Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
2011 NTCC Team Ontario Stats
Click here for 2011 NTCC Team Ontario Stats
Note: Bronze Medal Game vs Ontario 19u not included in totals
Note: Bronze Medal Game vs Ontario 19u not included in totals
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.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Application for 2011 International Olympic Academy
Hi Everyone,
I'm currently applying to take part in the 2011 International Olympic Academy International Session for Young Participants in Olympia, Greece. Part of the application is to demonstrate how you can keep people engaged while overseas at the conference.If you're reading this, you know exactly how I'd do that!
For the year while I was living in Denmark, playing professional volleyball, i kept this blog up to date with games, scores and details of what was going on across the pond! It is really interesting keeping the people whom you used to see every day engaged with simple words and videos. I believe I can do the same while I'm in Greece and with even greater social media channels than two years ago, I believe I can be even better.
As a send off I'll leave you with my favourite video of the year that I did the camera work and scripting for:
wish me luck!
Parrish
Corporate Cash flows at Mac
Wednesday, March 2nd 2011
By Admin
PATRICK THORNLEY
THE SILHOUETTE
In the world of university athletics, money is a key in maintaining and improving not only varsity teams, but all programs and services offered by athletic departments. Add the global recession, and government and corporate funding for universities has been reduced.
The McMaster Athletics and Recreation department is no stranger to the pinch of this trickledown effect. However, spurred by aggressive branding in the form of the Colour Your Passion campaign, Athletics and Recreation is finding success in recruiting new and reaffirming old sponsorship deals.
“A lot of people recognize university sports logos over other things associated with a university,” stated Parrish Offer, Business Development Coordinator with McMaster Athletics and Recreation, who said that university athletics offer a unique market for prospective sponsors.
Citing the importance of the Colour Your Passion campaign, Offer noted, “If we can create something that all students are proud to be a part of, then the sponsors want to get involved with this too … McMaster students and faculty are unique in that they seem to have loyalty, where once they get onto a brand they don’t change.”
With a group of some 5,000 new undergraduate students each year coming into McMaster, poised to become consumers for life, sponsors seem more drawn than ever to partner with McMaster University.
New this year is the sponsorship with McDonald’s, which carries with it all the clout of the famous Golden Arches. With the Big Mac player of the game being awarded to the game’s MVP and the Small Fries Games profiling young athletic talent at halftime of basketball games, McDonald’s presence has been strongly felt on campus.
“McDonald’s has also been great at helping us out with things like feeding groups of kids on day trips to McMaster. These are the types of partnerships we are looking to create,” said Offer, who was quick to point out, “we like to talk about partnerships, not sponsors. A sponsor means they give us money and get nothing in return, we [Athletics and Recreation] like the idea of a partnership because when they partner with us, they help us so we can put on a better student experience for athletes and general students.
“On the flip side, I actively want to see these corporations succeed, and support these partners out of loyalty to the brand,” he added.
The strength of McMaster’s branding campaign can be easily noticed by the expanding group of M Club members. The M club, founded in 2008 by community members committed to raising funds for athletic financial awards, has seen recent additions like McDonald’s and also Allegra Printing Hamilton. Athletics and Recreation has also extended some existing deals like that with Cogeco and Cable 14 (both M Club members) to continue broadcasts of McMaster football, basketball and volleyball games. With new national and local partnerships heading towards McMaster in the near future, Offer makes it clear that long-term sponsors, like Fox 40, Orlick Industries and other long-time supporters who helped create the M Club are not to be discounted.
“We aren’t trying to create a Mac brand that gets watered down with ads, we want to legitimize the Mac brand with advertisements,” said Offer.
Offer believes much of the new interest in partnering with McMaster stems from a basic realization among investors, “there are all kinds of ways to advertise: billboards, internet ads, etc. But one of the differences with advertising with Mac, is when you are driving down the street or on the internet, you aren’t in the best mood, but when you are at a basketball or volleyball game or working out and you see an ad, chances are you are probably smiling or in a good mood and you want an ad in a good place, like McMaster.”
McMaster’s branding campaign has no doubt improved the visibility of athletics and recreation, but Offer doesn’t feel that the peak of the branding has been reached. “We are still getting people aware of what our brand is. University sports are a bit unique in that your clientele changes a lot more than your brand needs to because every year you get 5,000 new students so the branding is new each year for them.”
“Athletics and Recreation would love to see the branding transcend athletics and engage the entire McMaster community. It is this commitment to expanding the McMaster brand that has created the buzz of partnership interest we all may benefit from soon enough,” says Offer.
Mac’s ultimate vision is a “Mac Crazy” environment where Westdale and Main Street are painted in McMaster memorabilia centred around the one thing we all share in common, the colour maroon.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
‘Passion’ campaign turning McMaster campus maroon
Wednesday, February 2nd 2011
By
BEN ORR
SILHOUETTE STAFF
You may have noticed the maroon and grey have been a little more maroon this year. Beginning in September, McMaster Athletics and Recreation unveiled the “Colour Your Passion” campaign, aimed at increasing school spirit within the student body and McMaster community as a whole. The campaign revolves around one thing: a colour.
The walls of the David Braley Athletic Centre have been painted maroon, and posters instilling the idea that “it’s not a colour, it’s an attitude,” have been plastered throughout the halls. Most recently, a giant mosaic of CIS champion cross-country runner Jessica Pearo was put up. The first thing you see when you enter McMaster’s athletic complex is a larger than life poster of our champion. Clearly, a message is being sent. The Marauders matter to this university.
Parrish Offer, Business Development Coordinator for Athletics and Recreation, summed up the need for the campaign.
“It is shown in countless studies that students who are engaged in extracurricular activities at university score higher in the classroom than those who do not. The new athletic marketing campaign is designed to attach to as many students as possible by creating a lasting bond between the university and the student.”
This bond is clearly created through school spirit, and more specifically, an attachment to the colours of the school.
“School spirit is often portrayed through athletic competition, however not all students compete on a varsity Marauder team. The colour maroon is all across campus and we have found that students attach themselves with the colour maroon already.”
The goal of the campaign was to be inclusive, and to make everyone feel like a Marauder, said Offer.
SPONSOR
“This campaign will transcend athletics to other parts of campus so that students will become involved. Hopefully within our walls, but if not, that there is more to university than just the school work. Athletics and Recreation is all about enhancing and adding to the student experience, not just for varsity athletes, but everyone who comes to watch or participate.”
A key element to the campaign was the opening of the appropriately named Maroon Shop, located in the Athletic Centre. Formerly Short Stop, run by the MSU, the new shop is a joint venture between the Student Union and Athletics and Recreation, and is focused on performance athletic apparel.
“The [Maroon] Shop gives us an opportunity to sell name brand items such as Nike, Adidas and Under Armour with our brand attached. The brand is stylish and creates the message of who McMaster really is. We are not trying to be like anyone else. We are McMaster,” said Offer.
Short Stop never had the success that the Maroon Shop is currently having, and the new products can be seen around campus. Sales for the shop have increased, and Marauders apparel sales at Titles have also increased.
The campaign is focused around the Athletic Centre, with numerous posters and banners being installed, and includes Ron Joyce Stadium and Burridge Gym. The goal of the campaign was to increase traffic for all these facilities, and success is measured this way.
“Increased traffic through the building and attendance at our varsity events are all numbers that can be gauged. This year we broke a regular season attendance number in football. Seventy-five per cent of students use our building annually, making it one of the most diverse buildings on campus. The DBAC is another place for students to come and enjoy. We will continue to make it the better. Ultimately we want to be as inclusive as possible and increase that 75 per cent to even higher.”
Athletics and Recreation changed their policy this season, allowing free entry to varsity volleyball and basketball games for all Mac students wearing maroon. This reflects increased attendance at these events and the effort to make Burridge Gym a difficult place to play for opposing teams. The campaign has been undeniably successful, but will continue to evolve in the future, according to Offer.
“Additions to the building are continuing. There will also be some changes to the website and extensions to colouryourpassion.ca. We want more people dressing in maroon to be part of the collective and we will continue to reward with incentives. There will also be more events in the stadium and building that will engage students who are not necessarily interested in sports.”
The Colour Your Passion campaign has undoubtedly began to change the culture on campus, and Athletics and Recreation hopes the success will continue. So, pull on your maroon, break out the cheers and be a Marauder. It’s easier than ever.
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