[OrangenowBlue]

Do kids go to private schools because they have a "volleyball" gene in their family tree which inherently makes them better players than county school kids? No! They go to the private school first and foremost because of an education. The talent of players in the county school system is the same as the private schools since ALL kids are born in some county somewhere. It is the level of the coaches that makes the difference.

Most private schools that are successful in sports are located in large metropolitan areas and near multiple states. Sacred Heart, Assumption, and Mercy are able to pull players from the Louisville metropolitan area as well as Indiana. You are right that they do have good volleyball coaches but they are not getting these players from scratch and making them into top quality players. They are already getting a good work in progress. These players play club volleyball year around, something most rural county kids do not have available. These coaches are allowed to recruit from any elementary/middle school in Louisville, therefore they have the pick of the litter. These schools have 800 to 900 girls while most schools do not have this many students total. In private girls schools the focus is solely on the girls so they are going to have the best coaches, all the money spent on them, and all the attention. Not counting that most of the parents are upper middle class and wealthy and have the money to support the travel of their team and send their children to the best camps across the country. County schools in most of the state has less resources, poorer parents, and the school systems cater to the male athletic programs. I do believe that most of these young ladies that attend the private academies were already good volleyball players at a young age and choose these schools for their volleyball programs. The quality of competition these girls play day in and day out does make a difference. If it didn't why would they spend all that money traveling throughout the country playing in the best tournaments.