Harpermania
Some of Tristan Thiessen’s friends didn’t believe him when he started telling how he had his picture taken with Prime Minister Stephen Harper over the weekend.
Thiessen and the rest of his Riverside Rage boys 14-and-under volleyball team were in Waterloo for the Ontario Provincial Championships.
So was Harper, who came to see his son Ben, play for the Ottawa Fusion.
“It was pretty cool getting our picture taken with him,” 13-year-old Thiessen said. “We didn’t expect him to be there.”
Harper was originally scheduled to be in Poland for a memorial service honouring that country’s deceased president but Iceland’s ash-spewing volcano cancelled his overseas flight and left him with some free time.
“He was there all three days along with about 15 body guards,” Riverside coach Shawn Lippert said.
Harper posed for pictures with several teams, including the South County girls 14U team.
During the tournament, the Rage played Ottawa Fusion and lost.
Thiessen said the Prime Minister’s son is “a really good player. He’s really good at digging the ball when it’s in the backcourt.”
The Rage finished fifth in Ontario out of 22 teams while Ottawa wound up third.
“Getting their picture taken with the Prime Minister is a once in a lifetime moment for our athletes,” Lippert said. “It was a lot of fun.”
Riverside’s Kevin Hillman received an Ontario Volleyball Excellence award. Matt Pe Benito had a team-high 57 kills and Justin Fisher had 22 blocks.
The girls posted the best finish ever by a South County travel team. They were fourth out of 67 teams.
Courtesy of the Windsor Star
