Storm secure silver
The Smithville Christian Storm have no regrets after coming home with a silver medal from the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSSA) senior boys A volleyball championships in Kitchener.
The Storm dropped a 27-25, 23-25, 20-25, 19-25 decision to the Hamilton District Christian High Knights in the gold medal match but Storm head coach Tim de Vries said the Storm left it all on the court.
“One hundred per cent we can live with the silver,” de Vries said. “We did everything we could. We played the best we could. We played a great game and it was a great match either way and we’re very happy with the silver.”
The Storm also lost to the Knights in the SOSSA (Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association) final but qualified for OFSAA as the second SOSSA representative after defeating the Port Colborne Blue Bears 25-9, 25-9, 25-14 in a challenge game.
The Storm hit their stride early this year at a tournament in Eden where de Vries sensed it could be a special season.
“I’ve been coaching long enough to know that this team had the potential,” he said. “It was just one of those tournaments where I thought this team was pretty special, they had a lot of talent and kind of knew we had a chance to go far. I was trying to push them on that and I think they started to buy in as they started to see how they could play.
“Once we got there it was about focus. They really wanted it. They were getting to bed on time and being very focused.”
The Storm, who captured OFSAA gold in 2019, also have a pair of OFSAA bronze medals to their credit.
“When COVID hit we had another team that would have been really good so it’s been a little bit of a rebuild,” de Vries said. “Last year we lost in the OFSAA lost consolation finals but it was a very similar team back with a lot of pieces and we knew what we were getting.”
The Storm went a perfect 6-0 en route to the OFSAA final.
Members of the team are: Jeremy Talsma (captain), Silas Breukelman, Joe Attia, Zach Graham, Derrick Postumus, Lincoln Vander Wier, Evan Van Huizen, Liam Vander Wier, Riley Wiersma, Ben Wiersma, Aiden Wiersma, Cole Wiersma (captain).
Head coach: Tim de Vries.
Assistant coaches: Rob Greenham, Adam VandenDool, Beth Henderson.
Manager: Rueben De Boer.
At the AAA volleyball championships in Belle River, the Eden Flyers went 3-1 in pool play before being eliminated 25-21, 25-17, 19-25, 21-25, 18-20 by Ursuline.
The Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs went 3-1 in pool play at the AA volleyball championships in Stratford before being eliminated 20-25, 18-25, 12-25 by ESC Beatrice-Desloges.
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