The Virtual Locker Room Announces the Volleyball Serving Course

The Virtual Locker Room announced the Volleyball Serving course in the last newsletter, I was very excited but found out no one can register until it has been reviewed.  It still has not been reviewed but when it has we will attempt to offer it free for the Canadian Elite Academy past participants.  I am trying to be patient and will let you know when it is available for registration.
Below is the advertisement video for the course

The Canadian Elite Academy has gone Virtual

I am missing the face-to-face coaching but I am working on a few virtual workarounds.

Tonight is the first free Online drawing Party.

Tonight we have a workaround in the Virtual World.  For those of you that did not know my Ph.D. made me a Doctor of Education specializing in E-Learning and Teaching online and in the last 14 years of my teaching career I was the administrator of the biggest online school in Saskatchewan.  The lack of face to face is just a hiccup on the road to the growth of the Canadian Elite Academy.  Being isolated in my house has allowed me to dedicate my time to the building of the Virtual Locker Room.
The Virtual Locker Room will be hosting a trial Zoom Conferencing Art Party.  I have invited people from all over to attend a Virtual online get together where I will be creating a piece of art as well as other artists.  Some people will pop by and lurk and just watch and others in the past Google hangouts have come by and played background music for us.  This FREE virtual party is sponsored by the Canadian Elite Academy and can have as many as 100 participants online at the same time.  It may be very crowded or it might be just a few of us.  I have no idea but we will see.  It is tonight (Monday 23, 2020 from 7-10).  Pop by for as little time or as much time as you would like. Participate or Lurk.
Darren Cannell is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Virus Art Party
Time: Mar 23, 2020, 07:00 PM Saskatchewan
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/699668388
Meeting ID: 699 668 388
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362193-How-Do-I-Join-A-Meeting-

In time will start to offer Artist Elite Academy sessions using the same zoom conferencing system to participants from all over.  But, we first must host a few virtual parties to get people to use the new format.

Necessary Organizational Changes to the Academy

Coronavirus currently has everyone worried about the impact of having themselves and children in crowded areas. Personal hygiene, respiratory etiquette, use of face masks, cleaning and self-monitoring are all part of the recommended individual public health measures. In addition to this, the Canadian government public service website talks about social distancing to protect yourself and others if you are asymptomatic or symptomatic of having a risk of being exposed to people who have the virus or have been in affected areas. Currently, we are fortunate to be in Saskatchewan with not know cases of COVID19 but in the connected world in which we live it seems that it will only be a matter of time when the world health organization has classified this as a global pandemic.

The question to be asked is how should and will the Canadian Elite Academy be proactive to help this situation. The enrollments in the sessions have dropped already which is a good thing from a social distancing standpoint as the sessions are not crowded. This, however, is a result of parents doing what they think is the best for their children. I believe we at the Academy must be proactive and the following measures will be taken to limit the risks.

All large group sessions will be canceled until further notice.

The Artist Elite Academy will be canceled as it is done with the artist sitting in a close group.

The only offerings until further notice will be private lessons.

The private lessons will be scheduled and will only allow a maximum of 4 participants and the two courts will allow for two sessions to occur at the same time but will never be combined

The private lesson means the athletes attending will choose the focus of the session.

The registration website will reflect this change and anyone who has paid for a session in advance will have the registration fees refunded to the credit card used.

The coaches used to instruct the private lessons will be limited to a smaller group allowing the Academy to monitor the health of these coaches.

We do not want these measures to be seen as a knee jerk reaction but a necessary action until further information by reliable sources lift the status of a global pandemic. Thank you for the understanding of the need for this change.

The private lessons can be from one to four athletes for the same price but the athlete picks the topic of the session and the people who will be in the session with them which means both the academy and the participants will be more able to be inline with the pandemic suggestions.

Is the sport post-game handshake between teams become a thing of the past?

In 2019 the academy had 900 plus participants, for about the last three years at the end of each session the athletes have come by to shake the coach's hand and I began to fist bump then because there were so many of them.  Back when I was a teacher I was exposed to lots and lots of students but since my retirement, I have found that I am not exposed to as many people.  For this reason, I decided the fist bump was a good way to end the session and not lool anti-social, little did I know that I was years ahead on the coronavirus disease. 

Now, in a world where contact can be dangerous, maybe it is time that at the end of sporting events two teams need to do the hip hip hoorays and then fist bump rather than shaking hands.  For years the team water bottles have been a thing of the past and maybe the post-game handshake now is gone as well.

140 comments from Actual Academy Participants

Feedback Comment

"I liked it"!

14 year old boy  would have been nice to hit on a higher net for part of the session.

2 hours well spent! Signing up for more clinics!

A lot of individual coaching because tonight class was a small group.  Helped with building confidence in basic shooting.  It was definitely a confidence booster.  Thank you!!

A lot of kids there, I was given feedback although I wasn’t told how to fix it. No water.

Adlen really enjoyed the session.  Great opportunity for her to be introduced to the sport and learn proper technique.

After 6 weeks of injury, my daughter was disappointed to not be playing.  The private session was a fantastic way to get her slowly back into volleyball without the risk of re-injuring herself in team practices.  It was also a huge confidence boost since Darren and Michelle were so encouraging and gave great feedback.  My daughter was extremely happy when we left.   Highly recommend.

After participating in this session I have a better understanding of spiking which will help my game play.

Alyssa said she was glad she came to the serving session but said she needs to improve her skills more as she found it a bit hard.  I said if she goes to the 13U class in October, that will help her too.  I was just guessing at the rating but put 4 because of her abilities and her having trouble doing serving, so take rating with a grain of salt

Amazing atmosphere,  awesome coaches.\nLove it!

Amazing company! My daughter learns so much from their classes! Will definitely keep putting her in them!

Amazing!!  When can we do it again?

Awesome practices!

Awesome summer program

Awesome!!

Chie was awesome! My son, who plays middle, needed work on his setting skills. Through Chie’s knowledge and drills, he improved his setting skills tremendously over the hour-long private lesson!

Coaching was really good I feel like I learned a lot I think at the end we could have started scrimmage a little earlier but that probably cause I’m just a kid 😂😂 thank you very much for having me and the coaching was fantastic and I hope to come back for more sessions!

Darren ran some great drills and I walked in late to the practice and my U15 girls were working so hard for him and afterwards they were completely pumped up and feeling confident!! Highly recommend!

Darren really helped Will figure out a better approach on the right side and gave immediate feedback with every hit.

Daughter enjoyed the energy!!

Didn’t learn anything since was put with new setters and her skill level was higher. Made her go in this group since she has been setting for only a year for club but this past year played senior 5A level at school.  Disappointed. Last clinic was more useful and learnt skills.

Direct quote from my daughter “absolutely awesome”. Thanks!

Enjoyable, and the skills being taught are very helpful! Will be doing more sessions!

Enjoyed it and likes that she got pointers and tips to help her.

Enjoyed this session-was great to ask questions and get feedback. Had fun working with people I didn’t know!

Enjoyed time there and learnt a lot however wish there was more communication about the program regarding going with or without partner, coaches info to contact and partner info. Spoke with Michelle at 27th tournament and she seemed very qualified , knowledgable, and great with the kids.

Excellent breakdown on how to hit properly.

Excellent opportunity to get one on one instruction and focus on specific skills needing improvement! Thank you so much!!

excellent personalized coaching

Excellent program. How can you not fall in love with volleyball. The coaches clearly enjoy what they are skillfully doing and it is infectious with the players.

Excellent session, full of great pointers, a lot of fun, and all of the girls had their personal stats created for them! Such a great academy. Will be doing more!

Excellent teaching and training!

Excellent way for kids to spend a Friday evening, playing a sport they love.

Excellent!

Excellent, honest and a very positive atmosphere.\nThank you

Fantastic program!

Fun way to spend a Friday night!

Good coaching, helped with building confidence with the serve.

Good feedback from Darren. Will wished the net was higher and that he could have gotten more hits in.

Good job

Great atmosphere, lots of information.

Great camp, great coaches, positive environment

Great camp, my daughter had fun. I caught the end and heard some very positive messages from the Valkyries and Roughriders. $100 seems a bit steep for a 1 day camp, but overall it was a good experience.

Great coaching sessions

Great coaching!  Liam will be back for more sessions!

Great drills and great feedback made for an excellent Advanced setting session. Will be doing more with Elite

Great environment

great evening, really enjoyed the variety in game type !!

Great feedback on body positioning and hitting technique. Darren used humour to keep the session fun and explained why  the changes would help. We will definitely be back for more!

Great for keeping skills up & lots of fun

Great place to get together and play

Great repititions to correct technique. There were 2 coaches..the players stayed with one coach the whole time. Would have been nice to switch halfways to get corrections from both coaches. Different coaching styles so it would have been nice to have both coaches. Great workout!! Thank you!

Great session on some fine points of shooting.  Would like a second session with a further focus on moving to get into shooting position and receiving/shooting.

Great session. Learned a few new techniques to focus on when setting

Great time, always learning!! Great energy.

Great tips for serving properly. I really enjoyed the session.

I am excited for the next one. I had so much fun and made new friends.

I am just sorry I had to leave early

I enjoy these sessions through the Academy.  They are alot of fun-begining to end. You get to hang out with your friends,  the coaches see, and help and fix the bad habits you have formed, and you get to practice the sport you love to play with your friends.

I enjoyed it!  Amazing coaching, learned a lot and enjoyed every session.

I felt it helped my serving improve and things to practice to make my serving better. I would do another session like this. Thank you

I found it very helpful, and loved how the coaches would come and fix your technique if it was wrong. I learned a lot about bolcking and how to make a block stronger.

I had a lot of fun and learned a lot.

I had a really good time at the camp and learned a lot. The level was really high among the coaches and players, and I really enjoyed the game sessions at the end of each day.

I learned more in 2 hours than I ever would have expected. And my expectations were high. They were more than exceeded. I enjoyed an extremely high level of coaching and teaching instruction. One of the best sessions I could have been attended.

I liked Darren as a coach because he was fun and patient.

I liked switching from games to waves. I liked the 4 x 4 waves better than 5 x 5 waves. My mom is the toughest lady out there 😉.

I liked that all the coaches would walk around and assist you we you need it. Coach Rob helped me with my overhand serving and Coach Terry and Coach Will helped me with my spiking. Before this camp I didn’t know positions, how to spike or overhand how to overhand serve. Thank you for all that you have done to help me improve. I really feel that I have improved or the course of this week. Thank you-Samantha

I liked the camp a lot. I feel like I improved. Terry and Will were good coaches - fun and positive and they gave us good feedback. I will do the camp again next year!

I really enjoyed it and had a lot of fun!

I really enjoyed it but I would have liked to see more one on one coaching as well getting to know people's name.

I really enjoyed the sessions and saw my blocking improve alot from the start of the session to the end

I really enjoyed the tournament. It was a lot of fun to get to play with and against all of the players.

I really enjoyed the week, and learned a lot from really great coaches. I would have liked if the coaches would have grouped us when we played together, so that there was a better mix of players, and so that everyone got a chance to play against everyone equally. It seemed one sided at times, and it’s nice to challenge my skills against all level of players.

I really loved it! I improved lots just in the one session.

I wish that there were more setter specific clinics to help develop a sport specific position.  With the quality instruction that was offered here the sport would grow very quickly.

I wish there were more boys teams. I didn't like the double knockout. Otherwise it was a fun tournament!

I wouldn’t mind having an option for semi-private lessons that are cheaper and shared with two or three people.

I’m never going to say no to more touches and Chie as always is amazing. I wish the skill level was higher overall but I do understand that you can’t really decide who signs up

Is there a way to letting others know the age of the people attending?  Brooke didn't get as much out of this because all the other kids were way younger and less experienced.

It helped me so much in understanding the approach and hitting technique Thanks :)

It was a fun night, I enjoyed it!

It was a good camp. Coaches were very good and very helpful. Feedback was very constructive. The initial survey was a little confusing but i believe I landed in the correct tier. I will be back next year.

It was a great camp and really liked how they did the tiers this year!  Katie

It was a really great experience, and would definitely do it again!

It was absolutely amazing and I would love to do it again for the next 30 yeasty

It was amazing. I have never seen Carter take such quick water breaks so that he could get back and learn some more… That is a true testament to how engaging and dynamic this session was.

It was fun to play with other people we haven't met before!

It was good!!

It was good, not much feedback personally while doing skills but likes that when did serve one at a one and got feedback. Liked the repetition of one skill at a time and specific skill at a time. Felt like was getting taught.

It was really cool to have the Marshall arts, and the rough riders were there.  Snacks were good.  The warm up was really fun !

It was really fun!!

It was really good and I learned more things to help with serves and hitting

It was really good!  I can’t draw and I loved this.  I give it a 10/10 and can’t wait to go again.   Keira (13 yrs old)

It was very informative and helpful.  It gives me more confidence going forward.

It would have been good to use both courts. It would have been better to have more teams in the U14 age category.

Jordan is always is excited for the next session!!

just start a little bit earlier & end earlier...perhaps 7 pm to 9 pm & offer more of these for different positions & body strength etc but overall it was good & very good coach who knows his stuff & can play game well!

Learned a LOT and it was fun

Lots of fun and get to know other people and learn from them. Smaller group was great because you get more individual time and help with correcting. Lots of improvements on different skill sets. Thanks!

Lots of fun in a positive setting while playing some great games. Thanks

Lots of fun, learned a lot.

Lots of one on one instruction.  Learned good tips !

Love it!!!

Love working on my jump serve!!

Loved what the taught/showed us to prepare for tryouts!

Method of instruction and coaching is excellent.  Lex has demonstrated a noticeable increase in skill level during game play as a result of her attendance at these clinics.

Michelle was super helpful.

My Daughter came home and said it was a lot of fun - 'it was good to play on a higher net and to play with kids older and better than me, I learned a lot by playing with them and I want to go again"

My daughter enjoyed the class.  So much valuable information.  Love the enthusiasm of the coaches.

My daughter felt that her blocking ability improved as a result of this session.

My daughter really enjoyed the training. She said they worked hard, she learned new skills, and it was also good conditioning. \nAs a parent, I liked that the group setting was small with focused coaching. Price is very reasonable. We will definitely be back for more sessions.

My son found it a bit hard at an all ages camp. I think it was hard for him to do drills and practice when all of the kids were much younger and smaller than him. I had searched high school level and didn’t realize all ages would be included in the search.

My son had a wonderful time, learned lots and is excited for the next session!\nThank You

Perfect length of time and lots of fun!

Quality of instructors ranks among tops in canada !

Really good time with quality high school players. Everyone is very kind and open to new comers. Highly recommend

Really happy with my daughter’s progress.

Such a great way to spend a PLD! My daughter was excited about the skills she learned, the fun she had and if there was a way to give more stars, she’d rate her day even better! Thanks!

Super fun and I’m glad I went

Super fun!!

Thank you coaches for all the hard work and long hours to help improve our/my volleyball skills and to help us be better players in general😁🏐

Thank you for a good job!

Thank you for having a private serving lesson for Keeley Sander. It was a great lesson. It went through all the fundamentals of serving with high repititions. Positive feedback and positive corrections and reinforcements.

Thank you.

The coaches had my daughter serving overhand in minutes. They were both focused on her success and helped her target what she. We’re to do correctly. \nWe are both very impressed.

The girls enjoyed the session but felt there should be more exercises and our participation. Less talking more hands on and doing exercises. Thank you for sharing your expertise!!

The private setting sessions have been amazing for working on specific skills and the strategic part of the game. And being able to bring along a hitter from our team to work on timing has been so helpful. It has definitely helped with confidence and success during games. Thanks!

The session with the older group covers more - but still worth it.

The shooting and dribbling sessions led by Brad Schoenfeld that our son has attended have been excellent.

This camp really pushed me, expanded my abilities, and it helped me become an all around better player. I really enjoyed the camp and it definitely got me back into shape for the upcoming tryouts! I improved so much and I highly recommend going into this camp!

Three hours was a bit long for Abebayehu. She liked the serving practice the best. She felt frustrated working with the younger children during the hitting drills.

Very good session. Learnt a ton and liked the different drills. Also the learning at the board.

Very happy with the progress of my daughter

Volleyball Coaches should be aware that screaming was not motivating.  Awesome day, great activities, good snacks.  Would love to see basketball next time.

Was very beneficial and well run. Thank you.

What a great opportunity for people of all ages!! Both Michelle and Darren are very friendly and offer positive feedback. To give up 2 hours of their time and offer court time for FREE  is amazing. Much appreciated, Elite!!!

Would have been better if there was a better draw, -Daxtin

Wow! Three highly skilled coaches to work with one player! What a valuable experience for him.

Loss of High School Sports. Now What?

Being an ex-teacher I wanted to let people know about the sanctions which were announced today by the Saskatchewan Teacher Federation.  The Saskatchewan teachers announce sanctions, withdrawing voluntary and extracurricular services. Until these sanctioned are removed it is my understanding that all sports in the school will be removed.  It is our hope at the Academy that the Government and the Teacher Federation quickly resolve this to allow the athletes the opportunity to resume their current sports seasons and allow for future seasons. The academy was concerned about its ability to rent the school's gym to continue to offer the skill development and was told that it was not a concern and the sports skills training will continue. 

The first response of the athletes who only see the loss of a season is anger and the desire to just quit and think it is a waste of time to continue to train with no foreseeable possibility of putting the skills to use in a game situation. The benefits that I got from playing Volleyball, Soccer and the other sports in my life have been health, self-confidence self-esteem and the ability to manage my anxiety and emotions.  It has taught me the value of teamwork, leadership, social skills and discipline which I have been able to successfully apply to many other aspects of my life.  The training allowed me to fight stress to improve my ability to think clearly and memory.  It was a career path that I followed as a physical education teacher, a coach and has allowed me to build the academy.  The greatest memory in sports for me was not an individual game or season but a time where I trained as hard an I could and made the sport the number one priority in my life and was able to see just how good I could become at something if I applied myself and earned the skills.  A memory which I have applied to many other aspects of my life because it is my firm belief that anything of value has to be earned not given and the harder it is to achieve the more valuable it becomes.  And last but not least sports allowed me to meet my wife and have given me a way to relate, interact and build a relationship with my son.

In fewer words, the benefits of sports go way beyond the immediate games which have now been removed from many high school sports athletes.  The challenge of training to make yourself better is never a waste of energy as I can now see with my hindsight of the years of training in which I grew as an athlete, a coach, and a person.  The loss of the ability to apply your skills as an athlete in the formal game situation due to the sanctions will be a greater issue if you allow this setback to impact more than just a few games.  Age has removed my ability to apply my sports skills at the level that I once could but I still benefit greatly from the years I dedicated to training and trying to make myself better.

Not to make light of the loss of the games or the games themselves but the value of sport is in the training for the games.  Making oneself better is an individual activity that has not been removed by the sanctions.  Train and train hard and when the games return you will be better equipped than you are now for sports and life.

Welcome Wendy Benson to the Basketball Elite Academy

To say we are excited to have this coach working with the Academy is a huge understatement. After reading her bio you will understand why. We would formally like to welcome Wendy Benson to the academy.

Wendy's Bio

Wendy played with the University of Saskatchewan Huskie Women’s team 1986-1988. High school senior team at Evan Hardy Collegiate in Saskatoon.

Wendy has coached several levels of basketball from Dunkaroos in SMBA to CIS with the University of Saskatchewan. She has coached for 30 years in Saskatoon and with the province: with BSI - Basketball Saskatchewan, locally with SMBA - Saskatoon Minor Basketball, several High school senior teams both male and female and assistant with the University of Saskatchewan Huskie Women’s basketball program. Wendy has earned 4 Provincial High School girls championships along with a CIS Canada West championship and a number of city titles. She has also been on the coaching staff with Basketball Canada as one of the SK coaches of CP - Centre for Performance.