This year marks the 20th season of BU volleyball, and the legacy of those first teams lives on as the sport community continues to grow.

The program was established as club teams in the early 2000’s before coaches were hired who went to work building rosters to compete that first year.

With a mix of local talent and the odd recruit from Winnipeg and western Canada, the squads were inexperienced but hungry and determined.

It was a hodgepodge of high school players and a few college transfers, but far from a senior or experienced team.

What they lacked in experience they made up for in belief and community support.

It didn’t take long for the programs to take off. Over the years both teams have been nationally ranked, the men earned a national medal within just four years while the women’s team hosted the CIS (now U Sports) national championship in 2016 to the largest crowd in HLC history.

And it started in 2005 with a group that believed in each other.

HOW IT STARTED
It took Kelly DeRoo seconds to score the first Canada West point on home court.

The Brandon product cracked the roster as the team’s starting setter, and knew the history of accomplishments in the old BU Gym, now known as Henry Champ Gym.

“I remember coming to games and that gym being packed with people, so it was surreal knowing this was now our gym too,” DeRoo said.

“It seemed like a small place compared to other places we played but it was packed for our games too. There was never an empty seat because the community loved volleyball.”

DeRoo dumped the first set she made, scoring the first point in BU volleyball history.

It’s been 20 years since volleyball took new meaning for Kelly DeRoo, but she still can’t get enough of the gym.

The Food & Nutrition and Textile Arts & Design teacher with Brandon’s Vincent Massey High School fell in love with volleyball at a young age.

Daryle McCannell and Bill Gadd were some of her earliest coaches.

“Daryle was an awesome coach. He was always so positive and was one of the main reasons I fell in love with volleyball,” said DeRoo.

“At Earl Oxford Bill Gadd would just set up the net on our breaks and he would toss balls. He was so dedicated and I was lucky to have two such influential coaches before I even got to high school.”  

The game has taken her to many places, but somehow she still spends most evenings and weekends on the volleyball court.

WHERE THEY ARE NOW

“I'm usually in the gym every day of the week, maybe not Sunday,” said DeRoo or her multiple coaching commitments.

Her Vincent Massey Vikings Varsity team are the top-ranked team in the province and looking to capture a AAAA Provincial title later this month.

Between coaching the Varsity team at Massey, coaching a club team every year, and assisting the Bobcat women’s team, she has a hard time finding time that doesn’t involve the game.

“Right now we’re the number one team in the province and we hope to continue that,” Deroo said of her powerhouse Vikings team.

“It’s not just about the individual either, there are so many hands in the pot that contribute to the success. Volleyball is very popular in Brandon and there are so many people involved to help those improve.”

DeRoo sees it as simply paying it forward, much like those that instilled the love of the game in her. 

She’s more than happy to grow the game that she benefitted from and the result is in local talent that climb through the ranks to the university level.

“When you look at someone like Brooklyn Pratt who grew up watching and dreamed about being a Bobcat. She worked her way on to the team and is just one example the program benefitting from local talent. Bobcat players coach club and get involved in the community and both sides benefit,” DeRoo said.

And she’s quick to give credit to where it all began.

“It was great because my parents came to every game, and friends and their parents were always there as well as people that coached in the community. It was so nice to have that support and for me to have that experience because if I was even just a little bit older that ship would’ve sailed and I wouldn’t have got that opportunity.”

DeRoo is the one of four educators at Vincent Massey that were part of the first Bobcat volleyball teams along with Dan McMillan, Pat Thompson and the school's Principle Kurt Hunter. 

Those first teams in 2005-06 have produced plenty of teachers and coaches that give back either as coaches or volunteers in various capacities.

Down the hall from DeRoo’s classroom, Pat Thompson passes on his knowledge and love of volleyball in the Massey gym.

Thompson teaches Physical Education and often gives his time, whether it be directly in the sport as Massey’s Grade 9 boys volleyball team, or more indirectly by providing colour commentary on Bobcat home games.

Thompson’s experience on that first team was much like DeRoo’s. Having grown up in Forrest and attended Bobcat games, the opportunity to play at home motivated him as well.

“No one really knew what to expect that first year. We were just a ragtag, assembled crew. We played some of our first exhibition games in the gym in Souris with just random t-shirts for jerseys,” said Thomson.

“I remember in that game Jarrod Small, Joel Small’s brother, made a massive block and we were all like ‘Ok this is big time’”.

Thompson credits the coaching staff and roster they assembled for how quickly the team came together and found success.

“Russ and Grant were awesome as our first coaches. But we were also a little afraid of Russ,” said Thomson. 

“I mean, here’s this Olympian that doesn’t really say much and was well-known for his blocking and accomplishments in the game, but we all had so much for respect for the both of them that it we eventually just came to realize that they were two very positive leaders.”

The team won its first ever Canada West conference game that season, a five-set road victory over Regina on Oct. 21, 2005.

The ascension had to happen quickly, as nearby opponents in the conference were beyond competitive.

The University of Winnipeg made it to the national final in 2002 and the Manitoba Bisons won national titles in three of four years from 2000 to 2003.

“Winnipeg and Manitoba were both nationally ranked at the time and the first time we ever played the U of M we beat them and I think Russ really enjoyed that,”

Thompson’s time on the Bobcat roster increased in fun, despite decreasing in court time. The team went on to recruit more players as the seasons rolled along and Thompson found himself looking for new roles on the team, in which he flourished.

The undersized-middle was always a glue-guy, known for celebrating team success more than his own.

“I remember when we got our first road win in Calgary on a massive block from Desai Walkingbear to win it,” said Thompson.

“We left the gym that night feeling like kings. It was a very special moment and we definitely had fun that night.”

After graduating from BU’s Faculty of Education and continuing his teaching career right here in Brandon, Thompson settled at Massey where he began giving back to the game.

The father of two was also an assistant coach on the Bobcat team that captured the program’s first Canada West championship in 2013.

Thompson was and is like many that contribute to the game.

CONTINUED COACHING

Joel Small was integral in the early success of the BU volleyball program. The towering hometown product transferred to his hometown Bobcats, a program he knew well seeing as his dad played basketball for BU in the late 1970’s.

“I grew up watching Bobcat basketball, so as soon as I had the opportunity to come back and play at home with some of the guys I grew up playing with and against I knew it would be cool,” said Small.

The Kirkcaldy Heights grad was a standout with Crocus Plains before playing his first year at Providence College. When he was contacted about coming home to play for BU, it was a quick decision and easy to find motivation.

What he wasn’t expecting was how quickly the team came together and how quick the group was to find success.

“Coming home to be on the court and start building a program, it was surprising to all us how of quickly that happened. It was pretty nerve wracking because there aren’t many too teams that have lineups of first and second year kids. We were just living in the moment and having fun, and the coaches did a good job of helping us manage it by enjoying it but going out and giving it everything we had to get better as a team.”

Those lessons translated to Small’s coaching career, where he led the Assiniboine Cougars for nine years and gave back to the game that gave him so much.

Looking back to see how things have grown changed and what it means to have been involved from day one.

“It’s awesome to be able to look back and share the stories and memories with friends and family. It’s something as both individuals and as a group we can take pride in,” said Small. 

Small became the first men's volleyball team member to be inducted into the school's Wall of Fame, but to some he's still just ‘Dad’.

The father of three is busy but still finds time to give back to the game as an assistant coach with the Neelin Spartans. 

That team features Bobcat commit Kingston Thomas, showing how the game continues to evolve, grow, and reach the community in many ways.

“As I get older, I feel more of that pull to keep giving back and I being thankful and grateful for the opportunities coaches gave me growing up. With Russ, Grant and Brandon University giving us the opportunity keep building this hotbed of volleyball in western Manitoba to really take off is showing in the number of U Sports and college players coming out of this region. A lot of it is based on those people in the early days of Bobcat volleyball that became teachers and coaches and continue to grow the sport in this area which is the greatest gift."