Welcome to Durham Attack! You are visiting a club that has consistently been one of the most successful volleyball clubs in Canada, winning 17 National Championships over the past eight years alone. We’re viewed as one of the most advanced clubs in the country; our coaches regularly coach Ontario’s Provincial teams and the vast majority of our graduates each year go on to play university or college volleyball in Canada and the U.S.
“Doing what is right for each of our athletes” is always how we measure what we do and it’s no coincidence that this commitment to our athletes shows in their successes both on and off the court. To this end we continue to improve our program this season.
This is Part Two of a two part article highlighting what we are adding to our program for 2013-2014. You can find Part One here. To keep up with developments follow us on Twitter @AttackVB on your mobile device and on Facebook as ‘Durham Attack’.
Senior Mens Team
Durham Attack is adding a senior mens team this season, consisting of university and college alumni. They’ll be wearing our colours when they compete against other mens teams across the province, and will be assisting our coaches in running position-specific clinics and teaching elite skills as guest coaches. Players so far include:
- Mike Slean – LS, University of Toronto and Team Canada Beach
- Steven Clarey – LS, Durham College
- Andrew Hinchey – S, University of Western Ontario
- Jeff Torraville – S, Durham College
- Matthew Isaacs – M, Humber College
- Brad Gordon – LS/RS, Loyalist College
- Kevin Matthews – M, Seneca College
- Kanitha Boranprasit – LS/RS, Dalhousie University and Seneca College
- Nikos Chalaris – LIB, University of Toronto
You’ll find profiles of a few players at the bottom of this article.
Growing to 24 Teams This Season!
With our new Senior Mens team, and the addition of three 12u Girls teams and one 13U Boys teams, we expect to field a total of 24 Durham Attack teams this season, up from 19 last season.
Athlete Assistance Program
Our goal us to provide a place for every athlete to play, regardless of financial circumstances. New for this season we will be funding an Athlete Assistance program and providing families with assistance in getting available grants.
We will be earmarking a portion of our funding to financially support athletes in need, and offer support in obtaining funding from other grant programs and sponsors.
Mentoring Program for Athletes and Coaches
We’ve had a very successful athlete mentoring program for the past few seasons, which we will be expanding and putting in place for our coaching staff. Senior athletes/coaches will work with junior athletes/coaches.
NCCP Level 1 Technical for 17/18U Athletes
We’ll be running an NCCP Level 1 Technical Clinic to get our athletes on the road to certification and improve their overall knowledge of the game.
Mental & Medical Training
Mental training is critically important in volleyball. For the fourth season in a row we will again provide athletes and coaches with mental training by Kyle Paquette, who is also works with a Canadian Olympic Team. We are also adding a medical training component for our coaches, focusing on concussions and mental health issues.
Madawaska Teambuilding
We are continuing our September teambuilding weekend for all teams, at the highly regarded Madawaska Volleyball Camp near Bancroft. This is an important team activity that adds, in a single weekend, two month’s worth of team bonding and a unified team program for the season. No other volleyball club in the province offers this program, which receives rave reviews every year. It’s so important that we’ve shared the facility in the past with our National sitting volleyball team, Ryerson Volleyball and Soccer, University of Guelph Volleyball and numerous Whitby Minor Hockey Teams, and will share it this year with the Queens University mens team.
Sitting Volleyball
We’ll continue to run the province’s first Sitting Volleyball program this season, to support our community. Some of our sitting volleyball coaches are very involved in planning for the Para-Pan Am Games. We’ll provide more info once we have a clearer picture of the volunteer opportunities for both segments of the games.
Senior Mens Team Profiles
Mike Slean LS, University of Toronto and Team Canada Beach
Mike played 5 years at the University of Toronto. During that time he won 5 Ontario University Championships and was named 1st team Ontario All-Star all 5 years. 4 times he was recognized as an All-Canadian or Honourable Mention All-Canadian. He was also Ontario Rookie of the Year, OUA Championships MVP twice and an Academic All-Canadian during that time as well.
Mike was a member of Canada’s National Beach Volleyball Team and played on the World Tour for 5 years. He represented Canada at the World Championships in Austria finishing 17th and placed 5th at the 2003 Pan-Am Games in the Dominican Republic.
Mike currently trains over 200 volleyball athletes in his gym Team 12 Training. He also coaches athletes on the beach at his beach volleyball facility, Solstice Sport. Mike has coached with Durham Attack for the past 5 years and also teaches at Durham College.
Brad Gordon – Left Side/Right Side, Loyalist College
A standout amongst standouts, Brad Gordon quickly made his presence on the Loyalist Volleyball court felt with his imposing size, strength and agility as a player. A three time OCAA league and Championship tournament all-star, two-time All-Canadian, team MVP and Loyalist Male Athlete of the Year, Brad collected Provincial medals in three of his four seasons including two provincial gold medals and one silver. Upon graduation, Brad sat second all-time in career aces and was an influential part of a record setting team that set the bar for most kills in a match with 68. He completed his collegiate career adding a National Championship medal to his resume when his Lancers claimed bronze at the 2002 Championship and was named as a First Team Championship All-Star. Brad is a member of the OCAA Hall of Fame.
Brad continued to pursue his career in volleyball following graduation, playing professionally in Europe with and against some of the world’s best.
Steven Clarey – Left Side, Durham College
Steven Clarey just completed 5 years at Durham College. Steve is the All-time Kills and Aces leader for Durham. He was captain of the team. Steve completed his Fitness and Health Promotion Program this past year.
Steve is also active on the beach. This summer, he placed 4th in the Youth Open Division for all of Ontario.
Steve currently trains volleyball players at Team 12 Training. Steve’s sister is also an accomplished player, currently playing at Syracuse University.
Andrew Hinchey – Setter, Western University
Andrew was a member of the Western University Mustangs Volleyball Program. During his time with the team Hinchey led the Mustangs into the post-season every year and to the OUA Finals in his rookie season. He was twice recognized as an All-Star and was named to the All-Rookie Team. Hinchey was also Academic All-Canadian there and Team Captain.
Andrew is one of the top beach volleyball players in Ontario. This summer he won the National Volleyball League Beach Championships in Ohio. He also finished 2nd in the Ontario Provincial Championships.
Andrew currently is a high school teacher and the head coach of the Durham Lords Men’s Volleyball Team. Andrew runs his beach volleyball business out of Peterborough, Ontario.
Kanitha Boranprasit LS, Dalhousie University and Seneca College
Kanitha was an integral part of the success of the Dalhousie Men’s Volleyball Program. While at Dalhousie University he was a 1st team AUS All-Star and 4 time AUS Champion.
At Seneca, Kanitha was Athlete of the Year and team MVP. He was the scoring champion and set records for most points in a season and most blocks in a season for the OCAA.
Kanitha is active in NACIVT 9 Man Volleyball as well. He is a 4 time NACIVT Champion. He has been tournament MVP once and an All-Star 3 times.
Kanitha currently runs his own beach company in Toronto called Ronin Volleyball.
Durham Attack News 