The World League will be part of an important and busy 2012 season for the Canadian squad, ranked 19th in the world, which is also looking to land a spot in the Olympic Games. This is Canada’s first appearance in World League play since 2007.

“We are very happy to get back into the World League,” said Canada’s head coach Glenn Hoag of Gatineau, Que.  “At this point of the development of our program, we need to play great teams such as Brazil, Poland and Finland.  Our staff and players will benefit from this learning experience. We will compete hard for every point and improve with every match.”

Canada qualified for the World League this past summer with impressive qualifying round series victories over Slovakia and Puerto Rico.

Both Poland, ranked fourth internationally, and Brazil are among the three nations currently qualified for the 2012 London Olympics after recently finishing second and third respectively at the 2011 World Cup in Japan. Finland is currently ranked 27th.

Other pool groupings include the following:

Pool A: Russia, Cuba, Serbia, Japan

Pool C: Italy, USA, France, Korea

Pool D: Argentina, Bulgaria, Germany, Portugal

The 2012 World League will have a different format from past editions due to the busy international calendar early next summer that also includes several qualification tournaments for the London Olympics. The format will involve each country only hosting one weekend tournament involving the four countries in its pool, over a three-day period, instead of hosting three separate weekend series on home soil as in the past.

The ‘intercontinental round’ will run between May 18 and July 1 with each team still playing a total of 12 matches over the four weekend events. The final six play-off is scheduled for Sofia, Bulgaria from July 4-8.

The final dates and competition calendar for the ‘intercontinental round’, including the hosting dates and location for Canada’s hosted event, will be announced in the early new year.

The prestigious FIVB Volleyball World League, entering its 23rd year, is a 16-country intercontinental tournament that takes place every summer, reaching all corners of the planet, offering worldwide TV coverage and the biggest cash prizes in the sport.

The last time Canada competed in the World League was in 2007 when it placed 13th.

Story from the Volleyball Canada Website | Volleyball.ca

GATINEAU – Canada returned to the medal podium at the Pan Am Cup men’s volleyball tournament on Saturday with a decisive 25-14, 25-20, 25-21 victory over a young but very talented squad from Puerto Rico.

Brazil, buoyed by a group of loud supporters with with drums and horns, won the tournament for the first time with an exciting 25-23, 21-25, 25-17, 28-26 victory over the U.S., the three time defending champions.

Gavin Schmitt of Saskatoon led the Canadian attack with 14 points while team captain Fred Winters of Victoria added 12 and Gord Perrin of Creston, B.C., nine as more than 1,000 volleyball fans turned out at the sweltering Centre Robert-Guertin.

The Canadians finished with a 4-1 record, with two of those wins against Puerto Rico. They went 2-0 in the round robin, defeated Mexico in the quarterfinal and lost to powerhouse Brazil in the semis on Friday night.

‘’We are happy with the win tonight but we still have a lot of things to work on,’’ said Canada’s head coach Glenn Hoag. ‘’This tournament for us will be a good reference point on what we need to work on and it was also a great chance to evaluate the players.’’

Winters said the Canadian squad, fourth at last year’s Pan Am Cup, was hoping to get a better result at the week-long tournament.

‘’It’s nice to finish with a win, especially that we are now headed into two weeks of training,’’ he said. ‘’It was probably our best executed match of the tournament. But it’s early in the season and I done this enough times to know it’s a long process to get the chemistry back.

‘’We hadn’t played together for eight months before this tournament.’’

Schmitt won two tournament awards: he was the top scorer and the top spiker. Paulo Silva of Brazil was the tournament MVP.

The tournament was the first building block in a season that will include an Olympic qualifying event this winter. This week the Canadians were without some of their top international stars including Alexandre Gaumont-Casias of Marieville, Que., and Adam Simac of Ottawa who are recovering from injuries.

That gave an opportunity for players like Perrin, 21, and 23-year-old Justin Duff of Winnipeg an opportunity to impress the coaching staff this week.

Ulises Maldonado and Ezequiel Cruz were top pointsmen for the Puerto Rico with eight each. Some of the Puerto Rican players are heading to the junior Pan Am Cup which starts Tuesday in Panama

‘’We thought we had a pretty good shot of winning but they stepped it up a notch and beat us,’’ said Puerto Rico’s captain Edgardo Goas. ‘’It was still a successful tournament for us. We’ve only been together for two weeks so nobody expected us to battle for a medal.’’

The rest of the standings are Mexico fifth, Venezuela sixth, Argentina seventh, Dominican Republic eighth, Bahamas ninth and Panama 10th.

Canada was fourth last year, silver medallists in 2009 and 2008 and bronze medallists in the inaugural Pan Am Cup in 2006.

Story from volleyball.ca

Canada faces superpower Brazil in its final four match-up set for Friday night at 8 p.m. at the Centre Robert-Guertin in Gatineau. The other semi between the U.S., and Puerto Rico precedes that match at 6 p.m.

Also Canada earns the World League qualifying spot with the victory.

The Canadians had a rough start to the match falling behind 0-9 on an impressive service run by Mexico’s Pedro Rangel.

‘’We just played catch-up volleyball and nearly caught them,’’ said Canada’s head coach Glenn Hoag. ‘’We didn’t start Gavin because he has a bit of a sore knee, but we put him back in because we really wanted to get to that semifinal. He really provides a lot on the attack and that got the flow going.’’

Schmitt completed the match with a game high 21 points ending the third set with a powerful smash that went off a Mexican player and hit the roof of the Centre Robert Guertin and the fourth set with a solid block. Fred Winters added 14 and John Perrin Gordon of Creston, B.C., 12.

‘’We started nervous and it took us a full set to really get into our game,’’ said Gordon. ‘’Once we got it rolling we just needed to work out a few kinks. Hopefully we can play at an even high level for a semifinal. We will have to be even better.’’

Daniel Vargas and Marco Macias had 11 points apiece for Mexico.

‘’We played great,’’ said Mexico’s head coach Jorge Azair. ‘’The difference between the two teams tonight was the block. Now we have to concentrate for tomorrow’s match and the rest of the competition.’’

‘’Canada have a lot of experience and they were able to adjust,’’ said Mexico’s captain Jorge Quinones.

The schedule for Friday is:

• 11 a.m.: 9th place match between the Bahamas and Panama.
• 1 p.m.: consolation semifinal – Venezuela vs Argentina
• 3 p.m.: consolation semifinal – Dominican Republic vs Mexico
• 6 p.m.: championship semifinal – U.S. vs Puerto Rico
• 8 p.m.: championship semifinal – Canada vs Brazil

Story from the Volleyball Canada | Volleyball.ca

Each week a new topic will be presented. The first few weeks will feature:

• Grades 7 & 8 Coaching Focuses by Glenn Hoag, Head Coach for the Men’s National Team
• Functional Warm-Ups by Martin Poirier, Maverick Volleyball Trainer
• Strategies on how to effectively use competition to develop your athletes by John Spack

Send Maverick Volleyball your ideas for topics and they”ll find a knowledgeable coaching expert who is willing to share with the new community.

Join the discussion at http://www.maverickvolleyball.ca/coaching_blog.php

The win gives Canada a 1-1 record, tying them for second with the Serbians in pool F. They can guarantee themselves a berth in the second round if they can knock off Germany (0-2) in their last pool play match against Germany tomorrow night. Poland leads the four teams in Pool F with a 2-0 record after defeating Germany 25-20, 21-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-13.

Canada started strong against Serbia after a straight set loss in their previous match against Poland. Up two sets to zero after 53 minutes of play, the Canadians looked formidable against the nation that won gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics plus bronze and silver at World League Championships in 2009 and 2010.

Team captain and middle hitter Louis-Pierre Mainville set the tone early, scoring the first three Canadian points in the match with two kills and one block. Having established that threat in the middle, setter Dustin Schneider was able to distribute the ball across all attackers and even managed to score himself, by stuffing the ball over on what appeared to be a Canadian over-bump destined to become a free ball for Serbia.

“Middle didn’t work well for us last night, but tonight was the opposite,” said Mainville, a Montreal-area native. “We scored points early, which helped the outside hitters get one-on-one opportunities and put the ball away.” In the third set, Canada hit a bump after a dip in confidence and a resurgent Serbian squad capitalized, taking a 10 point lead thanks to some veteran shot-making from Ivan Miljkovic.

“For a young team, this is a great result for us,” said head coach Glenn Hoag. “This will help the program move on from here no matter how we finish.”

Coach Hoag played all 12 available players including one of the younger members of the senior national team, 22-year old middle hitter Justin Duff, who contributed seven points in only two sets on the floor including a massive spike down the middle to win the match.

“I knew when I came in there wouldn’t be time to be nervous,” said Duff, who watched the previous night’s match from the stands because of 12 man roster limitations dictating how many players can be dressed for each match. “I was just hoping that they didn’t have too much game tape on me and that I could contribute.”

Said Serbia’s team captain and setter Grbic Nikola, “Canada earned that victory. They were exceptional passers and we had no answers for them.”

The team will have little downtime before their next test at 11am EST on Monday, when they will need to focus on keeping their level of play high throughout the last match; in the likely event of a tie between two teams, the decision system is reliant on total points scored throughout pool play.

“We need to celebrate this win, but we also need to focus on the next game,” added Mainville. “We need to have a good plan, but come to the game calm and ready to play like we did today.”

The match attracted a record crowd of 5,766 at the Palatrieste.

By Ted Graham in Trieste

Canadian team roster for the 2010 FIVB Men’s World Volleyball Championships

Players: Dallas Soonias, Red Deer, Alta.; Adam Simac, Ottawa; Louis-Pierre Mainville, Notre-Dame de l’Isle, Que.; Dan Lewis, Oakville, Ont.; Nicolas Cundy, Edmonton; Toon Van Lankvelt, Rivers, Man.; Frederic Winters, Victoria; Gavin Schmitt, Saskatoon; Adam Kaminski, Chatham, Ont.; Dustin Schneider, Brandon, Man.; Josh Howatson, Victoria; Olivier Faucher of Plessisville, Que.; Gord Perrin, Creston, B.C.; Justin Duff, Winnipeg.

Head coach: Glenn Hoag, Gatineau, Que. Assistant coach:
Vincent Pichette, Gatineau
Team manager: Julien Boucher, Quebec City

Team Canada Manager Julien Boucher will be blogging from the 2010 World Volleyball Championships. Follow Team Canada’s performance as captured by Julien Boucher on Volleyball Canada’s website throughout the event. Read on for a message from Julien and the first blog entry of the journey:

Hello Everybody

Twenty years after my first participation at a world championships as the Canadian team’s assistant coach in Brazil, I’m back at the same event but this time as team manager.

But prior to the start of the worlds on September 25, Team Canada will play some preparation matches: three against the Czech Republic and a couple more against ACH Bled, the team Glenn Hoag has coached the past two years.

I look forward to providing reports from this current road trip.

Day 1 – September 12-13; Ottawa to Litomysl, Czech Republic

We have just arrived at the hotel after an uneventful flight. We are residing in a charming town called Litomysl which is about 200 kilometres east of Prague.

Training is scheduled for tonight from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. followed by hopefully a good night’s sleep. Our first match is Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. 15 kilometres away in Zvitavy.

While feeling tired after a long trip, the players appear ready for this last part of the season.

The 14 players on the trip are : Dallas Soonias, Adam Simac, Dan Lewis, Nicolas Cundy, Toon Van Lankvelt, Fred Winters, Gavin Schmitt, Adam Kaminski, Dustin Schneider, Josh Howatson, Gord Perrin, Justin Duff, Louis-Pierre Mainville and Olivier Faucher.

Follow Team Canada’s journey, visit Volleyball Canada’s website.

Get your Canadian volleyball fix online.

Volleyball Source magazine, a Canadian volleyball online magazine, was launched on Monday, March 8, by long-time touring beach player Ahren Cadieux, who knows just about everyone in the sport. Veteran volleyball writer Larry Humber handles the editorial.

They are joined by some winning correspondents, notably three-time Olympian Mark Heese, as well as fitness, mental conditioning and nutrition specialists. Source covers the Canadian volleyball scene and looks at the bigger picture, too. An interview with Canadian men’s National Team coach Glenn Hoag is a highlight of the inaugural issue.

You will also meet Tiffany Dodds and other Canucks who are having an impact internationally, even Jason Haldane, who may yet realize his Olympic dream. Not to forget two-time beach champion Matt Zbyszewski and two-sport sensation Paul Rosen, who is currently tending net at the Paralympic Games in Vancouver.

Source also looks at the next generation, Canada’s upcoming college and pro stars.

What more could you ask for?

Volleyball Source press release

The new magazine is colourful with plenty of photos, comes with embedded video and even has an audio component for those too lazy to read. You can become a Facebook fan and follow them on Twitter too. Best of all, it is free to those who sign up.

It is available online at www.volleyballsourcemag.com

“We are definitely going to build our strategy in terms of preparing for the teams in our pool,” said Canadian national team coach Glenn Hoag. “What stands out from those squads is that they are usually physical teams, particularly Serbia and Germany with their strong servers.”
The Canadian team selections are to be held in the summer with a roster of 14 players expected to make the trip to Italy.

Canada is coming off a strong 2009 season highlighted by winning a world championships qualifier last month in Mexico.
Canada was 11th at the 2006 World Championships in Japan.

VC

Canada's big block against Mexico

The Canadian men and women’s national volleyball teams both took full advantage of their last chance to qualify for the World Championships in 2010. Both teams finished their qualification tournaments with 3-0 records earning each team one of the last two final berths from their NORCECA competitions to the 2010 World Championships.

Canada and Costa Rica advanced from a tough NORCECA Playoff Round in Tijuana last week at the 2010 World Championship Final NORCECA Women’s Qualification Tournament that also featured Mexico and Trinidad & Tobago. Canada finished the round-robin competition undefeated to top the group, while Costa Rica finished as runners-up with a 2-1 record.

The Canadian women defeated Mexico 3-2 in a close five set match 3-2, (25-13, 25-22, 22-25, 20-25, 15-8). In 2005, it was Mexico who defeated Canada to qualify for the 2006 World Championship, stealing the berth from the Canadians. This time the Canadians returned the favour in front of a full house of 2500 Mexican supporters in Tijuana, ending Mexico’s dream of returning to the World Championship.

Canada was led in scoring by Sherline Holness with 14 points from 7 kills, 5 blocks and 2 services aces, along with Tonya Mokelki and Tiffany Dodds who both contributed 13 points each.

Dallas Soonias, Steve Brinkman and Toon Van Lankvelt block

The Men’s National Team defeated Mexico in straight sets at the 2010 World Championship Final NORCECA Men’s Qualification Tournament that was being held August 28-30 in Guadelajara, Mexico. Set scores were 25-15, 25-18, 25-17. With Canada finishing 3-0 and Mexico 2-1 in the tournament, both teams claimed the last two available berths from this tournament to the 2010 World Championship.

Alexandre Gaumont Casias led Canada with 14 points, and Gavin Schmitt contributed 12.

“Since we knew we had qualified for the World Championship after Mexico’s victory last night, we told the players that this was the start of our preparation for worlds and that we had to focus on working on execution and running our game plan,” stated Head Coach Glenn Hoag. “The players did a good job with this focus. I would like to thank my staff, Larry Mckay, Georges Laplante, Mathieu Séguin and Vincent Pichette for their work. With our ticket to Italy we can now start planning for next summer.”

A record 215 national teams will compete in the 2010 FIVB Men’s and Women’s World Championships. The 2010 men’s finals will be held in Italy from September 23 to October 10  and the women’s finals in Japan from October 29 to November 14, 2010. Of the 24 national teams in each of the finals, Italy as hosts and Brazil as holders have automatically advanced to the men’s finals, while Japan as hosts and Russia as holders have earned their spot in the women’s finals.

notes from VC andfivb.org

Women pool J fivb.org

Men photo gallery fivb.org

The Australians could not keep up with the energetic Canadian team, who took all three sets (25-16, 25-20, 31-29). In an exciting third set, the crowd of 2200 took to their feet to cheer on their team, as Mark Dodds came in to serve when Canada was down 22-24.

“I hadn’t played yet in the match, but I play best when the pressure is on and the game is on the line,” said Dodds. “It was nice to go in there and have some success in a tough situation.”

Toon Van Lankvelt scored the most points with nine kills, two blocks, and one ace. Dallas Soonias pulled out 10 points, while Sherbrooke University alum Louis-Pierre Mainville scored 6 points.

The Canadian men’s volleyball team won the previous game in Kingston on Wednesday 3-2, while the Australians took the first game in Ottawa 3-1. The series finished in Canada’s favour 2-1.

“This was excellent preparation for the World Qualifiers,” said head coach Glenn Hoag. “We’ve been training for so long without competing, which makes this such an important preparation tool for us. We still have things we need to work on but the team will feel more confident after competing against a team like Australia.”

The men’s national team will travel to Cuba August 12-17 for the World Qualifiers.

VC