Dene volleyball player thrives on university team

Jeff Ross eventually wants to return to the coaching ranks.

But before doing that the 25-year-old has resumed his own volleyball playing career.

Ross, who is of Dene ancestry from the English River First Nation, is in his first year of playing for the University of British Columbia men’s volleyball squad.
Though this is his first year with the UBC Thunderbirds, Ross, who grew up in North Battleford, has already used up two out of his five seasons that he is eligible to play at the post-secondary level. He spent one year playing at Red Deer College and another season at Edmonton’s Grant MacEwan College and this past year served as an assistant coach for the men’s volleyball team at King’s University College in Edmonton.

Earlier this year Ross contacted the UBC coaching staff about a possible return to the playing ranks. Both parties were obviously impressed with one another and Ross is now a player with the Thunderbirds.

“I definitely missed playing,” he said. “And I know I wanted to play at a higher level,” he added referring to the college ranks where he spent two years.

Ross is planning to return to coaching some day. But first he’d like to get his university degree and spend another year or two pursuing a Masters degree in coaching.

“I want to coach at the post-secondary level,” he said.
As for now, Ross and the Thunderbirds, who compete in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association, will not begin their 2010-11 regular season until late October. But Ross and his teammates geared up for the coming season with a two-week tour of Korea, which concluded on Sept. 13.

“It was a great team bonding experience and great‘getting to know the guys’ experience,” Ross said of the Korean trip. The Thunderbirds played a total of five matches abroad.

Four of those were against Korean university squads while the other was against a pro club. UBC did not win any of its matches.

But Ross said his side was not disappointed with the results, as it was in the early stages of its season, while the Korean university teams were preparing for the third and final stage of their own league championships.

“They’re in peak form for the Korean volleyball season,” Ross said. UBC coach Richard Schick was impressed with how Ross played in Korea. “He was thrown into a lot of scenarios, as a lot of guys were, and he responded very well,” he said.

Ross is studying human kinetics at UBC. He is taking both first- and second-year courses as he was able to transfer some of his credits earned in college. Though this is his first year with the Thunderbirds, Ross is one of the oldest players on the team.

“I think he’s been a big calming influence on our guys,” Schick said. Schick also likes the fact that Ross was the one who went out of his way to contact the Thunderbirds about possibly playing for the team. And then to make the squad as a walk-on player also speaks volumes.

“You know he wants to be here,” Schick said. “And he’s probably been one of the most pleasant surprises of our pre-season.”

But Schick cautioned it will not necessarily translate into plenty of playing time for Ross once the Thunderbirds begin their own regular season.

“This is quite a big jump for him,” Schick said of Ross, who as previously mentioned, has played a pair of seasons in the lower calibre Canadian college ranks.

Though he’s 6-foot-5, Ross, a middle player, is actually considered somewhat short in the Canadian university ranks as many teams have middle players who are between 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-9.

Ross said the Canadian university game is much faster than the action at the college level. And he added players need to be stronger and have more athletic ability in order to compete well. Nonetheless, Ross believes he is now ready for all the changes.

“As it stands now I’m pretty much adjusted,” he said and added that he hopes to receive plenty of court time with the Thunderbirds.

“All I can do is work as hard as I can,” he said. “I want to be a starter. But there’s other guys here who are in their fourth and fifth years and they have an edge on me.”