Shame on Arlington County HS Volleyball Coaches

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP and agree. The coaches also deserve heat for this at the public HS level - this is not club. They know who the HS players are and who goes to the school. They know that a random 8th grader not making a HS team = oh well I can play club and do intensive middle school clinics and then apply to private. But an actual school junior or sophomore not making their HS team = no real alternative for Fall, negative social impact at school, negative self esteem, potential college impact and loss of an EC on college apps, loss of morale for team and school, etc. a good coach knows this.

I disagree with this statement. As much as I agree with rule about not letting 8th grader participate in HS sports, coaches have to follow rules and regulations set by the school and VHSL. Coaches can not turn down a qualified 8th grader over a underqualified 9th or 10th grader. Parents of the 8th grader can sue the school for that. Lots of lawyers in the DMV, LOL.... If you don't like the rules, vote for people who can change the rules.

They do that all the time. If anything, taking a kid from a club that you coach at opens you to liability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP and agree. The coaches also deserve heat for this at the public HS level - this is not club. They know who the HS players are and who goes to the school. They know that a random 8th grader not making a HS team = oh well I can play club and do intensive middle school clinics and then apply to private. But an actual school junior or sophomore not making their HS team = no real alternative for Fall, negative social impact at school, negative self esteem, potential college impact and loss of an EC on college apps, loss of morale for team and school, etc. a good coach knows this.

I disagree with this statement. As much as I agree with rule about not letting 8th grader participate in HS sports, coaches have to follow rules and regulations set by the school and VHSL. Coaches can not turn down a qualified 8th grader over a underqualified 9th or 10th grader. Parents of the 8th grader can sue the school for that. Lots of lawyers in the DMV, LOL.... If you don't like the rules, vote for people who can change the rules.

The rule says “may” not “must” or “shall” and other counties don’t implement this. So there’s no legal threat. Coaches could turn down a qualified 8th grader who isn’t a student at the school.

What are the criteria for assessing a coach's job performance? Is it promoting participation or winning? Are high school coaches trying to move up a career ladder to higher paying college jobs? What are high schools aiming for with sports wins? Its not like they are trying to attract top students or donors if they are public schools with zones.

[Anonymous]

PP raises a good point. In APS, high schools are also required to tryout students from the “option schools” like HB Woodlawn, Arlington Tech. (at least those are legit HS students).

So… then a sophomore HS volleyball player at Yorktown for example has to compete for a smaller number of spots to begin with (freshman volleyball team is off the table) against freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, 8th graders, and students from the option schools. For essentially 26 spots between JV/Varsity. Factor in coach biases, club preferences (of course coaches are going to push kids from their own clubs), politics, seniority, connections and favoritism, and it becomes nearly impossible for a sophomore to play JV at their own school.

And yes the coaches deserve the heat. They aren’t required to take 8th graders who may not even play on the team the next year.

What a crappy policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP and agree. The coaches also deserve heat for this at the public HS level - this is not club. They know who the HS players are and who goes to the school. They know that a random 8th grader not making a HS team = oh well I can play club and do intensive middle school clinics and then apply to private. But an actual school junior or sophomore not making their HS team = no real alternative for Fall, negative social impact at school, negative self esteem, potential college impact and loss of an EC on college apps, loss of morale for team and school, etc. a good coach knows this.

I disagree with this statement. As much as I agree with rule about not letting 8th grader participate in HS sports, coaches have to follow rules and regulations set by the school and VHSL. Coaches can not turn down a qualified 8th grader over a underqualified 9th or 10th grader. Parents of the 8th grader can sue the school for that. Lots of lawyers in the DMV, LOL.... If you don't like the rules, vote for people who can change the rules.

The rule says “may” not “must” or “shall” and other counties don’t implement this. So there’s no legal threat. Coaches could turn down a qualified 8th grader who isn’t a student at the school.

What are the criteria for assessing a coach's job performance? Is it promoting participation or winning? Are high school coaches trying to move up a career ladder to higher paying college jobs? What are high schools aiming for with sports wins? Its not like they are trying to attract top students or donors if they are public schools with zones.

Right. This is not club. There should be a requirement that current HS students at the school have a preference for placement on sports teams if space is limited. If a public HS team doesn’t have enough players to field a football team or field hockey team or volleyball team then - sure - pull from middle school or an options school. But not to the detriment of the students who actually attend the school. An options school is an *option* that they elected and should have taken sports into consideration. And 8th graders should not get a JV spot over an eligible student at that school. I’m sure the girls who got cut are capable players if they made it through several rounds of tryouts to the last day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP raises a good point. In APS, high schools are also required to tryout students from the “option schools” like HB Woodlawn, Arlington Tech. (at least those are legit HS students).

So… then a sophomore HS volleyball player at Yorktown for example has to compete for a smaller number of spots to begin with (freshman volleyball team is off the table) against freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, 8th graders, and students from the option schools. For essentially 26 spots between JV/Varsity. Factor in coach biases, club preferences (of course coaches are going to push kids from their own clubs), politics, seniority, connections and favoritism, and it becomes nearly impossible for a sophomore to play JV at their own school.

And yes the coaches deserve the heat. They aren’t required to take 8th graders who may not even play on the team the next year.

What a crappy policy.

How do you feel if you freshman kid is better than the sophomore, and yet get cut from the team while the sophomore makes the team due to politics, seniority, connections and favoritism?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP raises a good point. In APS, high schools are also required to tryout students from the “option schools” like HB Woodlawn, Arlington Tech. (at least those are legit HS students).

So… then a sophomore HS volleyball player at Yorktown for example has to compete for a smaller number of spots to begin with (freshman volleyball team is off the table) against freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, 8th graders, and students from the option schools. For essentially 26 spots between JV/Varsity. Factor in coach biases, club preferences (of course coaches are going to push kids from their own clubs), politics, seniority, connections and favoritism, and it becomes nearly impossible for a sophomore to play JV at their own school.

And yes the coaches deserve the heat. They aren’t required to take 8th graders who may not even play on the team the next year.

What a crappy policy.

Coaches have to pick the most qualified player for the team, regardless of how they feel about the policy. The school and/or the coach can be sued for not following the guidelines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP raises a good point. In APS, high schools are also required to tryout students from the “option schools” like HB Woodlawn, Arlington Tech. (at least those are legit HS students).

So… then a sophomore HS volleyball player at Yorktown for example has to compete for a smaller number of spots to begin with (freshman volleyball team is off the table) against freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, 8th graders, and students from the option schools. For essentially 26 spots between JV/Varsity. Factor in coach biases, club preferences (of course coaches are going to push kids from their own clubs), politics, seniority, connections and favoritism, and it becomes nearly impossible for a sophomore to play JV at their own school.

And yes the coaches deserve the heat. They aren’t required to take 8th graders who may not even play on the team the next year.

What a crappy policy.

How do you feel if you freshman kid is better than the sophomore, and yet get cut from the team while the sophomore makes the team due to politics, seniority, connections and favoritism?

If the freshman is a student at the school, fine. But not if the player is from an options school or is an 8th grader. Let’s be honest there are a lot of good volleyball players in NoVA/Arlington. Some are standouts but most are at about the same competency level of good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP raises a good point. In APS, high schools are also required to tryout students from the “option schools” like HB Woodlawn, Arlington Tech. (at least those are legit HS students).

So… then a sophomore HS volleyball player at Yorktown for example has to compete for a smaller number of spots to begin with (freshman volleyball team is off the table) against freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, 8th graders, and students from the option schools. For essentially 26 spots between JV/Varsity. Factor in coach biases, club preferences (of course coaches are going to push kids from their own clubs), politics, seniority, connections and favoritism, and it becomes nearly impossible for a sophomore to play JV at their own school.

And yes the coaches deserve the heat. They aren’t required to take 8th graders who may not even play on the team the next year.

What a crappy policy.

Coaches have to pick the most qualified player for the team, regardless of how they feel about the policy. The school and/or the coach can be sued for not following the guidelines.

There’s no need for an 8th grader who doesn’t even go to the school to play JV.

[Anonymous]

Each HS should have a residency/enrollment preference for sports teams. Priority for students enrolled at the school and then any extra spots can be for optioned schools or 8th graders. This is public HS and not private club team and more students should be allowed to play for their school in their community. Isn’t that the point of public school? The girls who got cut made it four days and at least three rounds of cuts. They clearly were capable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The coaches should know the dynamics and returning players who are dedicated to the school and team in previous years. This is HS not club. This is one thing that’s always bothered me about volleyball - no loyalty whatsoever even to your school. Putting 8th graders who might not even attend the school on JV over 9th-11th graders is a poor coaching choice for morale and for the team.

Years ago my DD was an 8th grader on a HS freshman volleyball team. The other 8th graders did not end up attending her HS. So this is a valid point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For putting multiple 8th graders on Arlington County high school JV teams (not even freshman teams!) and bumping hardworking sophomores/juniors who now can’t play for their *actual* school.

13-year-olds shouldn’t be on a high school JV team when there are only 12 spots.

And shame on the coaches for enabling this.

Is this Yorktown?

Reports are that this happened this week. Several sophomores/juniors cut from JV and replaced by 8th and 9th graders. 9th, okay I get it. But 8th? Put them on the freshman team.

There is a group of 8th and 9th grade girls that are very good at VB and soccer. Many of these girls are also on that really good flag football team. Watch out for this to happen in soccer in the spring as well.

The Arlington middle schools have soccer teams so they can’t tryout for the high school team

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also I wonder if the coaches are moving up and playing clubs kids they are affiliated with. Wait for it - Coach A also coaches for Club A and suddenly a bunch of 8th graders from Club A make the JV team. It’s a thing in NoVA. Worth checking.

Are these coaches PE teachers or are they paid part time just to coach volleyball?

[Anonymous]

Are you serious? The best kids make the team. Your kid has to earn their spot. This is the most Arlington post I've ever read.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also I wonder if the coaches are moving up and playing clubs kids they are affiliated with. Wait for it - Coach A also coaches for Club A and suddenly a bunch of 8th graders from Club A make the JV team. It’s a thing in NoVA. Worth checking.

Are these coaches PE teachers or are they paid part time just to coach volleyball?

It depends. These are extra-duty assignments, and I think there might be a preference for internal candidates (already cleared background checks and in the personnel system). There are vacancy announcements here:

https://apps2.winocular.com/arlingtonps/workspace/wSpace.exe

So, a PE teacher could end up coaching HS volleyball. A club coach could also end up in that position if they apply and are selected for the position. My kids play other sports at APS high schools, and have had both club coaches and teachers as their HS team coaches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you serious? The best kids make the team. Your kid has to earn their spot. This is the most Arlington post I've ever read.

It's still pretty subjective and open to favoritism no? It's not like swimming or track.