International Falls Daily Journal - Sports, Local Schools - Comments

I was just alerted to these

TVBall — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 20:47:38 -0500

I was just alerted to these posts, and feel the need to comment. I am Trappe’s mom. She has played volleyball since she was very young, along with basketball, and softball. She debated long and hard about going out for volleyball this season. In the end, her love for playing the game won out. I normally would not have let her quit in the middle of the season, but once she told me her reason(s), I totally understood. One of the earlier posts mentioned not getting play time. She did get play time, and that wasn’t even talked about when her and I talked. I will keep her reasons private out of respect to her, I don’t believe that Coach Wimmer has asked her any questions about her reason to quit. If she wishes to divulge them to Wimmer, that is totally up to her. We will continue to support LBF in all of their actives and sports. We love the school and believe we made the right choice in sending our daughter there. Good luck to the volleyball team, hope they make it to state again.

As a graduate of L-BF I am

vblover — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 00:26:44 -0500

As a graduate of L-BF I am very disappointed to read these negative comments about the volleyball program and Coach Wimmer. Peanuts, I don't know what locker room you're talking about. I was in that locker room many times and I can honestly say that Coach Wimmer always acted professionally. Coach Wimmer is dedicated, organized, and enthusiastic! She came to L-BF and made the VB program very successful. A head coach has to make tough decisions everyday- not everyone will agree with or like the decisions the head coach makes, but that's his/her job. I am honored to say I played for L-BF and Coach Wimmer. Go Vikings!

I am a volleyball girl at

Volleyballgirl — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:33:41 -0500

I am a volleyball girl at heart, I love the game. I'm also a L-BF girl at heart, I love the school. I personally know these girls and know for a fact that 2 of them have played volleyball since grade school. The thing about a small town is that these girls have an unusual gift, they are able to play with basically the same group of girls from early elementary school until they graduate. In doing this they get to know each other's strengths and weaknesses. By the time they reach the varsity level they should feed off of each other's strengths and that's not what's happening. The girls that quit undoubtably love the game, I know this. When you love the game you play through all the aches, pains, bumps and bruises.........both physical and emotional........for the love of the game. Sometimes the emotional aches and pains are harder to overcome, especailly when it is something that seems so unfair. The very sad thing is that these girls are talented, but they didn't get a fair shake. As mentioned before, the "favorites" don't get taken out no matter how many mistakes are made, it's VERY obvious to the fans. It is too bad that talent goes unrecognized in girls (like the ones that quit) because, bottom line, they don't have the right last name.

It’s obvious that you know

Peanuts — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 09:20:39 -0500

It’s obvious that you know a little bit about what is going on, which is a good thing, maybe with two minds, we can figure it out! I would be interested to know how many games they did not attend. I’ve been at a lot of the games, but then I wasn’t paying close attention to who was actually sitting. (LBF keeps the games interesting and the fans view focused on the floor). I guess I’m not a big enough fan, because I didn’t even realize there even was any tournaments yet this year. If you have been to the games, you can see that the coach has her ‘favorites’ and they can do no wrong (this has been discussed in the fan section-even by parents of the ‘favorites have noticed, so it’s not just my opinion), even if they are having a bad night, she wouldn’t pull them out for anything. Another thing that is very obvious is that the coach does not promote team playing. There are nights when you can see that the team as a whole is not getting along. It shows on their faces and in their body language when they walk out the door, and carries through throughout the game. I realize that it’s hard to get so many girls not to bring their bickering along to the game, but yet the coach should be there to guide them and let them know that this sort of behavior won’t be tolerated. Speaking of behavior, I’ve heard about the yelling and the hitting of lockers and throwing things, and the berating of certain players when the team goes back into the locker room. Is this appropriate? In my mind, a coach is not only someone who instructs the team and trains them in the sport, but coaches also set an example as to what type of behavior is appropriate. If a coach acts a certain way, then the team feels that it’s okay for them to act the same way, no matter if it’s good, bad, or otherwise. Back to my original thought, when these three girls quit, I’m wondering if the coach sat down and talked to them to find out WHY. Who knows though if she would have gotten the truth. Guess it would depend on how she asked the question and if she was defensive, or if she really wanted to know and was willing to listen and perhaps even accept (gulp) criticism of herself. I would think losing a starter and another player that saw floor time (your words) would be a big deal in the middle of the season. I had mentioned the grades in an earlier post, because I was showing that these girls aren’t quitters on a normal basis. They work hard and keep their grades up, and they’ve been involved in volleyball since they were young, which in turn show that they just don’t give up and quit something for no good reason. I’m looking forward to the game on the 2nd, to see how the coach has handled these issues. If she doesn’t face facts, she has a losing team on her hands. I'm sorry, I don't understand your comment "good luck getting the REAL story". What's up with that? Is it that you don't you think the coach will/can and/or tell the truth? LBF has been to the state in volleyball, and without some changes made in the coaching, I can't see them going back to state for some years to come, which would really be a shame.

I realize that dedication

LS2003 — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 22:16:47 -0500

I realize that dedication includes sitting on the bench and supporting the team. How often though? When they felt like showing up? And what do grades have to do with anything? Obviously all the girls have good enough grades to play. Two out of the three girls saw playing time and one was a starter. I think you would be suprised to see how many games they DID NOT attend, including tournaments. Good Luck getting the "real" story.

If they are showing up for

Peanuts — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:30:43 -0500

If they are showing up for games, tournaments, and practices, what would the answer be. Also, keeping their grades up is important, and I'm pretty sure (but don't quote me) that I have seen all of their names on the honor roll. Dedication is also sitting on the bench and supporting the team even when they know they probably will never get a chance to play. Volleyball is the one team that I have seen in LBF that does not rotate it's players and give the second string a chance to play. IF the second string is put in at all, it's MAYBE for a full minute. I still think three team members in two weeks is more than undedicated team players. I will still support LBF sports, including volleyball, and hopefully will have a chance to talk to the parents of the players and get their point of view. You are right though, should the sports editor decide to interview the coach, she would probably say that they were not dedicated, but then maybe he could look at their past records and see how many practices, games and tournaments they actually missed, and get the real story.

Maybe some people think that

LS2003 — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:00:10 -0500

Maybe some people think that expecting athletes to be dedicated and actually show up for games, tournaments, and practices is asking too much these days. It ultimately hurts the team when players can't be counted on and the coach has a right to be upset. If these particular players decided they couldn't be as dedicated as they needed to be, than it's best for everyone that they quit.

Well, maybe the new sports

Peanuts — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 13:15:48 -0500

Well, maybe the new sports editor will talk with Coach Wimmer and ask her why she lost three players in two weeks. I know that two of them (Hell and Trappe) have played volleyball since they were young and would have had to have a good reason to leave the team. Both are athletes in other sports, so why would they be willing to give this one up.

Too bad our "new" Sports

Jb2002 — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:32:04 -0500

Too bad our "new" Sports Editor was not at the game or we would have an idea what you are talking about Peanuts. I guess going to the bar to watch the Twins is more important than going to the local volleyball games.

To bad the Vikings lost

Peanuts — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:11:18 -0500

To bad the Vikings lost another player this past week. Three in two weeks, makes you wonder what the coach is doing.

The girls varsity A & B

fb56 — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 14:03:16 -0500

The girls varsity A & B practices are by invitation only. They are not open to all high school girls.

The Minnesota State High

Joe Krause — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:15:17 -0500

The Minnesota State High School League has recently changed the rules regarding coaches contact and allows coaches to conduct camps with players in the months of June and July. Captains practice for fall sports begins in August and will run up until team practice starts on August 11.
The basketball camps were open to all current Falls High boys' basketball players and each player participated as they were able. Conflicts with work and family vacations limited some participation.

How is this allowed? High

fb56 — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 08:45:05 -0500

How is this allowed? High school sports used to have captain's practice about a month preceding the season and the coach's could not participate. All kids went out for captain's practice until the team was picked when the coach's season started. Now the coaches can pick a handful of kids to teach skills and plays and I guess for the rest of the kids the handwriting is on the wall. According to this article it sure sounds like the coaches are involved in the preseason basketball.

Jake Youso Update: Jake has

Joe Krause — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 22:18:56 -0600

Jake Youso Update:

Jake has been nominated for the Prep Hockey North player of the year award.
Prep Hockey North is a website devoted to all things prep hockey and is a great source for information about local boys high school hockey teams.
To vote you can go to www.prephockeynorth.com and vote on the left side.

Schmitty, As far as as I can

Joe Krause — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 10:31:00 -0600

Schmitty,

As far as as I can remember, I think he skated all three lines in the third period. The pictures that I took during the period showed all three lines at one point or another. I think as the game tightened up and time wound down, he may have shortened his bench in an attempt to match lines.
Since the Broncos were the home team, Prettyman could put the line out that he wanted with what line Decenzo was sending out.
I think that maybe in the last five or so minutes of the period he may have shortened the bench a bit, but the goal was just a miscue in a game that everyone in the building knew was going to be won on a bounce or a break, it is just unfortunate that the Bluejackets got the bounce and not the Broncos.
My thought all year is that our second and third lines were just as good if not better than the majority of the first lines that we faced. He just short shifted the first line to give the team the best possible chance to score, at least I think that was the thinking at the end of the game.
I hope that answers your question.