By: Volleyhype blogger.
War memorial hosts players attempting to earn a spot on its varsity volleyball team slightly earlier this year as The T-birds volleyball team will conduct open gyms at the War Memorial starting in early august.
Two weeks have gone by for those who have arrived to UBC campus to participate in several open gyms to eliminate any rust that has gathered over the summer. Many new faces have joined the 12 players from last year’s season who have started playing with aim to earn a spot on the traveling roster to South Korea at the end of august and to join the Birds full time come September. Still some have not graced the group with their presence as Ian Perry is training with the junior national team and competing in the junior norcecas tournament. Also Milo Warren has yet to make an appearance on the hard court; both athletes are expected to be a part of the open sessions within the next week.
The first session commenced with a highly talented group eager to showcase what they have to Head Coach Richard Schick and newly appointed assistant coach Chris Densmore. Some athletes came to Vancouver looking like completely new players while some have not changed from our last memories of the past season. Certainly all athletes came fully rested and have been demonstrating excellent work ethic and a motivated attitude that is sure to produce some spectacular battles for court time.
So far the players who have been in the gym include…
Setters: Ryan Zwarich, Chris Klassen and Rex Fenton
Outside hitters: Nathan Schuck, Rob Gotch, Tanner Kozak, Robert Bennet, Demijan Savija, John Cordonier, Ben Chow, Garret Lavalley, Christian Herema.
Middle Blockers: Joe Cordonier, Jeff Ross, Yari Kozel, Cary Brett, Kyle Duperron.
Liberos: Blair Bann, Phillip Ngo
Some high school players who will grad in the Class of 2011 from Manitoba and Comox valley have also participated in the open gyms. Outside hitter Jared and Noah who were very impressive during their time at war memorial gym along with setter/outside Brad Gunter whose size as a setter at 6’7’’ ~215 lbs proves to be a much sought after quality. All three of these athletes are possible future birds and have what it takes to be strong performers.
This year the battle between the outsides is of particular interest. It seems that Nathan Schuck will be moving back to the right side after a season spent primarily practicing and did not suit up for competition on the left side last year. He has impressed in the past two weeks as he is in phenomenal shape and is looks like a more determined and hungry player on the court. He is chasing Demijan Savija who has spent the off season doing bar work and rehabbing his knees. After the past season spent dealing with injuries look for a healthy Savija to do some serious damage in Canada west this year. * For those who don’t know, bar work involves finding a playground and performing various body weight exercises to improve upper body strength.
On the left side, the over saturation of players has left Coach Schick with some huge decisions to make as all are performing well but still the questions remains who will be “the guy” as right now there is little separation between P1 and P6. Robert Bennett has impressed early on as he remains to be one of the craftiest left sides on the court. Tanner Kozak returns with his fundamentally sounds game and will be looked upon to step up and perform to his full abilities on a consistent basis. Tons of Raw talent fills the gym this year as new comer Garrett Lavalley has performed well in his first two weeks on point grey campus. With much to learn him and Ben Chow who is crowned this year’s top recruit will both be in the running for starting position come September. Rob Gotch, brother of former T-bird Standout Steve Gotch has joined the group in attempts to earn a spot on the t-bird roster. Still new to the game it appears his growth curve is exponential as his playing experience has been in slumber for the past several years and is now a 22 year old who is basically a freshman. Keep a watchful eye on this Okotoks, Alberta native as we have all witnessed what Gotchs can do. Through all this smoke we can’t forget John Cordonier who is still growing and very determined on the court and the fact he is a Cordonier offers the impression of impressive genetics, as well as Christian Hereema who has been deemed a “freak athlete”, and once his nerves settle will be a solid competitor. Chow, Lavalley and Hereema are this year’s true freshman and will provide a very strong supporting cast for a thunderbird team filled with CIS veterans.
The battle in the middle is almost as hot of a topic as the leftsides. Returning T-birds Joe Cordonier, Yari Kozel and Cary Brett are joined by newcomer Jeff Ross and returning to the middle after a season spent playing basically all positions is physical freak Kyle Duperron. As all are in good form the obvious two strongest are Joe and Kyle but the depth of the thunderbirds lies within the middle as all 5 players have a wealth of experience and are wanting to leave an impact on the league this season.
Phillip Ngo represents a young Vancouverite attempting to join the Thunderbirds team at the libero position. Three time Canada west libero of the year Blair Bann is back for his 5th and final season in the Blue and gold and Ian Perry who has recently earned a spot on the Junior national team look to be locks as the defensive specialists but Phillip brings youth, determination a ton of azn speed and depth to the position.
Finally the setters, the key to the entire system, last year’s starter Ryan Zwarich has continued his hard working ways and will be looked upon for leadership this year as it is also his 5th and final season of CIS eligibility. His set quality is not the question as he has buttery smooth hands and at 6’3’’ he brings a strong presence to the court. In the next couple weeks he will be looking to work on his athleticism and leave his mark on Canada West throughout the upcoming season. Chris Klassen who joins the birds after 3 years at Capilano University will be new to the CIS this year but has maintained his steady game play during the past two weeks and is a very versatile athlete. Look for him to work on his physicality over the next couple months and complicate the race to see who will quarterback the men’s volleyball team this upcoming season. Rex Fenton has just recently joined the camp and looks in good form. Last season he saw limited action behind Ryan Zwarich but the battle this year looks to be extremely spicy as Fenton enters his third year and surely will be hungry for playing time.
Still many questions need to be answered, who will continue to perform? And who will start performing at a higher level than anticipated? What will the combine reveal? Although no stock has been increased or decreased from physical testing scores, once the combine has taken place it should provide some support to coach Schick in regards to the tough decisions that need to be made. One thing is for sure that the culture of the team needs to change and once the group has been decided this process will slowly but surely begin. As the South Korea trip approaches’ training is surely to intensify as roughly 22 athletes will be competing for a spot on the 16 man roster traveling to South Korea and the honor of being a Thunderbird.
Stays tuned to next week’s article as we take an in depth look at some of the new faces and key performers of the Thunderbird crew.
Thanks for reading
-Team VolleyHype
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