Local volleyball player Nic Balazs is on track to be a towering presence for Team B.C. at the Western Canada Summer Games.
Balazs, a six-foot-six middle blocker, has secured a spot on the Under-18 provincial team's practice roster. He's one of 15 players on the list and will now attend a training camp from July 5 to Aug. 14 in Kamloops. At the conclusion of the camp, three cuts will be made. The remaining players will form Team B.C. and compete at the Games, which will also be in Kamloops.
"It's pretty exciting," said Balazs, who will turn 18 next week. "This will be my second year [on Team B.C.] and it's always nice when you can play on a provincial team for two years in a row and be considered one of the top players in the province after coming from basically nowhere."
Up until a couple years ago, Balazs's talents were only known in and around Prince George. He hadn't ventured too far out of the north, so the rest of the province was in the dark about his abilities and potential. One of the only university-level coaches who had been keeping tabs on Balazs's progress was Pat Hennelly of the Kamloops-based Thompson Rivers University WolfPack.
"Pat knew about me but he didn't really want to share his information," said Balazs, who committed to the WolfPack in December and will play for the Canadian Interuniversity Sport club this coming season.
Hennelly also happens to be one of the Team B.C. coaches, so Balazs will get the chance to work extensively with him this summer. For Balazs, that practice time -- and hopefully competing in the Games under Hennelly's watchful eyes -- will be great preparation for his rookie season with the WolfPack.
"[Playing in the Games] will be so important because I'll be playing against future [CIS] players," Balazs said. "There's a guy from Manitoba who's going to UBC and a couple guys from Alberta going to places in B.C. and all around the CIS. So it will give me the chance to see what will be my competition not only next year but my full competition in five years."
