CHAMPIONS SPEAK - 2020 Hall of Fame Inductee 1981 WETASKIWIN AVALANCHE JUVENILE MEN'S VOLLEYBALL CLUB
by Trevor Norton written with team mate Wade Wilson
Thank you very much.
It was great to hear the
achievements of what was a very memorable year of volleyball
for all of us.
My name is
Trevor Norton. As one of the players on the 1981
Wetaskiwin Avalanche, I am proud to introduce our team:
captain Bill Verbeek, Brian Licis, Ken Klause, Harold Mohler,
Pat Mcfeely, Clayton Bodnarek, Murray Knudsen, Wade Beacon
(Wilson), Greg Kirwer, Coach Larry Ethier, manager Bruce
Grant.
I would also
like to recognize that our late coach Larry Ethier’s wife is
here … Deb Ethier, along with their two sons Neil and Lucas
and three grandchildren.
Their daughter
Melanie would have like to be here too but, unfortunately,
she was not able to make it. Deb and her kids shared Coach
Larry with all of us, and many other volleyball players, for
hours and hours away from the family. We thank you very much
for that and share that it is hard for us as well, that he
is not with us in person, but he is in spirit and will
always be a part of our hearts and too many memories to
share in this speech. You were and will always be a part of
our family as you and Larry opened your home and hearts up
to all of us.
We are
honoured tonight as Team Inductees, and as a team we must
talk about the team and our history. Canadian Juvenile
Volleyball Championships (now called U18) started in 1977.
In the first 5 years of having a national championship,
Wetaskiwin represented Alberta 3 times 1978,1979 and 1981.
Our team success came with the experiences and success of
the teams before us. I will read the names of the players
before us as they inspired our team and were the building
blocks of what we accomplished.
1978 in New
Brunswick :(1977 3A High School Provincial Champions): Rob
Kuchera, Ian Mcfeely, Scott Huckel, Dallan Kirwer, David
French, Danny Anderson, Steve Knudsen, Ron Norton, Coach
Larry Ethier and team manager Blair Norton.
1979 our
Quebec team Coach Larry recruited a few players from
Edmonton as the this was a rebuilding year for the
Wetaskiwin team: Jim Hominiuk, Dallan Kirwer, Jim Schubert,
Rick Hays, Bill Verbeek, Murray Knudsen, Gary Szabados, Ray
Bodnarek, Steve Knudsen, me Trevor Norton, Coach Larry
Ethier and manager Blair Norton.
I mention the
names of the previous teams and you heard as some of our
sibling’s played before us. Ron Norton, Dallan Kirwer, Ian
Mcfeely, Steve Knudsen, Ray Bodnarek. Sibling rivalry
is great as we looked up to our brothers, we wanted to be
like them, but also better. So, to our brothers and players
before us THANK YOU for setting the foundations and momentum
for our team and we attribute our success to you.
The original
Wetaskiwin volleyball club was called the Wetaskiwin Blues.
Before we started the 1981 club tournament season, while
driving to a high school tournament at the end of the high
school season, I remember coach, Larry, stating that the
name Blues didn’t sound tough or aggressive enough. He said
that he thought we needed a new team name. He asked the
players in his car that day with him to think about a new
name.
Only a minute
or two passed and suddenly, Larry blurted out … AVALANCHE!
He said we
start as one small snowflake, and no one notices. But then
as we gain momentum, we gather speed and strength … and we
CRUSH everything in our path. That was cool!
He smiled … we
all smiled and shared our enthusiasm … and just like that,
we became the Wetaskiwin Avalanche.
I’m thinking
he already knew what the name would be, but when he
explained it and smiled, you must know he knew we were that
small city snowflake that he was mentoring and training for
a championship run to Newfoundland. In all modesty, the
1981 Wetaskiwin Avalanche really did crush everything in its
path … until we got to the National Semi-Finals. (Momentum).
Our
accomplishments in 1981 wouldn’t have been possible at all
if it wasn’t for the late Coach Larry Ethier … that is why
he was honoured here in 2016 as a builder, also his 1990 4A
High School Provincial Champion Team Wetaskiwin Sabres
Girls, were honoured here in 2011, as well as, Athlete,
Natalie Reimer Anderson inducted here in 2016 spoke of Coach
Larry Ethier, as every player he coached could talk for
hours of his coaching, mentoring, motivation, singing and
leadership. He truly was an architect of success.
Wade who
apologizes he is not here tonight, remembers Larry
approaching him just before the 1980-81 volleyball season.
Wade was NOT a volleyball player. He was a basketball and
hockey player. Larry asked Wade if would be interested in
trying out for the volleyball team. Wade answered Larry by
saying he was honoured but he didn’t know how to play
volleyball. To which Larry replied: “You are an athlete
aren’t you? You are 6’3” aren’t you?” Wade said: “Yes and
yes.” And Larry then said: “Don’t worry about it. I will
teach you how to play volleyball in six weeks if you make
the team.” Wade tried out, made the team, and became a
valuable part of the Wetaskiwin Avalanche. Did he learn how
to play volleyball? Just joking, yes. Coach Larry knew what
an athlete was and believed that a good athlete could be
trained to perform in almost any sport.
Another
remarkable aspect of Larry’s coaching was his ability to
make sure everyone on the team was just as important as the
next. Whether you played every minute of every game or just
went in for a pass or a block here and there, he recognized
everyone’s contribution to every win. Way to come in a dig
that ball in game two Harold. Great blocking in game three
Kenny. What great serves Greg. If you ask any one on the
team, they didn’t think about who played and how much.
Everyone contributed working hard as a team and was always
reliable, dependable and ready to go.
After a very
successful 1980 high school season (3A High School
Provincial Champions) and to excel in the club season, Larry
felt we needed a couple extra guys to take the Avalanche to
the top for the club season. Brian Licis and Clay Bodnarek
were instrumental to our very successful club season. Clay
and Brian played on the 4A provincial championship team out
of Edmonton, so when they asked to play for Larry, it was a
no brainer, except they’d have to come to Wetaskiwin to
train. But when asked how they came to Wetaskiwin, here’s
the email answer, from Brian, “Oh it was totally Clay’s
initiative, first brainwashing me with negative EVC
(Edmonton Volleyball Club) propaganda as opposed to the
limitless upside of Wetaskiwin (man did we alienate a whole
bunch of Edmonton folk with that move), then having to sell
me on sharing the court with my arch-rival Trevor.” To
which I must say, Thank you Clay and yes, you to, Brian.
Larry’s
formula was, hard work, goal setting, a positive attitude,
confidence, and belief in our abilities – and practise.
Larry was always challenging us in practices, the drills
were adapted often. We either played or practiced every day.
Larry expected
nothing less than 90% on passing and even 90% was as low as
he wanted more. Half of every practice was spent on passing.
So, one practice bed sheets were placed over the net
reaching the floor and a chair placed on the floor to
represent the setter position. We could not see the serve or
the ball until it came over the net and individually, we
stood to receive the serve. If you pass it to the chair,
good, if not run until it’s your turn again. We looked
shocked but Larry said if one can do it, you can all do, it
can be done. And sure, enough Bill immediately proved Larry
right, most of us ran for a while but then we did it.
The next
practice the sheet went up and the chair became a stool,
the final challenge was, the sheet went up, the stool became
a small garbage can, and the passed ball had to go into that
can, the lights on the court were turned off leaving only
one set of lights on the far side of the gym and we had to
start by laying on our backs with our heads facing the court
and not getting up until the ball was slapped or hit for the
serve…..Bill continued to hit the can some of us continued
to run, but think how well we passed when the lights were
on, the sheet was gone and we played our positions in the
game…we passed 90% or better. So, thank you Bill, we made
Pat and Murray’s job easier to call and run the plays and
set our offence.
When we first
started training Larry stated one day to play with P.A.T., I
jokingly said he’s right there, Larry smiled and said Pain,
Agony and Torture…work hard until it hurts, if I ask you to
do 10 laps, do 11, 20 burpees, do 21.
Pat Mcfeely
was the leader of the stair exercises. Running normal steps,
then one leg, each side, both feet together up and down
those stairs, one step, two steps up to five steps and then
back down from 5 to 1. At least 20 minutes at a time.
So, at the end
of our training he gave us a time limit for the stairs, now
teammate PAT threw the gauntlet down and said we can do it
faster and if not, consequence was, we would run a mile and
half outside, if we did it, Larry would buy A&W root beer.
I’m not sure if I remember it right, but I don’t think we
thanked PAT while we ran to the stairs, or ran the stairs,
or ran back to the gym…but we were rewarded with a frosty
mug of A&W Root Beer, so we thank you now PAT, we survived.
So, Larry’s training, teaching, pep talks and challenges
were, as we all know now, life lessons that have stuck with
us throughout our lives, and to my teammates who accepted
the challenges and proved they could be done thank you for
motivating each other to be better.
Because we
were a club team, the school teams used the gymnasium early
evenings and we trained later at night, thus the school
required staff (custodial) to ensure the gymnasium was clean
and to locked up after everyone was gone. Bruce was that guy
who without asking helped in the gym during practices from
day one, thus he became part of our team, as manager
assisting Larry so we had more time to run, sweat, and
train. Thank you, Bruce.
The success
story of the 1981 Wetaskiwin Avalanche would not be complete
if we did not say more about the final chapter. The
Nationals in St. John’s, Newfoundland. An experience of a
lifetime. And I’m not just talking about the wonderful
families that hosted us or a bathtub full of lobster that
just didn’t go right. Everyone now wants to hear this story,
but no time, come sit with us later (spoiler alert). In the
end we won a medal. With the delays of COVID postponing
tonight I had time to ask family in Newfoundland thoughts
about tonight and our team, as they hosted, housed, fed,
entertained, and tolerated us. They not only made everyone
feel apart of the family, they made the entire team family.
“Beautiful
bunch of boys/men, we would like to get a copy and photo of
this proud moment, I know it will bring a few tears as time
passes too quickly. The games and laughter in our back yard
cannot ever be repeated.”
My cousin who
was 12 at the time stated,” Clayton was the cute one who
reminded me of Donny Osmond, and I was so taken by his
smile, Harold was the most fun and Wade was quiet”. She
remembers making posters to cheer us on and it was so much
fun in the stands cheering with the whole family around. A
big party for the entire stay. A bit apprehensive hosting
guys in the basement but it did not take long after they
arrived to win us over. A great group of guys, wonderful
ambassadors for their sport and their Province”.
We stayed with
five families and those that couldn’t take us in, helped
feed us, a new home every night had us all sit down for team
suppers. They provided snacks, water, beverages, and even a
crab boat tour of St John’s harbour and beyond. BBQ on the
beach, losing my cousins signed volleyball from the national
team into the Atlantic…memories to cherish. We had a large
cheering section, louder for us but they cheered and made
all the teams feel good. Thank you to all the family in
Newfoundland, past and present Aunts and Uncles and all my
cousins, you truly made a difference. To my late mom who
made the arrangements and became our team Ambassador in
Newfoundland. She also saved the newspaper clippings on
display thus the written memory of 1981. Again, a lot of
stories can be shared.
We headed to
St. John’s on a tremendous run that you have already heard
about, and we were ready to be national champions. Larry was
so focussed that he didn’t stop his intense training process
with us even on the day of the flight, he had us running at
5 a.m. as well as the previous ten mornings to adjust to the
3 ½ hour time difference.
Anyways …
volleyball is a game that is very much momentum-based and
the final chapter in Newfoundland is really a terrible twist
of irony in that we got caught in an avalanche by another
team. Team Quebec in the semi-finals.
Game one ended
at 15-13 for Quebec.
Unfortunately,
our team did not overcome the loss of such a close hard
fought game, and very quickly momentum was gone. At 8-6 for
Quebec in game two, the Larry called a timeout to get us
re-focussed. However, the Quebec momentum just couldn’t be
stopped, and we lost game two. Just like that, it was over.
Two games to none. We were out. We shook hands and sat down
completely stunned.
As Larry
stated later upon arriving home, “If we played that same
Quebec team 10 times, we would win five times”. They also
made it to the playoffs deservingly and won the gold, so
congratulations to Quebec. Fun Thought... In 1995 a sports
franchise from Quebec became The Avalanche didn’t they?
In sports you
can have a great winning streak, a winning record and
season, but a loss at the most inappropriate time or game
should not define that season, team or athlete. There’s the
agony of defeat.
The early
reaction by me and my team-mates to the loss was typical. We
were mad, frustrated, and at the time we couldn’t give a
darn about playing for the bronze medal. We were torturing
ourselves as we wanted gold or nothing.
That didn’t
last long. Larry gathered us once we had some time to settle
down and sharply stated:” I didn’t come all this way with
you … and you didn’t all come this way … to act like this
and give up!”
“We came here
to win a medal, so tomorrow, we will WIN the bronze medal
and finish our season with that WIN. As Vince Lombardi said,
“it’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get
back up.”
It took three
games in the bronze medal match, but we regained our
momentum in game three and the Avalanche was back. We had
WON that bronze medal, and we are proud of it today.
In closing
tonight, we want to thank the Wetaskiwin Sports Hall of Fame
board for this honour. We want to again, thank Deb Ethier
and her family for sharing Larry and for supporting our
team. Larry was truly a remarkable person, coach and
educator. He did so much for his family, athletes, students,
and community. Several members of our team went on to excel
in volleyball at universities, colleges, and other clubs.
But more importantly, all of us became better people under
Larry’s leadership. We are all so grateful for having him be
a part of our lives.
We want to
thank our all parents, brothers, families, friends, and
other supporters who stood with us years ago. Murray your
parents especially as they opened their home often, the
potluck dinner after our game with the German Team, and
providing the motorhome to travel in.
The final of
three provincial tournaments was in Wetaskiwin, the
gymnasium was standing room only. People on the streets
always asked when we were leaving and wished us luck, and
upon our return they shook hands, patted us on the back and
were proud of us for our medal. We represented Wetaskiwin
and fund raising for New Brunswick, Quebec and Newfoundland
was valued as the city businesses and public were behind us.
Thank you Wetaskiwin for that support. And thank you to the
Legion Branch #86 for being our lead sponsor.
I personally
thank the players who are in attendance tonight. Thanks for
being here gentlemen so we can share in this honour
together, and with all the inductees past and present, we
are honoured to share the stage.
And lastly, I
know Larry is looking down tonight feeling very proud that
we have joined him in the Hall of Fame. I really must close
as the last thing we all want is a message from Coach Larry
Ethier, he would say, “get out there give me another set of
twenty”.
Thank you very
much and goodnight.
