A local volleyball player is one of 14 girls selected to represent Alberta on the national stage.
Lauryn Tremblay was chosen to represent Alberta at the Canada Summer Games in Winnipeg in August.
The 17-year-old originally tried out for the U17 team but the coaches were impressed with her and bumped her up to the U18 team. She said that the coaches noticed that her vertical game is really strong but Tremblay said that she isn’t exactly sure how high she can jump.
“It was really great. I was so excited and I still am. I was caught off guard,” Tremblay said.
Along with the privilege of being bumped up an age group, Tremblay was excited to join the team because she would be able to represent Alberta on the national stage.
“U18 is the team is the team that goes to Canada Summer games and U17 doesn’t. I was really excited about that,” Tremblay said.
Tremblay said that she was extremely lucky to make the team this year because the Canada Summer Games are not an annual event.
“That one is really exciting because it only happens once every four years so I’m in the right age group this time. I’m looking forward to meeting a bunch of new people and hopefully winning,” Tremblay said.
Tremblay will be playing with a whole new group of girls on team Alberta, as she was the only athlete from St. Albert selected for the team.
During the year the outside hitter plays for her high school team at Paul Kane and the U17 Pandas club volleyball team.
The team starts training today in Edmonton and will practice together until they head to Winnipeg for the Canada Summer Games in August. Tremblay said the team will spend four hours a day on the court daily to prepare for the national competition.
As part of their training they will travel to Florida to play in the USA High Performance Championships in Fort Lauderdale. The team will face off against other Canadian and American teams.
Tremblay said she is excited for the trip because it will be the first tournament as a team and she is excited to be able to compete with her new teammates.
To become such a successful athlete, the five-foot-eleven competitor spends a lot of time working out off the court during the year. Tremblay said she tries to do cardio and weight training four days a week, along with her regular team practices.
“I think you have to have dedication for off-court training. You have to be able to keep your strength so when you get on the court so you can always perform at your best,” Tremblay said.
Right now, Tremblay focuses all her time on volleyball. She used to also play AA Ringette but as they became more competitive she had to pick between the two sports.
“I just have a passion for (volleyball). If I didn’t do it I don’t know how else I would spend my days,” Tremblay said.
Tremblay said that she began playing competitive volleyball in Grade 7 but for her volleyball is more of a family sport.
“My family has always been into volleyball so when we were camping we would always play,” Tremblay said.
Tremblay is going in to Grade 12 next year and said she plans to continue to play volleyball at a post secondary level after she graduates from high school.
Tremblay and the rest of Team Alberta will travel to Winnipeg for the Canada Summer Games in August and their first game will be against Team Newfoundland and Labrador on Monday, Aug. 7 at 9 a.m.
