Deep South Volleyball League creates new home for local high school teams

By Lethbridge Herald on August 22, 2024.

By Justin Seward

Lethbridge Herald

Some city and local-area high schools have teamed up to form a new volleyball league beginning this season.

As a result of Southern Alberta Interscholastic Administrative Council (SAIAC) folding, eight schools including Winston Churchill High School, Coaldale Christian, Immanuel Christian, Prairie Winds (formerly Kate Andrews High School), Stirling, St. Mary’s, Taber Christian and WR Meyers got together to form the Deep South Volleyball League.

“It was determined that the best way forward was to create a new league with the schools in southern Alberta that were looking for a new home,” said Duane Konynenbelt, the new league’s president and a teacher at Coaldale Christian.

“We sent out a lot of feelers and then we ended up with these eight schools that were committed to offering a JV (junior varsity) (and) varsity program at the high school level.”

Having a quality league was key in the process.

“A lot of the schools that have come in have really strong programs, and so, here right away, (in the) first year, (it) should be a really good league,” said Konynenbelt.

The new Deep South Volleyball League  allows for competitive volleyball and a full JV program to these schools.

“Now these schools are going to have games every week, they’re going to have playoffs, they’re going to have all that stuff and for some of the schools, they never had that before” he said.

The league will officially be underway in the second week of September.

There is a Deep South basketball league for most of these teams too.

More information can be found at http://www.deepsouthsports.ca/volleyball.

The bigger schools of Cardston, Raymond, Catholic Central High School, Magrath, LCI and Medicine Hat High School will play basketball and volleyball  through the newly formed Prairie Sky Conference.

Rangeland schools now have joined the Southern Alberta Football League.