Outdoor Season is coming to an end! Year-End Beach Tournament We have our year-end beach tournament for the beach 2's athletes that have been training this year with the Academy. The final week of beach volleyball will be a Royalty of the Beach tournament. Royalty of the court will be crowned if they rise above all other beach players. Each player is playing individually for the title. All the players from the Monday and Wednesday group will be in one tournament, and all the players in the Tuesday and Thursday group will be in the other tournament. The tournaments will start at 5:00 pm and go until 8:00 pm on both days on August the 8th week. We hope to see all the players out for this exciting beach year-end tournament. Come on out and watch. Outdoor Private Lessons The week of August 15th to the 17th, we will be offering Private lessons to anyone who could not get into the Making the Cut Camp because it is all but sold out as we have two openings left in the Senior camp, and after that, we are full.   This week's private lessons have no cap on the number of players attending the session (as long as it is below 12). The price for one athlete is the same as 12. So, bring your whole high school team out if you want. Anyways get your friends together and decide what you want to work on for an hour, and we will pick the best coach or coaches to give you some private instruction. Register for a Private Free Academy in the Park Event We will set up four courts on Thursday, August 8th, behind Father Robinson School. The first-ever Academy in the Park has two grass and two beach courts. It is a free event and opens to anyone who wants to come to play some volleyball. Hope to see your whole family or all your friends. I will play the music; you guys can play volleyball. Maybe you will play against some of our talented intern coaches or academy coaches. You have to register for this event but it is free!!! Academy in the Park Registration Heading back Indoors Then we head back indoors. We have a whole slate of activities happening starting September 6th. Month-long jump training (almost full already), NexGen Setter month-long session, EliteGen Setter month-long session, Weekend NexGen Fundamental for grades 4-6 group and a group for grades 6-8.   The start of September is also the school tryouts and usually a busy time for private lessons; we have booked the gym at Father Robinson School so we can accommodate the requests. Please register early as they typically sell out. Register early! Hopefully, we will see you in the sun, sand and grass before we head back indoors. But school volleyball will be running full steam, so the Academy is here to do our best to help you get ready for the season on the hard court. The summer photos are worth looking at and can be found at the top of our registration page; you will also find our blog there with all past newsletters and our store. We are totally sold out of all the beach volleyballs we bought last winter at the off-season sales, but we do have some U14 and U15 official balls and the U16 and U18 balls. Top of the Website Man, I talk a lot! A video from April 2021

CTV NEWS interview. = Canadian Elite Academy

Check out the following interview:

https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=2026859&jwsource=cl 

Darren Cannell - Sask Sport Show interview

 

Man, I talk a lot.

 

Thank you for sharing your athletes with the academy!

We had so much fun!     Thank you to all the parents who shared their athletes with the academy. They made last week's camp so much fun. The weather rocked, and the coaches were fantastic.   We had ten coaches to thirty-one athletes; I wish we could always work with a ratio of one coach to three athletes. The improvement we saw in the athletes still makes me smile. The shirts turned out great, thanks to our Merchandise team. It once again reinforces the concept that if you surround yourself with great people, great things will happen, and this past camp was great. Thanks to all who were involved. Check out the Photos Setters  If you have ever thought about being a setter, or if you already are a setter, do not miss this opportunity to work with coach Toako Chie Imamura. Middles Middles is an excellent position and is the center of defence with the block.  Crystal Torgunrud a former Middle player for the University of Saskatchewan, will be coaching this group.  She was voted Player of the Year for Canada West in her final year Liberos With the foundation of serve reception and defence is a good Libero.  Can you be a team's libero? Sign up and find out.  We are lucky to have Shae Beaulieu coaching this group and playing the position for the University of Saskatchewan.  She finished her volleyball career second in career digs.  Darren Cannell will be helping with this group as he did play Libero for the Masters National Team. Wing Hitters Wing Hitters are power hitters and offside hitters.  This is the best position in the sport.  (I might be biased as I played power in university)  Learn to hit harder.  Leanne McGettigan is coaching this group.  Leanne was on Canada's National B team for her hitting ability.  Come learn from one of the best. Take a look at what players said about the last time we ran a camp like this! Register for SMLW Camp Upcoming events As you can see below, the academy has a good rating for what it does.  So for the rest of the upcoming events, I will let the athletes tell you what they thought!   Register for August Jump Training Senior High School Team Group You might want to grab the last few spots. The Making the Cut Senior Camp has so few places left if you are thinking about coming, register now.   Register for Making the Cut Camp Send me an email if you are interested in a Private Lesson! Email me for a Private Lesson

Awesome coaching available at the summer sessions and camps

 

Excellent Summer Coaching Staff  We are settled into summer activities. Beach 2's Training, Jump Training, Private Lessons, NetGen Setter Training and three different camps are happening in the next two months.  As head coach, I am so excited to learn from the coaches we have involved over the next couple of months.  The picture above does not show my true feeling, I really am excited. Beach Training Sessions are all Full! Send us an email, and we might be able to squeeze in another team or two. Thank you to the excellent coaching staff we have working this summer.  Leanne McGettigan and Crystal Torgunrud are getting the athletes used to the sand, wind and sun.  The beach shirts this year are a hit with the athletes. Email Us July Jump Training is underway. Jump training continues, and the quality of training is thanks to the incredible new jump coach - Tamille Schuler. Sign up now for the August Jump Training. August Jump Training NexGen Setter Development It is so exciting to see the progress the NexGen Setters are making. These future setters are gaining some excellent training from our Head setting coach - Toako Chie Imamura. We are lucky to have such a talented coach working with the athletes. Jaime Waskowic and Ayaka Imamura are also helping with this group. You will never find a better coaching-to-athlete ratio than this.  The next round of NexGen Setter Development will start in September.  Keep your eyes peeled for that session.  We all hope Chie's Shoulder heals quickly, so she can get back to demonstrating. NexGen Setters Development Age 11-13 Outdoor Camp The Age 11-13 Outdoor Camp teaches basic volleyball skills on the sand courts. The suggested age is not a restriction it is a guideline and lets people know we will be teaching indoor basic skills on the sand. Currently, there are 31 athletes registered. The coach-to-athlete ratio for this camp is the best you will see. We have five coaches and six intern coaches working with this group. Thanks to all these coaches for offering to be involved. Age 11-13 Outdoor Camp Setters, MIddles, Liberos and Wing Hitters Camp The SMLW Camp is going to be fun. We have Leanne McGettigan coaching the Wing Hitters, Toako Chie Imamura coaching the Setters, Crystal Torgunrud coaching the Middles and Shae Beaulieu and Darren Cannell coaching the Liberos. This different concept camp will be a great learning experience if you are free this week. SMLW Outdoor Camp The Academy's Premier Camp Making the Cut Camp is always our premier camp. It is at the end of the summer, and again the ratio of coach-to-athlete is excellent. The Junior High School group is full, and the Senior High School group still has space. Thanks to all these coaches for offering to be involved. Making the Cut Camp (indoors) Outdoor Private Lessons If you find all the sessions full, or do not fit the busy schedule. There are always Private lessons which can be set up to work around your schedule, and you get to choose the topic and coach (if they are available). The Private lessons can have as many as four athletes attend for the same price. Hope to see you on the sand soon. Outdoor Private Lessons

 

School is out - Now what? Happy Canada Day - We have so much to be thankful for living in this great country. Getting caught up in negative politics, news, pandemic challenges, and other daily life issues can seem challenging. But when you get to your happy place with the incredible coaches and athletes, life is good. Happy Canada Day, everyone.

July and August Beach Session We are into July; believe it or not, we are already into the second month of some beach training. A couple of spots are left in the beach training two-month session, which starts on July 5th. Do you want to play beach volleyball? Register today! Beach Registration Private Lessons Outdoors We have placed some private lessons for those people with busy schedules but need to work on some skills. These sessions will happen on the beach courts or grass courts. Private Registration July Jump Training  July Jump training which runs on the grass beside the beach courts on Tuesday and Thursday starts on July 5th and has a few spots left. It is the best thing you can do for your volleyball game. Sign up now to increase your vertical jump. Jump Registration Age 11-13 Volleyball Camp Outdoors Age 11-13 Volleyball Camp Outdoors is rapidly approaching and has five spots left. It is a basic volleyball skill training camp.. Age 11-13 Registration SMLW Outdoor Camp Want to learn what it is like to play a position or perfect a role you already play in volleyball? The Setter, Middle Libero and Wing Hitter Camp (SMLW) is beginning of August and has a few spots left. SMLW Registration Making the Cut indoor Camp Making the Cut Camp is almost full; we are still two months away, but the Junior side has a waitlist, and the Senior side has only ten spots left. Register now. MTC Registration The Academy does not supply volleyballs.  Every participant must bring their own ball to events.