Welcome to what I hope will be one small step/giant leap for high-school basketball here in the Volusia/Flagler area. Neil Armstrong I am not, but I am John Joffey, assistant coach at Atlantic HS for the last 3 years, and just a big fan of coaching, watching, and playing basketball.
"Why create this blog? Why are you doing this"
A few reasons
1)The local media coverage of high-school basketball is underwhelming, to put it nicely. The Sentinel technically includes Volusia County in its "Varsity" section, but rarely ventures out here for real coverage, and the News-Journal's cutbacks have led to far decreased coverage of stats, records, and games that leaves alot to be desired when it comes to basketball.
2)There is no Major AAU team in the area. Sure there are quite a few USSSA teams and smaller squads, and while their efforts are to be commended and most are good people with the right intentions, but the fractionalization of talent between all of these teams combined with the "superstars" going to play for Team Stat or another statewide big dog team doesnt really help. It would be nice to have at least 1 bigtime AAU program located HERE that helps get OUR kids maximum exposure. (And if you agree here, please email me, as I know of a few people who would love to hear any ideas or offers of help)
3)I want to use this blog as an outlet, from me, a local basketball "insider", and for my fellow coaches, players, and fans, to help student-athletes in this area in any way. I want to have fully updated year round schedules, stats, results, etc. I will post athlete videos sent to me, and Id love to get input from other coaches. Basically I am open to anything.
The bottom line is we should not and no longer need to rely on the traditional media for coverage! No more complaining, now we are doing something about it!
"But you are a biased source since you coach at an area school"
While I will offer opinions on this site, I will do my best to avoid conflicts of interest. One thing that helps is that Atlantic is not in the Mega-District with the 8 6A schools, so really, I am completely neutral when it comes to reporting there as I have no ties to any of those schools or the local private schools whatsoever. This is NOT a blog for me to stand on a pedestal and rant and rave. I am not Rush Limbaugh.
"When can we expect updates?"
Hopefully at the LEAST...several times a week! I am getting started right away, as I will be attending the Embry-Riddle Week Camp to catch some action. While Atlantic wont be (we are doing the Weekend Camp in a few weeks) Im sure several area teams will be in attendence and I will be reporting on it. This blog is going to be a year-round resource of information!
I tried to answer the 3 questions Id expect most people have. If you have one for me, feel free to post a comment or email me. Id love to hear constructive comments and ideas from anybody!
Very nice layout, solid & comprehensive coverage of teams and tournaments. How about a "watch out" post focusing on rising seniors from Volusia/Flagler counties who could make an impact in the college game. You could do a ranking or just segregate by position. Or maybe an interview with a varsity 'player of the month.' You could have their stats, a little profile and some pointed questions.
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