The battle between high school volleyball teams at provincials or in the lead up to isn’t unusual in the Greater Victoria landscape.
Several coaches have had success across the region, two of those reasons are longtime coaches Al Carmichael and Shon Ryan.
“We’re rivals but we respect each other a ton,” said Ryan, a volunteer coach at Claremont secondary since the early ’90s, ahead of becoming a teacher there in 1995.
Carmichael had already coached at Mount Doug, developing volleyball there between 1988 and 1994 before moving to Oak Bay High in 1995. At the time, there was no boys volleyball to speak of as it wasn’t the predominant sport in the school. Before that year, the most recent chance at glory was their 1976 shot at provincials.
“I was starting from scratch,” Carmichael said.
That meant crafting a Grade 8 team, the developing that into two teams the next year, Grade 8 and juniors the next two years, then handing off the Grade 8 team. By then, there were former players or other community members to come help.
Carmichael coached to his first provincial win at 22 in 1988.
“It took me 18 years to win my second,” he said.
Both men developed a taste for the sport as high school students themselves, and started coaching not long after graduation. Now, they are being recognized with a BC School Sports Citation of Excellence Award in coaching. The award recognizes outstanding coaches and their distinguished contributions to their sport and athletes. The recipient(s) guides student-athletes to success through the philosophy of fair play and sportsmanship for a sustained period, while displaying values consistent with BCSS and school sport.
The accolades come after decades dedicated to young people, bringing many to the sport – some who went on to do big things on national teams, as NCAA and USPORTS athletes and in pro leagues around the world.
During his secondary school years, Oak Bay High grad Josh Howatson was a cornerstone player for Carmichael. An incredibly smart player, and the best Carmichael ever coached.
“He was at the forefront,” said Carmichael, but they never made the provincials with Howatson school team. He did go on to play at Camosun, Trinity Western, with Canada’s national team and professional teams. His brother Mark competed at provincials a few years later under Carmichael’s lead.
Former Saanich player Fred Winters boasts similar achievements in his post-Claremont years, including an fifth-place Olympic finish at the 2016 Rio Games.
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Any coach will tell you winning is good. It’s what they and the players work towards, but it’s not everything.
“The sport I coach has to be fun. It still has to be a game – emphasis on the play,” Carmichael said.
An unusual statistic highlights his point. Oak Bay has won provincials four times, but the regional Islands tournament only twice, meaning those teams peaked at the right time. Reflecting on that, he figures it’s about keeping the players heads in the game.
“If they’re having fun, they stay engaged the entire season,” Carmichael added.
Every year, a couple kids head to post-secondary teams and Carmichael’s proud of them, but also proud of those simply inspired to grow the sport at local clubs and schools. Of the players that roll through the rosters, 90 to 95 per cent will play competition volleyball in post secondary, he noted. But they’ve learned an outlet to play for fun.
“It all comes back to fun. It’s got to be fun,” Ryan agreed.
Their players generally learn valuable personal skills, responsibly to yourself and others, opportunities for leadership and holding others accountable. Finding that team outlet can keep them busy, and out of trouble.
“They’re involved, they’re connected, they’re engaged in a good group,” Carmichael said. “We have an opportunity to deviate a path, intervene on one that may not lead to life success.”
He can think of five off the top of his head, who benefited from that diversion, recalling one in particular that still visibly strikes a chord.
“Sport was the thing he could connect to,” Carmichael said. “Even if they don’t give a lick about school, they might get something out of school despite themselves.”
Both coaches have seen players become their best version of themselves as athletes and as people.
“The most rewarding part is seeing them grow on the courts and off,” said Ryan, who still gets together with former players for rounds of golf, and also coaches at Claremont. “It’s so neat to see them grow into young contributing athletes and people.”
They’re also both the kind of leaders players tend to keep in touch with. Ryan even plans to grab a round of golf with a former player while in Kelowna for the sports awards.
The Island coaches will also meet up with a peer they’ve faced at provincials, fellow boys volleyball coach Rob Gunning who works at Penticton secondary. A fourth coaching award handed out during the May 10 event goes to fellow volleyball coach Adele Renzullo of St. Patrick Regional Secondary in Burnaby.
“It is such a privilege to celebrate these incredible individuals. They have dedicated so much to supporting school sports and changing the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of student-athletes. They are truly the very best of the school sport community,” BCSS Executive Director Jordan Abney said.
BC School Sports is the governing body for inter-school sport more than over 450 public and independent schools in the province. It manages 61 provincial championships each year where more than 16,000 student-athletes compete.