The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
When the volleyball season ended for the Hapnot Collegiate Kopper Kings last year, they lost important leadership from Ian Clark and Jake Rogers. Coach Craig McIntosh must have felt as if Christmas came early when Evan Renard entered the picture. While Renard didn't drop in the chimney from Santa's bag, he's been a good gift. Renard moved to Flin Flon with his mother, who got a job as a nurse, and two siblings. "I was surprised," McIntosh said of Renard's arrival. "He just showed up for tryouts. "To have Evan on the team is like having sort of another level others can aspire to and raise their ability to," McIntosh said, on the 19-year-old. "We have a very mature team, but Evan brings more with his age and experience." Most important for McIntosh, Renard brings a strong work ethic and attitude, which the Kopper Kings coach considers to be "contagious." McIntosh also likes the seriousness Renard brings to practice. McIntosh is careful to make sure people don't mistake Renard for being a godsend because he's also received important leadership from Peter Weber and Chadd Ticzon. With Renard an important piece to the puzzle, McIntosh had concern he might lose a valuable talent because of his age. Renard is finishing up school and working towards a mature graduate diploma after suffering from blood pressure problems that were never diagnosed. It caused him to miss a year and a half of school. Doctors gave him medication, but it just caused him to be depressed and fatigued. "I couldn't focus because of tiredness," Renard explained, when he tried to do school work. The depression caused him to not care about his studies and his grades fell from A's and B's to D's and failing courses. He solved the problem by not taking the medication and monitors it on his own by eating things with salt when needed. When Renard was away from school, he also lost athletic eligibility. McIntosh had to file an appeal on his behalf. Fortunately for both, the letter was approved by local school administration, then Zone 11 and the Manitoba High School Athletics Association last Thursday. On Tuesday during practice, McIntosh said he believed the appeal would go through, which would make him happy. "I'd be happy for him as a person and for the team as a whole," McIntosh explained. Renard is happy too as he's enjoying his time with teammates. "So far so good," Renard said, with how the team is doing. "We all work as a team which is nice. In the city you have star players." While McIntosh sees Renard as being a leader, the Winnipeg native just does his part to help. When watching him, it's easy to see what McIntosh sees in a player that also possesses a powerful serve.
