CANADA WEST
WolfPack putting something together
Chris Jurewicz
Daily News Sports Reports
October 26 2006
The key was Matt Harris. Land Harris and others would follow.
Well, Pat Hennelly landed Harris and, yes, others followed. A total of four, in fact.
Hennelly, head coach of the TRU WolfPack men's volleyball team, has reason to be optimistic heading into his team's second season as a member of Canada West. Hennelly recruited 10 players in the offseason, five of whom are from Alberta.
And leading the Alberta Five is Harris, a 6-foot-8 right side from Edmonton, who last season played for the Red Deer College Kings. Harris was named Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference rookie of the year in 2004 and helped the Kings win Canadian Colleges Athletic Association national titles in 2005 and 2006.
| After Harris committed to TRU's program, brothers Colin and Troy Jaggard, Andy Haley and Tony Zylstra followed. It was, and is, one of Hennelly's crowning achievements thus far as head coach.
"These guys were being courted by a lot of schools and it's great for us and it takes something away from them," Hennelly says. "I call it a double recruit. It's someone that other people wanted and we ended up getting. So we're stronger, they're weaker."
Harris, Hennelly says, could have gone to any school in Canada. Which isn't to say the other four players aren't important.
Troy Jaggard, a 6-foot-4 left side, played with Harris at RDC for both National titles. He was an all-star at the 2003 U.S. junior Olympics in Louisville, KY. |
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Keith Anderson / Daily News |
| THE ALBERTA FIVE - brothers Colin and Troy Jaggard, left to right in front, and Andy Haley (back row, left), Tony Zylstra and Matt Harris - are here for a good time and a long time. |
Colin Jaggard, a 6-foot-4 setter, played at Mount Royal College in Calgary last season where he was named the ACAC rookie of the year and made the all-conference team.
Haley, a 6-foot-5 left side from Stony Plain, Alta., spent the last two seasons with the NAIT Ooks. He was athlete of the year in 2003 at Stony Plain's Memorial Composite High School.
Zylstra, a 6-foot-7 middle/right side, was an all-Canadian with the Ooks last season, leading the team to provincial bronze.
So, why did they come here? Why did Harris and Troy Jaggard leave a championship team for one that wwent 1-19 last season?
The reason, they say, is the same reason the other three are here. If this group stays together - and the players think it will - the WolfPack will soon enjoy a championship.
"This year is kind of a rebuilding year," says Harris, who enters his first season of CIS eligibility. "We came here knowing that a lot of us have two, three or four years left. So we plan to be here for those four years.
"It's hard to say this year how good we'll do but we expect to do well. We have lots of years that we're planning on building up."
Says Colin Jaggard: "A lot of CIS teams have fifth-years and fourth-years cycling in and out. With us, it looks like we're going to have the same six guys or the same eight guys for the next two or three years. Within three years, that will be our year."
The Alberta Five is joined by other high-profile recruits, including a pair of international students. Martin Korsbak, a 6-foot-9 middle from Denmark, brings needed size to the 'Pack.
Robin Schoebel of France, at 6-foot-7, is another big body the WolfPack will utilize around the net.
All of this, plus the six returning players from last season, gives Hennelly reason to expect TRU will make the playoffs.
"We've done the first part because we have the talent to do it," Hennelly says. "We've got some names, some guys who aren't going to be intimidated by who we have to play. The second part now is to get the whole team together. And I'd say we're about halfway there.
"It's difficult when you have this many guys at this level. You've got egos, you've got guys who come in with different ideas about how the game is played."
The WolfPack begins its quest for a playoff spot Nov. 3, when the Saskatchewan Huskies visit TRU gym. The teams meet for a rematch the following night. Both games start at 7:45.
The WolfPack will conclude its exhibition season Friday, 7:30 p.m., at home to Team Canada masters. The Canadian squad includes several past CIS stars.
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TRU WolfPack |
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2005-06: 1-19
Key losses: None.
Key additions: M Martin Korsbak, OH Robin Schoebel, OH Matt Harris, M Tony Zylstra, S Colin Jaggard, OH Troy Jaggard, OH/L Patrick Johnston, L Kyle Donen, OH Andy Haley, OH Kyle Brewer.
Watch out for: Korsbak, "great blocker", says Pat Hennelly, TRU's head coach; Schoebel, "great serve, explosive spike"; Harris, Colin Jaggard, Zylstra, L Graham Allard.
Outlook: "We are looking to take one of the seven playoff spots in our conference and put some wins on the board," Henelly says. "This is a talented squad with the size and skill to play in the best conference in Canada." |