Not to pick on Bonner, but she's a product of a system (club and high school) that is focused on winning games, not developing players.

I saw Bonner a lot as a high school player, and it was clear she could only go left and wasn't a good three-point shooter. At the lower levels, her athletic advantage masked those limitations, but as soon as she moved up, she became easy to guard.

Ideally, coaches would have focused on developing Bonner's all-around game as a young player, forcing her to develop a three-point shot, and taking away her left hand in practice to make her add to her game. But it's all about winning at the lower levels, and if Bonner missed a bunch of threes in a club tournament loss that no one remembers today, everyone would have been upset with the coach.

I don't know Bonner's family, but there are many parents who only want their club team to win games, and if they don't, they move the player to another club. So club coaches have no motivation to develop talent, only to let more athletic players dominate with athleticism rather than add skills.

It's not that much different at a lot of high schools.

Now maybe Bonner never could have been better than she is now, but from what I saw, the system didn't give her a chance. And hey, she got a free college education, traveled across the country and played P4 basketball, but she is a gifted athlete and maybe could have had a pro career, if she wanted.

It's sad more than anything else.

Excellent analysis, Clay. I know from my older daughter's experience that it's the same with club volleyball. It's all about winning. Some players languish on the bench for most of the season My philosophy when I coached youth soccer was that everyone needed to play. But for most of club sports every game and every match is treated like a cup final. Players have less fun and don't develop their skills or overcome weaknesses. As you pointed out, Amaya is a good example.