Clark still wants to play
Apr. 22, 2010 - Regina Leader-Post
By Ian Hamilton
Beth Clark's career with the University of Regina Cougars may be over, but she's hoping her volleyball career isn't.
The 22-year-old Regina product is to attend an open tryout for the Canadian women's volleyball team in Winnipeg in the first week of May. A good showing there could get Clark an invitation to a subsequent camp with all of the players who are hoping to make the national 'A' and 'B' teams.
"In the past, athletes headed that way or towards playing internationally after their Cougars careers ended," said Clark, who exhausted her five seasons of CIS eligibility this year. "I'm perfectly healthy, I feel I still have a lot to give and I just had probably my best year. I'm not ready to call it quits yet."
The 6-foot-0 middle was named a first-team Canada West all-star and a second-team all-Canadian after the 2009-10 season, during which she was second in the conference in hitting percentage, fourth in kills, seventh in service aces and eighth in blocks.
She also helped the Cougars reach the CIS championship tournament for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. Regina finished fifth at nationals.
Clark had thought in previous years about trying out for the national team after her final season of CIS eligibility, but a little push in that direction during the year didn't hurt.
"Melanie (Sanford, the U of R's head coach) suggested that I should try out," Clark said. "Then I talked to the national team coach (Arnd Ludwig) at nationals and he suggested I should go. He had some very positive words for me and that was kind of a driving-it-home moment for me."
Sanford believes Clark has a good chance to make the national team not only because of her physical skills, but also because of her ability to read and understand the game.
"There are a few things she'll need to do at the camp," Sanford said. "First of all, she's got to perform. That sounds obvious, but when you're at a camp like this, you need to do something that's going to set you apart from the others. If you're a dime-a-dozen player and don't do anything to show you're different, you're probably not going to get too much of a look.
"Second, you have to show you're very coachable. If someone gives you feedback and you say, 'That's not how my coach did it,' you'll probably get run out of the gym right then."
In Sanford's mind, Clark has the skills necessary to turn some heads and the mindset required to accept feedback. Clark also is willing to move to the right side from middle, where international teams usually employ women who are taller than 6-foot-0.
"Everything is jacked up at this level," Clark said. "There's that much more competition, that much more skill, that much more tactics -- everything. That includes height. At the international level, I may be smaller, but I still think I can compete at this height."
"She may be slightly undersized," Sanford noted, "but I told her to rely on the other positives she brings and make sure those are very, very evident."
Clark has high expectations for the camp -- "I'm shooting for the 'A' team, but I expect to make the 'B' team," she said -- and knows she's going to have to work very hard to reach those goals.
"I'm not intimidated at all," Clark said. "I have the tools to do what I need to do. I have experience, I feel physically and mentally prepared, and I'm ready for the challenge. I just need to go.
"I have what I have (in terms of talent and other skills). If that's what (officials of the national team) want, great. If not, there still are other opportunities for me to continue my career."