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16U Information

16U (Born in 1994)

16U is the second level in Alberta’s elite development system, which leads to the Canadian West Open Championship. This category of play also leads to Alberta’s Provincial Team Program for outstanding individual athletes. 

16U teams are not eligible to participate in 17U & 18U events.

In order to be eligible to compete in the Canadian West Open Championship, teams must take part in the Provincial Championship for their age category. 16U teams will compete in a separate division at tournaments and the Provincial Championships provided there are sufficient entries. U16 will utilize the 12 subs limited rule with no libero for Premier events and the Provincial Championships. The top 2 finishers at the Provincial Championships will have their entry fee paid for by Alberta Volleyball into the Canadian West Open Championship. 

New in 2008 

The Tachikara International will be the official competition ball for this age category.

Pandas
16U Gold - Breanne Beecher, Sharon Lali, Grayson Beecher

Breanne Beecher - Head Coach
Breanne Beecher graduated from McNally High School where she played volleyball for all of her high school years. Breanne was an NAVC athlete for five years earning a gold medal at the provincial championships in 2002. She is now entering her fifth season coaching with the club. She was the assistant coach of the U14 Gold Pandas for the 2005-2006 season and the U13 Pandas for the 2006-2007 season. Breanne was the head coach of the 2007-2008 U15 Gold Pandas team that earned silver in their Provincial Championship. Last season Breanne was the head coach of the U16 Gold Pandas who had a successful season, ending off the year with 2 silver medals and one gold medal finish. Breanne is a Level 1 certified coach with her Level 2 theory. Breanne attends the University of Alberta where she is currently working on her Masters in Occupational Therapy.
 
Sharon Lali - Assistant Coach
Sharon graduated from Harry Ainlay High School in 2005 where she played volleyball for three years. She helped contribute to her school’s city championship and provincial bronze in her senior year. Sharon is also a former NAVC player and won a Provincial Championship in 2002. This is Sharon’s fourth year coaching with NAVC having previously coached the U16 Gold Pandas and the U15 Midget White Pandas. Sharon has her Level 1 and Level 2 Coaching Theory training and her Level 1 Volleyball Technical training. Sharon is currently in her fourth year of Business at the U or A.
 
Grayson Beecher - Assistant Coach
Grayson Beecher graduated from McNally High School where he played on the senior men’s volleyball team for all of his high school years and was named Most Outstanding Athlete for his graduating class. He played with NAVC for six seasons, earning 1 gold, 2 silver, and 3 bronze medals at the provincial championships during that time. Grayson also received two provincial all-star awards in 2002 and 2004, and captained his team to a bronze medal at nationals in 2002 as well. He is looking forward to his first year of coaching after having experience helping out with the U16 Gold Pandas last season. Grayson is currently in his second year in Sciences at the University of Alberta.
 
 
Bears
16U Gold - 
Greg Kawchuk, John Ionnides
 
Greg Kawchuk - Head Coach
Greg is an associate professor in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Alberta. He has coached athletes of different ages in several sports including volleyball, which he played himself many rule changes ago. Greg began to play the sport in grade 10 as a setter for Dr. E.P. Scarlett High School under Canadian legend and ex-olympian, Al Taylor. Greg is a NCCP Level 2 coach who has been involved with several junior and senior high teams in the Edmonton Public School System. He coached the 2008 Vernon Barford Junior Men’s team to a city championship and is presently assistant coach to the Senior Men’s team at Strathcona Composite High School. In the Alberta Games system, Greg coached the zone six men’s team to a gold medal at the Alberta Summer Games in Red Deer (2006) and a silver medal when volleyball switched to the Alberta Winter Games in Leduc (2008). He will coach the AWG team again in 2010 in St. Paul. This will be Greg’s sixth year as part of the NAVC coaching staff. All six teams he has coached have medalled in the provincial championships including three consecutive gold medals as head coach with the U13, U14 and U15 Bears (2007, 2008, 2009). In 2008, he led the Bantam Gold U14 Bears to a bronze medal at the Western Canadian Finals. Greg’s goals are not only to get kids excited about playing volleyball, he hopes his players will become life-long athletes who will one day coach teams of their own. 
 
John Ioannides - Associate Coach
John graduated from Harry Ainlay High School where he was the starting setter and co-captain of the Titans. After earning a B. Ed degree from the University of Alberta, John started his teaching & coaching career in 1986 beginning at Lillian Schick Jr. High in Bon Accord. Since 1988 he has coached both the senior boys & girls teams at Vernon Barford Junior High in Edmonton. In that time the Blues have become a perennial powerhouse managing to win 7 Gold medals and 3 Silver medals at the Edmonton Public League Volleyball Championships. In 2007, John was honored by the University of Alberta, winning the prestigious R.G. Glassford Award for excellence in coaching in the community and for producing athletes that play or have played at the U of A. This will be his third year with NAVC and John looks forward to another year of coaching at the club level. John hopes to pass along his knowledge and love for the game of volleyball on to his players.