KOREA GOOD EXPERIENCE FOR WOLFPACK MVB PLAYER July 5, 2010
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Matt Krueger in Korea with SKK
Going to university is supposed to bring a young person not only knowledge but life experience. For Matt Krueger of Abbotsford, BC, his time at Thompson Rivers University has seen him not only participate in the CIS National men’s volleyball championships but now getting the chance to go to Korea.
The now 2nd year player has spent the last five weeks learning the sport he loves at SKK, a university in Seoul, South Korea. Krueger became the fourth WolfPack player in as many years to get the opportunity to hone his craft. It was the latest in a long term relationship between the Athletic Director of SKK, Dr. Han-Joo Eom and the head coach of the WolfPack, Pat Hennelly.
Krueger says he learned a lot during his time with SKK. “The intensity, focus and dedication that the Korean athletes perform on a daily basis is unbelievable. I’ve never been apart of anything that comes close to comparing to the level of training which I got to participate in. It was a real eye opener.”
Krueger and his SKK teammates spent some 6-8 hours practicing, lifting weights and working on their fitness. Most of the sessions were at least two and a half hours in length. Not only was the Mennonite Educational Institute graduate curious about Korean volleyball and culture, but he fielded a lot of questions himself about life in the CIS. “ The players at SKK have been to Canada and have played against TRU and UBC, sothey had many questions about certain players that they have played against. They also had a lot of questions about how the game is played in Canada and how its different than the game they played.”
So, how would Krueger stack up CIS volleyball against what he experienced in Korea? “If TRU and SKK played against each other who would win?” Krueger explains. “ I would have to give TRU the upper edge a little bit, but the SKK team is very skilled. They passed the ball extremely well. Without a doubt, it was the best passing I have ever seen. As well, the hitting and blocking were very precise. It would be a good match. I hope sometime in the future it’ll happen.”
Krueger says he’ll take a lot away from his five week ‘tour’ which he hopes to put into his game with the WolfPack in 2010-11. “This experience will bring more intensity and communication to my game. The Korean players worked hard and were intense in every single drill and every single point that was played. During these drills, the gym was never quiet. Those two skills will definitely stick with me and hopefully I can include them into my game this coming season.”
Reflecting on his experience, Krueger undoubtedly asked if he would go back. “ Yes, I’d do it again. It really is an unbelievable learning experience. I learned so much about volleyball and life. I hope to keep it with me forever.”
Krueger will be back with his WolfPack teammates preparing for the upcoming Canada West season in late August.
SIDE OUTS: Krueger says his trip to Korea wasn’t without some pitfalls. “ At times, the trip had its hard moments. The culture in Korea is very different and communicating with the coaches and players was sometimes challenging. I needed to learn and understand the culture there. But, once I did, everything came together and I began to feel more comfortable. I have to give a big thanks to everyone who worked with me in Korea including Dr. Eom, Mr Park and the entire SKK volleyball team. They all welcomed me and helped me out greatly.
One of the highlights of his time was watching a Pro FIVB World League game and seeing how professional volleyball players worked.
He adds “ Off the court, while being in a new culture, I learned a lot about myself. I did many things that I never thought I would, so I believe I became stronger by going on this trip.”
Krueger followed in the footsteps of Tim Flannigan, Andy Haley and Kyle Donen as TRU players who went to Korea to train.
WOLFPACK WOMENS BASKETBALL-PRESENT AND FUTURE ON DISPLAY THIS WEEKEND. June 30, 2010
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Kayla Forsyth will be one of the WolfPack Players involved this weekend (A. Snucins)
Basketball takes center stage this Canada Day weekend at the Tournament Capital Center and the TRU Gym.
This weekend (July 2-4) will see 18 teams taking in the 4th annual WolfPack summer shootout girls basketball tournament.
Three of the teams are local: two coached by WolfPack women’s basketball head coach Scott Reeves. The other is being directed by SFU Clan and former South Kam Titan John Bantock along with Lindsay Langill, the Dean of Trades and Technology at TRU.
“This tournament has been very beneficial for us in the past,” says Reeves who will not only direct his WolfPack team in the U-17/Open division but also the Okanagan Under 14 BC Summer Games team. “Alex (Allen, guard, Calgary, AB) was recruited for the WolfPack last year at this tournament. We also have a potential recruit coming from Saskatchewan to play with us.”
The WolfPack team this weekend will consist of returning veterans from the CIS squad of 2009-10 minus forward Tracy Kocs (Port Coquitlam, BC) who is unable to attend. TRU will meet up with the Chilliwack U-17 squad in their first game Friday (July 2) at 3:30 pm on the TCC Championship Court.
Reeves’ Regional team includes his daughter Kanesha and five other local players: Ashley Lamoureux, Anna Frankel, Emily Vilac, Emma Piggin and Rae Ohama. They play their first game Friday at 5 pm at the TCC Middle court against the Kootenay U-14 regional team. This tourney is one of two Reeves’ regional squad will take in before the Summer Games.
Bantock and Langill are coaching a Kamloops U-17 squad which consists of players from Brock, Sahali and South Kamloops.
Games begin at 3:30 pm on Friday and runs until Sunday at 2 pm at the three courts.
Greg Stewart and Sitting Volleyball team featured in Vancouver Sun June 30, 2010
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Greg Stewart
But on this day, in a gym in Surrey, B.C., he stands out — figuratively and certainly literally as he lumbers after wayward volleyballs — in a gigantic way.
Prosthetic limbs and athletic bags are strewn around the perimeter of the gym. Young men and women, most missing all or part of a leg, are sliding across the floor on their behinds, stretching for a dig or setting up a teammate for a spike of the ball over a low-slung net.
The game is sitting volleyball, an official Paralympic sport since 2004. And when Stewart, who qualifies as a result of being born with only half a left arm, folds himself like a giraffe down to the floor, he becomes Canada’s most intimidating weapon.
“If I see fear in somebody’s eyes, I’m going to go right at them,” he says, a sly grin crossing his face at the thought of pulverizing the ball at a defenceless opponent sitting just a metre or two away.
“It goes back to his angle, the angle of attack,” says head coach Ian Halliday. “There’s not too many people out there that have a torso and a hand reach that long. And it’s not like (able-bodied) volleyball where a shorter guy can be evened out by a big jump.”
The country’s men’s and women’s teams were at Surrey last weekend for a final camp before the 2010 world championships in Edmund, Okla., July 10-19. It is the first worlds for both as Canada was slower to switch focus when standing volleyball for athletes with a disability was dropped after the 2000 Paralympics — the Canadian men won silver — and replaced by the sitting game.
A three-time world champion in standing volleyball, Canada did not qualify a team of either gender at Athens in 2004 or Beijing in 2008.
Stewart, a native of Kamloops, B.C., is actually a two-sport star. In able-bodied basketball, he was the CIS Canada West defensive player of the year last season as a prosthetic arm-wearing junior centre for Thompson Rivers University. He hopes to play professionally overseas after school.
Sitting volleyball, he says, is a “fun” diversion.
Stewart, the lone B.C. athlete on the nine-member team headed to Oklahoma, began playing with the standing volleyball team in 2002 “and it gave me the opportunity to travel around the world.”
The International Paralympic Committee replaced the standing game with sitting volleyball because it felt the latter discipline was a better representative of what athletes with a disability can do. Rules are very similar to the able-bodied game, except that the court is more badminton-sized at 10 metres by six metres with a net that is 1.15 metres high for men and 1.05 metres for women.
It makes for an extremely quick, tactical game in which speed, control and reaction time are essential.
Front row players are also allowed to block the service of an opponent. The six athletes per side must keep at least one butt cheek or hip in contact with the floor at all times.
Stewart’s biggest challenge is quick movement of his bulk. With a prosthetic arm and hand on his left side, he simply doesn’t have the power that the two-armed, single-leg amputees have to propel their bodies.
“And it’s tiring for my upper body. Having the one arm, it’s tough to screw yourself around kind of using one and a half.”
He’s broken two prosthetic hands already.
“Just from moving the weight of myself on the floor. The last one looked like somebody bit if off. It was kind of weird looking.”
But his length, particularly when spiking balls down, is terrifying to opponents.
“We practise a lot with Team USA and last time we played them, their coach sat in a chair (in warm-up) and hit the ball at them,” said Stewart. “He’s hitting from four feet above the net, trying to do what I’ve been doing so they can learn to block me. There’s definitely an intimidation factor.
“But (we’ve learned) China has a big guy, similar size to me. Maybe I’ll be the intimidated guy on the other side.”
Canada is in a pool with China, the U.S., Libya and reigning Paralympic champions Bosnia-Herzegovina at Oklahoma. There are 23 countries represented in the men’s competition and only the top three will qualify for London 2012.
“We have a tough pool, with Bosnia being the top team in the world,” says Stewart. “But let’s give them a run for their money. Let’s be the nobodies walking in and becoming somebody.”
AT THE NET: There are three players from B.C. on the women’s team, Tanja Hodzic of Vancouver and Danielle Ellis and Jordan Funnel, both of White Rock.
gkingston@vancouversun.com
INSTRUCTORS GO TO SCHOOL TO PREPARE FOR PLATINUM REALTY/TRU SPORTS CAMPS June 29, 2010
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Instructors Matt Loader and John Bantock
The start of summer vacation for the kids begin in a few days. Instructors employed at the Platinum Realty/TRU Sports Camps are gearing up for another busy season. The 16 instructors—many of whom are TRU WolfPack current or former athletes—have been going to ‘school’ to prepare for the 2010 season.
Camp Coordinator Duncan Olthuis has had the instructors going through a number of courses yesterday and today (June 28-29).
“We want to make sure our instructors are prepared for any situation and will help the children have the best experience they can.”
Olthuis had his father and long time football coach Brian teach the instructors the first level of the National Coaching Certification Program. This included a course on ethics. Laura Bantock ,Director, Western Region for Anaphylaxis Canada (a National Non Profit organization) also conducted a course preparing the instructors on management strategies to reduce the risk for those with severe allergies and to educate the instructors on how to effectively manage an emergency situation involving anaphylaxis.
Soccer players at sports camp 2009
Many of the instructors this season were employed with TRU in 2009 and had a first aid course.
“Our training for instructors definitely sets us apart from the other summer camps out there,” Olthuis believes. “ When a parent signs their child up for the Platinum Realty/TRU Sport Camps, they can rest assured that their children are in good hands.”
2010 Instructors warming up at Gymnastics club
The 2010 camps begin July 5 th. Olthuis says the first week should be one of the busiest of the year. As of yesterday (June 28), there were nearly 550 children signed up for the camps. That doesn’t include children who are signed up for the ‘French only’ camp. The number of children signed up thus far is 50 ahead of last season.
“I expect the phones will start to ring more this week with school coming to a close,” he adds.
Olthuis says at this point, there are very few spots open in the Golf Camps and the elite volleyball camps in the last few weeks of August.
If you are interested in signing your child up for a sport camp: contact Duncan by calling (250) 377-6116 or logging onto www.tru.ca/athletics and going to the sport camp icon.
WOLFPACK SCHOLAR ATHLETES HONORED June 23, 2010
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Brennan Arduini was a scholar athlete for a fourth straight year
Being an athlete and a top student is a challenge at the post secondary level. But no less than 29 members of the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack athletic family did that in 2009-10. That was up substantially from 19 the previous year.
They have achieved Academic All-Canadian or National Scholar status. All of the student-athletes had passed a minimum 18 credits with a minimum 3.5 grade point average.
“When you take into account all that these athletes have going on in their life, its quite amazing,” said TRU Athletic Director Ken Olynyk. “Not only do they have practice three or four times a week, but there are games and traveling. Add to that, studying and the commitment for community work and it makes the life of a student-athlete very demanding.”
Michelle Dimond was an CIS Academic All Canadian (A. Snucins)
Thompson Rivers had 10 athletes achieve Academic All-Canadian standing through the CIS. They were led by the women’s basketball team with five: Michelle Dimond (Port Moody, BC), Kali Ellis (Campbell River, BC), Kayla and Karalyn Forsyth (Vernon, BC) and Kaitlyn Widsten (Tswwassen, BC).
Vanessa Wiebe (A. Snucins)
There were three women’s volleyball players: Amanda Frayne (Kamloops, BC), Ashley Koehn (Surrey, BC), and Vanessa Wiebe (South Surrey, BC) and two men’s volleyball players: Stephen Richter (White Rock, BC) and Kevin Tillie (Cagnes Sur Mer, France) were also recognized for their efforts.
The Canadian College Athletic Association deems their top student-athletes with National Scholar Status. Brennan Arduini (Kamloops, BC) played two sports(golf/badminton) and was named as a National Scholar. It was Arduini’s fourth selection for badminton and second for golf.
Brennan Arduini
Six of Arduini’s badminton teammates: Serena and Venita Colton (Kamloops, BC), Alex Perkin (Kamloops, BC), Kia Lidster (Kamloops, BC) and Caitlyn Sharp (Invermere, BC) also received the accolades. As did two of his golf teammates: Adam and Mark Gruber (Kamloops, BC).
Maddy Reid throws ball in (Snucins)
Three members of the WolfPack men’s and women’s soccer team were National Scholars in 2009-10. Blair Mackay and Maddie Reid (Kamloops, BC) were joined by Ashley Piggot (Prince George, BC). Lee Bauer and Justin Smeaton of Kamloops along with Firat Orenc (Turkey) of the men’s soccer team were honored for their achievements in the classroom.
David Gore takes faceoff (A. Snucins)
WolfPack baseball and hockey had seven Scholar Athletes. Hockey’s David Gore, Tyler Stothart, Nathan Michaels (all of Kamloops, BC) achieved the status . While Alex Condon and Kyle Sandulescu (both of Victoria, BC) and Aaron Lystang (Edmonton, AB) were proficient on the diamond and in the classroom in 2009-10.
Alex Condon (A. Snucins photo)
All 31 athletes will be honored in September.