Prince George's Jordan Foot is about to enter his fourth season as a university-level volleyball player. But, for four days next week, he'll be getting back to his roots.
Foot, a middle blocker for Thompson Rivers University, will be one of the coaches at the WolfPack Volleyball Summer Camp, which runs from Monday to Thursday at Duchess Park secondary school.
When he was a kid, Foot got his start in the sport at a WolfPack camp.
"Volleyball wasn't really a sport I had interest in initially but my parents enrolled me in the first volleyball camp the WolfPack held in Prince George in the summer of 2008," Foot said. "My sister, Elise (who also went on to play for TRU), started my journey in volleyball as I was dragged along to watch all of her games.
"The atmosphere at the camp was incredible - the camp leaders (WolfPack players) really made it their goal to connect with everyone. To be frank, I was easily the worst player to have attended that camp. I couldn't serve the ball over the net, every ball I attempted to hit ended with disaster and passing or setting the ball was a complete write-off. Despite all of this, the camp was an absolute blast and a definite highlight of my summer."
With his interest in volleyball sparked, Foot continued to attend the annual WolfPack camps and continued to improve. Eventually, he grew into a star player at D.P. Todd secondary school and became a regular on provincial teams.
In his senior years of high school, Foot had the full attention of multiple post-secondary programs, and choosing one wasn't difficult for him.
"I was determined to attend the university that affected my life in the most positive way imaginable," said Foot, who stands a towering six-foot-six.
Instructing at the camp has become part of Foot's summertime routine. And, for him, working with up-and-coming players is pure enjoyment.
"I do everything I can to make first-time campers have as great of an experience as I once did," he said.
"It's the best feeling when kids come back to these camps and you can see how their confidence and skill has exponentially grown. Seeing those kids grow into captains and leaders on their teams reminds me of why I will always love coaching these camps."
The Kamloops-based WolfPack compete in the Canada West conference of Canadian Interuniversity Sport. TRU's regular season starts Oct. 28 with a home match against the University of Alberta Golden Bears.
Local player Hallie Drezet will be a rookie with the WolfPack women's volleyball team this season. Drezet, a graduate of Duchess Park secondary school, is a libero who was part of the women's junior national program this summer.
