Southeast Vipers Volleyball Club teammates McKenna Harkness, 15 and Ashleigh Wolensky, 16 were selected to represent the province as part of the Team Saskatchewan contingent at Volleyball Canada's National Team Challenge Cup, held Thursday, July 14 to Sunday, July 17 in Richmond, B.C.'s Olympic Oval.
And while the friends and teammates played on different teams-with Harkness on Team Sask's 16U roster and Wolensky on the province's 18U squad-they both indirectly benefited from the presence of their Southeast Vipers coach-Arcola's Eugene Brown-who is also the head coach of one of two of Team Sask's 16U teams competing at nationals.
“I've played volleyball since I was 12 and I've played with the Vipers since I was 14,” says Harkness, of Arcola. “My coaches-Eugene Brown and Kelly Running-have helped me a lot and it's great that Mr. Brown will be in B.C., too.”
Wolensky-who lives in Redvers- agrees, adding Brown's intervention led her directly to the 18U team-and probably to Nationals.
“I'm 16 and I turn 17 in December,” says Wolensky. “I tried out for the 16U team at the (final selection tryout) camp in Regina. They told me I was too old. Eugene Brown talked to them and I was allowed to try out for the older team.”
“There were 33 girls at that tryout and we were evaluated by how we played. I honestly didn't know how I'd do, but I did my best and even though I thought the tryouts could have went better, I was really surprised and happy when I found out I'd made the 18U team.”
“Eugene Brown said, 'When you're in a battle and you drop your sword, you've got to pick it up and give it all you've got,'” adds Wolensky. “I got the opportunity to try out for the 18U team after not being able to try out for the 16U team and I did my best.”
The opportunity for the girls to represent the province started in Lloydminster, Sask.-the site of the first tryout. The final provincial tryout camp-in Regina- was a three-day marathon which involved the young women being evaluated during play, as well as “everything involving our skills,” according to Harkness. “They ran certain drills and we participated in different sessions all involving different skills.”
“All the time, the (provincial) coaches were watching,” adds Harkness. “Both of us were competing for a spot, along with anywhere from 30 to 50 other girls in our age groups, depending on which tryout we were at.”
“Usually, it just forces you to do your own game. In the beginning it's nerve-wracking, but then you just concentrate on your own game.”
“The coaches watched our passing, serving, hitting, everything,” adds Wolensky. “They were looking at our skills, but they wanted to see our work ethic, too.”
Provincial team practices took place in Regina and Saskatoon, culminating in a a two-week camp in Caronport.
“We'll come together as a team,” says Wolensky. “But as an individual, volleyball has given me a stronger mentality. I've learned you've got to push yourself harder and when you fall down, you push yourself up and go harder than you did before.”
“With volleyball, you know what your priorities are as an individual player and as part of a team,” she continues. “But the provincial team workouts not only help with technical stuff, you also gel more as a team, gain confidence in each other and make friends, too.”
Both Harkness and Wolensky say they embrace the challenge of a national competition and add that they already have the foundations in place to put forth their best efforts.
“We work out a lot at the school gym in Arcola, we do workouts and weight lift as a team we've played with the Vipers at the Olympic Oval in Calgary at Nationals,” says Wolensky. “Competing in an Olympic venue feels pretty good and I'm sure this time will feel just as good. I plan to hit the gym a little harder and I definitely try to eat healthier when I'm competing.”
“But we've been taught (as Vipers players) to match what we eat in restaurants to what we eat at home-having the same type of meal and not making any big changes before a big competition.”
“Playing volleyball has already taught us those lessons like hard work and responsibility,” says Harkness. “And before a game, I don't change my routine. I get dressed the same way and warm up the same way. And if it's an early enough game, I usually eat pretty light and have a bigger meal later.”
“It's definitely not a super-strict diet,” says Harkness. “You have to decide if you're fueling your body properly and that's different for everybody.”
“I started playing volleyball in grade five in Bellegarde,” says Wolensky. “I only started playing club season in 2015. The first time I tried out for a club team-the Vipers-I didn't expect to make it. I have amazing coaches and teams to thank in Bellegarde and with the Vipers. My coaches have helped me be the person and volleyball player that I am. They are all a part of why I made it to Team Saskatchewan.”
“A shout-out to my amazing family who has supported me in this journey and to McKenna Harkness and her family,” adds Wolensky. “They've helped with travel and brought me into their family, too.”
“I'm so grateful to my parents for all the time they put in, instilling values like working hard and always doing your best,” says Harkness. “My whole family was there in B.C. And it will be super-cool to play somewhere like the Olympic Oval in Richmond.”
“It's always a good thing to play somewhere different,” says Harkness. “You're always improving your game and it reinforces the importance of being an aggressor, not in the physical sense-like in a contact sport-but in volleyball, going for it.”
“One of my favourite things will be the experience itself-of going to a new place and meeting new people.”
“It's just the coolest thing to represent your province on such a high level,” says Harkness.
Wolensky agrees. “The first time I competed at an Olympic venue in Calgary, I thought: 'This is awesome and I want to live up to this.'”
“Playing for your province is an amazing feeling and I'm not sure it's completely sunk in yet,” says Wolensky. “At Nationals, I aimed to have a great experience and to play the best volleyball of my life and it turned out to be the best experience I've ever had in my life.”
Harkness agrees. “It was a super-cool experience to play teams from all over Canada. It was a really good learning experience, too.”
