It interesting how everytime someone points out how many good teams there are in Southern California, there is always a long discussion about the demographics
of the area (population, income, etc.) to point out that somehow it's not fair to compare the region to others.
The answer is pretty simple. Southern California was the original hotbed of volleyball. Kids, particularly those is coastal areas, grow up with volleyball as one of the biggest, if not the biggest, sports. Many of the kids here have parents who played and pass on their knowledge of the game. This "volleyball environment" is supplemented by lots of good clubs and many, many qualified coaches and therefore the region continues to produce good players. It is indeed, akin to ice hockey in Canada, or lacrosse in Maryland, or turkey hunting in Arkansas.
That said, everyone is Southern California is well aware that there isn't a big gap between SoCal and other regions anymore, particuarly Texas and the Midwest, and that SoCal teams have been far from dominant at JOs in the past years. Still, I'm not sure why VBreporter's pretty simple presentation of the numbers ends up being picked apart.
The absence of many of the strong Midwest teams had a predictable impact on regional representation at JOs: it increased the number of qualified teams from the two other strongest regions in the country: California and Texas.
As for the number of qualifiers So. Cal. teams attend, with only a few exceptions, most teams in SoCal attend the L.A. Qualifier and one out-of-state qualifier. This seems reasonable and about the norm for Open teams across the country that are serious about qualifying in Open. In fact, in the age group I am most familiar with this year, the 14s, all of the So. Cal. qualifying teams did just what I described, while some teams in other regions attended three qualifiers. In addition, it should be pointed out that the LA Qualifier is notoriously one of the most difficult qualifiers. If So Cal teams were flush with money and intent to qualify, they would be more likely to skip the LA Qualifer and attend two "out-of-state" qualifiers. This would likely increase their chances of qualifying (particularly this year, with the absence of the JVDA teams).
So, how about some So. Cal love?
The answer is pretty simple. Southern California was the original hotbed of volleyball. Kids, particularly those is coastal areas, grow up with volleyball as one of the biggest, if not the biggest, sports. Many of the kids here have parents who played and pass on their knowledge of the game. This "volleyball environment" is supplemented by lots of good clubs and many, many qualified coaches and therefore the region continues to produce good players. It is indeed, akin to ice hockey in Canada, or lacrosse in Maryland, or turkey hunting in Arkansas.
That said, everyone is Southern California is well aware that there isn't a big gap between SoCal and other regions anymore, particuarly Texas and the Midwest, and that SoCal teams have been far from dominant at JOs in the past years. Still, I'm not sure why VBreporter's pretty simple presentation of the numbers ends up being picked apart.
The absence of many of the strong Midwest teams had a predictable impact on regional representation at JOs: it increased the number of qualified teams from the two other strongest regions in the country: California and Texas.
As for the number of qualifiers So. Cal. teams attend, with only a few exceptions, most teams in SoCal attend the L.A. Qualifier and one out-of-state qualifier. This seems reasonable and about the norm for Open teams across the country that are serious about qualifying in Open. In fact, in the age group I am most familiar with this year, the 14s, all of the So. Cal. qualifying teams did just what I described, while some teams in other regions attended three qualifiers. In addition, it should be pointed out that the LA Qualifier is notoriously one of the most difficult qualifiers. If So Cal teams were flush with money and intent to qualify, they would be more likely to skip the LA Qualifer and attend two "out-of-state" qualifiers. This would likely increase their chances of qualifying (particularly this year, with the absence of the JVDA teams).
So, how about some So. Cal love?
