For the Townsman
Brooke Lightburn is happy to be home with her family and friends after spending almost three weeks in Kamloops training with Volleyball Canada’s U16 Team BC.
Brooke was chosen from over 90 girls from across the Province to play in a NTCC tournament at the Olympic Oval in Richmond, B.C. She is the first female athlete to make this team from the East Kootenay in five years.
Team BC is a pathway for young athletes who aspire to reach the elite level and who dream to one day represent Canada on the National Men’s or Women’s Volleyball Team.
At five-feet, six-inches, Brooke is considered “short” for this sport, but is an excellent athlete and has played with the East Kootenay Volleyball Club in Cranbrook for four years, mostly as an “Outside” or “Power.”
Her goal is to play college ball, and because of her “short” stature she was advised by her coaches that she would need to make a switch and play as a Libero for indoor volleyball or play beach volleyball. The Libero is a defensive specialist position responsible for digging and passing the ball, a job that she has done on the court, but a position that she has never officially played.
Brooke tried out for Libero at the Baden Cup Selection Camp in Kamloops and was excited to be selected to play for Team BC. The team then travelled to Richmond and played in a three-day tournament with teams as far away as Nova Scotia.
With the indoor volleyball under wraps, Brooke is now heading out to a Provincial Beach Tournament at Spanish Banks, in Vancouver with over 400 teams participating. Brooke and her partner won the Gold at the Beach High School Open Tournament in Kelowna this spring.