Battle for brotherly bragging rights
Micah Nieuwets looks forward to playing volleyball at Niagara College with younger brother Ashton
Micah Nieuwets is sure to have some déjà vu double-takes when the Niagara College men’s volleyball team gets together and begins training for the 2020-21 season.
Some will carry him back to the dinner table in the family’s home in St. Catharines that morning, sharing a meal with his younger brother, Ashton.
Other been-there, done-that moments will take him back two years, when he earned all-rookie honours playing on a Knights team with older brother, Andrew.
As the “middle child,” Micah also got to play with his older brother for one season at Eden High School. Micah’s teammates in his final year at Eden included Ashton, then a Grade 10 student playing at the senior level.
“It’s really fun because you know their tendencies a lot because you live with them,” said Micah, who is turning 20 this year.
After taking a year off to work and decide on a career path he wants to follow, Micah is returning to Niagara to take the hospitality program.
“I didn’t really enjoy the program I was in, so I took a year off to think about it,” said Micah, who previously took marketing at the region’s community college.
He can’t wait to get back on the court after a year away from the game.
“I didn’t play volleyball at all. I kind of took the year off,” Micah said. “I missed it. It’s going to be fun to get back.”
He also is looking forward to playing for Niagara head coach Tommy Sloan again.
“I really enjoyed his coaching style, how he plans everything out,” Micah said. “He’s a really smart person.”
He isn’t worried about being too rusty when the team gets the OK to get together.
“I think we’ll be practising — hopefully, in the summer — once the quarantine is over,” Micah said.
“I think I should be ready to go once the season starts.”
Micah, whose natural position on the court is left side, made three trips to the Ontario Federation of Secondary Schools Association (OFSSA) championships with the Eden Flyers. He earned a medal each time, including one gold.
Micah didn’t find it too difficult to adjust to competing at the postsecondary level after playing for a perennial provincial powerhouse in high school.
“It wasn’t hard. In my head, I’m always a winner, even if we’re losing,” he said.
“As long as we’re always improving, it’s a win. I do look forward to bringing my mentality to the team and hopefully bringing a winning culture to Niagara College.”
Ashton, 18, who is taking the customs and border services program at Niagara, is eager to pick up where the brothers left off three years ago.
“I think it will be a really great bonding experience for us,” he said. “We’ve only played one year together before, and we had a great time.”
The brothers are competitive by nature, especially against each other.
“I think we always want to outplay each other, I guess,” Ashton said. “So, if he is on fire, I would ramp up my play, too.”
This battle for brotherly bragging rights comes with its own scorecard.
“After the games, we will be like, ‘How many kills did you get? I had two more than you,’ stuff like that,” Ashton said with a chuckle.
Just who is ahead in the battle for one-upsmanship is hard to quantify as the brothers play different positions on the floor.
“It’s kind of hard to see exactly who’s up ahead,” Ashton said.
“In my head, I’m always a winner, even if we’re losing. As long as we’re always improving, it’s a win.” MICAH NIEUWETS NIAGARA COLLEGE MEN’S VOLLEYBALL LEFT SIDE
Ashton isn’t sure how heavy the course load will be in his first year in college.
“I’m kind of going in blind a little bit, but I know there are a lot of games, so I need to stay on top of my academics,” he said.
That has never been a problem for Ashton, who sharpened his time-management skills juggling athletics and academics in high school.
“With Eden, we’ll have almost two tournaments a week,” he said. “I’ve gotten used to always being able to keep up with it.” Micah made the OCAA West Division all-rookie team as a freshman at Niagara.
“Micah was a huge piece of the puzzle for us in 2018-19 and will bring some experience and leadership to our program,” Sloan said. “He is explosive, dynamic and his ability to manufacture points from difficult situations makes him a very dangerous player for opponents to deal with.”
Sloan, who is returning for a third season as head coach, said the sixfoot Ashton’s size is “very deceiving.”
“He has the athletic ability to go up against guys much bigger than he is,” Sloan said. “We’ve loved what we’ve seen from him and I feel that he’ll not only add wonderful depth, but will be pushing for playing time from Day 1.”
Last season, the Knights placed third in the West Division, finishing with a 12-6 record. Their quest for the college’s first medal since 2015 was dashed in a 3-1 loss to the Georgian Grizzlies in the opening round at the provincial championships in Peterborough.