CANORA – The Canora Composite School Cougars junior boys volleyball team, coached by Josie Short, hosted a mini-tournament on Oct. 16 involving the host Cougars, the Invermay Eagles and the Sturgis Trojans.
The idea for holding the tournament came out of CCS staff member Curtis Baillie reaching out to the coaches of junior boys teams in the area
“Sturgis and Invermay both mentioned that the 16th was open for them,” said Short, “and to make it a little bit more worthwhile of driving here, it worked out that we could be the central gym for the three teams to come together. Each team was able to play two-best-of-three matches.”
In a matchup of the two out-of-town teams, Invermay defeated Sturgis.
The Cougars opened the mini-tournament with a two sets to none victory over Invermay. The Eagles roared out to a 6-1 lead to start the first set. But strong serving contributed to six straight points by the Cougars. They continued to build on the lead, eventually taking the first set by a 25-15 score.
In the second set neither team could find an early advantage, playing to ties at 7-7 and again at 10-10. But the Cougars stayed with it, battling their way to a 16-12 lead before pulling away for victory and a final score of 25-15.
Building on that momentum, the Cougars then defeated Sturgis in two straight sets.
Coach Short says it was a successful day for all three teams, as they didn’t really focus on placings.
“This was more for all three teams to get out and get more game action under their belts.”
Even though Short was only brought in as coach a week into the season, she says things have been going well in limited action so far. The Cougars played in the Churchbridge tournament and only missed qualifying for the finals by a few points.
“Our team has improved tremendously from the beginning of the year,” said Short, adding that having a tall team in general “helps us with our overall strength on the court. We are able to have some deeper serves and when able to connect with a kill they are able to direct the ball well.”
As is the case with many young volleyball players, finding consistency can be challenging.
“We really are honing in on our mechanics when it comes to passing, setting, and our serving,” said Short. “Each practice we touch on these areas to make sure that the boys are able to keep advancing their skills. We are working on playing as a team, including communication in our play and I hope they are able to feel more confident in their skills.”
Short said she really enjoys volleyball and is relishing the opportunity to continue that passion through coaching the Cougars.
“I have also been learning so much as the season has gone on and I hope that has translated to my coaching. This team has been fun to coach. They care about the game and about the lessons that we are going through at practice. They have the talent and want to play well, possibly win some games and that's always fun to coach.”
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