Storm awarded silver
The Smithville Christian Storm came home with a silver medal for the second straight year from the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) A boys volleyball championships.
The Storm dropped a close three-set match 24-26, 20-25, 27-29 to Hamilton District Christian High School in the gold medal game after going undefeated to reach the finals.
鈥淚t鈥檚 never a disappointment to medal at OFSAA but we felt like this year we could have potentially beat them,鈥� Smithville coach Tim deVries said. 鈥淏ut at the same time, this is their (Hamilton) fourth time in a row. It鈥檚 a healthy rivalry between the two Christian schools from SOSSA (Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association) because we meet each other all the time.鈥�
DeVries has been coaching for more than two decades and now has two silver, two gold and four bronze to his credit.听
鈥淚 knew this team could do it, just like last year鈥檚. We did beat Hamilton at a tournament so we felt like we could beat them,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just the guys buying into the fact that, yeah, you guys can win this.鈥�
DeVries said Smithville and Hamilton District have mutual respect for each other.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always a very good, respectable,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e beaten them 鈥� last four years we haven鈥檛 鈥� but in the past we used to beat them. So it鈥檚 always kind of been back and forth. The last four years they鈥檝e had a bit of a juggernaut, but it鈥檚 always a very healthy, respectful rivalry. It鈥檚 not a heated rivalry by any means.鈥�
The Storm, who won gold in 2019, have met Hamilton Christian three times in the OFSAA finals.听
Overall, deVries said he was more than satisfied with the season.
鈥淲e had an awesome year. We played a lot of volleyball. We had 听a really good season,鈥� he said.听
The future appears bright for the Storm, who have a solid pipeline of players in the fold.
鈥淲e lose one really key player who鈥檚 been amazing for us for three years (Cole Wiersma), but I have two Grade 10s that were starters for me this year and I have two club players that are great.鈥�
The Storm also lose Zachary Graham, Derrick Posthumus, Lincoln van Der Wier and Liam VanderWier to graduation.
Other members of the team were: Daniel Attia, Jack deVries, Bo Langendoen, Evan Vandenberg, Benjamin Wiersma and Adam Wiersma and Aiden Wiersma.
Rob Greenham, Beth Henderson and Adam Vandendool were the assistant coaches.
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