Recently, 1st year outside hitter, Coltyn Liu, from UBC was announced the 2017 recipient of the Ray Lepp Scholarship!
Other accomplishments:
- 2017 The Province’s High School Player of The Year
- Canada Summer Games Bronze Medalist
- 18U Club Provincials Champion
- 2016 Volleyball Canada National Select Team Athlete
We asked Coltyn a few questions to get to know him beyond the volleyball court.
I’m studying at the School of Kinesiology. I’m interested in physiotherapy, preventative sports medicine and sport psychology. Outside of kinesiology, I’m really interested in astrophysics and hope get to know more about this field.
What years did you play Team BC?
2013: BC Summer Games
2014: 16U played up two years
2015: 17/18U played up two years. Western Canada Games: Silver
2017 – 18U Canada Games: Bronze
I have been blessed to play Team BC for many years and I have so many great memories from each year. I loved learning and being pushed to be my best and the overall experience and interactions with the guys and coaches was awesome!
Making my first Team BC after multiple, days of long tryouts with guys that were older than me and that I looked up to stands out in my mind. I share this memory during presentations or sometimes when I’m talking to others, as I’ve had limitations put on me and so many preconceived perceptions of what I can and can not do. Volleyball gave me a platform to challenge other’s perceptions, break down barriers and show everyone that you should never put limitations on others. Volleyball also helped to solidify my family’s belief that the word can’t should never be a part of anyone’s vocabulary. The ‘game’ of volleyball is really the essence of hope for me.
I’ve had the honor of being involved with Team BC for multiple years therefore, I’ve been coached and trained by many different people and had the blessing of playing with and building great friendships with lots of guys from all over. Each coach, trainer and teammate brought something special to me, helped me to learn something about myself or the game. Team BC was an awesome experience, it helped me to believe that my dreams of playing Varsity could come true. Team BC gave me my first taste of success, that I was good at something, that I had the power to fight for my dreams of playing with the National team and playing Pro.
I’ve done a lot of projects over the years and each is very personal to me, bringing pride for different reasons. However, a project that I continue to work really hard on is called KARE 4 Athletes (run for 2 years now), under the umbrella of K.A.R.E. Power, a community youth organization I helped to co-found. This project is especially important to me, as I really want to help give back to the community that has given me so much (it has 3 aspects to it: (1) scholarship development for athletes; (2) fundraising and food gathering; (3) Advocacy: volleyball is what got me through so much and I’ve seen it make a big difference in others’ lives
While individual speaking presentations where I get to bring more awareness to the sport of volleyball and what it means to not only me, but to so many others is not a project, it is something I’m very proud of. Volleyball is not just a game to me, it something that gave me hope, a sense of belonging, something to dream about and I want to share this to empower others, so that people understand it’s important to never give up on yourself or your dream (s) no matter what others think or say about you.
What are some unique routines prior to playing your match, or even during the game?
I like to get to games early to relax and listen to music and start mentally prepare for the game. I then get in some personal stretches or a massage by our trainers in places that are sore, I also run to the bathroom at particular times lol
Tryout and and play for the National team and to play pro.
About Ray Lepp
Ray Lepp was a founding member of Volleyball BC (formerly BC Volleyball Association) in 1965, and continued as a Board Member until 1978. He was the President and/or Vice President for 10 of his 22 years a Board of Director. In his early years Ray played volleyball in Estonia in a very strong school and club system. Having recognized that the profile of volleyball in Canada was lower he worked tirelessly to increase interest in the sport. Some of the major programs for the Association included recruiting international coaches to BC, the Winfield Volleyball Camp, and the Pacific Rim Championships.
Ray was certified as a National Official during the time of the Pacific Rim Championships and travelled to the tournament as head of delegation for the Pacific Rim program. During the 1960’s and 1970’s, Ray coached the UBC Men’s Volleyball Team for a total of 10 years. At one time, six players on the Canadian National Team had been coached by Ray at UBC.
In 1989, Ray helped to fundraise some money for the Estonia National Team, who was touring BC, and whose flight was suddenly stopped in Toronto. With the raised funds and Ray’s personal contribution, the team made it to BC. With Ray’s passing, he donated funds through his will to provide a permanent endowment that would support this scholarship in perpetuity.
2018 Scholarship Information: The Ray Lepp Application deadline for 2018 scholarship is March 15th, 2018. Visit the Scholarship & Awards page for more information.
More Information on the Ray Lepp Scholarship can be found on the Awards & Scholarships page.
Go back to the announcement of the 2017 Scholarship Recipients.
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