ATTACK Volleyball seeing progress within first year

By Lethbridge Herald on August 27, 2024.

Submitted Photo Ard Biesheuvel and AndrŽ De Lacerda run an ATTACK Volleyball session

By Justin Seward

Lethbridge Herald

ATTACK Volleyball is almost a year into existence and has seen growth since coming to fruition.

Ard Biesheuvel was running a friends’ volleyball camp in Newfoundland and he thought there were unique ideas that he never seen before there and came back and had discussions with now ATTACK partner André De Lacerda.

It was after they had discussions that they started ATTACK Volleyball last fall.

“We ran our first event at the end of October last year and we were sold out right away and  got lots of positive feedback and so we just kept on going,” said Biesheuvel.

“I think in our first year we’ve ran three different leagues, we’ve run several clinics, we’ve run a few different tournaments , we’ve run (a) couple of academies and now we run a few summer camps.”

The coaches also ran successful summer camps in Medicine Hat and Calgary.

ATTACK’s focus is to provide a higher-quality volleyball experience that is unique and innovative to players of all skill levels by expert coaches.

ATTACK’s has been able to expand like they have in almost its first year of completion because ideas being put out there and see what kind of response they get.

“Everything, youth wise, that we’ve put out there, we just had lots of positive response,” said Biesheuvel.

Biesheuvel  thought they only cancelled one four-on-four adult league within this first year.

Both coaches are fond of providing an environment that is pressure free for skill development.

“We don’t (want to) just run a league for the sake of running a league, we still want them to get something more out of it,” he said.

 “So that they’re hopefully learning some skills that they can (then )apply in that league or when they go back to their club teams or their school teams.”

Biesheuvel learned about the people’s keenness to play volleyball.

“We had no idea that people would be this excited about … opportunities to go play volleyball,” he said.

“We didn’t think that it was going to get to the point where within year one we’re selling out. And so that desire (and)  that appetite for just getting out there and playing is something that kind of took us by surprise.”

Attack runs U13 to U16 programs and adult clinics.

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