UNB Saint John Athletics
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Ben Irvine, a local Saint Johner has officially signed with the UNB Saint John Seawolves men’s volleyball program for the 2019-20 Varsity season.

In June, Ben will be graduating from Simonds high school and come September will be making a transition to his university career. Over the past four years he was a member of the 16U Basketball NB team, 17U and 18U Volleyball NB teams. Ben’s achievements with Team NB brought him two silver medals at the Eastern Elite All Star Championships and he will end his high school academic career with high honors and the highest marks in each subject per semester. Ben was also chosen to represent his school at the Mt. A Royal Canadian Legion Leadership Camp where he was one of the top award winners. In October 2017 he went on to Ottawa to represent his school for Encounter with Canada. Recently Ben received the NBIAA Excellence award for the Southern conference for AAA schools. Ben will be accepting the Raymond Legere Excellence Award at the 14^th Annual NBIAA Awards Banquet. His accomplishments will be honored for displaying outstanding qualities of excellence towards teammates, coaches, opponents and officials.

“Volleyball is the first sport that I really became passionate about. All I want to do is get better and learn more of the game. When a team is working in unison I get a euphoric feeling, almost magical!”

Ben is looking forward to adding a calming factor to the team, hard work and focus during games and probably a few laughs. He is excited to play volleyball at a higher level and soak up as much as possible from his coaches and teammates. His goal for the season is to improve his game and strive for success. Once Ben arrives in the fall and steps on the court he will be carrying on a family legacy; his biggest role model is his older brother Sam who played for the Seawolves Volleyball team in 2015-16 and 2016-2017, before finishing the final two years of his Engineering degree at UNB Saint John.

Ben chose UNB Saint John, in the same fashion as his brother, for the Bachelor of Science in Engineering program.

Dino Karatzios, Head Coach for the Seawolves men’s volleyball team discovered Ben a few years ago when he was putting on clinics in the spring at Saint John High School. He has watched Ben’s development for the last two years while he played with Team NB and was named Most Valuable Player at the Atlantics. Ben’s performance grabbed the attention of Coach Karatzios to look into recruiting him for the Seawolves.

“A very complete athlete, big and powerful, capable of moving quickly on the floor with a good vertical. He has been exposed to University volleyball from a young age. As a result he understands the game at this level and has great court intelligence.”

Coach Karatzios knew Ben was a well-rounded individual and is confident he will be a great fit with the team. He mentions that “Ben will bring height, power and versatility to the team in addition to having the capability to play a middle or outside position.”

“It won’t be long until we see him crush a ball or serve an ace against our opponents during his rookie year. He will be an immediate force in our league.”

Welcome to the Seawolves Family Ben!