Busy days at 16U Elite Centre
By Erin O'Doherty

This July, I along with seven other National Capital players, had the privilege of attending the OVA 16U Provincial Elite Centre in Waterloo from the 14th to the 18th. Over 170 athletes attended the camp and we all stayed in the University of Waterloo residences, training for a minimum of six hours daily. A typical day consisted of three, two hour long training sessions in the gym, then 1.5 hours of classes about nutrition, scouting, mental preparation and strength training for volleyball.

Of course, we had meals in the cafeteria before all sessions, yet with so much going on during the day, we only had one hour of free time (10 p.m. -11 p.m.) after our last classroom sessions. Even though our down time was limited, we still managed to make new friends from different clubs, especially by trading game jerseys and club t-shirts.

On the final day we got to compete with players from all over the province - the quality of volleyball was excellent. I'm sure all my National Capitals teammates, including Melissa Zeroual, Liz Wilson, Karlye Wong, Camille West, Chantelle L'Heureux and Claudia Seguin will agree, the OVA 16U Elite Centre was a great opportunity to meet friends, play tons of volleyball and have lots of fun!