There’s no place Handsworth Grade 11 student Kayla Oxford would rather be than on a volleyball court, which is good news for her given that she was practically born on one and had basically no choice in the matter.
Kayla is the youngest of four sisters, all of whom grew up playing volleyball together. Kayla’s memory does not go back far enough to recall a time when volleyball wasn’t a huge part of her life.
“I’ve been watching my sisters forever,” she says with a laugh. “But I love it still.”
Eldest sister Sarah played in high school, while Rebecca and Emily both starred for the Royals – each earning MVP honours at the provincial championships – with their father Tom, also an elite player in his day, as the head coach. At the CIS level Rebecca put together a strong career at Western University while Emily is in her final season with UBC Okanagan, a relatively new program that won bronze at the national championships last season. Those accomplished players have been Kayla’s tutors throughout her life, particularly in the family’s famous backyard matches.
“I’ve got video from the backyard where she was probably five years old playing volleyball with her older sisters,” says Tom. “She used to always be the little one who was trying to keep up.”
Kayla definitely remembers those matches.
“We would set up the net in the summer outside and my sisters would start playing,” she says. “I would really want to play, because our family is super competitive. So I’d always want to play and they would just teach me the fundamental skills and then I just started to play. I was really bad, but they played with me.”
Her sisters were patient with her, to a point, says Kayla.
“They sure did push me. … It helped me a lot. Because they were really tough on me, it made me better.”
That impressive pedigree is paying off. In her Grade 10 year last season Kayla was a starter for the senior Royals, earning tournament all-star honours as the team claimed the provincial AAAA title. This summer she played in Volleyball Canada’s youth national development program, and back at Handsworth she has helped the Royals stay ranked at No. 2 in the province despite losing the six other starters from last year’s championship team.
“She’s a pretty dynamic player,” Tom says of Kayla, who like Rebecca and Emily is a setter who can also smash spikes with the best power hitters in the province. “(She) has a lot of energy, pretty competitive kid, and gets really excited. She does all the basic skills well and is one of our strong hitters.”
This year Kayla has extra motivation standing across the net from her at practice, as Rebecca has returned to Handsworth to help her dad coach the team, bringing that backyard competition into the gym every day.
“It’s really fun with Rebecca because some days we won’t have enough players and so she’ll start playing with us,” says Kayla. “Since I’m a setter/right side, she’ll be playing power so she’ll always get these big blocks on me, and I’ll get big blocks on her. We push each other a lot when we play.”
The Royals lost 11 players to graduation at the end of last season, meaning Kayla is one of only four returning players. They haven’t slipped much though, scoring a second-place finish at the prestigious UBC preseason tournament and finishing fourth against 44 top teams at last weekend’s UBC Okanagan tournament. Grade 12 setter Brooke Cheng and power hitter Sarah Curliegh, both returning players from last year, are the team’s co-captains, with libero Maggie Lawson and power hitter Danica Dickenson joining them in the starting lineup and Alyssa Murdock, Leah Schwartz and Hanna Donaldson sharing time at middle blocker. It’s a new group, but they are coming together quickly, says Kayla.
“I’m so excited. It’s been only a month and the team has really connected. It’s been so much fun so far, we really push each other at practice. We all know our goals and we all really want to be competitive with the top teams in the province.”
The Royals will have a chance to stake their claim when Handsworth and West Vancouver co-host the provincial championships Dec. 1-3.
“We’re really gunning for provincials and to see how well we can do there,” says Tom. “Given that we graduated so many kids it’s not like we’re saying, ‘OK, we’re going to go win another provincial championship.’ We just want to see if we can put our sights towards provincials and peak at that time. … I think the girls are feeling it a little. Since we won provincials last year and traditionally do well on the North Shore, when teams come into our gym or when they’re playing us, they’re gunning for us. I think they always feel as if there’s a bit of an X on our backs.”
Kayla knows the rebuilding Royals have their work cut out for them, but she’s also driven by the success she tasted at last year’s championships.
“It was indescribable,” she says of last year’s golden run. “Going onto a team with all Grade 12s was kind of scary at first. They pushed me a lot because I was younger, but it was such a fun team. It was a crazy run.”
All that experience has helped make her the player she is today.
“I’m definitely more confident and more ready to go,” she says. “I want to go after things and I’m very competitive now. I also know what you have to do to win. You just have to know the fundamentals and play with a passion for the game.”
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The Royals will face stiff tests on the North Shore in the next couple of weeks against some longtime rivals. On Tuesday they’ll face the Argyle Pipers starting at 7:30 p.m. at Carson Graham, while on Oct. 25 they’ll meet St. Thomas Aquinas for a match starting at 7:30 p.m. at West Vancouver secondary. The North Shore championships are set to begin the first week of November.
