The Nation's Capital is many things to many Canadians.
Thanks to the National Capitals Volleyball Club (NCVC), you can
now count a girls volleyball powerhouse among them.
In their inaugural year, the National Capitals (a.k.a. the CAPS)
fielded four girls teams for the 2004-2005 Ontario Volleyball
Association (OVA) competitive indoor season. Their impact has
been immediate and impressive.
The journey for these four teams began with tryouts in
mid-September 2004 and ended with the 16U CAPS competing at the 16
& Under Canadian West Open in Calgary from May 21-23, 2005.
Nine months, thousands of kilometres and many billets and hotels
later, the first season of the NCVC can be characterized as an
unqualified success. From an on-court perspective, the four CAPS
teams accumulated a winning percentage of 70% of their overall
matches, taking home an incredible total of 23 medals, including 9
gold, 9 silver, and 5 bronze. All four CAPS teams qualified for
Tier 1 competition within the OVA, a level reserved for only the top
16 teams in Ontario in each respective age category.
Notable were the accomplishments of the 18U team, which won
the
18U Tier 1 Ontario
Championships. So dominating was their
performance, that they won 15 consecutive sets on their way to the
first Provincial title ever for a CAPS team, and the first for an 18U
Girls team from the Ottawa area. With an impressive match record
of 57 wins and 12 losses, the 18U CAPS won medals in 8 of their 11
tournaments, including 4 gold, and finished their season as one of
the
Top 10 18U Girls teams in
Canada.
The 16U CAPS flirted with winning a
16U
Tier I Ontario Championship, losing 15-13 in the third set
to the eventual Provincial Champions in the quarter-finals, en route
to a 5th place finish. They also finished 5th in the
16U Canadian East Open in
Sherbrooke, QC and followed that up with a very strong 10th place
finish (of 110 teams) in Calgary, AB at the
16U Canadian West Open.
Those finishes place the 16U Girls in the Top 15 in Canada!
Finally, our 14U CAPS, showed a lot of promise throughout the
year by winning 6 medals in 10 tournaments - including 2 gold - and
finishing in a very respectable 9th place in the province at the
14U Tier 1 Ontario
Championships.
The club also made some efforts to actively develop and promote
volleyball in the Ottawa area this past year. Taking advantage of the
outstanding experience and expertise of the NCVC coaching staff and
18U girls, a dozen
CAPSClinics
were conducted - free of charge - by CAPS coaches and players in local
senior elementary and high schools. Young players and their
coaches were exposed to proper skills, new drills, role modeling and
well-received prizes! A coaching clinic conducted by CAPS
coaches shared expertise with over 35 coaches from the Ottawa area.
Steps to successfully generate media coverage helped garner new levels
of attention to the sport of volleyball and the club.
Many CAPS members received individual accolades during the year,
with even more on the horizon.
Tess Edwards, 18U captain, was
bestowed the prestigious
Evelyn Holick
Award, presented annually by the OVA to a female
youth division athlete who demonstrates the qualities of
determination, leadership, athletic ability, sportsmanship and fair
play. 18U standout,
Kate Eckhardt and her mentor,
Cathy O'Doherty, were recognized as the
Ottawa Sports Awards Volleyball Player of
the Year, and
Female
Coach of the Year (from amongst all sports!),
respectively.
Stephanie McGuinty from the 16U team has
received an invitation to tryout with the Youth National Team, while
her teammate
Claudia Seguin has received an invitation to the
Junior National Team tryouts. In addition,
Kate Eckhardt
has earned selection to the Ontario Provincial Team which will compete
in the
2005 Canada Summer Games in Regina, SK.
Tess
Edwards and
Meghan O'Doherty also received invites but were
unable to attend. Finally, many CAPS players have been selected
to Regional Teams or to attend High Performance Centres.
Congrats are also in order for
Coach Matt Harris who has been
selected to be the Head Coach of the
Region 6 Girls 16U Regional
Team this summer.
Virtually every member of the 18U graduating class, five of the
"Original Six", have been heavily recruited by American and Canadian
universities, with 'full ride' volleyball and academic
scholarships amongst them. Congratulations to Tess Edwards
(University of Kentucky), Becky Lauks (McGill
University), Meghan O'Doherty (York
University), Ashley Matier (Cambrian College),
and Jessica Wolfenden (University of Maine).
Kate Eckhardt is also receiving university interest - she
graduates in 2006. The club is particularly pleased to witness
this trend. "We are proud to see that excellence in volleyball
can not only co-exist with excellence in academics, but in fact,
support it," states Bob O'Doherty. "Inevitably, it seems
that girls who come into competitive club volleyball, as emphasized by
our club, go on to post secondary institutions to further both their
studies and volleyball ambitions."
Sponsors have also bought into the vision of local opportunities
for excellence in the up-and-coming sport of girls volleyball.
Well known law firms
Soloway Wright, and
Borden Ladner
Gervais have come to the aid of the local diggers and spikers.
So too have
inSites Web Design,
Epocal,
Itex Business
Solutions and
i-STAT. Coupled with a
"Friends of the CAPS" campaign,
fundraising generated over $5,000 in donations in the NCVC's first
year to support future legacy initiatives in the area of athlete and
coach development.
The club is especially proud, not only of its teams' on-court
performance, but also of the way they represented the club both on and
off the court. "We constantly receive positive feedback from
other players, coaches and parents from across Ontario, not only on
the performance of our teams, but also on their qualities of fair play
and sportsmanship", explained O'Doherty.
Perhaps most telling of all during this first CAPS season, one
only need listen to the players describe their incredible
journeys:
"It seems like yesterday that I walked into the chaotic Pius
gym in September", said 16U OVA Award of Excellence
recipient Sarah Fetterly. "Even then, it was apparent
that our team was going to be a good, hard-working team. We
learned so much - we can't wait 'till next fall when we start all
over again."
"Each and every player accomplished so much", contributed
Haley Wolfenden, 15U OVA Award of Excellence recipient.
"All the players worked incredibly hard for the entire season,
played their hearts out, sticking together and never giving up.
We improved our play, met goals and achieved things we hoped for, but
never thought possible."
"What a year - a year when we went non-stop, competing in 10
tournaments, winning 6 medals, and making lots of great friends.
This is what volleyball is all about - learning, playing and having
fun playing the greatest game ever!" added Erika Leck, setter
with the 14Us.
Jessica Wolfenden, 18U OVA Award of Excellence
recipient, spoke of the special experience and the standard that has
been set by the NCVC. "I can honestly say that I have made 11
good friends this year! For some, our friendships have been
growing for the past 5 years, for others, we sparked new friendships
right away. This special group of 12 talented volleyball players
will always look back on this year and realize what an opportunity and
experience we had... For the graduating players, I know this year was
a dream come true, and a perfect ending to a perfect club volleyball
career. As for the girls who are returning next year, I'm sure
they'll be hungry. Thank you to everyone who has supported us
on our unforgettable journey!"
To club president, Bob O'Doherty, the quick success of the club
is by design and certainly no accident. "The National Capitals
Volleyball Club was founded in response to the demand for a
competitive volleyball club that would use the principle of the
pursuit and achievement of excellence", commented one of the
founders of the club. "We're providing the support that
allows the players to excel on the court. The quality of the
coaching and the competitive opportunities, supported by talented and
dedicated volunteers from the Board to team level, is the big
thing. We also ask for and require a big commitment from both
players and parents in order to help the club achieve its
objectives."
The major goals of the NCVC in its second year of operations are
to continue to both grow its programs and provide opportunities for
its players and teams to excel on a Provincial and National basis. The
successes of the first year of operations have laid the foundation for
the club to achieve its goal of becoming one of the leading volleyball
clubs in Canada.
Competitive volleyball is alive and thriving in the City of
Ottawa. If the National Capitals have their way, you won't be
able to keep that 'under your cap'. See you in September,
for Year Two ... "613-NC!"
