The Foothills Falcons have received an early gift courtesy of Santa’s hometown.
Jeremy Davies, the Falcons’ new Senior boys volleyball coach, played the game professionally in Finland before coming back to Canada and ultimately a job teaching and coaching at the Comp this season.
“It was awesome, it was a blast,” Davies said of playing in Finland. “I was very north – Arctic Circle north in a town called Rovaniemi. It was Santa Claus’s hometown - that was its claim to fame.
“Language was a little difficult, but the people were amazing.
“It has a professional league, Canada doesn’t have a professional league yet. They are very knowledgeable about volleyball.”
Regardless of language, one thing all volleyball fans can understand and appreciate is a player that throws himself on the floor – something Davies had to do throughout his career as a libero.
“I am not very tall so that was a pretty quick decision on what I was going to play,” Davies said. “I played outside hitter until I was about 15 and then they raised the net… that’s when I made my transition.
“The defensive side of volleyball is a lot of fun. A lot of people think offence is the best part, the flashiest kind of moments, but if a libero or someone makes a big dig in a match, it can easily turn the momentum around.
“As a libero, I was kind of a defensive co-ordinator. I really enjoyed that responsibility."
Davies played high school volleyball with the always powerful Dr. E.P. Scarlett Lancers. He was good enough to go to play U Sports volleyball with the Brandon University Bobcats. The Cats won a national bronze medal in Davies’ first year. He is the all-time digs leader at Brandon.
“I loved it there,” Davies said. “It’s a small-town, but the volleyball and the Bobcats, between them and the Wheat Kings, we were the top two in the town.”
After Brandon, he played a half a season as the Canadian national team centre in Quebec and was then picked up by a Finnish team.
He came back to Canada and taught a year in Brandon – due in part to someone he loves way more than volleyball.
“My wife was with me and she is a nurse and wasn’t able to work out there because she doesn’t know Finnish,” Davies said. “I was holding her back from working. Eventually I wanted to kind of settle down and find a teaching job. I taught Grade 3 and 4 in Brandon.”
His wife is a nurse in Calgary and Davies is now teaching aviation/robotics at the Comp.
He brings coaching experience as well.
“When I was teaching my last year, I was also an assistant coach at the university (Brandon),” he said.
As well, he coached high school-aged students at the club level.
He’s got nearly as much energy as his players to get the season started.
“They haven’t really played much because of COVID,” Davies said. “They are itching to get at it, and there is a lot to cover.”
