Jay Guillet would like to see all the spikers and diggers in Prince George turnout at the Northern Sport Centre this weekend for club volleyball registration.
"I've encouraged all the kids that if they're serious about volleyball and they want to improve they need to get involved with the club volleyball program," said Guillet.
The coach of the silver-medal winning College Heights Cougars' senior boys team at the 2011 double-A volleyball provincial championship last weekend in Kelowna pointed out his team showed that competing with the powerful teams in the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and Southern Interior can be done.
The Cougars dropped the Langley Christian Lightning - ranked as the top team in British Columbia until the Mennonite Education Institute (MEI) dethroned them in the zone qualifier - in a five-set semifinal 3-2 (28-26, 24-26, 16-25, 25-22 and 15-11) to reach the gold-medal match.
In the final, the Cougars were up 2-0, but the MEI Eagles, with eight titles since 2002, rebounded to win 3-2 (25-21, 25-23, 16-25, 19-25 and 9-15).
"In this community if we want to catch up to the Langley Christians and the MEIs kids from all ages should be getting themselves involved," said Guillet. "MEI has a program where they get their kids going in Grade 6 and continue right through their school years so when they get to Grade 12 they're very skilled and very well prepared."
As a comparison, College Heights had three starting players: Wayne Woyciehouski, Nolan Schwab and Brett Bobier that only began their volleyball careers in Grade 10.
"Those kids have come a long way from where they started," said Guillet about the athletically gifted trio.
Schwab, the Cougars' captain, along with power-hitter Austin Cromarty and setter Warren Bachand were named second team all-stars in Kelowna, while Woyciehouski was a first team all-star. Libero Jordan Patterson and power-hitter Tanner Wheeler round out the Grade 12 starters on the Cougars.
Lessons learned
When the third-seeded Cougars began play in Kelowna on Wednesday, Nov. 30 they finished their power-pool play with a 1-2 record, falling to the Lightning and Eagles, while beating the fourth-seeded Duchess Park Condors.
In a straight sets, 19-25, 22-25, loss to the Lightning, Guillet said, it was a learning experience for him and his assistant coaches trying to match line ups with the opposing coach.
"They had an outstanding provincial team player Tyler Heppell [who was difficult to defend against]," said Guillet. "After our first set loss to them it became a chess match to try and match my best players against their best players."
In the second set, Guillet rearranged his line up moving Cromarty and Woyciehouski next to each other.
"In that game we woke up and knew we could do it," said Guillet. "We figured it out."
It gave the Cougars' confidence when they faced the Lightning in the semifinal, after a 3-0 (25-18, 25-19 and 25-17) win over Revelstoke in the quarterfinal.
Heartbreak
For Schwab, losing the gold medal after being up 2-0 on MEI was difficult to comprehend.
"To have come that close to success, and not being able to attain it, there are no words to describe the feeling of the loss," said Schwab in an email.
Guillet said the Eagles, led by tournament MVP Jeremy Lieuwen, used their past experience to improve their play. The Eagles have won six of the past seven titles, regaining the championship they lost in 2010.
The nine Grade 10 and 11 players on the Cougars' bench had should be instrumental in pushing them to achieve similar success next season.
"They didn't get to play, but these kids are going to be determined to improve on what they did as players," said Guillet.
In 2010, the Cougars placed eighth at the provincial championship.
Condors' success
Guillet said the Cougars will have a very different team in 2012 with no one like Cromarty and Woyciehouski coming up, but next year's squad will have its own unique spin.
"We're going to have some left-handed players in the mix," said Guillet. "The ball's coming off a left-handed arm swing and if you're accustomed to blocking and defending against a right-handed hitter you need some time to adjust to what a left-handed player is doing."
The Cougars' coach expects the Condors' will be the team to beat next year in the north after a fourth-place finish, losing to the Lightning 3-0 (25-20, 25-11 and 25-14) in the bronze-medal match.
"The experience is invaluable," he said about the youthful Condors who only had one Grade 12 starter. "They'll be hungry for it. I know they'll be determined and ready to play."
