http://www.big12sports.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/080707aaa.html

I find that hard to believe...in spite of the improvements to the roster.

I hope we finish at least that high, but I don't think it will happen. We'll just have to see.

Are you referring to those who have left as "improvements to the roster"? Or - hopefully we're looking forward to the 3 new players adding to a good core.

I think that the preseason ranking is relatively accurate. We could potentially come in 3rd or 4th place. Say we do, is that enough to keep the corbelli’s around. Or if we do make it to the second round of the NCAA tournament, is that good enough? We have been mediocre for a long time now

I’m excited about the off season moves, seems like we’ve got all the pieces.

No, I mean the transfers and signees are the "improvements" moreso than the ones who are no longer on the roster. I think we improved in the spots where players have been replaced.

That being said, we were picked 5th preseason last year and had a dismal showing tied for 8th. That alone should have been the final straw.

I don't think a 4th place showing in conference is enough. I don't think getting to the second round is enough. TAMU Volleyball should be considered better than simply one of the top 32 teams in the country which is all that getting to the second round proves.

A decision must be made if Byrne is serious about his "Building Champions" slogan. If Texas A&M wants to be satified with mediocrity, then change the slogan to "Buidling 4th place finishes is acceptable".

I hope we can do at least that well. Last year's season was a painful grind. The volleyball program needs to step up in order to keep pace with the rest of our athletic teams. There is no longer room for "middle-of-the-pack" programs at Texas A&M.

I'm looking forward to the season.

4th place and a 2nd round appearance would be a huge step in the right direction for the program IMO.

not after 13 years.

what no one wants to think about is the decline of our recruiting started in 2002. the Corbellis were supposed to go after more local girls, but there are too many big division one schools in Texas with deep roots in different communities. you can't build an entire top ten team with only the one or two girls you'll get each year. 2002 was also, incidentally, when the UT-Austin coach got settled in and started hitting the recruiting pipelines heavily. in just six years he's built a program that will be a strong contender for a national championship title for the next three seasons. i don't know for if there's necessarily a connection, but it's at least a coincidence.

2003 was the last year we were even close to competitive nationally. the past 3 seasons have been extremely disappointing and a continuous decline. if it was football, heads would already have rolled. but volleyball is only fulfilling our title 9 requirements so we can put our real energy into fb, right?

it's too late for this year, but personally i think byrne should already be shopping around for a top coach that will draw recruits, and make a move as soon as the season ends.

well said

The program had plenty of time to position itself as a national contender and for some reason didn't. You shouldn't have a program that allows a new tu coach nor any other new coach, to come in and dominate the recruiting from the get-go.

Evidently the Croebelli's didn't do enough to solidify ties with current Texas high school caoches to let this happen. Looks like someone was asleep at the wheel from 2002-2006.

You only have about 12-13 ships in volleyball, why you can't get two solid in state players and one out of state most every year is beyond me. We shouldh't have had this three year lull in the program. No doubt this year will tell the tale.

Who believes that all this griping about the past helps build the current Roster's confidence and attitude as proud members of the fightin' texas aggie class of XX?

How much can you legitimately heep on these players' shoulders about what happened 2, 3 or 4 years ago? - - and then expect them to perform and compete in a tough tough Big 12?

Not to re-state the obvious but it would seem the coaches' security will be determined by the team's performance. Why can't THIS year be the beginning of something good, going forward? or are the naysayers giving up and conceding that it can't? C'mon ags - -

What is wrong with helping build a positive environment for the players, the fellow ags we all claim to support, towards helping those fellow ags succeed; and if the team succeeds, the coaches may survive; If not, atleast the aggie players will know the fans support them for the next year, and the next year, . . .isn't that as big a part of "building champions" as anything. . .

Two weeks from this weekend, the journey begins. Are we with 'em or against 'em, ags?

"What is wrong with helping build a positive environment for the players..."

Absolutely nothing. Too bad the coaching staff did not think of this. The first, and most significant, opportunity to do this must be done by the coaches in recruiting and personnel management. Had this been addressed better, we probably would not be having this conversation.

Hey whoop87, coming from a reliable source, yesterday's two-a-days work out was one of the most positive, electric, "team" workouts the team has had in some time, going back to last year.

Maybe, just maybe, the coaches have started what you say hasn't happened? Or, are you too close-minded and focused on the past to look up and see what's in front of us?

what is this "too focused on the past" bit?

how do you think championships are won?

i guess pete carroll drove aimlessly down the streets of LA in a 1972 VW minibus he rented from some hippies and gave a 20 dollar bill to some guys he found riding courier bikes to scrape out a meager living, and that's how guys like matt leinart, reggie bush, dwayne jarrett, shaun cody, and tatupu just happened to all show up on the same day in January 2005 and without any plan or program development they somehow managed to win a national title solely by virtue of their fans and cheerleaders standing along the sideline in a big californian Care Bears Stare pumping sunshine all over the place.

yep, i guess there's no point in looking at the past to explain the present.

get off of it. yes, the corbelli teams have underperformed the past few years, but give this years chance a team there is enough negativity on this board about the volleyball team already...no i am not saying that we should blindly support the team and coaches but let them get on the court this season and see how it goes...

And for what it is worth the Corbelli's have signed two of the top fifty players in the nation for next year (the #1 player in texas) Kelsey Black and Chelsea Ringel.... google them if you want more info or a link. I agree we should see the success of the court or some changes should be made but forget about the past and let's see what happens out there this year...

how do you think championships are won?

i guess pete carroll sat aimlessly in the parking lot of the Coliseum in a 1972 VW minibus he rented from some hippies and gave a 20 dollar bill to some guys he found riding courier bikes to scrape out a meager living, and that's how he got others to go coach and work the roster because he didn't have the positive attitude to look ahead and build; no he wanted to sit and reminisce about his great success at New England:




Posted: Monday January 03, 2000 08:14 PM

Pete Carroll led the Patriots to a 27-21 record over his three-year reign. AP

FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) -- Pete Carroll, who took over a Super Bowl team in New England after replacing Bill Parcells, was fired Monday after three seasons as Patriots coach.





No, he liked looking back out that vw bug rear view mirror and totally missed the realization of what was ahead of him. yep, i guess there's no point in looking forward to grow and go; let's just look backwards.

gotta go, someone just pulled out behind me and I am afraid i might back into them - - -

http://www.aggieathletics.com/index2.php?SID=GEN&pageID=1098

Seems to me there is a message here, but I'll be danged if I have any idea what that means for A&M volleyball.

[This message has been edited by whoop87 (edited 8/10/2007 4:44p).]

As for being focused on the past, what do you think has gotten A&M down to the level of mediocrity in which it currently wallows. We did not earn 8th place in the conference by some single stroke of luck. We earned that through years of mismanagement of recruiting and personnel.

I don't guess you did very well in history, did you? Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. Let's just hope there has been a lesson learned or else it will a tragedy what has been done to this program.

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yesterday's two-a-days work out was one of the most positive, electric, "team" workouts the team has had in some time, going back to last year.

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OK, meaning what...??? Wow. They had a good practice. Again, I don't think the slogan says "Building Good Practices."

quote:

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Maybe, just maybe, the coaches have started what you say hasn't happened? Or, are you too close-minded and focused on the past to look up and see what's in front of us?

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Your enthusiasm is admirable.

However, you appear to be discounting the legitimate, critical commentary that naturally accompanies a multi-year slide from respectability into the B12 South cellar.

I don't think anyone is hoping for another year of failed results. But, if the improvement isn't dramatic, the Corbellis will very likely be packing their bags.

quote:

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get off of it. yes, the corbelli teams have underperformed the past few years, but give this years chance a team there is enough negativity on this board about the volleyball team already...no i am not saying that we should blindly support the team and coaches but let them get on the court this season and see how it goes...

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who is not "giving this year's team a chance"? i don't see where anyone has said, "aw hell this team blows lets all skip volleyball games and go suck up pitchers of beer at Northgate bars".

i'm not too worried about getting "off of it", because if all fans got "off of it", the football board would disappear overnight and this whole website would cease to have enough traffic to exist.

anyone who has read the forum in the last few years knows that i am not simply "dwelling on the past", because in the past i was right there warning about what was happening in the present. at the end of the 2004 season it was obvious that there weren't enough girls ready to step up and keep the team at a competitive level. i said so, on a couple occasions, and was yelled at by sunshine pumpers at the time, who assured me that the team's lack of readiness to compete against top 25 teams was some bizarre fluke that would disappear any day now, so i should just have faith in the coaches. well, 2005 and 2006 were not only the two worst seasons in the 15 years the Corbellis have been here, they also were the worst two conference finishes in the history of our volleyball program.

that is clearly a performance issue for the person hired specifically to ensure top notch results. and either the performance trends of our athletic programs are up for discussion and review, or you just hand all head coaches tenure like any other professor, and just kind of impotently hope that every once in a while things sorta work out.

I agree with what you are saying. I am saying though that there is enough negativity already. The season is about to begin and the Corbelli's are still the coaches regardless. So if the team is not performing to the level they should then come back in the middle of the season and we can talk then. However, i think at this point in time focusing on all the negatives of the past years and everything like that is a lot less productive or worth anyones time. I am sure that you are a great supporter of the volleyball team and am sure that you will be at every game you can, you obviously have a great passion for the sport and team. Let's just see how this year plays out...there is nothing that can be done about it at this point...so lets support the team and the coaches.

I've seen this program through the highs and lows of 3 coaching staffs since the early 1980's. It's no less a time for a change than either of the previous 2 coaching changes. It's time for new ideas, a new look and new direction. I see no need to prolong the mediocrity.

TexAgof08, thank you for being willing to meet me halfway instead of saying everyone should sit on their hands and wait. i agree that this season will probably be an improvement over last year at least, and as i said in an earlier post, it's too late to take any steps about coaching decisions for this season, so let's all get behind the team as much as we can through the end of the season.

Is wanting what's best for the program not supporting the team? I've been supporting A&M Volleyball since 1982 and I won't be any less of a supporter again this year. I want the program to return to the national prominence it once earned. With the right direction that, too, can be a tradition at Texas A&M.

The point is that it's useless to talk about the "poor" state of the program right now. The season is less than a month away and the Corbelli's aren't going anywhere before then.

AVCA DI Poll was released on Tuesday.
http://www.avca.org/collegiate/dipoll/dipoll8-14-07.asp

We received votes and are effectively ranked tied-35th. In the poll we are tied for 6th when looking at just the Big12. It's nice to at least receive votes again

richkern.com does not have us in the top 46.

I don't understand how anyone who's been following VB for more than 5 years could be positive about where the program is going.

If things turn around this year, then maybe things will be better in the future. I am very excited about the Aggies this year. My excitement about their leadership will be temporarily tempered by the leadership's legacy thus far.

quote:

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We received votes and are effectively ranked tied-35th. In the poll we are tied for 6th when looking at just the Big12. It's nice to at least receive votes again

richkern.com does not have us in the top 46.

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Thrilling.

Interesting...

Big XII coaches pick A&M to finish 4th. The AVCA poll shows us at the 7th best Big XII team.

We'll have to see which one is more prophetic.

No more padding the record against College of Sisters of the Poor. It has been a real let down to see what the program's schedule has become due to past failure.

The real test starts now.

Pessimist =LOSER

hey whoop87, coaches of major programs (presumably far more knowledgeable about strength of team than you) have voted the Ags 25 in recent Poll.

Now, granted it isn't #1 for a successive year (which would be the only think close to making you marginally happy), but it does speak for itself.

Maybe a positive word, if you really work at it, might make its way out of your mind and into your fingertips, so you could post something other than "bit**, bit**, bit**" !!