Spending two weeks of my summer with the provincial team was an amazing experience for a multitude of reasons. I was practicing with players who were much better than me, I was able to get lots of feedback due to the many coaches attending the camp, and I had the opportunity to compete against players with a full year of university experience!

The practice schedule was not quite as intense as HPC (the week long tryout), but with fewer players (around 20) and 5 coaches, the extra attention to each athlete more than made up for dropped practice time. I was on the team as a left side hitter and so the first 3-4 days of practice consisted almost exclusively of passing reps. This was perfect since you can never get enough passing reps! Later on, after the 2 separate teams were announced (18U and 19U), practices started moving more into competition preparation. Sessions always ended with wash drills between the 2 squads which were a lot of fun. Playing against the 19U guys was a challenge, but it was a great taste of what we'd be up against at the National Team Challenge Cup (NTCC).

Living in the residence was fun as it gave a feeling of independence. It was up to us to keep track of when practices took place and when to be down for meals. It all felt like a sneak peak of university life... minus hours of class each week!

The tournament at the end of the camp was a great way to end the two weeks. The 18U team got smoked but it was still the most fun I've ever had in competition. The experience on the other side of the net forced you to play smart. The massive blocks meant you couldn't bury the ball straight down. Using the block or placing a smart tip were the best and usually the only ways to score. The serve receive was harder than it had ever been before. The first game, against Alberta,  was almost demoralizing but it turned out to be incredibly beneficial as the tournament went on. By the end, I was passing more consistently than I ever had before.

Overall I greatly enjoyed my experience with the provincial team. I felt much more confident in my play by the end of the two weeks and met a lot of awesome people from around Ontario. Now I'm just hoping I can re-live the experience next year!

(Gabe played with the Team Ontario 18U squad, the only 18U team in the tournament.  The Team Ontario 19U squad came home with a Bronze medal)