, Hughes is actually worse. |
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