For the first time in his young volleyball career, Reuben Veith is getting a chance to showcase his talents on the international stage.
The Grade 11 student at Carlton Comprehensive High School has been selected to represent Canada at the 2024 North Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA) U19 Continental Championships in Puerto Rico later this month.
Veith, an outside hitter by trade, says he is looking forward to the chance to play on the world stage.
“I’m super excited. I think it’s a great opportunity. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun to see teams from different countries and to wear the maple leaf. I’m going to be excited to see how I match up against some other players and just see if I can do my best and kind of prove myself on a bigger stage than I’m used to.”
In order to try out for the team, prospective players had to submit two videos, one of a highlight package approximately five minutes in length and another showing video of a full match. Of the 12 players named to the roster, Veith is the only Saskatchewan-born player.
On top of representing Canada, Veith says he is excited to represent his home province.
“Saskatchewan’s a smaller province, and volleyball is actually pretty well developed here, so I just like how I can represent our province.”
The 2024 U19 NORCECA Continental Championships start on May 12. Canada opens the tournament that day against the United States in Group A. They then take on Cuba and Suriname on the 15th and 16th respectively.
Group B consists of Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, and the hosts from Puerto Rico. The top three teams in each group advance to the playoffs, with the first place teams received a bye in round one. The Gold Medal game is scheduled for May 19.
Veith was part of the Carlton Crusader Sr. Boys Volleyball team that advanced to the semi-finals at provincials last fall.
sports@paherald.sk.ca
