|
You've heard about that incredible sports team from Venice High School. It dominated opponents throughout the fall, racking up victories, culminating in a District Championship for the 7th year in a row. Hell of a team.Hell of a season. Seriously, you just have to love these girls. Yes, our beloved Venice volleyball team: the pride of Venice and South Sarasota County. They're media darlings, athletic icons, hard-hitting princesses with the keys to the city. Right? Wait, I'm sorry. You mean you didn't know Venice's volleyball squad went 22-8 this year losing only to Berkeley Prep, St Thomas Aquinas, Tampa Prep, Mercy, Leon, and Lakeland High?
You didn’t know that Venice Volleyball won the state title in 1998 and 2005? Who has won the district champs the most in the past 10 years? Venice Football of course 7 times in the last 10 years! Oops mistake… Venice Volleyball has won the district championship every year since 1996 except one year. Can you guess? District Champs the past 7 years in a row – Venice Volleyball of course!! Tomorrow Venice plays for the Regional Championship against Plant High School at Venice High School at 2PM. The team deserves the same treatment and respect at our Venice High School Football team. Today on the front page of the Herald Tribune ran this article “Rallying around unbeaten Venice” and it was not talking about Venice Volleyball but Venice High School Football. The volleyball team is just as deserving of star treatment. Outside the school, these girls' efforts are almost entirely under our radar. I'm not naive. I've loved football my whole life. I know football and volleyball are appreciated on different planes, especially in Florida. I covered high school sports for years. If you've never seen a volleyball match, let me tell you a few things you need to win a state title: - You need players willing to hurl their bodies onto hard gym floors to "dig" balls spiked by opponents.
- You need players willing to go sprinting off the court, occasionally smashing into benches, to keep the ball in play.
- You need players willing to block opposing players' spikes at the net, occasionally taking a face full of volleyball, point blank, at brutal velocity.
In the past 10 seasons, Venice has won the state title in its size classification 2 times and has been Regional Champion 4 times in the past 10 years! In a state the size of Florida, in a sport often dominated by private schools - that's virtually unheard of in any sport. That's all the more reason there should be more celebration for Venice coach Brian Wheatley’s spikers and setters. This program is a dynasty. But outside of Venice and the prep volleyball community, who knows it? Tomorrow at 2PM at the Venice High School Gymnasium Venice will be playing against Plant! The Teepee will be rocking and you should be there. Let’s make sure that there is not one empty seat in the Gym. The Venice Indians are playing for the Regional Championship!!! Based upon an article by Rick Gershman |
News 
