Thomas digs Spartans chances at provincials

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This article was published 29/11/2023 (713 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The road for Kingston Thomas to get here borders on unimaginable.

Where is here? For one, AAA volleyball provincials starting today in Dauphin as he looks to win a second banner in as many seasons for the Neelin Spartans.

Here is his position, the starting libero at Neelin and likely one of the best defensive players at the 12-team championship. That’s crazy in itself, considering Thomas only started playing competitive volleyball last September.

And lastly, in a literal sense, there is no road from his hometown to Brandon. Thomas hails from Brochet, a reserve a one-hour flight or four-plus hour drive on winter roads northwest of Thompson.

Thomas, 15, moved to Brandon last year because he wanted to play hockey, but never did. Instead, other sophomores at Neelin were talking about volleyball tryouts during the first week of school, so he showed up.

“I went to go try out and didn’t really know anything at all, positions or anything. I started really slow at first, but I caught on to it,” Thomas said.

“It’s just second nature to me I guess. I’ve always trained in my town and wanted to be the best.”

Some folks on the local volleyball scene say he’s already the best libero in Brandon, and for good reason. He is a solid passer and scrappy defender with sound fundamentals you’d think were developed over five or six years.

And he already has big-match experience from this time last year when the Neelin JV boys won provincial AAA gold. Thomas admitted his nerves got the better of him early in that match.

“I felt so nervous to the point where I started shanking balls because I wasn’t very comfortable,” Thomas said. “Once I started calming down and realizing I’m capable of doing it, I did it and it came to me that I needed to win.”

He added, “That was a big accomplishment.”

The five-foot-nine junior has a solid, deep group around him, as one would expect on a team ranked in the top-four and participating in Pool A with Steinbach Christian, Garden Valley and Springfield today and Friday morning.

Those four teams will play for seeds and then get a bye to the quarterfinals. The quarters, semifinals and final all take place on Saturday with the final set for 4:30 p.m.

Thomas controls the Spartans’ defence, with Grade 11 setter Junior Martine running the offence. He has no shortage of weapons, including graduating all-stars Justin Braid (middle blocker), Nathaniel Berube (left side) and Rhodes Keller (right side), plus Kal-El Wilson and Josh Gamache on the outsides and Owen Falk and Ethan Olson in the middle.

Head coach Jill Martine knows it’s a long tournament, playing six best-of-three matches over three days, and will take advantage of her depth to stay fresh for Saturday’s important games.

The host Clippers are the only other Westman team in the field since most local schools outside of Brandon play A or AA.

The Spartans, who defended their city title with another championship series win over Vincent Massey, are confident they can bring a banner home.

“Offensively, we have very big guys and very big blocks that really want to hit the ball and want it,” Thomas said. “If we play with passion, we can win this.”

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