The day after returning from visiting her sister at the University of New Brunswick, Sechelt’s Heather Benko officially signed onto the maritime university’s volleyball team.
In the fall, she’ll be joining her older sister Lorren, who was recruited for the UNB REDS just last year.
There were a few options the 17-year-old considered before making her decision, but a visit to meet the team and play together sealed the deal. The Benkos won’t be the only sister duo on the court – the REDS also includes two other sets of siblings. For Heather, the family element and friendliness of her soon-to-be teammates helped her narrow down her choices.
“That just made my decision so much easier, because not only did I miss her, but I knew that we were going to play well,” Heather said of her sister. This set of siblings can assess how the other is feeling on and off the court, and being from Slovakia originally, will sometimes communicate during a game in their first language.
Heather has also worked with the REDS’ head coach, Richard Schick, before.
“I love him as a coach, he understands the goals that I’ve set for myself and wants to help me reach them,” she said. “I am hoping to play for the women’s national team one day, and as he was on the men’s national team, he understands what needs to be done before I can get to that level of play and, basically, what steps I need to take to get on that proper path.”
In a press release, REDS coach Schick said, “Heather is someone who makes an immediate impact on the people around her and the teams she’s involved with. Her energy level, along with her overall skill and competitiveness, is something that we look forward to having on the Currie Center floor for the next five years.
“She’s been a main contributor on her high school, club and provincial team, and is motivated to take that experience and expectation to the next level.”
The Chatletch senior will be joining the team as an outside hitter, playing the right side and occasionally the left. She’s been playing club volleyball for seven years, the past four of which have been with the BCO Volleyball Club in North Vancouver. In 2019, Benko was named MVP and has also been recognized as an all-star in regional high school volleyball.
At UNB, Heather will be majoring in sociology with a minor in law and society in her hopes of becoming a police officer after post-secondary by “getting the right idea behind the job.”
When Heather told her sister she’d joined the team, Lorren called with the rest of her future teammates to welcome her aboard.
“Now we don’t have to miss each other because we’re going to be close all the time,” Heather said.
