บทถอดความฉบับเต็มของ Episode 20

idea. On a side note here, you had mentioned, some of our fans writing in questions and things. We're gonna we're gonna be addressing some of those comments and questions later on in today's podcast. we really appreciate any feedback people have and questions and things that pop up in your mind help kind of drive some of the content that we have. So thank you to all those people out there listening. We've gone from basically zero viewers or listeners. Right. To over three John Skarupa: Yeah. Scott Sundgren: thousand now. So that's yeah, that's a pretty good growth for just about a month, a little over a month of shows. So John Skarupa: Yeah. No, who who who thought about, this even, six months ago, Scott, of having a podcast and actually having the the support and and growth. And, I think people are just finding it just super cool to just finally have an outlet for volleyball. and speaking of that outlet, I I I think, you know, we're we're talking about building for the future, building to support this new brand, you know, and the the community support. I I think that that bigger vision comes with the reality and, unfortunately have to be a little bit transparent about this, but everything that we've built so far has, taken a ton of time, both from from Scott and Mike's perspective. Obviously, money with, w the investment that we made for the website, everything that we're doing, putting out a good quality product. obviously I ha some amazing, you know, tremendous supporters of the Queens of the Burg, you know. Jim Schwarky's been our our supporter for the Queen's Player the Week, obviously Premier Wealth Partners, Mo's, Calucy Chevrolet, Junk Luggers and Remix Market to name a few really cool supporters. So, you know, with us expanding our outreach and and developing new programs and trying to do anything we possibly can, including the staff program that I created, you know, I'm eventually gonna put it out there, hopefully in the Apple store. it will be a fee, so those using it right now, you're lucky 'cause it will be a a fee very, very soon. but we're trying to get money back into this, program, this image and everything like that. So we can start doing some cooler stuff. I'd love to be a bigger sponsor for many different programs, especially maybe those just starting out or or maybe need, some stuff. I want four one two volleyball to be a sponsor of clubs of of torments of hopefully the Whipul if they ever, you know, bring down their their their five di digit entry mark to to get a to be a sponsor. You know, the We Surf First Foundation, we sponsored it last year with everything we're doing with the with the fall classic that we unfortunately were not able to do to do this year. But you know, if there's any businesses out there, you know, not just, asking for for you to write a check, but we we want people in organizations who want to support young athletes and want to support the area and understand the value of what high school sports can bring and and want to have a positive impact. So, we're looking for for sponsors. We're looking for businesses that wanna get their name out there, whether you're, a volleyball or sports-related business. But if you have, desire to sponsor, reach out to us at info at four one two volleyball.com. we'd love to to hear about it. We'd love to figure out a way we can have a good partnership. And like I said, it could just continue to s expand our reach, not trying to line Scott and I's pockets. You know, more so what we can provide back to the community and really make this something that people fall in love with. Scott Sundgren: think it's really important for, the volleyball community is so strong that we can continue to support some athletes, even as simple as athletes that may want to participate in various programs in the area, but financially or sh the the family is not able to provide that, whether it's for the for any number of reasons. But to be able to provide opportunities for kids to play volleyball or be part of volleyball and from youth all the way through club would would be awesome as well. So, again, any any sort of sponsorship that s you as a individual or company could provide would be very welcomed into the volleyball area here. So we could continue to branch out into other facets of supporting this community. John Skarupa: Yeah, and and I wanna just give a a shout out to Tim Toy and the We Surf First Foundation. And that is their exact, business, motto to help get kids into different programs and stuff. So I definitely want to support Tim and like I said, that's where I really hope that our you know our new venture can really help support his g gain a little bit more note notoriety and and help more kids. So but yeah, anything else you wanna add on that, Scott? Scott Sundgren: No, I'm good to go. I'm ready to start talking some whipio playoffs here. John Skarupa: yeah. let let's talk about, you know, Whip Yule playoff volleyball and and the highs and and lows of of what this past week, you know, brought and you know, we're into, if I'm not mistaken, the semifinals for for most teams, right? Scott Sundgren: Yes, we are. And interestingly enough, NA hasn't even played a match yet. As a a interesting six A, you know, with the way that's this that falls. So I find that that one's kinda crazy that their first match is gonna be tomorrow night. John Skarupa: Yeah, i it's definitely it's definitely very weird and I think that's just something that we're gonna have to get used to, even though I keep kinda looking at it and saying, Man, there were seventy-eight teams that made the playoffs out of a hundred and twenty eight total. Maybe that was just a a hair over the percentage of of what this should have been, and a lot of buys were were given out across the board and you know, how can we make this a little bit better and more organized? 'Cause Like you said, NA hasn't played a match now in over a week, and you guys had an awful schedule.

And you're gonna have an even more awful schedule for for five A, you know, with a Scott Sundgren: Yeah. John Skarupa: Monday, Wednesday, and then they played Monday, Wednesday, Saturday. And then of course the the four teams that qualify for states for five A will have to play the following Tuesday. So that's four matches in in s eight days. that's a a lot of volleyball to to be played and a lot of high level volleyball. So Scott Sundgren: Yeah, it's interesting. I I I've talked about this in the past. we I even brought it up in the boys season. Like we played the semi final Whippy O game on a Tuesday and then we played the finals on a Thursday, which is kind of a quick turnaround. You know, the whereas I look at like basketball, it seems like they get a week almost all they they have so much more time in their Whippy O playoffs. I I don't know if you've ever noticed anything like that, but I feel like, man, they just they're just cramming volleyball through. John Skarupa: Yeah, and then I look at, the the winners of or sorry, the the second and third place potentially playing, you know, the winner of like district nine and district ten, th they get done a week ahead of us. You know, they have a full week off and I think if I'm not mistaken, that's the same thing for boys, right? They get a a week off before they start playoffs for for states after the whip build, typically, right? Scott Sundgren: Well, so la last year as an example, we did that Tuesday, Thursday, and then we had to wait until we actually had time off after the Whipio finals because the other district hadn't even finished their district championships yet. So I don't know John Skarupa: Yeah. Scott Sundgren: what our rush was to get that done. We could have taken an extra day or two, but you know, it's it's I'm not sure the ti I'm not sure they're all maybe the districts don't communicate. I I don't know. I'm not at that level. I don't talk to the state PIWA reps regarding this. So maybe there's reasoning behind the things they do. I don't wanna jump to any conclusions, but it does seem a little ti the timing on it does seem strange to me, but you know, whatever. John Skarupa: Yeah. But anyway, let's get into some some breakdowns of what we have going on this week. And I think we can start with with one A. we're gonna talk about I think is it one one A plays, of course, the this week or Monday and five A and six A play, but right now for for the semifinal number one, we have Eden Christian versus Saint Joe's, at a neutral location at Schaylor High School at six PM. I got to see Eden, they actually were playing the game after us last Wednesday. they played a Western Beaver team and and Scott, I was, you know, expecting Eden to kind of, you know, completely roll this team that I never seen before. And, Scott Sundgren: Yeah. John Skarupa: you know, I have to say that I was actually very impressed with Western Beaver. You know, Eden did win three the scores might have been a little bit more, you know, lopsided, but the Western Beaver team put up a a big fight. for for the first, half of every every set, and I was really impressed with with them and a few different players. They had a some nice outsides. They had a a decent middle. they just, you know, eventually got overpowered by by Ian Christian, who's a very, very good school with with their top guns, Aaron Hall, and of course Emily Murr, and then the Oliver sisters there. and of course Adlin Matt Matthew, very good. But Yeah, they get to play a a St. Joe's team and that Saint Joe's team is incredibly scrappy. but I think that's gonna be an interesting match. I I don't know if I wanna go to NA tomorrow to see Pine versus Seneca and then NA ball winner, or if I wanna go to Shaler and see Eden and Saint Joe's and then for Chartiers and and Shaler play. Either one, and I think it's gonna be a really good match and two matches to watch. Scott Sundgren: Well, I know where I'll be. I'll be up at NA. So I'll be watching the NA match. but you know, I looking at both at these matches, I'll tell you you got St. Joe's and Aquinas kinda you know, really came on strong. We talked about them throughout the past several weeks and you know, they're clear they've done a good job here. And now we got them playing up against Eden and Sarah. So yeah, I think you're right. Interesting matches to be had. And then we go roll into these five A matches. I we fell last week to a a strong Penn Trafford team who now has to go against a strong Upper St. Clair team. Chartiers Valley taking the win over Trinity to play Shaler. And then Kiske, I think what Kiske was over Plum on this North Catholic matchup, and then Armstrong winning over TJ to go up against Peters in those four what quarter final matches. John Skarupa: Yeah. and again that the five eight bracket just is is super long. But yeah, those are some interesting ones. I I'm curious to to see, obviously a lot of people are I think picking T J over Armstrong, but Armstrong has some pretty pretty good players always and really I think gave T J a little bit more that that they were able to handle. But those were tight sets. I think those are twenty five, twenty three, twenty five, twenty two, twenty five, twenty. So, you know, really good volleyball. it's a three loss, but I think the scores make it a little bit more even. But yeah, Peters versus Armstrong, I have to say I think obviously Peters is gonna be very favorite. that Penn Trafford and Upper St Clair match is gonna be really interesting, I think. you saw Yeah. Scott Sundgren: No, I think they match up. I agree. I think they match up pretty well. That's gonna be an interesting one. They got big middle over Pentrafford. good good setter over at St. Clair. Pentrafford setter, she was very good against us. So I think that's gonna be an interesting match. And you know, it's funny you talk about the size of the five A bracket. I feel like the five A is representative more of what the past

however many decades have been with, you know, our district with four classifications. It's just feels like normal to me. It's the other brackets that I look at that I I'm like, Wow, this one seems so small. John Skarupa: Yeah, mu mu must have been nice to have bye, bye, bye, bye, bye. Yeah. So well, the Scott Sundgren: Yeah. I didn't have buy, bye, bye, bye, bye, but John Skarupa: one a one and four A had a lot of buys. Scott Sundgren: Yeah, yeah, right, right, right. John Skarupa: but yeah, I I'm I think that the two matches that I'm really, like I said, interested for five A is Penn Trafford, Upper St. Clair, and then the Schiller Charters Valley game. I I don't know what to expect with that. You know, I think that's a very interesting matchup with with some really good players going against each other. So that's of course seven thirty at Schaler on Monday here. So that's an interesting one. And of course North Catholic and you know first year head coach Jewel Miller and and Kiskey running up to to North Catholic High School for for their tilt against the number two team in five A. also I don't know if you were wa watching this, Scott, but if I'm not mistaken, the five A bracket was the first bracket. To be a hundred percent eliminated with any perfect bracket out of all six classifications. and right now, Scott Sundgren: I I John Skarupa: yeah. Scott Sundgren: I just happened to look at it. Yeah, I just was looking at now, yeah. Zero perfect brackets out of five A, so John Skarupa: There's only what, I think if it's twenty seven perfect brackets out of two hundred forty-eight total. one A only has one, if I can take a look at Scott Sundgren: Which on a side note, hey, thanks to all the two hundred and forty-eight people that shelled out brackets, man. That was pretty awesome to just throw those in there. I appreciate all that. John Skarupa: Yeah, no, it was fun and I I've been enjoying it. And I even was talking to my boy, the West Allegheny Athletic Director, Vladimir Saint Surin, one of the coolest names and and a really cool guy from West A that I had the pleasure of of seeing him on two different two different occasions last week and and talking to him and he was really digging this bracket site that that we created. So hopefully we'll get a little bit of Whipple support. when we do this for me or the boys. and I talked to Ryan Sell from PVC A and we're gonna do a P A double A bracket challenge once of course all the the the playoff brackets are out for the States. So definitely cool, cool stuff going on. But I think we need to flip Scott Sundgren: Nice, it's awesome. John Skarupa: it over to to six A, right? Scott Sundgren: Yeah, six A, we've got big what you've got Pine Richland, Seneca Valley. That's a battle of the North, and then North Allegheny played taking on the number one South team with going against Baldwin. So I I mean that Pine Rich and Seneca, they've played each other twice already. North Allegheny's played Baldwin once. So I don't know. Two matches that are gonna be interesting. It and we're already in the semis, right? Seems like hmm interesting. Yeah. John Skarupa: Yeah, no, mean that's what the the problem is with with seven teams only making in the fact that NA's been off for a week, like you said, and not getting a chance to to cut their teeth with playoff volleyball, with a lot of newcomers to that NA starting lineup. So I'm interested to see how that match goes for NA. if Baldwin's able to take a little bit of advantage of already being in that, that mode, even though they've been off, they play Tuesday. So they almost been off for a full week as well, but at least they got a the their first taste of playoff action. But yeah, I don't know. I I I think the Pine and Seneca game is gonna be one of the ones that I'll be looking forward to seeing the results of. And like I said, if I end up sitting next to you at the match tomorrow night, that's interesting volleyball. That's all I can say is Scott Sundgren: You you'll find me up in a corner with my headphones in. It's usually how I watch sports. John Skarupa: Well, if if I'm there we're we're talking volleyball the whole time, so you either talk to me two nights in a row for for hours upon hours, so your favorite thing. Scott Sundgren: That that would be an honor for anybody, John. Anybody. We move over to Tuesday and we're looking at a couple well, we had two A and four A matches playing out. John Skarupa: Two and four A. Yeah. Yeah. The semifinals for for both of them. we got Olsh versus Snango, which is a repeat of the very first game of the year for both of those teams, which Ulst I think won three O. And then Fort Cherry and Frazier. I don't know. Did they play already this season? I I think that they might have just because they're so close to proximity a little bit. Scott Sundgren: Yeah, I can't remember, but that to me, that one sticks out in this I'm looking at these two A and four A games there, but man, that really that four Cherry Fraser game sticks out at me, you know, just looking at that. Hmm. It's gonna be a good match. John Skarupa: Yeah, I'm trying to Yeah, no, that it's gonna be really exciting and I think that those are the four best teams for for that bracket. So you know, props to the to those teams for for really making it out. And I did look this up. Frasier did play Fort Cherry early this year and and did win three but that was well over a month ago. So, you know, hard to beat a team a second time, if not a third time. and you know, potentially setting up a a rematch of I think for Cherry and Olsch, the to co-section chance for that section number was it section number one or sorry, section number three. but yeah, that that's gonna be very, very interesting and yeah. And it how how many Scott Sundgren: We got another team we've been talking quite a lot about over the time is this Greensburg Salem, who's been very good this season squaring off against a very good Hampton team. And then

we got the one seed Oakland Catholic up against Central Valley as well. John Skarupa: Yeah. No, I think all roads lead to to to Greensburg versus Oakland, I think something that a lot of people have been calling for for a little bit of time, but obviously I was trying to figure out the how many bids everybody gets and all four of those teams are are one win away from being a P A double A qualifier, which will be huge, especially for I think, Greensburg Salem who I and Central Valley who I don't think have been represented in a state tournament in a little bit of time. Hampton, of course, went on a very good run a few years ago, with with Emmy Strom, who's down at Duquesne, and of course Oakland Catholic was in the finals last year against Pope John Paul. So one one went away for for those four teams to to make it in there, you know. And then interesting Scott Sundgren: Right. John Skarupa: enough, two A, all four of those teams have a qualifier already. You know, they all have all qualified. You know, it's gonna two A's gonna take their four teams there. There will be a third place constellation on Thursday. But yeah, that's an interesting interesting challenge here for this week. So Scott Sundgren: And then we move over to well, you're gonna be on Wednesday. You guys see Wainsburg and then Freeport plays Seaton LaSalle. Two good matches. What are your thoughts on Wainsburg? John Skarupa: I have a lot of respect for for Dan. I think that that is a great school, a great community. a couple of my favorite players, of course, not wearing an Av North uniform, have played for Waynesburg, you know, with with Bailey Rafferty and Annie Cree who have both graduated. but they're it's gonna be an interesting game. You know, I think both of those semifinals are gonna be really, really tight, you know, highly contested. I doubt anyone sweeps either team. and I think it's gonna be make for a very, very long night and warn my girls already that bring brings some homework and we're gonna scout both teams after because no matter what, we have to play one of them, either for a final or for a constellation to get a potentially I don't know if it's a better matchup or not. I g I don't I have not looked at the P double A bracket yet for us. But all four of our teams have qualified, which is great, you know, really fun for for all those teams to to qualify and and play in a state tournament game. but yeah, the the Freeport vers Seton i is gonna be a very interesting match, I think. I don't know what to expect, besides a an offensive versus a very defensive team, with Freeport being three top guns and and Seaton being really, really scrappy and really defensively sound with of course, a few of their own top guns. So Scott Sundgren: Yeah. It's gonna be interesting. there's always that question. You see with football all the time, you know, who wins? Is it the defensive team or is it the more offensive team? it I think traditionally, at least with football, I feel like the defensive team has a little bit more control. But volleyball's not football, we know that. And volleyball definitely the defense is gonna help you, but I s I still believe you have to have somebody who's a terminator. Someone's gotta go out there and do a job. John Skarupa: I exactly. But although, it's volleyball is a game of mistakes and if you're the team not in the opportunity to make a a hitting mistake, that might that might work for you. there's a few teams that I think believe in that very, very heavily and and continue to send a second ball over or first ball over just to say, Hey, Scott Sundgren: Hey. Yeah. John Skarupa: take take the ball and and see if you can score, you know. it's definitely a weird weird motto, but I've I've seen a lot of teams do it. But yeah, and the other Scott Sundgren: That's that's the theory of winning through attrition. John Skarupa: the stats may be in your favor. Which speaking of stats, did you try the the the after three points you call a timeout and you win the next point eighty five percent of the time? Scott Sundgren: I I did try that and I honestly can't remember if it worked or not. I was trying to manage some other things as well. But that I I will be incorporating that more in my in my game theory as as I move forward in, you know, however many more years I coach here. John Skarupa: but the air matches on of course Wednesday will be the five A semifinal. So the winners of of course the Monday night game for five A. speaking of their state qualifiers, they are all one win away. Four will go for five A, our largest bracket, and very deservingly so. and they will be in our team that will play, you know, of course, Wednesday and then Saturday either for the finals or for that third place game. So, you know, will it be the top four seeds or will a Armstrong, Kiskey, Upper St. Clair, and Chartier's Valley wanna, rein on a potentially, perfect, four seed bracket there. Scott Sundgren: Yeah, you never know. Like I said, I I it's been all it already gets interesting every time we get into the Whippy O'Playoffs. I just play off playoff anything is interesting. My father in law, he always says it's why you play the game, right? So and this is a perfect example of that. These the it's anybody's chance right now to go out there and do it. And even if like you got like you're talking about qualifying teams, state qualifying teams. How many teams have we seen that come out? We know that the top finish in a whip you and then They go into states and they struggle and one of the teams that didn't moves on and plays all the way into the semis even finals. And, so I there's still a lot of opportunities for teams, even if they don't make it all the way to the finals, to do some damage at the state level as well. So I think these next few weeks are going to be really interesting for these teams that are still hanging around. John Skarupa: Yeah, especially since last year we saw, two out of the three or sorry, two

out of the four brackets, you know, the second place team out of the Whip Yule made it all the way to the state finals. You know. that was something, you know, unexpected, but I think that just shows how evenly matched teams are and you know, how how difficult it is to to beat a team for a second time or a third or fourth time and depend on how many times you play that team. So it it's Scott Sundgren: Well the John Skarupa: definitely Scott Sundgren: I was gonna say the unfortunate part is you're not gonna see that at the six A level though for us, because only one of those guys we've been talking about all season long. It's a little bit of a thorn in my side. you know, I've had conversations with some of the coaches about it. And you know, I just I feel like there's definitely, you know, should be an at large bid giving one of those teams an opportunity. It's one of those other six eight teams to get in there. But you gotta win it all. And there's no changing that right now, so John Skarupa: I was trying to figure it out on how how they could do a better job and b but still keep the format. And I think that was the one thing we talked about with Mac at the beginning of the year is you play a best of five all year and then, it was a tournament style. Playing a best of three bracket, is that fair? And I I agree that we we should play the same way, everybody else does. it's four quarters for for for for football, same time, everything. But I did think about a way that I think that they could potentially correct this for not only our most difficult, you know, pathway to to the states with with a force R6A, but I have to assume there's other districts out there that also have this potential problem, you know. And I think the fairest way of doing it is I I think that teams get a max of two automatic qualifiers, you know, for for your for your district if the numbers support it. so for example, the five A and and three A bracket both have four automatic bids. Maybe what it happens is we just get two automatic bids and those bids go into an at large pool, you know, with anyone else who might be above and beyond. You know, for example, for six A, the district one has what, six different representatives, Scott Sundgren: Right. John Skarupa: and I think three has three district three has three or four. I can't remember they have three or four. They four. so take four bids off of the one district and take two off the other one. And now you have six at large bids to give out to a Pine Rachel and Seneca Valley, you know, NA, whoever, or even a Baldwin, you know, they make their way through. And I think that that maybe makes it fair, you know, because I think there are, you know, those bids in both sides of the bracket, which typically represents West versus East and stuff. I think that's a fair way of doing it, And I think that rewards teams for going out to, Wilson, going out to state college and playing maybe some of those different teams, and and really trying to grow the game instead of just staying here locally, Scott Sundgren: No, I agree with that. And I I think there are, there's other sports that set that precedence. The problem is it's not team necessarily. I I I know that swimming. I had daughters that swam. And I will tell you that they for ex the Whitbule is a very strong swimming district. And there's another district out east that's also a strong district. But what they'll do is they give every top finisher in whatever event, they instantly get a state bid. And then they'll just roll the numbers down than the rest of them, right? So there are there are numerous swimmers who f finish in the top eight out of the whip wheel that get a state bid, even in eighth place, just because their times are better. And then you'll you know, you'll end up having a kid who wins out of some of these districts in a s in an event and you know, they won't even be seated in the top, you know, sixteen. even though they won their district. So again, there there's there's precedence for it. I'm just not sure there's been any team sports that have done that. I do know that golf, both boys and girls golf do have an at large bid for states as well. So there's other other teams that do it. I I don't know how they would do it for the volleyball, but I definitely think that is probably one of the best suggestions out there right now. John Skarupa: Yeah, or you know, go to do what we did during COVID. Only one team makes it the states. You know, do you like football? You know, hey hey, we're just gonna take one team. If you win your district, you're gonna be here and you know, for example, I know district seven, I think it's an automac buy into the into the semifinals for the state tournament. So they only have to win two games to be a state champion because of those numbers. So maybe that's what happens is we limit the amount of teams that that get in. It's hey, you win or you lose, you know. Yeah, there's no second place, third place, fourth place gets a bid to state. I wouldn't mind seeing that happen because I think, the the state bracket is a is a long bracket. It's another two weeks of playoffs and digging its way into, the the final being November twentieth or or twenty first. That's a that's it's a long season when we started, back in June Scott Sundgren: Yeah. John Skarupa: and doing preseason stuff and then of course tr What was it? I think the thirteenth and fourteenth were were tryouts this year, which was I think a week later than what we were expecting. it's a long season, you know. And it's a lot of a lot of volleyball and a lot of volleyball in a short amount of time of high l high level games and stuff. So and I think it would eliminate the the one question that I think we we got from the fan if if unless there's anything else that you wanna discuss here with the the state bracket or or w playoffs or anything. Scott Sundgren: No, no, I'm good. I've I've said my piece. Then I'll probably say it

again next week, so John Skarupa: Yeah. But the our we'd a fan reach out and and ask, you know, hey, is this expected for the Whippyel to give so many home games to those top seeds, you know, for all the different brackets. and I think that that's been what the Whippyel has started to go to is rewarding the top seeds and also it is not easy to find a school willing to host especially at the state level, and we'll talk about that, after we we kinda address the w the Whip Yule for a minute here. But, there's a lot of a lot of stuff you have to do to put on a WhippUL game. you have to of course Scott Sundgren: Absolutely. John Skarupa: f find the the the staff. it's a announcer, you have to have an announcer now. You have to have of course a dedicated book person who knows how to do book. You have to have a scorekeeper, you have a site manager, you have a game manager. Of course people doing the the f concessions. Yeah. Yeah. And y it it Scott Sundgren: You have concessions. You you gotta get somebody in the new concession stand, people to manage tickets. there it's a lot, John Skarupa: Yeah. And you had to find Libera tracker too, which I just learned last week that we don't pay the libero tracker for a volleyball playoff game, So that was the one position I had to unfortunately have a J V girl and and borrow someone from Eden for their match of like, Hey, we'll we'll cover everything else, but you need a we need a libero tracker. So I don't know why the Whip Yule said, Hey, we you we'll pay everything else for for this and Except for Libera tracker and it's not a a lot of money. Yeah, I think it's fifty dollars per per gr roll for whatever you're doing across the board. You know, and if you're there for three hours, 'cause you gotta get there a half hour before or to an hour before, depending on what job you're doing, you know, then the match could be a two hour match and then of course clean up and and and break everything down. That fifty dollars does not go very, very far with with gas being I think what, four, four seventy five or something like that again. We're we're close to five bucks for for a count of gas. Unfortunately, but Scott Sundgren: Well, I'm gonna I'm gonna go back to things that I've heard people discuss over the years. One of the things that we've talked about in our own gym, and I don't what you do about it, but having kids call lines in varsity matches. I know some people hire refs, some people have their players doing it. I I think, you know, that that's also an interesting point of discussion on a you know, what what do we if we're gonna put this kid on a table and give her or him a responsibility. We're gonna put somebody on the lines and have a responsibility, I think that they should be, you know, in some way paid for their time. And I I think that that's important to recognize. I mean these, you know, the I don't know. I I don't I've I've mixed feelings about whether players or referees should be on the lines. I know that the challenge is the volume or the number of referees that we have. in volleyball is is tough as it is. but again, it's just one of those things that's interesting. You would I don't think anybody in Western Pennsylvania would stand for a high school J V kid standing on the sidelines of a varsity football game on Friday night controlling the chains or doing anything else. So, you know, just saying. John Skarupa: Yeah. And I think, as the game becomes better and and and volleyball continues to grow, you know, the the speed of the game is at at its peak. You know, division one, you know, volleyball for for girls is extremely fast, you know. And for those referees to make a split second decision, you know, it's very, very difficult. And, you know, we have talked about, you know, the changes in the game, everything and you know, basketball introducing the the shot clock, you know. And of course now Division Three implementing the the Hawkeye replay system, at w at what point do high school games start to get, you know, electronic five, you know, and and and get a Hawkeye system, you know, and if it's available, can can you have a challenge, you know? I think the five A and six A schools would probably love to be able to afford or can afford that and and love to implement that in of a, you know, a way to challenge something like an in and out call or potentially a touch call. obviously the net and lifts and everything like that would follow the the rules. But it's interesting because someone asked again, hey, do you think we're gonna have replay when we go to the state final at St. Francis? They have, the the 1820 camera system, are we gonna be able to to utilize that? And I said probably not. You know, no one knows how to use that, let alone, you know, are we gonna Scott Sundgren: Right. John Skarupa: trust a coach be able to to to use that challenge effectively or they just gonna challenge whatever the heck they want and use it as a ch a way to to challenge and slow the game down. but I I I could see in the next, you know, three to five years that potentially they make that an option for a replay. And especially for football. And I think honestly after this past two week there, I think was it was Ringold versus Kiske that, you know, that very, very bad miss call where the the the kid was down, both knees were clearly down and hands Scott Sundgren: Yeah. John Skarupa: were touching and and the dude ran in, seventy more yards and, they end up winning that game. And I think that's one of the reasons why Ringel's not in the playoffs right now. So I could see, potentially an FHS saying, Hey, if you can afford it, we'll we'll use it, in and we'll use it in in this criteria, this ground, or or we'll implement it for a state playoff game or four division games or something like that, not for our every game, But that'd be kinda interesting to see if replay becomes a little bit more prevalent here in the next three to five years. Scott Sundgren: How many

cameras did you say need to operate for that ego out of work in a volleyball match? John Skarupa: I think that it's eighteen or twenty, if not mistaken, 'cause you're gonna have two at every line, every corner, You're gonna have one at the net. you're gonna have one at the ten foot line, you know, at both different directions. So I think if it's not mistaken, it's supposed to be two in every corner, it's eight. The net would be nine. If the other side is cover two, it would be ten, you know, and then of course both directions for the ten foot line, you know, I think it's Scott Sundgren: Yeah. John Skarupa: so is it fourteen? Fourteen cameras and like I said, I think that that might be overkill. You know, it might just Scott Sundgren: Yeah. John Skarupa: be four cameras for the corners and then one maybe along the the wall for the net or something like that. But I think a five camera system could catch a lot of stuff, you know, depending on on on how you eff effective do it, you know. So Scott Sundgren: Well, I'll tell you right now, I I got a one camera system and I catch some stuff on that huddle cam, so I don't I'm not John Skarupa: Yeah. Scott Sundgren: sure we need that many cameras that you're talking about, but if you added a few more and you gave an opportunity for at least one challenge, it would definitely add an interesting dimension to the game. And I think we were talking earlier, you brought up the fact that, you know, they're bringing the shot clock from the college game down into the high school game for girls and boys. So that's gonna change things around and I don't know. I I think over time, right, as technology gets a little cheaper on cameras, it's pretty cheap now, but as it gets cheaper on cameras, then, maybe it'll just be more affordable for schools. So they could get even Huddle offers a package where you get a couple extra cameras to put up. you never know. John Skarupa: Yeah. Yeah. But and I think that, you know, getting the conversation back to the the home matches and and just the difficulty in in finding places to host the these state games, you know, it's always the funny comment of, you know, you make into the state tournament and besides the first round, which of course goes to the district winner will host that one game if their, you know, core can can make it available. but there's a lot of small, small one, two, two A schools hosting these five, six A matches, for state games and and because no one wants to host. It is around, Scott Sundgren: Right. John Skarupa: you know, Thanksgiving time and we just taught about how difficult it is to to find all those different positions, especially concessions, you know. A lot of people don't want to host, you know, and I and I don't blame not wanting to host, you know, but it just it really s Scott Sundgren: we I definitely give a shout out to those schools who are willing to host. So that we really John Skarupa: Yeah. Scott Sundgren: do appreciate that. Just I appreciate

all the referees that are out there doing this job and though, sometimes the ranks are thin in order to pull it off. But again, we do appreciate all the support staff we have that make things operate on a weekly basis. we don't always think about how how much time that actually takes. John Skarupa: I I just wish that, in defense of one I definitely appreciate everyone who hosts, but when you get into the state torment, you know, I we have so many volleyball schools, colleges and and and universities across the entire state. You know, I know they're still fighting for for a potential chance, but you know, I I really wish the the state would say, Hey, you know, we're gonna make it these days and stuff like that and this is a perfect way for your school to make some extra money, your volleyball program makes some extra money and stuff and and put as many matches as possible at, those universities that have, bigger support staffs of kids living on campus that just want to maybe make a, fi fifteen dollars an hour to work a a two hour, three hour, four hour, doubleheader match or something like that. I think that could be the the the solution to a lot of challenges with that, but I don't Scott Sundgren: Well, you're talking like what? How many years ago were we playing football, Whippy old championship games at what was that time, Heinz Field? You know, I I don't know, there's just something to be said for putting a champ we're w such a sports town like we are with so many and now Pitt has a beautiful new facility. Just sitting there right for the picking for some whip yo games. They play the Whitby girls and boys in the Pete. I I I don't know. I I I feel like those that that's a venue that's would be great to have some high school volleyball finals at. And I'm not taking away John Skarupa: No, I I Scott Sundgren: from Peters. I don't want to take anything away from Peters. I just it's a it's a different feel. That's all I'm saying. John Skarupa: Peters definitely does a phenomenal job of of hosting. their their their court is beautiful. They have tons of locker rooms and everything like that. They have, really gone ab above and beyond for ever all the hosting that they're able to do and and a lot of credit to them. But I I completely agree with you. Having the championship at our RMU, that those two years was a cool experience. Now, from what I know, you know, every two or three years that there's a bid that goes out to host these different championships, and that's why St. Francis got on the on the bill for this year for of course the state final. But if I'm not mistaken, Peter's bets every year, I think like a dollar or or zero dollars, you know, and RMU and other places, you know, are their bit of, you know, hey, they want to be paid five thousand, ten thousand, fifteen thousand. I just really wish that we just would get out of the high school arena and play at, like you said, a a pit. You know, Duquesne just completely renovated was a Cooper field

house what three years ago. It's immaculate. RMU's Scott Sundgren: yeah, they're it's beautiful. The facility's absolute beautiful. Yeah, it's awesome. John Skarupa: phenomenal. I have not been at Chatham, so I can't say, you know, what their facility looks like. but you know La Roche I think has a really nice gym. You know, it's just not big enough to host, you know, Scott Sundgren: It used to be there. John Skarupa: it used to. And I know the the funny thing was Everyone yelled. Scott Sundgren: Ha ha ha. John Skarupa: Everybody yelled that it was at at La Roche and that's a home game for North Allegheny and and it shouldn't be there and and this is, bull crap. And now all of a sudden, we have the flip side of it that the girls, and and Peter's is very, very, very good for the these last year and of course this year and probably next year, obviously again. and they're gonna get a chance to host a a home game, that's, credit to them for, being able to do that, but probably should be at Pete or RMU or Duquesne or or or somewhere else, you know. it'd be interesting, you know. Scott Sundgren: Yeah, no, I agree. I agree. Well, hopefully that answers the question and a little bit of discussion. Thank you to who wrote that into us. We really appreciate that. Gives us some good good stuff to talk about. If you have a question or if you have some information that you are interested in us talking about or us just even bringing up the discussion, please send it to us so we can bring it up on our show. John Skarupa: Yeah, and if you want to just talk to Scott now, Scott has his own email address. It's Scott at 412volleyball.com. Or of course you can reach out to me at John at 412volleyball.com or just send it to our info site. You know, but anything you guys have or anything we should talk about, you know, definitely wanna, you know, bring it up here. and definitely very excited to to to build this four one two program w with you, Scott, here. but why don't you take us home and and wrap this up? Scott Sundgren: Well, that's gonna wrap up episode twenty. Hard to believe it's episode twenty of out of rotation. And before we go, I just want to come back to something we talked about at the beginning of the show. When I look at the teams still competing in the Whippy Hill playoffs, the crowds showing up that support them, the coaches putting in countless hours and the athletes who have worked all year for these opportunities. It reminds me exactly why we started doing this in the first place. There's something special about the volleyball community here in western Pennsylvania. And I truly believe it deserves to be recognized and celebrated on a bigger stage. And that's what we're hoping to build with 412 volleyball. We're proud of what Queens has become. We're grateful for everyone who has helped us get to this point. And we're excited about the opportunities ahead. So make sure you check out our new website at 412volleyball.com. Follow our new social media pages. And if you or your business would like to help us continue growing the game, we'd love to hear from you. And to all the teams still competing this week, congratulations on making it this far and best of luck as you chase those whip field championships and state tournament opportunities. For John Scrupa and myself, Scott Sangrin, thanks for listening to episode twenty. We'll see you next time on Out of Rotation, presented by four one two volleyball.