Siekierski makes Ontario as a walk-on

(Josh Howald photo)

To play for province at NTCC volleyball
Section:
Sports
Post Date:
13/07/2011, 10:48

By Josh Howald

While his classmates were at the prom, dancing and discussing dreams, Jacob Siekierski was in a Rexdale gymnasium making his own dreams come true.

Being a few hours late for graduation paid off for him on the weekend when he was selected by the Ontario Volleyball Association to represent Ontario at the National Team Challenge Cup (NTCC) in Gatineau, QC next week.

It didn’t happen overnight. In fact, KDSS’ athlete of the year admitted he had been waiting for this open tryout for nearly a year.

He did not receive an invite to the OVA’s High Performance Centre (HPC) at Humber College, so on prom day, he travelled to Toronto to the open tryout (which was also held at Humber) and did eight hours of drills for the coaching staff. A few days later, his sacrifice paid off when he received an invitation to last week’s HPC as a virtual unknown.

“Coming from a small town, and being the only guy who didn’t play club, I found it pretty hard to fit in,” said Siekierski. “I didn’t know anyone and they all kind of hung out together. I didn’t see myself making it, I was really just happy to make it through (the open tryout) to the main camp itself. It’s nice to know what really is possible if you work hard and just get out there.”

The HPC Ontario tryout began last Monday at Humber, and included three two-hour sessions of training each day, in addition to physical fitness and strength testing. The first four days consisted solely of drills and strategy. Friday and Saturday, the athletes were split into four teams to play a tournament and be seen in game action.

Saturday night when it was all said and done, the provincial coaching staff held exit interviews with each of the players who attended the main camp.

“I was the second last guy to be interviewed, so it was a little stressful,” smiled Siekierski at The Independent Sunday evening.

“And then they told me I made Team Ontario.”

The coaching staff told the 6’2” left middle they liked his athleticism, his vertical leap and his speed. For not having played club volleyball, they saw potential in his defending, and think he might be able to lead an attack. Siekierski said his game has already improved from being coached by, and playing with, Ontario’s best. He says he has learned to relax on the court, and has a new defensive system down pat.

Monday morning, Siekierski left for the University of Toronto for a week-long training camp with the 21 other players selected to play for Team Ontario. At the end of the week, he’ll hop on a bus and go to Gatineau, QC, for the NTTC. The NTTC will pit Ontario’s best against other provincial teams in front of college and university coaches from across North America. It’s a welcome look for Siekierski, who has led KDSS to consecutive Bluewater Athletic Association titles and one OFSAA tournament. He has hopes of playing collegiate volleyball of some sort, and this is his chance to be seen.

“I’m hoping if I can play well (this week), I’ll get a chance to play (at the NTCC’s). I want on the court, I just want to play,” he said. “Either way it’s going to be a great learning experience and it should really help my game playing competitive with high-end players.”

He’s not the first Siekierski to fall in love with volleyball. There’s been a long line of family ties that have bolstered the KDSS volleyball program over the years, and Siekierski even has a court in his backyard. He also plays at the beach a few hours each week and has been working out his lower body to increase his power.

“My family is pretty happy about it,” he said. “I don’t know if they’re more surprised than me or not, but it’s pretty exciting stuff for us,” he said.

While it was a long time in the making, it will all be over in less than two weeks. The NTCC tourney wraps up July 24, and is Team Ontario’s only tournament of 2011. The Independent, of course, will have all the details once it is underway.

However the NTCC plays out, Siekierski will return to KDSS next season with a whole new bag of tricks. It’s a scary thought for BAA opponents, who have been dominated by the left side for years.

“I just hope we have a good team, we improve from last year,” he said. “It won’t be just me as an individual. You have to play together well, and maybe I’ll be able to help out some of the guys technically. We’ll have another good chance (to go to OFSAA).”

And another chance to make it to prom on time.