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The southeast has been well-represented on Team Saskatchewan volleyball squad

Southeast Sask. athletes performed well at provincial volleyball squads this year

 

ESTEVAN - There has been a strong contingent of southeast Saskatchewan athletes on provincial volleyball squads this year.

Justin Linthicum was part of the under-15 male team, after participating in a couple of tryouts. 

"It feels good to play at a high level, with some high-level coaches and learn a lot of new things," said Justin, who plays as a power hitter.

His father, Neal Linthicum, noted that due to COVID-19, Sask. Volleyball posted some information on its website, and then people applied to be part of the team.

"If they liked what they saw, and you're the right fit as far as jumping and stuff like that, then you got invited to one of the camps that was in July," said Neal.

A total of 16 athletes were selected to be part of Team Saskatchewan's U15 entry.

Justin says he has learned a lot of new things while part of Team Sask., and has made a lot of new friends. He has been able to play at a higher level than before.

Due to travel restrictions associated with COVID, it means that he didn't get to travel as much. 

"This year's been more of a building year for them, where they haven't been able to go and play against the other provinces. They've been playing amongst themselves, mostly training and then playing games within their own team," said Neal.

Justin is confident the experience will make him a much better player. The coach they have this year is the head coach for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies program, and some of the people Justin has worked with have been assistant coaches for the Huskies or have been professional players. 

Justin, who is in Grade 11 at the Estevan Comprehensive School, credits the local school and club volleyball programs, including the Estevan Extreme, for his success. 

He's looking forward to being with the Elecs this fall. 

"It'll be fun to play with my friends again on the high school team." 

Meanwhile, four members of the Southeast Vipers female program have qualified to play for Team Saskatchewan's U15 female volleyball team.

Jenna Knibbs and Randi Milbrandt of Estevan, Payton Hollinger of Carnduff and Katelyn Dahl of Arcola punched their ticket for the team, which boasts the top 20 players in their age group in Saskatchewan.

Training and qualifiers took place in Regina.

The process started in March with an identification profile to be submitted. The athletes were to provide information about themselves, such as their standing height, standing reach and spike jump (total height). Step 2 required the creation and submission of a five-minute performance video highlighting their volleyball skills.

"We spent many hours preparing these," wrote Eugene Brown, who hails from Arcola. "This in essence was the first round of cuts. If they qualified from their video, they'd move on to the next round."

Step 3 was an in-person regional training camp that took place July 12-16. Only 32 athletes were invited to this camp, and the Southeast Vipers had nine athletes make it to this point in three different age groups. Of these eight would attend. This was the last round of cuts; only 20 qualified for the team and would gather from Aug. 25-29.          

Brown said it allows for elite training opportunities and resources in Saskatchewan. The athletes have access to strength and conditioning, mental training and nutritional supports. It will provide the opportunity to train and play at elite levels. It looks great on their resumé and is something that may catch the eye of coaches and scouts at the college and university level.