Sports
October 09, 2008 08:49 PM
Mike Hayakawa
SDSS volleyball boys surprising coachSteve Jimmo acknowledged he was a bit skeptical on how his Stouffville District Secondary School Spartans senior boys’ volleyball team would fare at the start of the York Region Athletic Association tier one season.
With just three players returning from last year’s squad that was eliminated by Sutton District High School in a York Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations AA qualifier, the Spartans head coach did not have a lot of experience to count on.
But after watching his charges claim four of their first six matches, including a 2-1 (15-25, 25-17, 15-10) win over Markville Secondary School and 2-0 (20-25, 21-25) heartbreaking loss to host Bill Crothers Secondary School Tuesday, the Spartans head coach is feeling a lot more confident.
“We don’t have the weapons that we used to have. We’re kind of rebuilding this year. But we’re not counting out this year just yet. The guys that we have on the team are skilled and they’ve shown improvement,” he said.
Jimmo credits much of the team’s rapid progression to the addition of Dave Muir, a veteran club coach who is serving as an assistant coach for the Spartans. Muir has two sons on the roster.
“Dave’s very knowledgeable of the game and he has lots of experience. He’s definitely helped us,” Jimmo said.
With setter Ryan Pontone, libero Maverick Muir and left side Bruce Preston returning to the fold, the Spartans have also received excellent play from several first-year seniors. Those include middle Jeremy Brownridge and Nick McEwen, left side Paul Geiger and right side and setter Max Muir.
Conceding that winning the regional title might be still a year away, Jimmo noted his club remains at the OFSAA AA level and will set its sights on qualifying for the provincials.
Getting there will be a challenge as Sutton District High School remains AA. Toronto District Christian High School (Woodbridge), which had been a powerhouse at the A level, will be moving to AA.
As well, the new Bill Crothers Secondary’s senior squad, comprised of Grade 9s and 10s, has declared to compete at the AA level.
“We’ve definitely got a lot of competition,” Jimmo said.
Golf team eighth in regionThe Spartans senior boys’ golf team finished eighth out of 16 teams at the York Region finals at St. Andrew’s Valley Golf Club in Aurora Tuesday.
Spartans Ryan Brown, Ryan Boyle, Jared Henrique and Jake Woolnaugh shot a combined 263. Sir William Mulock Secondary School (Newmarket) won the team event with a 240.
Brown, a Grade 11 student, was the top Spartans’ golfer with a 10-over par 82.
Taylor Pendrith of Bayview Secondary School (Richmond Hill) won the individual event with a 75.
“We finished 13th at the preliminaries, but the guys pulled together and did pretty well,” Spartans head coach Bill Edmondson said.
Junior girls caged by CardinalsThe Spartans junior girls’ basketball team proved to be gracious hosts Monday as Markham’s Brother Andre Catholic High School Cardinals visited their court and emerged with a 62-37 win.
Brook Kiatipis was high scorer for the Spartans with 19 points.
Now 1-2 in the East Division Tier One standings, the Spartans are slated to resume league play Wednesday at Markham District High School.
Brother Andre, with three Stouffville residents on its roster, is 3-0 in league play and 12-1 overall.