After years of university play and pro-level volleyball training through Athletics Canada, Josh Edwards is preparing to pass on everything he’s learned to the County’s next generation of athletes.
Launching the non-profit Ascension Volleyball Club this month – the Highlands’ first organized volleyball organization – Edwards said he has a long-term goal of establishing the County club as one of the best in Ontario.
“Volleyball is the fastest-growing youth sport in the province right now… our high school has had some amazing success with teams this year, both boys and girls,” Edwards said. “But once the school season is done there’s minimal opportunities locally for our players to develop. They have to travel out of town if they want to enhance their volleyball experience.”
The Hal High junior and senior girls teams won Kawartha championships in February, with the junior and senior boys winning silver at the Central Ontario Secondary Schools Association (COSSA) finals in November.
While Edwards knows there’s enough interest in running a program for high school athletes, he’s testing the waters with younger kids too.
Spring volleyball programs will begin in April for youth in Grades 2-5, 6-9 and 10-12. Sessions will be held Monday and Wednesday evenings at J.D. Hodgson and Archie Stouffer elementary schools.
“That will help us to gauge interest levels in the area; to see how many kids would be willing to commit to more court time outside of their school circuits. The goal is to develop both a passion for the game as well as the skills required to reach even higher levels of competition,” he said.
Ascension is an initiative he’s had in the back of his mind ever since relocating to Haliburton County in 2023. Edwards said he has the backing of Volleyball Canada, who connected him with people from the Markham-based Unity Volleyball Club for pointers on building a program from the ground up.
He also has his own experience to draw from. From 2009 to 2016, he represented the Windsor Lancers in Ontario University Athletics play. He was a two-time all-star as a middle blocker. Upon graduation he received carding status from Athletics Canada – meaning he was paid to train fulltime with the country’s national volleyball program.
While he never appeared in international competition, Edwards spent 18 months from 2016 to 2018 honing his skills alongside some of Canada’s best players.
“In that program, we looked at volleyball almost as our trade. We needed to ensure our volleyball IQ, passing, reading and serving ability were all at the highest level…I got to compete with and learn from members of the national team who have been to the Olympics,” Edwards said.
Local high school coaches Allie Paul and Mike Gaffney will be assisting with the upcoming camps, which will run until June. Edwards said he’ll be teaching basic skills in passing, serving and blocking as well as how to attack and defend different tactical systems. The younger groups will focus more on play and getting a feel for the game, with the older groups getting more advanced training.
He said volleyball is a great sport for developing athletes as it teaches teamwork and discipline – key skills that he says benefit anyone no matter what their goals are in life.
Edwards has also partnered with the Ontario Volleyball League (OVL) and hopes to launch competitive teams in the fall.
“We’ll have access to tournaments over the next year within the OVL and will see if we can go to some exhibition tournaments in Barrie, Orillia and Peterborough as well,” Edwards said. “This is an exciting new adventure and we’re in it for the long haul. I can’t wait to get the ball rolling here.”
For more information, visit ascensionvolleyball.com or contact ascensionvolleyballhc@gmail.com.
