Lucas Punkari
The sophomore campaign for the Fort Frances Vipers U16 volleyball club wrapped up Monday night with a parents-vs.-players fun night in the Fort High gym.
However, it wasn’t quite the ending to the year the squad was hoping for.
“We were supposed to be in Portage La Prairie this weekend for a tournament there, but because of the floods out there [it] was cancelled,” head coach Duane Roen noted.
Despite the abrupt end to the season, it was a successful one for both the U14 and U16 Viper squads, which had a combined 33 members.
“A lot of the players on the U16 team came from the U14 team last season, and did very well moving up this year,” lauded Roen, who also stressed this season was the first for the U16 squad.
“They went down to a tournament in Thunder Bay on the first weekend of April, and against the club team there they ended up winning 16 sets out of possible 18,” he added.
Meanwhile, the local U14 squad attended two tournaments—travelling to Dryden in January and then playing in Portage La Prairie on April 30.
“For both of the tournaments, we split the team into two squads so that we could give a lot of time to everyone involved,” Roen explained.
“In Dryden we won a couple of sets against the high school teams that were there, and in Portage La Prairie we had a lot of close games and ended up being knocked out in the semi-finals.”
With the increased number of players taking part this season, and 57 trying to make the squad when tryouts took place last fall, Roen felt momentum is building to make the Vipers a top club team in Northwestern Ontario.
“A lot of parents are already asking about next year’s team and when tryouts are, which is really positive,” said Roen, who also would like to have a boys’ team for next season.
“Both the Dryden and Kenora club programs have been around for nearly 15 years ago, and we’re already holding our own with them,” he stressed.
“Our hope is to build the team here and make it even stronger, and to eventually go on to play at the Manitoba provincials and to eventually go onto the nationals,” Roen added.
Most of the Vipers, who also are current or future members of the Muskies, will be taking part in a volleyball camp at Fort High from July 4-8, which also includes a coach from Boston College providing tips and pointers.
