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.
After winning the zones recently in Thompson, the Kopper Kings SR Boys Volleyball team traveled to Winnipeg to compete in the provincials. The boys team walked into the provincials ranked fifth in the province, but unfortunately couldn't bring home the gold as they lost out in the quarter finals. The boys matched up against teams from around the province during the Round Robin play and took on the boys from Gabrielle Roy in the quarter finals. According to coach Craig MacIntosh, the boys lost out in three games to Gabrielle Roy. "I felt like we had a slow start," says the seven year returning coach. "There were a number of reasons, such as the kids had never been to provincials before and it's a lot of stress when you get down there." MacIntosh says while many of the teams in the competition had been in that kind of an environment before, this was a first for many of the Kopper Kings. "You've got to play your top level game every time," he says, adding that "it takes a few games to get into the swing of things, and unfortunately we didn't get into it until towards the end of the Round Robin." While the boys may not have come in first or second place, MacIntosh says it was a great group of kids playing the game. "We beat Thompson (in the Zones) to move onto here...and the kids here don't play in clubs or play against high level teams a couple times a week." As with every year, graduation is around the corner for many students. This year the SR boys volleyball team will be losing four of their top six players, but MacIntosh says he's not worried. "We're sad to see the Grade 12's go...but I'm optimistic about next year. We're excited about the kids that are going to fill the gap," he says, referring to the JR boys who will move up to play SR. "Every year things get a little easier and so we don't have to start from scratch," he says.
