History of the wolves

In November 1989 a drunk driver killed Ken Davies an 18-year-old student at Clarke High School and a member of the Ontario Provincial Volleyball Team. Such was his influence on the students at Clarke High School that in the summer of 1990 a group of parents led by Bert Reid and including Dave Staples, Bill Hansen, Mary Ellen Lomax and Mike Davies formed the Ganaraska Volleyball Club. The club was to give local athletes an opportunity to play competitive volleyball and a chance to emulate Ken’s achievements.

In 1990/91 a Midget Boys team coached by Lyn Lowry and Dan Knight was entered in OVA tournaments . The team consisted of eight players from Clarke H S, one from Bowmanville and two from Cobourg. For a first year team they did very well and entered the Provincial Championship as the number 2 seed they finished 6th. One highlight of the year was the Sudbury Tournament where they finished 2nd. the journey in a school bus was something else.!

The success of the team was infectious and at the insistence of their sisters a Juvenile Girls Team was formed in 1991/92. Shelly Richards was the coach.

The Club’s reputation for excellence was established in the 1992/93 season when the Juvenile Boys Team won a Bronze medal at the National Championships held in Oshawa. The team was led by the tournament MVP Darryl Reid and tournament All Star Todd Boys, both of whom went on to play for Ontario. The coaches Hugh and Michelle Walters were awarded OVA Coach of The Year honors for their accomplishments. The following year the same team with the addition of Dustin Reid went to the Junior National Championships in Kingston.

At the 1992 AGM of the OVA the Wolves were awarded the privilege of hosting the Ken Davies Memorial Open Tournament for Juvenile Boys for as long as they are able support the tournament.

In 1993/94 the Club expanded to include a women’s team. Unfortunately this only lasted for a couple of seasons as the demand for gym time by our youth teams increased and it became increasingly difficult to allocate time to the ladies. They left to become part of the Durham Attack.

1994 also saw Dave Staples stand down from the presidency; Julie Rypstra who had been general manager of the girls division took his place. The Club continued to grow and we fielded age division teams, both male and female, in all age groups. The coaching staff included Hugh and Michelle Walters, Tom Drummelsmith, Krista Rudmann, George Matsusaki, Tom DeJong ,Jenny Sjpecksneider and Kevin Scott.

1994 was the year that the first female Wolves player was selected to a Provincial team. Katie McKelvie has since been followed by current team members Stacey Gordon, Sara Hartman and Krista Klawitter.

In 1997 the Midget Girls team won the first Provincial medal for the Club when they won silver. They proceeded to the Eastern Nationals in Halifax where they finished 4th. Stacey Gordon was named a tournament All Star.

In 1999 the same group of girls won the Juvenile Provincial Championship, the first gold medal for the Club. The team then went on to the Nationals in Winnipeg where they won silver. Stacey Gordon was the tournament MVP and Sara Hartman a tournament All Star.

1996 saw Bert Reid assume the position of President as well as being the General Manager of the Boys Division. He retained these positions until the 1997/98 season when Larry Pearson was elected President.

In 1998 the Bantam Girls with Steve Leggitt as coach won a Bronze medal at the Provincials. They also won an invitational tournament in Gatineau and they repeated this achievement in 1999.

Notable alumni from the girls division include Joanna Van Dyke an OCAA. All Millennium Team member, Caroline Fletcher OCAA All Star Cindy Ross OCAA 2nd Team All Star.

The boys division has continued to produce high quality athletes with Darryl Reid being the first and to date the only two time winner of the Ken Davies Memorial Award. Notable alumni include National Team members Dustin Reid and Steve Brinkman, OCAA All Millennium Team member Todd Boys, CIAU All Star Chris Wolfenden, Beach Volleyball star Mike Sleam . The division is currently led by Mark Sidler a member of the Ontario Provincial Team and the National Youth Team.