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David Valencia has officially signed with the UNB Saint John Seawolves men’s volleyball team for the 2023-24 varsity season.

Valencia will graduate from Carleton North high school in Florenceville-Bristol, NB, where he was the captain of the Carleton North varsity boy’s volleyball team. At the club level, David played for the Spartans of NB, winning the 2022 18U club championship with the team.

David is passionate about volleyball and sees the game in a unique way. “For me, playing volleyball allows me to express myself similar to an artist,” says Valencia. “All of my emotions or anything I am feeling is transferred into how I play, and that's the beauty of volleyball. The sport means a lot to me and the reason why I am so passionate about it is because I can express myself while playing it.”

Seawolves head coach Dino Karatzios discovered David while watching the Spartans play. The Spartans’ head coach spoke highly of him, so Karatzios decided to evaluate Valencia. What he found was a hard-working player with lots of potential. “Our first impression is that this athlete has potential - very athletic and with a great vertical,” said the coach. “He is relatively new to the sport of volleyball, but because of his athletic and jumping abilities, as well as his attitude towards hard work – we could see he had enormous potential to be a great volleyball player.”

As a bonus, David checks another box for the Seawolves. “He is also left-handed, which is another attribute we were looking for,” said coach Karatzios. “When you add all of his abilities such as; left-handed + great vertical + Intelligent + hard worker, he has all the ingredients to be a great right-side player in a few years.”

David cites his mother as his biggest role model. “She played university and high-level volleyball herself and she first inspired me to learn the sport. She has been my school coach for the better part of five years and to this day there are still things she teaches me about the sport.”

A dedicated student as well, Valencia has maintained high honours in every year of high school. At UNB Saint John, he will be entering the Bachelor of Health program and focusing on biomedical sciences, with hopes of later attending medical school. “My goal is to become a surgeon in the future, and having a good foundation is important,” said David. “I think UNB Saint John will aid in having a solid foundation for my future.”

Welcome to the Seawolves Family, David!