The Haliburton Highlands Secondary School junior boys volleyball team are consolation winners after hosting COSSA Nov. 16 in Haliburton.
The boys lost their first match to Quinte West last Thursday morning. However, they rebounded with a consolation victory over the Kenner Rams in the afternoon, to finish third.
The Thursday morning loss was the team’s only defeat this season.
Coach Justin Collins said COSSA third was an accomplishment although, “there was certainly a feeling of disappointment in the moment. But I know in talking with a lot of the guys after the fact, there was a huge sense of pride in the fact we had a goal of being the Kawartha champions and we were able to achieve that. I think there was a feeling of motivation for next year knowing Kawartha champions is really good but now we have a taste for it and our eyes are certainly open on something bigger.”
The team comprised Graham Backus, Josh Scheffee, Owen Whittaker, Caleb Manning, Chase Winder, Benjamin McMahon, Carlito Barbosa, Hudson Horsley, Atticus Jorritsma, Isaac Borgdorff, Deegan Davison and Fynn Gooley.
Collins said he and co-coach Mike Gaffney set a goal two years ago to lay the foundation for a team that was not going to be “one and done” but that they would build a volleyball program at HHSS that is going to be continuously competitive.
“My hope is that it’s something the community can get behind. I’ve had a lot of really good feedback from people that came up and said ‘we saw that game and my son was watching it, he didn’t know volleyball was so cool’ and stuff like that. There’s some really good messaging there,” Collins said.
The face of sports is changing at HHSS with no football and hockey this year.
With volleyball, Collins said it is not something a lot of athletes have access to. The closest club program is in Peterborough. They have one team member who travels to Barrie to play. “For the majority of our students, this is their only access to volleyball.”
He said he and Gaffney are happy to be building the program. “And my hope is that it sparks something in the school, sparks something in incoming athletes, so playing volleyball at Hal High is something they aspire to be part of.”
The coach said this team has chemistry.
“They are, to say friends, is an understatement. This is a brotherhood. They are together in the halls, they sit together in classes, they eat lunch together. This isn’t a situation where the season ends and I won’t see you again until next September. Some really good bonds have been formed.”
Collins credited the turnaround to a real commitment to work the student athletes have put in. He noted that was not just during the season. He said the Grade 10s have been working since last season ended. “We’ve got guys who have been training all year to get ready for this because they didn’t want another bad season. They wanted to be competitive this year. The guys have worked really hard. We talked about the turnaround, they earned it.”
Collins said he’s proud of the team.
“There’s a sense of unfinished business and I know one through 12 and both coaches are excited to get back to work next year.”
Hudson Horsley goes up high to hit the ball in the consolation final.
