2009's New Spartans...Already

January 7th, 2009:

Langley, BC

Spartan Men's Volleyball is pleased to announce the signing of two of our top three recruits for the fall of 2009: Brad Kufske & Derek Thiessen.

These are the two best attackers in the province of BC for the grad class of 2009. They are both physical and have a good background in volleyball and sport in general. Both Brad and Derek have been members of Team BC the past two summers and were both members of the U16 Team BC that won the Elite West Challenge with Derek being named MVP of the tournament. Both are members of our Fraser Valley Volleyball Club and follow the tradition of Steve Rogalsky, Jeff Stel, Justin Pankratz and Aaron Vandenbrink going from FVVC to TWU. With FVVC Brad won a U16 National Championship in 2007 in Calgary. These two athletes provide the Spartans with two side out machines to build around for the next five years and in contrast to some of the most recent Spartan recruits they have good frames on them already and may not require quite as much work in the weight room as Marc Howatson.

Brad Kufske
6'5 195
Right Side / Left Side
Spike Touch 11'2.5"

Brad is the top prospect in BC coming out of high school this next fall. He is hyper athletic and physical. He is also one of the top high school basketball players in BC and had many opportunities to play post secondary basketball in BC as most BC Universities had contacted him. Fortunately for TWU he decided to play volleyball and Spartanland will be the benefit for years to come. Look for Brad to play right side for the Spartans his first few years with a move to the left side later in his career as his passing improves. In the current Spartan system with Josh Doornenbal hitting the back row D ball Brad could see some early court time as early as next fall allowing him to hit and block front row without needing to hit the backrow ball or play defense. This would allow him to play in his areas of strength while he works on the skill portions of his game.

Brad's intangibles are incredible. He is an honour roll student with an 85% average in his academic courses in high school. He is a tireless worker both on and off the court and that work ethic will allow him to make the transition to the University level very quickly. He is also a young man with exceptional character and morals. He is going to be a great centre piece to the Spartans' future.

Derek Thiessen
6'6 200
Left Side / Right Side
Spike Touch 11'5"

Derek is the other great attacking prospect out of BC high schools this year. He is big and physical with a tremendous amount of athleticism. He is still a bit raw when it comes to the touch skills (passing & defense) but at the net he is a major presence. He, like Brad, has a history of playing middle and is a big blocker at any of the positions. His big jump and big drift make him a very dangerous attacker down the road. His high end is hard to put a lid on at this point as his physicality will not limit him in anyway. For Derek it really will be a matter of how quickly he picks up the passing element of being a left side player which is what we foresee for his future.

Derek is also a great young man off the court. He is a sharp kid who does well in school and has a dedication to faith and a great family background. Both of his parents were basketball players and very athletic in their own right. His uncle Paul Thiessen is a former member of Team Canada Volleyball. High end athletics is in the blood and we believe it will be shown throughout Derek's career in Langley.

With the addition of these two top recruits Spartan Men's Volleyball boasts the best collection of young hitters in Canada West. Brad & Derek join Marc Howatson, Aaron Vandenbrink , Paul Lindemulder, Mikaih Schalk and soon to be eligible skywalker Steve Marshall. This group of hitters all between 1st and 4th year next fall looks to solidify Spartan Men's Volleyball future on the wings for quite some time.

Next fall the Spartans still hope to add a second setter and another middle. Ben Ball returns for his 3rd year and will take over the full time setting reins from Chaim Schlk. Rudy Verhoeff, Josh Dornenbal and Dan Jansen VanDoorn are the three returning middles. Rounding out next fall's roster are the three liberos: Andrew Hawkes, Jarrod Offereins and John Wiebe.

2009-??? looks very bright with the amount of talent collecting at TWU.