For the second straight year, Barrhead native and MacEwan University Griffins volleyball player will get a chance to represent Canada as part of the U21.
Max Vriend made the team two-weeks ago during a weekend tryout camp in Gatineau, Que.
Last year, Vriend, although he didn’t get to dress, was part of Canada’s U21 bronze medal NORCECA’s (North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation) Continental Championship in Gatineau, Que.
Griffins head coach Brad Poplawski, who has coached Vriend for the last two seasons said he wasn’t surprised.
“It is just a testament to how hard he’s worked,” he said, adding at the end of the Griffins season. “He basically had a six-week plan as soon as our season ended — everything from mental prep to physical prep to his diet and sleep patterns. I’ve never seen an athlete so driven to do anything,” he said, Vriend’s hard work could be seen in the Griffins’ testing numbers.
At the end of the season, Poplawski noted Vriend was showing some signs of fatigue saying his spike touch was 11’5”. By the end of the U21 selection camp Vriend had improved that number by three inches.
Poplawski added that making this year’s squad is even more of an accomplishment because it was a younger team.
“Last year it was really a U20 team, but this year it’s a U21 team, so it kind of open the age class up to even more people,” he said, adding as a result the competition was that more intense.
This year the U21 contingent hope to compete in the U21 World Championships in the Czech Republic on June 23-July 2.
However, in order to qualify for the championships they’ll have to emerge as one of the top two teams out of the U21 NORCEA Pan Am Cup (May 16-21) in Fort McMurray.
Vriend said he feels honoured to be able to represent Canada once again.
“I am really excited, it’s going to be a great summer,” he said, from Gatineau Que, where he is training with the rest of the U21 where he has been since April 24 just before the selection camp.
“It was a pretty intense camp with a lot of great players all trying to earn a spot on the team,” he said, adding 40 players were invited to tryout for the 14-man roster.
During the camp, the coaching staff put the players to work on various drills, designed to test their abilities and prepare them for the upcoming qualifying tournament during two a day workouts.
At the end of the four-day camp the coaches talked to each of the players individually telling them what they needed to do to improve their game as well as make the team.
After the meetings were over the players were given a week off, before returning to Gateneau to two a day training sessions.
As for the chances of the team moving on Vriend said he wasn’t sure. In order to qualify for the U21 World Championships Canada will have to finish as the top team in the NORCECA division.
“We have a great bunch of guys here and we are working to improve our game and gel as a team,” Vriend said.
