In terms of experience Mark DeWit is still in the infant stages of his volleyball career.
But you’d never know by watching him with the RDC Kings.
DeWit joined the Kings out of the Central Alberta Christian High School of Lacombe this season and almost immediately stepped in as a starting middle blocker.
“I always played in school, but it wasn’t until Grade 11 when I started playing club (with the Central Alberta Kings) that I really got into the sport, and built from there,” explained the six-foot-four Lacombe native. “That’s when I started to see my potential.
“I am surprised how quickly I progressed to where I’m today. But I did work hard at it.”
DeWit worked with former RDC Kings middle Tom Lyon his first year with the Kings Club program.
“Tom was a very good college middle for us, who played in the CIS (USport), and he saw something in Mark. He worked with him, which is obvious,” said Kings head coach Aaron Schulha.
DeWit did try try out for the provincial team, but came up short.
“Because I did get into club late and was relatively new to the sport (at that level) I just didn’t have the experience,” he said.
DeWit has always played in the middle and sees his blocking as a strength. That’s aided by his quickness and ability to read the play.
“He’s springy, smart and his learning curve is very impressive,” added Schulha. “He’s also athletic, long … all those things with a quick first step and reads the play well. His serving is also coming along. Right now there’s no reason not to have him on the floor.”
Veteran middle Adam Turlejski is the other starting middle.
“Those two really compliment each other … a nice combo to have,” continued Schulha.
It’s hard to tell DeWit is a rookie.
“There’s not a lot of mistakes,” said Schulha. “He’s beyond a first-year level in that terms.”
Still DeWit is growing as a player, as are the Kings as a team. The Kings, who are 7-3, have only Turlejski back as a starter from last year’s national championship team.
“It’s taking a while for everyone to find a connection, but we’re getting better,” said DeWit. “We’ve had some tough losses, but you can see we’re improving and beginning to step up.”
The Kings will continue to improve as they put together a consistent starting rotation.
“He (Schulha) has been working on that and when it becomes clear we’ll be up there,” added DeWit, who is being used more and more.
“We’re starting to run a few more different plays out of the middle, plays that allow him to show off his athletic ability,” said Schulha. “He’s fast enough and springy enough to get to balls others can’t and he’ll only get better.”
At this time DeWit is third on the team in kills and second in blocks. Turlejski leads in both categories.
DeWit had several post-secondary offers, but said it was a no-brainer to commit to RDC.
“I was kind of keeping the doors open, but really this is a really solid program and close to home,” he said. “I had a few others talk with me, such as Ambrose, but this is where I wanted to be.”
DeWit is taking commerce and will be at RDC for two years and then hopes to get an opportunity to continue on.
“I certainly want to keep playing at the university level,” he concluded.
Danny Rode is a retired Advocate reporter who can be reached at drode@reddeeradvocate.com