The secret to having a good team and maintaining a strong performance throughout the season is to think ahead and stay in touch with what is happening with the team as a whole. The NAIT women's volleyball team has a clear vision for the future, while recruiting, because, believe it or not, the process of recruitment is longer than some people may think.  To be a successful program, the coaching staff must keep track of their athletes every season, always having in mind that it could be their last. 

Head coach Erminia Russo Thorpe shares how this process is done.

"Last year we did very well, we had a good season, but I knew that we were going to lose a left side hitter, a middle blocker, and potentially lose a libero, so in my recruitment process, in the list of athletes that contacted me in the past, I looked for someone who could fill those rolls before it was crucially needed even if it is like backup."

What is necessary is to contribute in some way and to keep the good environment between the team. It is no secret that chemistry helps a team work as a whole, so even at practices, what the women's volleyball team targets is to create a good sports culture, which means that they can be very supportive of each other, but when they are on the volleyball court, they are ready to compete, this complemented with a good environment where the recruits don't feel out of place with the returning athletes and with the coaching staff marks a huge difference in the end.

Another huge advantage of recruiting focused more on the coaching side is that they can get to know more about their athletes, where they come from, what their perception and perspective are on what a team is and how it should work, and also give them the opportunity to get used to the new coaching style that may vary. Coach Erminia Russo Thorpe explains that you can tell a lot about conversations and the way someone responds to a question about the expectations and how comfortable they feel in any environment.

The NAIT women's volleyball team is excited to welcome the new athletes: Madge Prince, who played with the U18 Pandas volleyball club; Kaydence Seward, who played in the past with the Velocity Volleyball club; Alexandra Benson, who played with the SAS Thunder Gold volleyball club; Katie Nashim, who is a MacEwan University transfer and played 2 seasons with NWP(Northwestern Polytechnic); and last but not least Racquel Lussier an All-star libero transfer from Augustana.

It seems that the NAIT women's volleyball team has significant reinforcements, and they represent the team's next journey to success.