Close to 30 enthusiastic Coast volleyball players spent their May 5th professional development day off from school and on the beach volleyball courts in Sechelt taking advantage of a high performance coaching opportunity.
Birgit Breuer, owner of Sunshine Coast Spirit of Excellence (SCSOE), presented the one-day clinic alongside high performance coach Mischa Harris and sisters Megan and Nicole McNamara, the U18 junior Olympic beach volleyball champions from the Lower Mainland.
Harris entered the world of high performance sport as a volleyball player, representing Canada on the beach and the University of British Columbia on the court.
The McNamara twins were a great inspiration to the Sunshine Coast players and are coached by Harris through his Sideout Beach Volleyball Club in Vancouver.
Harris also serves as the lead strength and conditioning coach for Volleyball Canada Centres of Excellence.
“We had 24 players in the U13 category in the morning and 10 in the U14/15 session in the afternoon,” Breuer said. “This is a chance to bring three very high level and experienced beach players to the Coast, and I think all the girls who participated got a lot out of the clinic. We have a quite a community of kids who are playing volleyball both on the court and on the beach. The level of play is vastly improving at the elementary, high school and club levels with more teams going to provincials every years.”
SCSOE was created to present programs for young athletes of all levels of ability, who seek the best development programs to achieve goals for higher levels of play for sport and life. Their programs include mind, body and spirit development presented by professional sport instructors. The year-round training concentrates on the well-rounded athlete for multi-sport skills, individual sport skills, fitness, speed, agility, nutrition, leadership and life skills development through clinics, seasonal camps and weekly programs. The mission of these programs is to increase the community spirit on the Sunshine Coast through sport excellence.
“We started working with Mischa last year, and I’m doing programs through his Sideout Club as well,” Breuer added. “It’s a great partnership. Many players here on the Coast have a lot of talent and will be going into the Lower Mainland and places like Spanish Banks this summer for tournaments. Volleyball is becoming a year-round sport here on the Coast and the level of excellence is just growing.”
