The All Star Team I Could Have Coached

As a coach sometimes you hear about the players you don't select or you send down to the second team. During the COVID season that was eventually cancelled in March, it was my first experience coaching 12s. There were a large number of girls who tried out resulting in the establishment of a first and second team. Many of those girls sent to the 12-2 team are now highly ranked. Of course, the first team also had some talented players as well.   To be fair, most of the girls sent down to the 12-2 team were younger than 12. And I really forgot the names of the girls sent down or remember their skill level at that time. Fast forward four years and many of those girls on the 12-2 team have done quite well. It is an example of how talent can develop at different speeds. Three of those girls on the second team did have weekly clinics with us to improve their skills so I remember them.   Some of the girls who made the first team were [player_tooltip player_id='279856' first='Kayla' last='Luther'] and [player_tooltip player_id='317563' first='Taylor' last='Rattay'] as outside hitters. Kayla has focused more on the libero/defensive specialist position but can still hit outside in high school. She layed for Metro at 13 and now plays for Paramount. Taylor moved to Oklahoma where she ranks number 17 in the class of 2026. She also played with [player_tooltip player_id='210539' first='Emma' last='Gardner'] from Metro after Emma moved to Oklahoma. They both played for [program_tooltip program_id='432025' first='OK' last='Charge']. Emma ranked number 7 in the Oklahoma class of 2026. Taylor's younger sister [player_tooltip player_id='534842' first='Sloane' last='Rattay'] also made the roster but because of her youth she did not get a lot of playing time. She is now the number one ranked prospect in the Oklahoma class of 2028 playing for [program_tooltip program_id='432025' first='OK' last='Charge'].   The two setters were [player_tooltip player_id='238365' first='Molly' last='Gardner'] and [player_tooltip player_id='239322' first='Hailey' last='Park']. Molly later would switch to the libero position while Hailey played a little of both. Those are the girls I remember. Because the 2021 season ended early, I never printed out any rosters so many of names have been temporarily erased from my memory.   Now for the girls from that second team:    The only thing I remember about Claire is that she showed up to our 13 clinics the following year. I kind of liked her as a setter. Other coaches thought she was better suited for other positions.   Because of my O'Connell coaching commitment, I could not really work the clinics except on the weekends. I do remember telling Claire that I liked her as a setter. At a weekday clinic where I showed up to watch a coach asked if anyone else wanted to set. The first person I searched for was Claire hoping for her to raise her hand. After a lengthy delay she meekly raised her hand and got an opportunity to set. She nailed it.   She ended up going to Virginia Juniors at 13, where someone else must have liked her as a setter as well. After that she went to [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] and is now at Metro. She has done pretty good at the setter position, rising to number 5 in my class of 2026. It would have been nice to have coached her for at least one year, but she has done pretty good for herself. Claire has committed to Columbia.     You could see the athleticism in her. At that time she wanted to be a hitter but she could not find the court. We did private clinics with her, [player_tooltip player_id='412055' first='Lilly' last='Kennedy'] and [player_tooltip player_id='238852' first='Casey' last='Yuh'] to help them improve their all around game.   At some point she abandoned her hopes of becoming a hitter and began setting. I can't remember where she went after us but she has certainly found success as a setter. I've also seen her hit a little bit and she can find the court now.   Ingrid now sets for [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']. They recently played in the Triple Crown finishing in 17th place. Ingrid has not yet committed but she can certainly help a program with her setting. She currently ranks number 30 in our class of 2027. She sets a 5/1 for Dominion and a 6/2 for [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']. If she is willing to play at the Division III level she would definitely make an impact. She would even benefit a smaller Division I school with her setting.     I believe she also wanted to be a hitter but like Ingrid she had some difficulty finding the court. Ultimately, her height limited her choice. Early in her career she switched to libero.   She played libero for [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] for a number of years. Even when liberos who I thought were better skilled transferred to [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] Lilly kept the position. This year she chose to play for Metro travel.   For National Cathedral High Lilly was a hitter and a setter. She left the libero role to her younger sister. She led her high school in assists and kills. Even at 5'5" with an approach jump limited to 9'3" she still found the empty areas of the court. That shows you her incredible volleyball IQ. She has played every position, except for possibly middle.   Lilly has yet to commit but if someone is looking for a player who knows every position, she's your gal. At some point in life, she will probably make an excellent coach. Currently, she certainly would make an excellent floor leader.     Casey had a nice volleyball career, setting a 6/2 for Yorktown and playing for a number of clubs. She was part of the trio that included [player_tooltip player_id='412055' first='Lilly' last='Kennedy'] and [player_tooltip player_id='298857' first='Ingrid' last='Smith'] that attended clinics each week. A bit unheralded because her high school struggled to play above .500 and the club teams were not elite. She does appear in our class of 2026 rankings at 189.   Her 5'4" height limited her to setting in the back row. It is possible she could have succeeded as a libero but she enjoyed setting. This year I do not find a club footprint for her. She does not appear on the MOJO 18 roster this year.     I actually did not know that Camryn was also on that team until this year. I recently apologized to her for sending her to the second team. Don't really remember what position she was trying out for at the time, but she has turned out pretty good as a libero. She ranks number 18 in our class of 2027 with Gatorade Player of the Year [player_tooltip player_id='265167' first='Laila' last='Chadwick'] the only libero ranked ahead of her. And no, fortunately for me as far as I know Laila was not a part of that 12 group. I could never live down cutting a future Gatorade player of the year.   Camryn has committed to Virginia. She made me feel a little better by telling me that she was not really that good at 11. It just goes to show you what transformations girls can make from the before teens into their teenage years    In the long run it appears the COVID year produced five liberos, four setters and one outside hitter. Some of those players ended up playing a couple positions, one position for high school and another position for club. Three of those players have committed to college.

As a coach sometimes you hear about the players you don't select or you send down to the second team. During the COVID season that was eventually cancelled in March, it was my first experience coaching 12s. There were a large number of girls who tried out resulting in the establishment of a first and second team. Many of those girls sent to the 12-2 team are now highly ranked. Of course, the first team also had some talented players as well.