Thompson Rivers players persevere in face of tragedy

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This article was published 05/01/2024 (717 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Members of the Thompson Rivers University volleyball team packed a lifetime of grief into the previous 37 days.

On Friday night, the men of the Wolfpack took to the court at Duckworth Centre to play their first game since that fateful afternoon on Nov. 29 when a catastrophic automobile crash claimed the life of Owyn McInnis and sent two other teammates, Riley Brinnen and Owen Waterhouse, to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The crash occurred close to the TRU campus in Kamloops, B.C., when a truck hit several trees before colliding with another vehicle carrying the three volleyball players. The three TRU athletes, who were making a lunch run before practice, were waiting at a red light.

The first crash resulted in secondary collisions with four other vehicles.

“The reality is we’re not supposed to talk about any specifics of the accident until charges have been laid,” said TRU head coach Pat Hennelly prior to Friday’s Canada West matchup with the Winnipeg Wesmen.

Four Manitobans are members of the western squad.

“That part is frustrating for me, very frustrating. These are three young guys that did everything right, not only leading up to the accident, but in their sport careers and their academic careers. Just solid guys…,” added Hennelly.

“Someone said they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. No, they were in the right place at the wrong time. Just a few guys getting a sandwich at 3 p.m. Visibility was clear, roads were clear. Just some guys going to Subway.”

Brinnen is still in a Vancouver hospital with a severe spinal cord injury while Waterhouse remains in a coma after sustaining brain trauma in the crash, although he has exhibited encouraging signs in recent days, buoying the spirits of teammates and coaches.

Those developments have helped the TRU players focus on returning to play. An early December doubleheader with Trinity Western was immediately postponed but the players began practising within a week of the tragedy and voted unanimously to continue their season during the second semester.

“We talked about every possibility,” said Hennelly, who has guided the program since its inception in 2005. “We have a captains group and a leadership group that involves younger players and I didn’t want to make big decisions like this without input. Our feeling was, even after the first week was, we’ve got to go (play).

“Not because that’s what other people expect of us, which is of course, everyone, (including) Owyn McInnis’s parents wanted us to play, Riley’s parents wanted us to play, Owen Waterhouse’s parents wanted us to play but as I mentioned to the guys, ‘This isn’t a movie. It’s got to come from you as an individual decision, and I will respect whatever you want to do. We’ve got to go to show the two guys in the hospital that we’re not going to give up.’

“So I feel like that’s the No. 1 driver and I think No. 2 driver in times of crisis, you want to stay in action. So I would think it would be worse for mental health if the guys to say, ‘Hey, it might feel like a slight relief to say we’re not going to play but then you’ve got an entire semester when you should be playing. Going to classes, you’re still going to have to go through the motions.’ So I think this is going to help.”

Setter Ethan Olfert, Brinnen’s roommate for the last two years, admitted practising has helped him cope with the tragedy and playing games could, too.

“For me personally, I’m quite looking forward to it,” said Olfert, an MBCI grad on the squad that also includes Winnipegger Aiden Goetz, Steinbach’s Hudson Rempel and Landmark’s Will Soper. “I know volleyball is one of our favourite things to do, right? For me, it’s a nice escape. The first couple of weeks was tough and just going in to volleyball practice and getting my mind off things was definitely nice. For other guys, not so much. It’s gonna be tough for some guys to go back. It’s not the same practising without those guys there but I think going into the season, we just want to focus on honouring Riley and Owen and Owyn and just having a positive attitude and just sticking together as a team.”

Olfert was able to visit Brinnen in hospital on Jan. 1 and said his teammates have been bolstered by support they are getting from all corners — fans, family members and Canada West coaches have contributed generously to GoFundMe campaigns set up to aid the two hospitalized players. TRU teammates have supported each other by training and eating meals together.

“That first week we were all just doing our best to just stick together as a team,” said Olfert. “We were meeting almost every day and having a team dinner and just hanging out together and like practising together but when I went home for Christmas break, the Manitoba boys went out and got some reps and played some volleyball a couple of times.”

The absence of McInnis, Brinnen and Waterhouse was palpable as the teams observed a minute of silence game before Friday’s game. But the unranked Wolfpack rose to the occasion, stunning the No. 5 Wesmen 3-1 (25-21, 28-26, 26-28, 25-19) with the help of Matthew Hamilton’s 17 kills.

“It’s not going to be the same time without those guys, but I think we really just want to stay positive and the big thing we’re focusing on is just honouring those three guys — they were all super positive, hard-working guys,” said Olfert. “And so for us, bringing out those attributes they had in our game tonight and for the rest of the season is going to be really important. We just want to play for those guys — not necessarily focused on winning for them but playing for them.”

Through all the grim news, there are some more positive developments. Waterhouse’s condition is improving and Brinnen is progressing, too.

“Riley Brinnen has just moved to GF Strong (Rehabilitation Centre) so he’s learning how to deal with life in a wheelchair and that’s a terrible outcome, but it’s a known outcome now and it’s been known for a while,” said Hennelly. “But going to GS Strong means he’s in a better facility. He’s starting to do serious rehab and mentally for him, it’s been a lift.”

Hennelly is also mindful of the challenges that face the players on his active roster in the coming weeks and months.

“I believe the guys deal with the volleyball better than the school so we’re talking about ways to keep them engaged and maybe have group study halls because I think that day-to-day life is where I think it will hit hard,” said Hennelly. “I know I’ll be exhausted when this (season) is done.”

In women’s action, TRU got a three service aces and a season-high 24 kills from Winnipegger Brooklyn Olfert en route to a 3-2 (26-24, 23-25, 22-25, 26-22, 15-13) triumph over Winnipeg.

Jaya Dzikowicz had 21 kills to lead the Wesmen.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca