Christmas Break Trip

Every Christmas break the Men’s Volleyball team has an annual trip to either Quebec City to play in the Limilou tournament or if lucky get to travel out west to play in a few tournaments against teams from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Luckily for the team, this year was one of the years and the team traveled to Fort McMurry, Alberta to play at the Keyano College Invitational and to Calgary to play in the Mount Royal Tournament. The team departed January 1^st (New Years Day) to Fort McMurry, Alberta where the daily temperature high’s were on average about minus -25C. It was very, very cold to say the least. This tournament was a tune up for the larger Mount Royal Tournament where 8 of the top 10 teams in the country would be participating. The team came out sluggish, which was to be expected coming off Christmas break with virtually no practice and stomachs still full of turkey, stuffing, and desserts. However, the team managed to finish second losing to the defending national champs Limilou 3-1. Then it was on to Calgary to play in the Mount Royal Tournament which is always fun because the facility is amazing! State of the art new gym with four volleyball courts, large track, state of the art gym, and Calgary in my opinion is one of the most beautiful cities in Canada. We arrived in Calgary on New Years Eve and celebrated as a team, once at 10 pm MST and again at 12pm EST with the rest of our families. We then went out as a team to a local nightclub and danced the night away. The next day we traveled to Banff to head up the gondola and see the fantastic view of the Rocky Mountains. Its my second time being up the mountain in Banff and I don’t think I could ever get sick of that view, so beautiful. Back to the volleyball part of the trip. We played 4 pool play games and finished 3-1, forcing us to playoff against all the second place teams out of the four pools. We ended up winning the second place playoff bracket so 5^th overall out of 16 teams. The one loss cost us an opportunity to play for a medal but overall we had a great tournament finishing 6-1. The next day we came back home to Toronto, 11 days from the time we left. Great trip, great memories!

Losing a Star

The end of first semester and the first half of the season always brings some suspense as all varsity athletes are required to pass 6 credits (2 courses) if they wish to be eligible for the second semester. A pass is 60% at Humber College and if you attend classes regularly, study for exams, and complete your assignments it is a fairly easy average to achieve. For some, this is a challenge and a lot of athletes are on edge waiting for their final marks to be released. This year, the men’s team lost one athlete who happens to be our best player and all Canadian. Not only is he Ontario’s best college player, but also is one of the best volleyball players in Canada. When you lose someone with the skills and talent of this individual, it changes the dynamics of a team. Players, who were once role players and supported the play of the ‘go to’ player, now have to shoulder more of the load and take on the responsibility of scoring points and leading the team. This creates an opportunity for guys to step up and take on this new challenge as the team looks to defend its OCAA Championship second semester. The road will definitely be more challenging but the Humber Men’s Volleyball team is very talented and deep group at all positions. Somehow they will find a way to pull through. I hope!

End of the Semester

Saturday evening marked the end of the first semester for the Humber College men’s volleyball team in Windsor, Ontario. Boy can you really tell that most of the guys need a break. Their body language, demeanor on the court, lack of energy, and the tension starting to grow among each other are always signs that it’s time for a break. Even high-powered teams, which I believe Humber is, are entitled to a let down once in a while. If you were to solely base the result on scores you would think that the team rolled right through the St. Clair Saints in straight sets (25-18, 25-12, 25-20), but if you watched the match which I did, then you would agree with me that the team did not look as focused as a team looking to repeat should. Once again it was Terrel Bramwell doing most of the scoring and carrying the team, especially in the first set when the score was tight before reeling off 4 aces to separate the teams. You have to feel for Terrel because the team looks to him to carry most of the offensive load every game and you can see the frustration on his face when the team does not play well. It would be a lot different if the team had no talent but we’re talking about the defending OCAA champs, which have multiple players at every position that could start on every other team in the OCAA. You would expect players to step up and help shoulder the load but the mentality of the team right now is to rely on Terrel. Volleyball is very much a team game; you cannot win with just one player, two players, and three players doing all the work. It has to be a collective effort to win. It’s a beautiful thing when you watch a game, whether its basketball, football, soccer and you can see things clicking among teammates and everyone is playing well. Thank goodness it’s the end of the first semester for the Hawks as they can take this time to study up for exams, rest any injuries they may have and get themselves ready for a run at the OCAA championships and a CCAA Gold medal.

Bouncing Back From Defeat

On November 24^th, the Humber men’s volleyball team suffered it’s first loss of the season to the number two ranked Fanshawe Falcons in a close battle going five sets in London, Ontario. The Hawk’s were without All- Canadian Terrel Bramwell but were still very much in the game and had many of opportunities to win.  It’s always tough suffering your first loss of the season as well as losing the top spot in the province and falling in the national rankings in the process. Many of the players were upset with their individual performances feeling like they had let down the team. When your big gun or game changer is out (Terrel), it’s up to others to step up in his absence and cease the opportunity. This wasn’t the case and the result was Humber’s first loss. When you get knocked down, it’s all about getting back up and bouncing back from defeat. Humber’s next opponent was a home game against the Redeemer Royals from Ancaster, Ontario on November 30^th. The team was looking to get back on track having Terrel back in the lineup and looked very good in warm up and the beginning of the first set. However, unforced errors allowed Redeemer to get back in the set ultimately winning the first set forcing Humber again to regroup. Humber won the second and third set very easily with Terrel carrying the Hawks as he usually does. Redeemer not backing down from a challenge managed to take the fourth set forcing a 5^th and deciding set. Humber again regrouped and won the fifth set in deciding fashion 15-8 taking the match 3-2. Terrel Bramwell had the game of his career to date breaking the OCAA record for most points in a match with 40. Although not playing their best, the team managed to pull out a win bouncing back from a previous defeat. Here’s a link to read more. http://tinyurl.com/3x9vojt

Veterans

2009-2010 Vet's. (Left to Right) Myself
Steve Eichorn, Bobby Anderson,
Paul Kemboi.

Being a veteran or the ‘old guys’ on the team definitely has its perks. Not only have you built friendships and relationships with faculty and students around campus and but you know ins and outs of what it’s like being a varsity athlete. On this year’s team, Paul Kemboi and Bobby Anderson are the two most senior veterans on the team. Both are in their 5^th years of eligibility as it will be their final year as members of the volleyball team. As older veterans of the team, you are looked upon for wisdom and guidance for the younger players, almost as a big brother would play for his younger siblings. Veteran leadership is key for a team’s success. Preparation is a very important aspect of being successful when playing a varsity sport, especially considering how tough and long the season is. Every year is different but at some point in the season, players may be faced with injuries, getting sick, struggling with school or time management, so it’s up to the people who have been through it to teach the younger players how to cope with these issues.  The coaching staff really looks to the veterans to develop chemistry and solidify the relationships within the team. For example, every month starting in September right to the end of the season, a veteran is paired with a rookie to plan a team event that the team can partake in. A typical monthly event can range anywhere from going to the movies, to someone’s house, going bowling, or even going to paintball. The craziest idea that one of the veterans suggested we do was in my second year playing. He suggested we go skydiving as a team!! That would probably the craziest team bonding event ever in the history of Humber. Needless to say, there were a lot of players opposed to the idea, including myself so this event did not happen.

Rick Hansen Connection

The volleyball community in Ontario is fairly tiny considering the size of our province. Certain schools, clubs and areas are known for producing good volleyball players that are good enough to play post secondary athletics. The city of Mississauga is one of the areas that have become one of those places where numerous athletes are coming out of. Last years Championship team (2009-2010) had 9 out of the 16 guys on the roster including red-shirts who are products of Mississauga. Rick Hansen Secondary School is one of the powerhouses that constantly produce’s good volleyball players on a yearly basis. The big guy Andre Brown, our setter Derek Quinn, and myself all hail from Rick Hansen but graduating in different years. Both Andre and Derek played on a team with my younger brother who was the ‘superstar’ at the time. A few years before them, I played on a team full of athletes that would go on to play varsity volleyball, basketball, and baseball at the university level. The success of the program all stems from individuals in charge and that would be head of athletics Mike Russell, and Dave McAllister. Both were coaches at powerhouse McMaster University and are currently coaching our rivals at Sheridan College. Mac and Russell as we would call them, spent many hours in the gym, traveling, and coaching us so that we all could have the opportunity to play at the varsity level. They started a club team so that the athletes would have the chance to practice their skills in the high school off-season and get a chance to play against the best players around the province. Their dedication to helping and teaching us, the athletes, is the main reason for the success of the program. Thank you Mac and Russell!! Go Storm Go!

How Tough it is to Repeat

Winning a championship is tough. Repeating as champions is extremely tough. When you win a championship the following year you have the label as the ‘champs’, and every game you play the opposing team will be gunning for you. You essentially have a bull’s-eye on your back because every team will be trying to de-thrown you. The opposing team will bring their A-games as they get a chance to measure up to the champions. Humber volleyball has a reputation of always being a contender and if you can beat Humber, you will have a chance to compete for a provincial championship. Even without being the reigning provincial champions we would get a good game out of our opponents, but now having the reputation of Humber, being ranked number one in the province and the defending champions, teams will be gunning for you. Looking at OCAA record books, men’s volleyball has not had a repeat champion since the 2001-2002 season when the Loyalist Lancers of Belleville repeated. So far this season, the Humber Men’s team seems to be on track to repeat. They have successfully repeated as champions at the Durham Cup Volleyball tournament, and the Humber Cup Volleyball tournament. They are also ranked first in the province and fourth nationally. I guess its safe to say for now, that the Men’ Volleyball team is on pace to repeat.