Brenda Jones
When you think of someone that has Panda in her blood, think of Brenda Jones! Speaking from her Grandfather’s home in rural Edmonton this article shares Brenda’s passion for Panda volleyball and the love for the University of Alberta that her and her husband Golden Bears volleyball player, Dave Jones, passed on to their children, Alyssa and Christopher. Both of their children have also played with the Pandas and Golden Bears. It’s a whole tribe of bears that Brenda has helped create!
Currently, Brenda is in her twenty-sixth year of teaching and currently teaches elementary music at Clara Tyner School. She started off as a Physical Education major. After she had Alyssa and Christopher, she stayed home for a while with them and then slid into a part-time music position. Brenda had played in school bands while growing up. She can play both the piano and saxophone. She told me succinctly that, “When you can’t play volleyball anymore you make music!” With that, I will allow Brenda to take the ball and finish off her version of “Always a Panda”!
I grew up in Edmonton and attended Salisbury Composite Sherwood Park. I played all the sports throughout my school days, but I gave up basketball in grade twelve and made the decision to focus on volleyball. At that time, there was a junior Panda team which I was invited to join once the school volleyball season ended, and that experience helped me make some connections. Therese Quigley, the Panda’s coach at that time, was a strong recruiter, which solidified my decision to go to U of A.
My first year as a Panda was pretty exciting and I landed a starting position as a middle blocker, even though I had never played that position before. There was a strong core of players and a great coaching staff, and the team began having some success. I must admit that I was a really bad rookie. Deb Snow, the other first-year rookie, picked up for me all the time as I was always forgetting the balls and med kit. If it wasn’t for Debbie, I would have received some serious consequences! (Sadly, Debbie Snow passed away in 2011 due to diabetic complications. She was a glue girl who was a phenomenal athlete and also played Panda Soccer. She was a great teammate, and good friend, and always gave 110%. She was a true Panda. We miss her dearly.) Our “rookie-ing” experience didn’t happen until the last road trip of the year. We were coming back from a BC trip, and the veterans decided to tape Debbie and I up and then proceeded to lay us down on the luggage conveyor belt at Edmonton International Airport.
Unfortunately, Therese Quigley left the UofA following my first year and the next three years for the Panda team were challenging, to say the least. There were two head coaching changes over the next three seasons with rookie coaches being hired, numerous player changes, and the team struggled in the win/loss category. Despite all the adversity, I am proud that I stuck it out and I must admit there were a whole lot of fun times too! I recall a lot of partying, possibly more time spent in the Bear’s Den and RATT than studying, rookie-ing in hotels, and memorable Color Nights (one which included coloring the tablecloths and nearly missing my award presentation as I was tending to my teammate Berniece Schubert, who may have consumed a bit too much alcohol). My favorite rookie-ing that I dealt out was dressing Sue Heward in a paper bikini, taping her to a chair, and placing her out on the floor of the main gym while the Bears match was in progress (side note: this stunt landed us a nasty editorial in the Gateway by the now famous Mark Spector). I also remember all the long van rides to Calgary, Lethbridge and Saskatoon. As we remember the tragic bus accident in Humboldt SK, I recall one of those van rides home from Calgary after a game. Our coach was driving, which was done to save money back in the day, and I was awoken after having my head hit the window. Our coach had nodded off at the wheel and awoke just in time to swerve the van back onto the highway. Looking back, I now count my blessings that we always made it home safely.
My experiences as a Panda provided me with many important life skills. I learned much about being a good teammate and how to work with others. I learned the meaning of commitment, dedication and perseverance. I developed leadership skills in my role as team captain and negotiating skills as I was the go- between the players and the coach. I learned tons about the game and have been able to pass this on to the next generations of athletes. Over the years, I’ve coached school teams, club teams and thousands of kids at summer camps. I also served as the coach coordinator with NAVC and had the opportunity to mentor young coaches.
My most enjoyable and proudest moments however, have been creating our own little “Bear family!” I enjoy being a mom, coaching our kids and watching them play the sport that I fell in love with nearly 40 years ago! Our daughter Alyssa played one year at Red Deer College and 4 years with the Pandas, winning 2 silver medals at the CIS National Championships. She is now married and teaching in Okotoks. Our son Christopher played 3 years with the Red Deer Kings, winning one National College Championship, and 2 years with the Bears, winning one CIS National Championship with them. He is also teaching at Harry Ainlay High school and coaching the Sr. men’s volleyball team, who won the 4A provincial championships this past fall. Chris will be getting married later this year. Both kids co-administer, direct and coach the Edmonton Volleyball Camps, offering summer camps, positional camps and individual coaching sessions. We even built a beach volleyball court on our acreage, where they have run some beach camps. Finally, if it wasn’t for the Pandas, I may never have met the Bear of my dreams, Dave Jones. Dave and I are celebrating 30 years of marriage this summer, which is quite a feat these days. Perhaps one day we might be lucky enough to watch our grandkids play volleyball!
Who would you like to nominate next Brenda?
I was honored that Rhonda nominated me as we only played one season of Panda volleyball together. I would love to nominate Trudy Antoniuk! We were co-captains for a couple of seasons and also played together on a provincial team that travelled throughout China for three weeks. Trudy was a quiet teammate who grunted it out through the hard years. She was a solid player, worked hard all the time, and you could always count on her. I haven’t seen Trudy in years and cannot wait to hear from her.