The 2010 season started with our Apex Icebreaker Skate, an opportunity for athletes, coaches, friends and families to spend time getting to know each other prior to the start of the season. The event took place at the new Killarney Ice Rink on December 29.

Good times were had by all, with a few sore bums from falls, but with even more smiles as our members circled the Olympic-sized rink in tune with a varied selection of holiday music and top 40 beats.

Thanks to all who attended and brought food items for the food drive. We were able to contribute over 80 cans of food to the food bank! Best of luck to all teams and to a successful 2010!

The Lower Mainland champion Trojans, lead by the tournament’s Most Outstanding Libero Johnson Dinh, 2nd Team All-Star leftside Dustin Szeto, setter Philip Ngo, and Honourable Mention middle Tommy Tang, finished the tournament with a 6-1 record. They defeated #5 ranked and Okanagan champion Mt. Boucherie, #7 ranked Kelowna, and #8 ranked and Vancouver Island champion Dover Bay in Power Pool play. They then defeated cross-town rivals #11 ranked Gladstone 3-0 in the Round of 16, and #4 ranked Earl Marriott 3-1 in the Quarters, before losing 3-0 to the #1 ranked and eventual provincial champions Fleetwood Park. The team rebounded with a 3-0 thrashing of #10 GP Vanier in the 3rd place game to claim the bronze.

Burnaby North, the Lower Mainland’s fourth ranked team, coached by Apex’s Aaron Lock, finished with a record of 3-4, and finished in 11th place for the third year in a row. The team was voted Most Sportsmanlike by tournament officials, a very high honour.

Gladstone and Killarney both finished tied for 15th. Gladstone, making a return to the tournament for the first time since 2004, was coached by Apex girls’ coach Thi Nguyen and finished with a record of 1-6. Killarney, making a 3rd straight appearance, was coached by Apex VP and girls’ coach Chanh Vuong, and finished with a 3-4 record.

Apex members who participated in the 4-day tournament included:

David Thompson (3rd): Jacky Au, Johnny Chou, Johnson Dinh, Kevin Do, Dustin Szeto, Tommy Tang.
Burnaby North (T11th): Coach Aaron Lock, Colton Ciolfitto, Daniel Lee, Brandon Ngai, Lorenzo Robiso, Larry Sit.
Gladstone (T15th): Coach Thi Nguyen, William Chiu, Sam Nguyen, Keegan Simms, Keane Yu.
Killarney (T15th): Coach Chanh Vuong, Dennis Cheng, Kenneth Chow, Benny Lin, Raymond Ng, Stephen Ng, Kevin Nguyen, Tim Nguyen, Nathan Wong, Ricky Yan.

Congratulations to all 4 teams on their successful seasons and best of luck during club season.

Gladstone (AAAA #13): Finished the AAAA as the Most Sportsmanlike Team in their first appearance at the tournament (was tiered as a AAA team last year). Apex member Kim Nguyen was voted the team’s Unsung Hero. Other members of the team from Apex include: Coach Wing Chan, Assistant Coach Frances Aeng, Fiona Huynh, Hong Khong, Stephanie Le, Kim Nguyen, Stephanie To, Elizabeth Tran, Annie Van.

Prince of Wales (AAA #4): Narrowly missed out on a medal as the team shocked the tournament and the province by winning 2 playoff games in the 5th set by 2 points. Apex setter Natasha Chang was voted a First Team All Star. Other Apex members include Jade Lee, Maria Qiu, Tianna Wong.

St. Thomas More (AA #7): The Lower Mainland’s #2 ranked team finished 7th. They were lead by 4 new Apex members Charmaine Amaba, Sarah Hughes, Pamela Ho, Claire Power.

St. Patrick’s (AA #8): Apex’s Krizia Umali and Christine Yaco helped the Celtics to another top 8 finish at Provincials.

Notre Dame (AA #11): Assistant coach Corinna Liew coaches our U17 girls. Gained a wildcard entry. Team members include Apex’s Francesca Cusati, Brenda Nguyen, Kathleen Santos, Jaime Robinson.

Congrats to our Apex girls!

Please remember that you must bring your team fees and the completed package. Also, brainstorm a team name for your team, as it will be discussed. Sign up for an account in the forums. Lastly, please wear loose clothing as you will be trying on uniforms, t-shirts, longsleeves, and sweats.

We look forward to seeing you all on Friday.

3:30 – 4:00: U18 Girls (Thi)
3:45 – 4:15: U16 Boys (Allen/Huan)
4:00 – 4:30: U17 Girls (Corinna)
4:15 – 4:45: U16 Girls (Tony L)
4:30 – 5:00: U15 Girls (Kyley)
4:45 – 5:15: U18 Boys (Ken)
5:00 – 5:30: U16 Boys (Alex)
5:15 – 5:45: U18 Boys (Aaron)
5:30 – 6:00: U15 Boys (Ken)
5:45 – 6:15: U15 Girls (Tony W)
6:00 – 6:30: U17 Boys (Kent)
6:15 – 6:45: U18 Girls (Chanh)
6:30 – 7:00: U15 Boys (Derek)
6:45 – 7:15: U16 Girls (Robyn/Tommy)
7:00 – 7:30: U16 Boys (Kenny)

U18 Girls (Thi)
U18 Girls (Chanh)
U17 Girls
U16 Girls (Robyn/Tommy)
U15 Girls (Kyley)
U15 Boys (Ken)
U15 Boys (Derek)

A big thank you goes out to all those who came out. It is always great to see so much enthusiasm and drive from all of you. I hope you learned some new skills, made some new friends, and had a good time. With that being said, I hope you continue to improve your skills by playing more volleyball and I hope to see all of you next year.

The following girls have been named to the Apex U15 Girls Squad:

Aliana Carlos – Killarney
Alyssa Amante – Eric Hamber
Chelsea Campbell – Templeton
Clea Arrieta – Little Flower Academy
Hali MacDonald – Saint Thomas More
Hana Nielsen – Magee
Jaiun Lee – Killarney
Joanne Tong – Burnaby North
Joycelyn Guan – Vancouver Technical
Pearl Low – Vancouver Technical
Robbie Mendez – Tupper
Sarah Wong – Templeton

- Coach Tony W

Thank you to all the girls that tried out for one of the coveted spots on this team. Your skills matched your enthusiasm and it was a pleasure to have worked with all of you over the course of 5 tryouts. If you do not see your name below, I encourage you to continue playing volleyball to develop your skills and passion for the sport! As forming a team requires the consideration of many factors, things change from year to year. With that said, it is my hope that I see you all again at next year’s tryouts!

Without further ado, it is with great excitement that we announce the following players to Tony’s Apex U16 Girls squad for the 2009-2010 club season:

Adrienne Moopenn
Alexa Moretto
Ashley Sarazin
Becca Arce
Diane Nguyen
Eleanor Duifhuis
Elizabeth Yu
Kelly Furey
Lindsey Marks
Natalie Law
Nicole Carreon-Rivera
Nicole Smith
Vivian Wong

Thanks!
Tony

If you do not see your name on the list, the final tryout will be held on Wednesday, Dec 2 from 6:30-8pm @ Killarney Main Gym (note the change). There are still quite a few spots up for grabs so come prepared to leave it all on the court! If you can not attend this tryout, please let me know in advance by sending an email to tonyl (at) apexvolleyball.com. I look forward to seeing you all there!

Adrienne Moopenn – Templeton
Alexa Moretto – Notre Dame
Ashley Sarazin – Notre Dame
Becca Arce – Killarney
Diane Nguyen – Notre Dame
Nicole Carreon-Rivera – Killarney
Nicole Smith – Carson Graham
Vivian Wong – Killarney

–Tony–

The first and greatest challenge will be funding. As I am sure most of you have heard, the government of BC has cut funding to sports organizations. This includes BC School Sports and Volleyball BC. As a result, registration fees with Volleyball BC will increase from $35 to $50. They will also begin to charge PST to tournaments, adding an additional 5% to all tournament registration fees this season, and 12% in 2011 once the PST is harmonized with the GST. The club must also increase our fees in light of these changes accordingly.

One of our goals has always been to be able to deliver a memorable sporting experience at an affordable rate. We are a not-for-profit organization and strive to keep costs at a minimum for our athletes. This year, we have enlisted the help of Jay Ho and The Third World, a community outreach program, who will aid the club in the acquisition of funding in the form of sponsorships and other fundraising opportunities.

Regardless, we are working hard to make the 2010 season our best yet. We have added new and past coaches to our staff, all of whom have a wealth of experience to share with our athletes.

The list of coaches include: Ken Li (UBC, Apex, Volleyball BC, Van Tech), Allen Tsang (Capilano, Apex, Volleyball BC, Lord Byng), Chanh Vuong (Apex, Killarney), Thi Nguyen (Apex, Gladstone, Van Tech), Tony Lee (Apex, Killarney), Tony Wong (Apex, Van Tech), Kent Laubman (UBC, Apex, St. George’s), Bryce Recsky (UBC, Kelowna Volleyball Club), Huan Pham (Capilano, Focus Volleyball Club), Kenny Lu (Langara, Apex, Britannia), Eric Leong (Britannia), and Derek Cho (Apex, Eric Hamber). Alex Pappas (Van Tech) and Corinna Liew (Notre Dame), 2 of the Lower Mainland’s most highly regarded officials, will join the club in a new coaching capacity, while former players Derek Lai (SFU, Apex, Templeton), Steven Kong (Capilano, Apex, Van Tech), Chris Singh (Capilano, Apex, Windermere), and Justin Quach (Apex, Templeton) will also join the coaching ranks.

Our U17 and U18 teams will compete in the National Championships, hosted in Abbotsford this season, while some of these teams will travel to play in the Emerald City Classic in Seattle. Our U15 and U16 teams are expected to attend the Western Canadian Open in Calgary, in addition to the usual tournaments in the province.

Tryout dates will be announced shortly. We are working with our partner schools in acquiring gym space.

On behalf of the rest of the club, we look forward to the upcoming season and another successful year.

Best Regards,
Ken Li
President
Apex Volleyball Club

After competing this weekend (August 1, 2) at the 16U Beach Provincials, Jessi will further her training with the Team BC Beach program throughout the month of August. After logging hours of preparation, working hard and showing great Apex spirit, I personally am proud of Jessi and I am honored to be her coach. We all wish her all the best in representing Apex at the upcoming beach provincials and we all look forward to Jessi making her own stamp on the beaches of BC and perhaps Nationals.

Mr. Chan