Thanks to recent outstanding performances that helped lead his team to the Okanagan Valley championship and to a provincial tournament berth as top seed, Spencer Doody, co-captain of the Kelowna Owls’ AAA boys volleyball team, has been named November’s Active Care Athlete of the Month.

Doody has been playing for head coach Mike Sodaro at Kelowna Secondary School since Grade 10, where his exceptional play on the senior team while still a junior-aged student has earned him a spot on the school’s starting roster ever since.

Despite enduring a bout of quadriceps tenonitis that forced him to miss almost the entirety of the past Kelowna Volleyball Club season, Doody has battled back to full strength this school season, returning to action a bigger, stronger, smarter and more versatile player. He credits his school, club, Team BC and U16 coaches for the acquisition of his upgraded skill set.

“I had to take basically the whole club season off,” Doody recalled. “For four and a half months I couldn’t do anything. Within that time I just went to practices to evaluate other players. I learned a lot about blocking discipline, about delaying on the approach, and moving my feet on serve receives. I learned to read and react, rather than just go where you think the ball is going – that has really helped me out. My serving hasn’t been terribly strong this year, but it was this past weekend. I’ve come a long way thanks to all my coaches. Kyle Joslin, Jon Rowe, Mike Sodaro, and others -- they’ve shown me a lot about volleyball. It’s nice to gain confidence in my abilities because of how my coaches have improved me.”

“He’s matured a lot,” Sodaro said of Doody. “He’s been working hard to get himself to the next level. He’s been a great leader for the team. If I ask him to go play middle, he’ll go play middle. If I need a right side, he’ll play right side. He’ll do whatever we need him to do. He’s been great that way. At the Valley championship he was just awesome. He played great defense, put up nice big blocks, and put balls away for us. He showed really good leadership.”

Active Care Athlete of the Month Doody learned how to lead by watching the examples set by the past and present teammates and coaches, while at the same time molding his own approach to leadership – a role he has found himself in this season.

“One guy I look up to was Devon Cote,” Doody recalled of the KSS alumnus, who now plays for UBCO. “He was a phenomenal player and leader. He taught me to stay calm and collected. Volleyball is a sport where if your mind isn’t in the game, you’re not going to be very successful. One thing I feel I bring to the court is the ability to focus on the game, and really make sure that people are feeling relaxed and have a carefree mindset. That’s something Jon Rowe taught me. You can’t be careless, just rip on balls and not care about the consequences; but at the same time, you can’t be too careful — afraid to make mistakes. You have to know the risks and be willing to take them. A carefree mindset is something I try to instill in my teammates on the court.”

“Having been on the team for three years, I feel like my teammates do look to me for direction when things are getting tough. You just have to keep pushing forward and make sure you’re not fazed by mistakes. You have to accept the fact that mistakes will happen, and that you’re not going to play a perfect game. But if you play with confidence and play for each other, success will happen because the skills are there.”

Now a team leader in his own right, Doody found himself in a unique situation this season – one-half of his team’s co-captaincy, alongside fellow senior, Justin Peleshytyk. Doody enjoys the dynamic the pair reverberates from each other to themselves and onto their teammates.

“The nice thing about having two co-captains is that we’re both experienced volleyball players,” Doody said. “He’s very consistent. His play really pushes me to make sure I’m playing my best every single point and match. Whenever one of us is having a poor game, the other one seems to play well and that forces the other guy to elevate their game. It’s almost like we can never have a bad game because we’re always striving to be like the other guy. I look up to him and he looks up to me. I want to play at the same level as him and bring that skill duality to our team. He really helps elevate my game and vice versa.”

With aspirations of playing beyond the high school level, it will be especially important for Doody to keep his game elevated this week at the 2016 Big Kahuna BC Volleyball Championships in Langley – an event known to attract the eyes, pens, and clipboards of many college and university team scouts.

“I think a lot of colleges are looking at him right now,” said Sodaro. “Hopefully he spurs some interest from some universities at provincials, and he’ll be off to play somewhere next year. It’d be nice if he was.”

If Doody has his choice, he’d prefer to stay local.

“I’m really interested in going to UBCO,” said Active Care Athlete of the Month Doody. “They’ve recruited a lot of talented players the past couple of years, and they’re going to be a really good team down the road. If I could earn a scholarship and have the opportunity to play for such a talented and well respected team, it would be very beneficial to my game.”

Earning a scholarship of course comes with the catch. A player must be sound not only on the court, but also in the classroom – a non-issue for “A” student Doody, who hopes to enter a career in sports sciences. While he’s not sure the exact career path he’ll choose, he knows he’ll follow his passions and desires, rather than pursuing the vocation that will earn him the highest salary.

“I’m a very academically inclined student,” Doody admitted. “I’ve had straight A’s my whole life and academics have always been a big thing for me. Science is something that interests me beyond words. It’s been tough deciding what I want to do in post-secondary. Sports medicine, kinesiology, physiotherapy . . . they’re all very interesting and rewarding. I really want to stay around sports and science. Whatever that entails in the future, they’re both going to be heavily involved in my life.”

Honourable Mention: Veronika Fagan

A second-year student runner from West Kelowna, Veronika Fagan ran to a fourth-place overall finish among 115 runners to lead the UBC Okanagan women’s team to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association cross country running championship in Sault Ste. Marie.

The Mt. Boucherie Secondary School graduate, with a strong kick, covered the five-kilometre course in 18 minutes 49 seconds and was later awarded an All-Canadian designation at the subsequent awards banquet at the national championship.

“I wasn’t prepared to be running a race where I was among the top five runners,” admitted the nursing student. “Originally I thought a top 10 is what I would aim for, and I was prepared to work for that spot. At the end of the race, with less than 100 metres left, there was a long steep hill where either one of two things happened, either you passed people or people passed you. We trained for this type of course and felt prepared to demolish it.

“With about 200 metres for the finish line, I realized I was in fourth and it was a huge surprise for me. I really couldn’t believe it,” added Fagan. “It felt surreal. This was a huge accomplishment for me. Coming back next season, my goal is to try to come home with (individual) gold or silver.”

It was the second international assignment of the season for the 13-year-old Okanagan Mission Secondary School student. In August she represented Canada at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in St. Gervais, France (ninth place).

Later in October, Gran skated to a personal best score in the free program to take the silver medal at the Super Series Autumn Leaves event in Kamloops. Gran and her KSC clubmates will play host to the B.C. and Yukon Sectional Championships at the CNC Nov. 10-13.

Honourable Mention: Mckenna Colthorp

Fresh off a gold-medal performance as the Super Series Autumn Leaves figure skating competition in Kamloops earlier this fall, Mckenna Colthorp left no doubt she is tops in her class in the B.C./Yukon region with a first place finish at the sectional championships held at the CNC in Kelowna.

The Kelowna Skating Club member and Okanagan Mission Secondary School student not only claimed the B.C./Yukon junior women’s title with a provincial record and personal-best score of 163.35, but also was presented with the artistic award.

In Kamloops, Colthorp finished with a then personal-best score of 151.13 points. Her free program score of 102.49 points represented the first time a KSC member had broken the 100-point barrier.