Head coach Ryan Marsden and the Olds College Broncos men鈥檚 volleyball coaching staff have been busy recruiting a strong freshmen class of seven athletes from across the world to complement the eight returning student-athletes.
A trio of student-athletes from Saskatchewan is among the players recruited. The three volleyball players, Thundersky Walkingbear, River Thomas and Tyler Donnally, are close friends who say they are honoured to come out of their communities and want to represent their community and make them proud.
Thundersky Walkingbear of Thunderchild First Nation is a hitter who plays right side and left side. He听 is 6鈥� 3鈥�. He attended high school at Mount Royal Collegiate in Saskatoon and his most recent club is the 18 U Huskies Volleyball Club.
Walkingbear will study business management, sports management.
He has been named Sask Volleyball 2017 Beach Male Athlete of the Year Youth, and has earned 18U provincials gold, North American Indigenous Games 19U gold and Sask Cup 1 and 2 gold.
听鈥淚鈥檓 excited for the friends I鈥檒l make and also super excited to play as a Bronco,鈥� Walkingbear says. 鈥淎nd, also the experiences I鈥檒l learn from being a Bronco.鈥�
听鈥淭hundersky is a huge recruit for our program. He has a massive vertical and hits the ball extremely high,鈥� says Marsden.
鈥淗e never seems to crack under pressure and is such a good team player. His positive attitude was evident every time that I watched him perform. His immediate impact to the program will make us competitive.鈥�
River Thomas, at 6鈥�5鈥�, is well suited for the middle position on a volleyball court. Thomas is from North Battleford and attended John Paul II Collegiate. He will be in an open studies program at Olds College.
Thomas is a corporal with the Combat Engineers within the Canadian Military and serves in the reserves with 38 CER in Saskatoon.
听鈥淚鈥檓 excited to take my skills to the next level, maximize my potential and work alongside a prestigious coach and be playing with my best friends,鈥� Thomas says.
Marsden admires Thomas鈥檚 size.
鈥淗e is tall, but also very physical. His maturity will be a welcome addition to our program. We expect River to make an immediate difference within our team. His calm demeanor on the court will help those around him.鈥�
Tyler Donnally is a 6鈥� outside hitter from Lloydminster who attended Eagleview Composite High School. His most recent team is the Rustlers Volleyball Club. He will study sports management at Olds College
鈥淚鈥檓 excited to be a Bronco because this is where some of my role models growing up had played,鈥� Donnally says.
鈥淢e and a few of my really good friends from back home will be starting our college volleyball together. The coaching staff is amazing, as well as the beautiful town of Olds is a reason I鈥檓 excited to a part of this program.鈥�
听鈥淭yler jumps well. His passing and defence are his biggest strengths,鈥� says Marsden.
鈥淗is ability to pass a large portion of the court will be helpful for the Broncos. He is a great team player, but expects hard work from both himself and those around him.鈥�
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