By Ryan Doherty
Photos by: Ontario Volleyball Association and Akeela Rabley
For Patrick Johnston, the technical director of the London Volleyball Club, creating a winning atmosphere has been achieved by using every opportunity to focus on consistent and technically sound volleyball. During his tenure, the club has grown incredibly fast and has been very successful. But despite that success, Johnston is still striving to further develop players and coaches and instill in them a desire to constantly refine their skills.
Even the greats never stop working. When Tony Dungy was turning the Tampa Bay Buccaneers into Super Bowl contenders, he preached one thing: “Do what we do, only better.” This maxim jumps to mind when hearing Johnston speak of his desire to work with each team at the London Volleyball Club to create a consistency in style of play and get all the coaches on the same page. The end goal is creating a consistent culture.
Further to his role with the LVC, Johnston also heads up the Volleyball Canada Centre of Excellence in London. Here, he is able to develop future provincial and national players. Again, his work at the Centre focuses on fundamentals and technical training, placing players in development streams for future success.
Success at the LVC has resulted in growth, and it is anticipated that that growth will lead to more success. The club saw recent growth from 15 to 22 teams (and an adult league has been added). The medal count has grown with 32 medals last year and 39 this year. The program had several successful ventures to the USA, and the 16-and-under squad earned a bronze medal at Florida Fest. The 15-and-under team, meanwhile, claimed silver in Florida, while the 18-and-unders were victorious in a Rochester tournament. On an individual level, Broderick Refflinghouse, Sebastien Lethbridge and Andrew Richards each earned all-star status.
As a whole, the future looks very bright for the London Volleyball Club, and they are continuing to march forward with a focus on expansion of teams and athletes while maintaining a focus on coaching technically sound volleyball players.
To ensure that children continue to have fun while learning a competitive sport, the LVC has added camps, coming next year at Christmas and March Break. In order to continue with this effort, the club needs to continue adding to its pool of volunteers. This will allow LVC to continue making an impact at the provincial, national and international level. Ultimately, LVC would like to consistently feed university and college programs with graduates from their program.
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