Brooklyn Seemann has set her sights on the NCAA after wrapping up her high school career at Prince George Secondary.
The senior girls volleyball setter has signed a letter of intent play with the NCAA Division 2 Clan at Simon Fraser University starting in the fall.
"I just like the idea of NCAA and the competitiveness and I also really like Simon Fraser as a school, it's ranked fifth in the nation and my education is also very important," said Seeman, who plans to study business. "I just ended up visiting Simon Fraser where we had a tour and it was just awesome. It just seemed like a great fit for me."
The Clan joined the Great Northwest Athletic Conference two seasons ago when Simon Fraser left Canadian Interuniversity Sport and the Canada West conference to join NCAA Division 2. The adjustment has come with growing pains as the women's volleyball squad wrapped up last season with a 1-21 record.
It was also two years ago when Clan assistant coach Adrian Goodmurphy spotted Seemann at the Team B.C. provincial tryout Baden Regional Cup held in Prince George.
"I just met him that weekend and we got along really well and I guess he liked what he saw," said Seemann, who graduates with her PGSS classmates this weekend in a ceremony at CN Centre. "I've been helping him with regional tryouts as an assistant for him. It's fun, I really like coaching."
After spending the past three seasons setting up her Polars teammates on the volleyball court, Seemann said she's considering switching positions at Simon Fraser.
"I'm looking at being more of a right side [hitter] than a setter," she said, adding she's chatted with Clan head coach Lisa Sulatycki about making the switch. "We've been talking about me being more of an offensive threat and being able to hit.
"I've been a setter for all of high school and it is nice and I very much do enjoy the position, but I miss hitting a lot and I miss being able to score the points," said Seemann.
In addition, she may get more playing time at right side as the Clan have three roster players listed as setters. Victoria Senges and Danielle Curtis were both freshmen in the 2011-2012 season, while Meghan Carver was a sophomore. The only listed right-side hitter was senior Chelsea Elvy.
"It's a tough thing is to come in as a setter and to play right away," said Sulatycki. "I think the advantage that [Seemann] has is that she can be an offensive threat on the right side and an offensive threat being a left-handed hitter. If she ends up being a left-handed setter that's going to make her more dynamic. Our goal with the program is for her to focus on attacking next year."
Sulatycki said Seemann's family background makes her a good fit for adjusting to the speed and tempo of the NCAA game.
"Brooklyn is very mature, which I think is a product of being the youngest sibling in the family," said Sulatycki. "She's had past experience in seeing her brother and sisters go on to the next level and what they've gone through, so she has an idea of what it takes. She's got a really calm and collect presence on the court."
The last time Seemann played right side was in Grade 10 when she was able to contribute offensively and make sets due to the style of offence the Polars ran. When she had to choose one position over the other, Seemann said it was an easy decision.
"It was just my personal preference to be a setter because I kind of do like to control the court and what's going on and to make the decisions," said Seemann. "It would be nice if I could do both. We'll have to see."
If Seemann had a choice, she said red shirting - when an athlete is on a college team but doesn't participate in sanctioned games - next season would be ideal.
"I would like to have my full five years and it would just be nice in the first year if I red shirted just for me to adjust to school, to the team and the new place," she said.
It's an attitude that will sit well with coach Sulatycki.
"I never like promising anybody opportunities to start right off the bat because it's something that needs to be earned," said Sulatycki. "We'll see how it goes in the fall."
Seemann is the second member of the athletically gifted clan to sign on for post-secondary athletics. Her older sister Jennifer spent four seasons with Grande Prairie College in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference playing basketball. The elder Seemann earned Canadian academic honours and was named Alberta College's athlete of the year in 2008. Jennifer is nine years older than her youngest sibling, with two sisters, Caitlin and Amanda, in the middle. When the PGSS sports season tips off in the fall it'll be the first time mom Rosemary won't have a front row seat in the bleachers in a decade.
"I think it's bittersweet for her," said the Clan's newest volleyball player. "She's sad obviously because we're all going to be gone away from her, but she's also kind of happy to have that time back to herself and be out of the gym. She might end up at a few [PGSS] volleyball tournaments just watching."
Two weeks ago, Seemann and her Prince George Youth Volleyball Club under-18 Kodiaks team placed first at provincials in Tier 2, Division 1 in Abbotsford. Seemann said the plan is to spend the summer at home, working with the PGYVC high performance program before beginning her new life.
"I'd like to spend the summer at home with my family and friends because I will be gone next year and it's kind of the last little bit I have with them," she said.
