Sunday, September 8th will see Niagara College's Welland Campus Athletic Centre host an open house/talent identification session for the Niagara Region Volleyball Canada Centre of Excellence (VCCE). The VCCE is designed for athletes grades 8-12, and will identify and develop volleyball players for provincial and national level competition.
There are currently 22 VCCE's located across Canada with six being located in Ontario. The Niagara Region centre is the most recent to be established and the 12-week program will see identified athletes receive four hours of skill and cognitive development training per week.
Dawna Sales, Program Manager of the VCCE initiative felt that the Niagara Region was an ideal location for the program. She commented "the Niagara Region features a strong volleyball culture. The level of coaches at Brock and Niagara, the outstanding partnership between the two institutions, and the strength of the club and high school systems in the area made Niagara a natural choice."
The Niagara Region VCCE will be operated as a partnership between Brock University, Niagara College and Volleyball Canada. Brock Women's Volleyball head coach Dale Melnick will serve as the lead coach and overall director of the program, while Niagara College men's and women's volleyball head coaches Nathan Groenveld and Joey Martins will serve as the men's and women's Technical Directors.
Melnick commented "the VCCE is a comprehensive training program designed to train and develop athletes of all levels of experience for elite competition." She continued "the program is provided by Volleyball Canada, and supports the Long Term Athlete Development model which emphasizes teaching athletes in this age group how to train and prepare for high levels of competition."
The talent identification session is open to volleyball athletes of all levels of experience, and Volleyball Canada is looking to identify 60 total participants.
The program utilizes physical assessments and testing, video analysis, and integrated strength and conditioning training. The identified athletes work with leading experts in nutrition, sport psychology, and technical athlete development.
"This program is designed to provide athletes with the fundamental and technical skills needed to compete as a potential member of a provincial or national team. Additionally, athletes looking to compete at the post-secondary level will receive the individual instruction needed to develop both on and off the court" commented Men's Technical Director Nathan Groenveld.
Women's Technical Director Joey Martins added "the coach to athlete ratio of the program will be very low. This will make sure that participants will get the direct and hands on instruction needed to develop on an individual level." He continued "we are looking for anyone, regardless of how experienced they may be. If a player demonstrates strong athleticism, we will identify them as participants and help them reach their playing potential."
The final identification session is set for Sunday, September 8th from 3:00 – 7:00 pm at the Niagara College Welland Campus Athletic Centre.
For more information please visit http://www.vcce.ca/ or contact:
Dawna Sales
Program Manager, Volleyball Canada Centre of Excellence
dsales@volleyball.ca
OR
Dale Melnick
Volleyball Canada Centre of Excellence
289-668-5345
dale.melnick@gmail.com
