The Lady Longhorns are out of the gates this season in convincing fashion as the DHS volleyball team rolled to a pair of victories Thursday evening.At a triangular held in Weeping Water, Dorchester defeated Palmyra in two sets, 25-20 and 25-20. The Longhorns then went on to wallop the hometown team, crushing Weeping Water in straight sets by scores of 25-16 and 25-22.
DHS head coach Jodi Fintel is returning six starters on this year's Longhorn volleyball team, which includes four solid seniors.
One respected sportswriter told the Times that he believes the DHS volleyball squad should be ranked in Class D-1. Dorchester is currently unranked in both the Lincoln Journal Star and Omaha World-Herald prep polls.
Based on the Journal Star polls, ranked D-1 teams in the immediate area are Mead (No. 5), Freeman (No. 6), Giltner (No. 9) and Pawnee City (No. 10).
The Lady Longhorns will again be in action in Hampton on Thursday, Sept. 11, in another triangular.
Those girls were really fun to watch - they pound that ball and play well together. Jodi might be young, but she's making things work! Good luck girls! -- seeing the girls play like that last night will stir some talk....maybe this will be the year.
ReplyDeleteTime will tell how good these girls can be. They get a big test this Thursday when they play Hampton and Giltner. Hampton is in a rebuilding year, but Giltner has a good team back this year. If they beat Giltner, they should get mentioned in the rankings.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, this coach needs to do something about building a program. When she took over, there were over thirty girls out, we are now down to twelve or thirteen. You build a program by starting with activities for elementary kids and then showing interest in and encouraging your Jr. Varsity. Look at what the Football coaches are doing. We need the same for our Volleyball program. This years team should have success, it would be a great time to get younger kids interested in volleyball.
Started with 30 and down the 13? This is what is really wrong with the kids going through school right now. There is no "suck it up" to them. If someone doesn't get playing time, they quit. If they don't get along with the coach, they quit. For goodness sakes parents, teach your kids some life lessons. Make them stick with and finish what they start.
ReplyDeleteIt really bothers me there are grumblings about this coach already. Two years ago, we had a very capable coach in Brian Rut. I'm not sure why he was let go, but he is definitely a good guy and knows the game. It seems as though this coach has the girls on the right track, so give her a chance.
Parents, show your kids some perseverance. Don't let them quit just because they aren't playing or don't get along with the coach. Life doesn't let you quit everything that throws you a challenge.
I thought personal comments about coaches wasnt allowed. If that wasnt a slam to the vb program I dont know what it.
ReplyDeleteHow many kids are out for football? At the game on Friday I only counted around 20. Maybe its not the coaches and its our society and the way kids are raised.
The football team wasnt overly impressive friday night.
Stick to blocking and tackling and quit worrying so much about the tunnel walk.
When's the next vball game? I'm ready for a DHS victory. Yes, they deserved to be ranked.
ReplyDeleteOk.. I have to say that I agree with the kids on quiting because you if don't get along with the coach and if she donesn't like you then for sure you will be sitting on your butt. Believe me being a coach you have to be on the kids level and read them.. To build a strong team.. everyone has to get along with each other even the COACH.. So maybe you have a different way at looking at it but, first and for most the coach has to be the one to listen and watch how hard the player is trying in practice and give them some credit.. Once you let them on the floor once in a game they will want to work harder...
ReplyDeleteI do not think it is fair to come out here blaming things on the coaches. The coaches work hard to try to teach their players the game. They put in a lot of hours during the summer making sure the weight room is open for athletes to come work out. They expect their athletes to work hard during the summer. Those good teams that Dorchester plays against, they have 10+ years built on good summer weight lifting programs where their athletes come and work hard even in the off season. Coaches can talk their heads off trying to teach and showing their players the adjustments they need to make in order to grow and do better. It is up to the athlete to take their advice and trust that this will help them if they keep working on it. There is one thing I learned as an athlete, from a coach that I did not like at all... The moment he stops nagging at me is the moment he has given up on me. And I still use that advice today. None of us are perfect and no matter what a coach does, there is always going to be someone complaining. We just need to be supportive of our young athletes and encourage them to stick to the sports, even when things aren't going their way, or they are going to have a rude awakening once the leave Dorchester.
ReplyDeletewho ever left the comment about the football team needs to leave that to them selves cuz i bet you are or were one of them kids that was to lazy to go out for a sport
ReplyDeletemaybe you should back the football team up instead of being negative when something goes bad! You are part of the negative people we have in this town
ReplyDeleteFor the record, we agree with "Anonymous" (Sept. 9, 9:45 a.m.).
ReplyDeleteIt is unfair to blame the current crop of coaches for lack of participation in DHS athletics. We see the participation woes as a problem with the culture -- locally and nationally. It will take a coordinated effort to reverse the mindset of DHS students, as well as some parents.
Here are three easy steps that can be taken by Dorchester parents, boosters and school officials to restore the order, as it were:
1.) Support efforts like the DHS football coaches' youth camps and instructional seminars. A student is more likely to participate in athletics if he/she learned the game at a young age.
2.) Bring young children to the games. Longhorn pride is what fuels extracurricular participation. But school pride isn't necessary innate; it needs to be learned early or it may not be learned at all. (Besides, high school games are one of the few family-friendly activities left for under $5 a person.)
3.) Keep good coaches at DHS. This one is directed at the school board. We think some of the recent turbulence in DHS athletics is due to the rapid turnover in head coaches. Dorchester was once known for its "programs." Establishing a program is nearly impossible if a different coach is at the reins every other year. When you recognize a great coach -- who is both positive and a good teacher, who sees coaching as more than just a job for some extra cash -- do whatever it takes to keep him/her. That is how you can most effectively and rapidly change culture and the mindset of students.
We'll get off our soapbox now. Blog on. And go 'Horns.
yea so the football team didnt do so hot on friday. that was against the number 8 team in the state. there was alot of mental errors in that game, little things that can be fixed. give it time. there is no reason they still cant go 7-1
ReplyDeleteFirst, let's keep in mind that "the programs" are supposed to be a chance for young people with the guidance of a coach to grow, learn, and prepare themselves for life, with the help of a coach. One of the best coaches I ever had, I did not like, and he was good for me. That is why the programs are mostly paid for by tax payer dollar set aside for EDUCATION.
ReplyDeleteSo, the coaches are people who have committed the working part of their lives to helping students and to also continuing to learn themselves. Yes they may help our kids's attitudes, but they are working with what the community sends them,The students are learning to better themselves through sports. Let them both learn, and support them in their efforts to get better. Kids need to learn how to deal with different coaches, they aren't all touchie feely. Tom Osborne did not critique the people associated with Nebraska as much as many of you have to a high school coach. And he did not place as much emphasis on winning as some of you do to high schoolers and coaches. Save the critique for the pros. These students and coaches do represent the community, but their mission is to learn and to prepare themselves for the future. Some of you blamed the old coaches too, but has anything changed.
Youth sports programs are fine if the student wants to participate. But we sure have alot of burned out younsters and our high school numbers have dropped. Too much too soon I say. Healthy fun participation for our youth is what we need. How about end zone football against the other team, while the varsity is playing, or a simple game of catch dads. I think making them wait until they are old enough is a better motivator. Youth programs are good as machines to separate the stars from the average guys, but only in big cities. We are not a big city and we have very few stars. An older athlete can master the fundementals much faster than a baby. Why would a young kid want to represent their town when they get older, when they have already had an experience (probably bad, or over hyped like little league state champion which doesn't mean squat) with a youth sport. spend more time on homework, or risk working for the non-athletes some day. balance balance.
Maybe a more balanced and sane approach to "the programs" and more focus on learning will help us to get great teachers, and if they are treated right and they will learn and become great coaches. Small school like us need to grow our own more, were not Nebraska and I don't think we can pay a coach by how many wins they get. my best coach said that coaching and teaching were the same. how may of you would trade straight A's for a state championship.
We are more than sports teams. Try to get this excited about your students grades, or who they are as people. Good people can be good at anything, focus on that first and use sports to do it. Lets be diffrent than other towns, and not fall into the trap of letting our kids sports be who we are.
dweller I am not sure this is the best use of space to criticize a coach, it will not help us keep them. Education is one thing but sports is another. Think about it.
I'm sure that my comments are not going to be popular with many readers on this blog as most want to lay blame the "lazy" kids. Lack of participation in sports isn't a nationwide problem, in fact quite the converse (see: http://sports.espn.go.com/highschool/rise/news/story?id=3570816).
ReplyDeleteBut I'll speak frankly with what has happened in many small communities - the participants last name is more important than ability. I did participate in sports in Dorchester over thirty years ago, and "sucked it up" - even though my playing time clearly suffered due to my last name. You may think this was only in my imagination, but when I finally did get the chance to play, I did extremely well as did the team (in fact set records). I knew why I didn't play, as did my friends (several who did quit). It was no surprise to me that school board kids played more than myself, even when they had extremely poor skills, or that the kids of other community leaders also seemed to have a big playing time advantage.
Most kids are very bright and quite perceptive. When they feel that their playing time isn't based on their abilities, but rather on extraneous factors that are out of their control, they simply choose not to participate. It is no different than working in a workplace that embraces nepotism - good people quit and move on. In fact, this is the right thing to do if you have any ambition.
Perhaps this is no longer the case in Dorchester or perhaps it never was and was only in my imagination (not likely, but possible). If this isn't the case any longer, then I agree that kids should participate, as they seem to be doing elsewhere in the US (see earlier story).
I'm not trying to create a stir or controversy, but rather speak frankly and create a dialoge about possible reason why kids aren't participating more in sports (other than they are lazy, and I don't feel kids are any more lazy now than they used to be).
In addition, participation in a sport should truly be fun, and if it is, I think you will have more success with getting kids to participate. Lets face, probably none of these kids will make their living being a professional athlete - maybe some will go into coaching, but that is about it. So make it fun and a positive experience for everyone involved, not just a select few. You will see participation go way up.
Whoa, "Anonymous." You're putting a lot on that plate.
ReplyDeleteClearly, most of our readers simply want more kids at DHS to participate in athletic competition -- to have fun, to grow, and to complement their formal education.
None of us at the Times is under the illusion that Dorchester will become a production line for professional or Division I athletes.
At the same time, we know the lessons learned on the field or court are sometimes just as valuable as those learned inside the classroom walls -- even for those athletes who don't see a lot of playing time.
That's all.
As one that did get straight A's through school (except for that danged algebra class- Schultz!) I would gladly trade those marks in...for a state championship.
ReplyDeleteThe article states there are 3 seniors out, but there are 4 seniors out this year. Wendy Boller, Amy Havlat, Erica Spanyers, and Molly Prachiel.
ReplyDeleteTo anonymous:
ReplyDeleteYou played in Dorchester 30 some years ago? And you think you didn't play because of your last name. The board members kids played when you didn't? You're also saying that's why kids aren't playing now.
I'll be it had more to do with attitudes -- you haven't grown out of it.
Anonymous (Sept. 10, 11:17 a.m.):
ReplyDeleteThanks for your watchful eye. The correction has been made.