Team Canada’s U17 girls are headed to the 2024 world championships after placing third under the guidance of coach Amy Wilson, formerly of Fort Frances.
Wilson says the third place finish surpassed all of the expectations she had for the group.
“My goal for myself was to just win one game with this team because we were put together quite quickly and we only had one practice prior to going,” Wilson said. “So the first night when we beat Cuba in five sets, obviously we met that goal and we just kind of kept going and it was a really neat process to be a part of.”
The team would go on to finish pool play undefeated with wins over Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. Wilson says the team came together well over the course of the week.
“What was really important to myself as well as the coaching staff was to try and do as much stuff together as possible,” Wilson said. “So making sure that we were meeting at some point before practice like for breakfast and just checking in with each other, making sure we were eating all our meals as a team, debriefing after every match and talking about what worked well for us and what didn’t. We would go up to the fifth floor [of the hotel] and do some team culture stuff. We tried to make the team gel off the court so that it would translate on the court.”
Many of the players on the team are from Ontario and were at least familiar with each other or play on club volleyball teams together. Other members, from Alberta and Saskatchewan had met previously at other volleyball camps.
Wilson says despite not having video of Cuba to analyze going into their first match they did their best to get ready for the match.
“We just kind of prepared for everything and made adjustments on the fly,” she said. “Because we weren’t able to see Cuba play previously. So that game we went in blind and again made adjustments as we needed and ended up winning in five sets which was super exciting. Then Costa Rica we knew a little bit more about because the first day they played the Dominican and we were able to have a bit of footage on them. So we kind of knew what their tendencies, their strengths, their weaknesses were, so we built a gameplan around that.”
Going into their game against the Dominican Republic a bye to the semi-final was on the line if they could win and finish at the top of the pool.
“We went in prepared, and made any adjustments that we needed to,” Wilson said.
They were able to win the match three sets to one and clinch the bye to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals they played against Mexico.
“Mexico was a well-oiled machine,” Wilson said. “They had been preparing for this event for quite some time, so we knew they were going to come out ready to battle.”
Canada lost the semi-final 3-1 and ended up in the third place game against familiar foes in the Dominican Republic needing to bounce back quickly to be able to qualify.
“After that loss obviously everybody was pretty bummed,” Wilson said. “But the great thing about athletes like this as well as the coaching staff, we knew we had to adjust our mindset and prep for the next day, because we still had a chance to qualify for the FIVB (Fédération Internationale de Volleyball) worlds and we also knew there was a medal on the line.”
They managed to bounce back and beat the Dominican Republic 3-1 again.
“Honestly, I think this entire group was hoping for the best finish that we could have,” Wilson said. “But I think, in a lot of ways, we exceeded even our own expectations which was exciting.”
In addition to winning bronze Canada’s setter, Megan Hunter of Markham, ON was named best setter for the competition.
Wilson says she is unsure where her path leads next, or if she’ll get the chance to coach the team at the world championships; she has provincial obligations as well as other coaching roles.
“I’m not entirely sure, I hope to be part of the staff,” she said. “The thing with national programming is you’re never guaranteed a spot, whether you’re an athlete or a coach. I also have the Canada Games Team Ontario commitment, so depending on when the worlds happen there could be a conflict with that.”
Wilson wanted to thank those from Fort Frances who have shown their support.
“I want to thank Fort Frances, because they’ve really supported me,” Wilson said. “I filled people in on the Facebook page and I had a lot of support behind me and I really appreciate that. It sounds cliché but if somebody from a small northwestern Ontario town can get to their dream, I hope somebody follows in my footsteps and knows they can do it too.”
