Volleyball Canada announced Wednesday that University of Regina men’s volleyball coach
Greg Barthel has been appointed the head coach of Canada’s junior men’s national team.
The team is currently practicing at Algonquin College in Ottawa and at the national training centre in Gatineau, Que. in preparation for the NORCECA Junior Men’s Continental Championship, which will be held from August 16 through August 21 in Gatineau.
Barthel’s team will be attempting to secure a top-two finish at NORCECA and an automatic berth to the 2011 Junior World Championship.
Barthel’s roster has a strong Canada West flavour, including three players from the University of Alberta (Matthew McCreary, Justin Olmstead, and Tristan Aubry), two from Trinity Western (Branden Schmidt and Lukas Van Berkel), and one each from UBC (Ian Perry), Saskatchewan (Bryan Fraser), Thompson Rivers (Colin Carson), Winnipeg (Matthew Schriemer), and incoming member UBC-Okanagan (Christopher Howe).
Two players from Ontario (T.J. Sanders and Kevin Stevens) and two from Quebec (Nicholas Hoag and Tommy Belisle) round out the roster.
Barthel is assisted by former national team standout Gino Brousseau.