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Barrhead native named to national volleyball team

Chalk up another accomplishment for Barrhead native Max Vriend. Earlier this spring Vriend completed his first season on the MacEwan Griffins volleyball team earning a spot on the starting rotation, a rarity for rookies.
Max Vriend, for the second straight year has made Canada ‘s U21 team. In his first year with the team Vriend did not see any playing time, but he is hopeful that will
Max Vriend, for the second straight year has made Canada ‘s U21 team. In his first year with the team Vriend did not see any playing time, but he is hopeful that will change.

Chalk up another accomplishment for Barrhead native Max Vriend.

Earlier this spring Vriend completed his first season on the MacEwan Griffins volleyball team earning a spot on the starting rotation, a rarity for rookies.

Then in April, in a ceremony in Hamilton, Ont., Vriend was named to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) All-Rookie Team. The CIS is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Fifty-four members, 10,000 student athletes and 550 coaches vie for 19 national championships in 11 different sports.

Now he can add National Junior Volleyball member to his sporting resume. Early this month Volleyball Canada announced that Vriend, a middle blocker, had made its men’s junior team for the 2016 season.

The team is currently in Gatineau, Que., to prepare for the U21 NORCECA (North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation Continental Championship).

The event, which will be held in Gatineau from July 5 to 10, will serve as a qualification for the 2017 U21 Men’s World Junior Championship.

Canada will be looking to secure one of two spots in the World Championship. If successful it will be the fifth straight time the men’s National Junior Volleyball Team has qualified for the world championships.

Gino Brousseau, head coach of Canada’s National Junior Volleyball team, said Vriend’s selection was well deserved.

“Along with my staff, we are very pleased to have selected Max to this year’s Junior National Team program. Max showed us a very solid tryout camp, along with a physical presence at the net both offensively and defensively,” he said in a release. “He is very coachable and brings a work ethic that motivates the coaching staff along with his teammates. We hope to see many positives from Max at the NORCECA qualifier.”

This year with the Griffins, Vriend played in all 24 regular season matches, recording 139 kills, eight assists, 15 aces, 49 digs, and 74 blocks for 198 points. He is also the first Griffin to be named an All-Rookie All-Canadian in MacEwan University’s two-year CIS history.

When Vriend started the year with the Griffins, he said one of his goals was to make a national team.

“I was pretty confident in my abilities, but to make the team, you are competing against some of the best players in the nation,” he said, adding he found out he made the team after competing in a four-day tryout camp. “We are training in the same facility, the Centre Sportif, that the Canadian Men’s Olympic team is, so it’s really cool.”

After the tryout camp the team was given a weekend off before they resumed their training in earnest.

A typical training day starts at 8 a.m. with breakfast before going on a two or three hour training session adjourning for lunch. After refueling their bodies, the team then goes through another two to three hour training session.

“It is a full day,” he said, adding his body is feeling the impact of the training. “I’m a little sore right now, but it is a good sore.”

As for the team itself, he said it is a good group of players, in both ability and temperament, adding he has played with the other two Alberta players on the team before.

As for how the Canadian team stacks up against their competition, Vriend says he isn’t sure.

“We are a pretty young team - all of us are 19 or younger - and the Cubans’ team is always strong,” he said, adding they will just have to play the games to find out what will happen.


Barry Kerton

About the Author: Barry Kerton

Barry Kerton is the managing editor of the Barrhead Leader, joining the paper in 2014. He covers news, municipal politics and sports.
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