File Photo: Yifeng Liu

THIS IS WHY I’M HOT Irvine (far left, in green) mid-spike earlier this season.

Family the key for CanWest volleyball points leader

Behind every student athlete there’s a support system responsible for helping them to get where they are today. For Bears volleyball right side Mitch Irvine it comes from his family, who, despite being separated by distance, have continued their undying support from their hometown of Red Deer. Irvine is first in Canada West in kills at 279 and overall points averaging 4.7 each game.

Irvine got his start playing high school volleyball in Red Deer before moving on to become an indispensible and multiple award-winning member of Red Deer College’s mens volleyball team. Deciding to stay in Red Deer out of a desire to be near his sister when she became sick in his first year of college, Irvine finally made the move to CIS volleyball at the University of Alberta last year. But the transfer to a new school hasn’t stopped his grandparents and parents from watching every one of Irvine’s home games. They drive over two hours each weekend to watch him play.

“My family never was into volleyball before I started playing, but they’re so supportive now that I am,” Irvine said. “They follow me everywhere I go to play. I can’t even think of the last time my grandparents have missed a game. They knew nothing about volleyball until I started college and they’ve been at every single game since.”

That feeling of family and support has transferred onto the court. With several rookie teammates and no graduating players on the Bears volleyball team this year, the potential for creating long-lasting relationships on the team is stronger than ever. Irvine points to the continuing friendships made by last year’s teammates as an example of what this year’s team dynamic has burgeoned into.

“The biggest thing is that the guys that I’ve played with in the last year who have graduated still come to our games when they’re here,” Irvine said. “I know some guys are off playing pro, which is unbelievable for them, but the guys that are here always come in. We’re all still really close, which never really happened in Red Deer. Maybe that’s because there were more guys from different provinces, but here it’s like once you’re part of the family, it seems like everyone really sticks together. That’s been a huge part of my experience here.”

With both his family and his teammates to lean on, Irvine hasn’t begun to worry about what will come after his time at U of A. A fourth-year Education student with one year of schooling left to complete, Irvine is content to wait and see whether his future will involve volleyball or teaching.

With volleyball playoffs approaching this weekend, as well as an upcoming teaching practicum in Red Deer within sight, Irvine is instead concentrating his efforts on maintaining the balance between school, volleyball and a social life, a task that he admits is often a struggle to maintain.

“Coming from a college, the university life is quite a bit harder, especially when you’re playing sports,” Irvine said. “Having a good work ethic and good time management is huge.

“In the first and second year of college, the main thing you wanted to do is get out, have fun and play volleyball. But when you start getting into your third, fourth, fifth years, you have to know what’s really important. You’re here for school, and (head coach Terry Danyluk) has always been big on that. School’s first — you’re a student athlete. Prioritizing is huge for us.”

Spending about 15 hours a week in the gym training and practicing, the Bears are also dedicated to ensuring a good performance in this weekend’s playoff games against the University of British Columbia. Irvine is confident that their hard work will pay off, and that nationals is a definite possibility for this year’s young Bears volleyball team.

“There’s times when we can play extremely bad and there’s times where we can play phenomenal,” Irvine explained. “We’re just riding a roller coaster some games and we just need to keep it level. Everyone on the team is reaching for the same goal and we just have to do it one game at a time and hopefully we’ll get there.”

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