Ready for the national stage
Arnott in B.C. with Team Alberta
One day in to one of the top volleyball tournaments for her age group in Canada, LeeAnne Arnott was having a blast.
The 16-year-old from Seven Persons is in Richmond, B.C. this week for the National Team Challenge Cup, which features dozens of provincial all-star teams.
“It was so good, this is such a good experience,” said Arnott, an outside hitter who was selected following a March identification camp. “It’s just so different playing with girls you played against in club… all the best girls in Alberta.”
Arnott, who will head into Grade 12 at Eagle Butte High School this fall, has earned the right to be called one of the best. She admits she’s fit right in skill-wise, playing all five sets in Thursday morning’s 3-2 (25-17, 25-19, 21-25, 24-26, 1511) loss to B.C. Red. Her Alberta Blue 16-under team then beat Saskatchewan Green 3-0 (25-20, 25-10, 25-19) to close the first day of the tournament. There’s also a second Alberta team at the event.
The only concerns Arnott might have had didn’t relate to what she could do on the court.
“It’s kind of a surprise to me, I’m the only one from the Medicine Hat area who even got chosen to come to the (ID) camp,” she said. “All the girls from Edmonton and Calgary know each other, so I felt not really fitting in. But it was OK after because they all started talking to me, I guess I fit right in with them.”
Swinging hard and diving for loose balls will certainly help. And while the team goal is obviously to win, an event like this is all about developing individual players too.
“I’m pretty happy to just be on the team in the first place,” said Arnott, whose club team was among the top 10 in the province this season. “I’d like to just play the best I can, be satisfied with my own play. I’d like to win as a team but I don’t want to lose playing bad.”
There’s more to be gained than game experience, too. Seeing a venue like the impressive Richmond Olympic Oval is one thing; playing in it is another.
Arnott also took her first plane ride Wednesday.
“I’ve never had an experience like this before,” she said. “I thought the view was really cool, but when we were taking off I thought it was kind of scary because we’re not on the ground anymore. It was cool other than that.”
Short-term, being on Team Alberta will undoubtedly make her a bit of a leader when she returns home, as she knows what it takes to compete at the next level. Long-term, who knows what opportunities it might open up. Alberta also sends under-18 teams to the tournament, and between today’s two games she’ll get to watch the Canadian women’s team play Germany in a World Grand Prix match.
“I would like to go on and play post-secondary,” said Arnott. “If I had the opportunity I would for sure like to play on a national team somewhere, but that’s a dream goal.”
But that’s the thing with dreams becoming reality: They have to start somewhere.