GBC women’s volleyball team seeing improvement over last season guided by one of their leaders
The George Brown College (GBC) women’s volleyball program appears to be on the rise.
A big part of that could be attributed to Jessica Barrios.
The left side player, who recently graduated from Brock University, has been a leader for the Huskies this season.
Perhaps even more impressive, the Mississauga native has taken five years off from playing competitive volleyball and is regaining her form.
Barrios is using her volleyball experience to aid her teammates, something she takes pride in bringing to the Huskies women’s volleyball team.
“I’ve been playing for a really long time, so I think just a little bit of experience, I’m very rusty right now, that is 100 per cent for sure, ” said Barrios.
“I took five years off of playing competitive volleyball, so just getting back into it, but just knowing the game definitely helps, even though I’m a little bit rusty, but I think experience, yeah.”
The 23-year-old Barrios also has a familiar connection at GBC.
Women’s volleyball head coach Daphne Choi and Barrios have had a seven-year connection through volleyball teams.
Choi made it clear that appointing Barrios to the captain of the club was an easy choice.
“The thing that I admire the most about her is not only is she a joy off the court, but she is always very encouraging to her teammates,” said Choi.
“It’s very easy to pick her as a captain because she’s a very good communicator on the court.
She’s always talking, she’s always cheering for her teammates.”
With so much time away from the sport, there is much Barrios would like to improve on as the season progresses.
One particular aspect is the mental side of the game.
“I think I get in my head a lot of the times and you can see it very easily on the court, so I’m just thinking, working on my mental game right now is my number one focus, because once I know I’m there mentally, the rest will follow.”
Barrios, aside from her leadership, is well regarded for her attacking skills.
The fact that the GBC women’s volleyball team has been more competitive this season has been noted.
In fact, Canadore head coach Andrew Nicholson spoke about the Huskies being a tough opponent (Nov. 10).
“George Brown is much better than they were last year. I congratulated their coach, she’s (Daphne Choi) done a really good job with a very young team, ” said Nicholson.
