The La Cueva Incident

I was criticized for some comments I made on an article I wrote last week that have since been removed.  The removal was partially due to the fact that I did not articulate my thoughts very well. To summarize, I basically wrote the issue at La Cueva had been dealt with, things were learned and it’s none of my business.

To clarify further about what was written in that article:

Point 1: I don’t know exactly what happened and have no interest in knowing.

Pretty self-explanatory.

Point 2: About the lessons learned.

I think this point is where the misunderstanding was. This was not a statement about preferential treatment towards players, how rules can be broken if you’re a standout or even volleyball. I was trying to convey that the players apparently made very poor personal decisions and were lucky enough to have someone intervene and say,  “Hey, this is not good for you.”

The next day in the Daily Dig article the mere mention of La Cueva ignited a firestorm of opinions. I appreciate those opinions and thank everyone for being generally constructive.

Disclosure

Now the disclosure: I’ve been talking in passing (at tournaments) to Julia and Mr. Warren since the 2010 club season started. I also conducted an interview with Julia before this situation occurred. I do not communicate with the other players or parents on the La Cueva squad.

Julia is a phenomenal player, no doubt about it. In my opinion, after having interacted with her, she’s a friendly, respectful and genuine person. In that respect, I’d go to bat for her any day.

Am I a fan of Julia? You bet! Just like I’m a fan of Sarah Fountain, Nathalie Castellanos, Hannah Syling, Jordan Bruere, Monica Corrujedo and many, many other players from New Mexico and El Paso. I will unapologetically support Julia and the rest of players on the website while they progress through their prep volleyball career.

What do I think?

Again, I don’t know the details. I agree players need to learn about being “honorable”, and fulfilling their disciplinary  obligations. I also agree that it’s not fair the others who worked hard in their absence and now have to sit out–but that’s my opinion.

With all that said, the punishment was dealt with according to the policies and guidelines established by the Albuquerque Public Schools. They were enforced by the La Cueva athletic director and coaching staff to the letter. I believe following the punishment exactly to the letter of the law is where the whole issue lies, but again, it’s just my opinion and something that cannot be solved on a website.

It is obvious the NMAA kept an eye on the situation and because they haven’t taken any action and it looks like the case is closed. This conclusion was reached through my amazing powers of deduction.

What to do if you still don’t agree

If you don’t agree with the way things have panned out and discussing the matter on the website hasn’t been a cathartic experience for you, I would encourage you to discuss with your respective coach and athletic director and the NMAA.

Why am I posting this?

While comments on the posts have been innocuous, some of the emails I’ve received have not. I’d like to clarify that while I’ve had this interaction, I am not partial to the La Cueva program or even a coach Nunley super-fan (a very amusing suggestion).

While I respect your opinions, the object of having this blog is to encourage, support and give all the New Mexico and El Paso teams more exposure–grumpy emails do not accomplish much; please save your energy for supporting your players and teams.

With that, I’m pretty much putting this to rest and hope you can, too.