BARRHEAD - Three Barrhead residents helped the Alberta U19 Volleyball Team go undefeated in the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG July 15-23 to take the gold medal.
The all-star squad, which consisted of players from all over the province, was coached by long-time Barrhead Composite High School Senior Gryphons boys coach Rod Callihoo and featured recent Gryphon alumnus Nate Callihoo and Gavin Moes as well as Westlock's Dylan MacIntyre.
The NAIG are a multi-sport event similar to the Olympics held every four years. The event, hosted this year in Halifax, Nova Scotia, brings together 756 Indigenous Nations competing in 15 sports — including the traditional Indigenous sports of archery, canoe/kayak and lacrosse. The concept dates back to the early 1970s in Alberta, with Enoch hosting the Native Summer Games in 1971, followed by Edmonton hosting the first NAIG in 1990.
To compete in the event, athletes must be of Indigenous ancestry.
"We came together quite well as a group," he said. "The boys had some tough matches, and there was a lot of learning on the go, but they did an excellent job."
Alberta opened July 17 against Nunavut, defeating them in two sets, 25-18 and 25-20.
Callihoo noted going into the games, they knew very little about the teams they would be facing, which was a bit nerve-wracking for the coaching staff.
"In a tournament like this, every win is critical," he said, noting there were five teams in Alberta's pool, and only the Top 2 would make it into the playoff round. "There were times (during the Nunavut match) that their defence stymied us, and it took us quite a while to continue with our process and swing at the ball to get points, but the boys stuck with it."
In their next match-up, they faced a highly-ranked Manitoba team .
After winning the first set 25-21, Alberta had an off set where they had difficulty receiving Manitoba's serves and lost 25-17, before rebounding and taking the rubber match 15-11.
The next day, they faced Eastern Door and the North, from northern Quebec, easily winning in two sets, 25-13 and 25-15.
This set them up in good stead to face B.C., which, going into the games, was one of the teams that might contend for a medal.
However, Callihoo said the Alberta team played well and dispatched B.C. reasonably quickly, 25-17 and 25-15.
The win put them at the top of their pool, waiting to find out whether they would face Saskatchewan, a perenially strong team that has taken gold at the last two events.
In the end, Alberta faced Ontario in a best-of-five set match in the semi-final.
Callihoo said Ontario started flat, and Alberta won the first two sets handily 25-15 and 25-12.
But, in the third set, Ontario rebounded, playing much better and nipped them 25-22.
However, after making a few adjustments, Alberta rebounded, taking the final set 25-16.
"It was a big relief taking the fourth set," Callihoo said. "In a five-set match, fatigue can set in, and you don't want to go to set five, which is only up to 15."
In the championship match, Alberta faced Manitoba, who upset Saskatchewan in a four-set come-from-behind victory.
"It was a great match. We had everyone going, especially in the first two sets," Callihoo said, adding Alberta took them 25-15 and 25-11. "In the third set, we came out a little flat, and Manitoba took advantage, winning 25-20, but we were able to close out strong, taking the fourth set 25-15."
Callihoo also noted they were fortunate that the weather did not significantly impact the games or the team.
He added that most of the storm activity that caused massive flooding in the Halifax region happened after most of the events had occurred.
Unfortunately, the storm forced the cancellation of the closing ceremonies and a few medal games on the final day of competition.
"Halifax is a nice area, and we were able to do a lot of touring between our game and practice times," he said. "We went on a harbour hopper, and we took a tour of the pier and took in a lot of the cultural, Indigenous events and demonstrations that were taking place. It provided a good distraction from the games and helped bring us together as a team."
Callihoo also noted that all the volleyball athletes stayed together at Mount Saint Vincent University, and the boys made many friends with their counterparts from other provinces.
He added that a popular activity for the athletes was trading pins, flags, uniforms and other keepsakes.
"It was just a great event. All our players were able to contribute and played very strong, and more importantly, off the court, they were able to make connections with their fellow athletes and have memories that will last their entire lives," Callihoo said.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
