This is the seventh in a series of articles about the athletes, coaches, and builders who will be inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will be held at the Ches Leach Lounge on May 2. The first article ran in the April 18 edition of the Daily Herald.
There are a multitude of sports young athletes can play in Prince Albert, and as a youth, Leah Tyree enjoyed almost all of them.
Tyree will be one of seven individuals inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday. She said it’s an honour to be inducted, and a fun opportunity to reminisce about past athletic achievements.
“I’m really involved in sports now, but moreso through my kids, so it was just a time to kind of reflect on my own successes and experiences in sports,” Tyree said during a phone interview on Friday. “I was just excited.”
In high school Tyree excelled in track, soccer, volleyball, and basketball. In track, she broke the junior girls’ high jump record, and brought home three medals from provincials. In soccer, she was a member of the 1998 provincial champion Prince Albert Celtics. She also captained the Carlton Crusader basketball and volleyball teams, winning gold and silver in two trips to provincials with the latter.
Tyree said her family played a big part in her success. She has fond memories of playing volleyball with her siblings, shooting hoops in the driveway, or running on the dirt track her father made in a field on the family acreage east of Prince Albert.
“We were a really active family—just outside running and playing all the time—so we just naturally were pretty athletic,” Tyree remembered. “I think sports were a way to keep me out of trouble, and it was something I was good at so it was a natural fit.”
Volleyball became Tyree’s primary focus. Originally, it was a fun sport to play with her friends, but that changed when she was invited to try out for the junior volleyball team that would represent Canada at the 2000 Girls Youth NORCECA (North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation) Championships in the Dominican Republic.
She later found out someone had scouted her at one of her last tournaments her Grade 10 year.
“Prior to that, my world was pretty small in volleyball,” Tyree said. “I was just playing with my club team and didn’t even know scouting was a thing. Then I was invited to that tryout and shockingly, to me, I made the team.
“It was just a really cool experience. It really opened the world up. I hadn’t done much traveling to that point. We went to Dominican Republic … for the NORCECA Championship, and that was a culture shock, but also just so much fun. Meeting other athletes from all across Canada, it was a really awesome experience.”
Tyree and Team Canada finished fourth at the NORCECA tournament, and that trip helped clarify what she wanted to accomplish. She said it made the opportunity to play volleyball in university seem possible. Before, it wasn’t something she even thought about.
Although the University of Saskatchewan tried to recruit her, Tyree wanted to experience living outside of Saskatchewan. She accepted an offer from the University of Maine, and instantly slotted into the line-up. She played in 231 of Maine’s 232 sets in her first two years.
“It was definitely a jump,” Tyree remembered. “I was used to being ‘Tall Leah’ and all of a sudden I was one of the shortest middles out there—so much so that my position actually changed to left side. I was kind of shrimp. I’m 5’11, so that was just so funny to me.”
Although the skill level between high school and college was quite different, Tyree said the training and practice sessions were actually the biggest adjustment.
“My high school team was very, very talented. We were a very unique team. Skill-wise there was definitely a jump, but I feel like my high school team and my coaches really set me up for success at a university level. It was really the training that just threw me off. That was a whole new world.
“We were basically in the gym four hours a day and then travelling every weekend. It kind of turned volleyball into a job. (It was) a job that I loved, but moreso a job because you were really trying to earn something for your university. That was a huge shift for sure.”
If the transition was difficult, it never showed on the court. Tyree was named to the American East All-Rookie Team in 2002, and was an American East All-Conference honourable mention in 2003. She led the team in kills both years.
However, a shoulder injury limited her effectiveness in her third year. She battled back to play 99 games, and helped Maine reach the American East Conference Championship, but the process wasn’t easy.
“It was never a question of if I would get back on the court. It was moreso when, but it was definitely a setback,” Tyree said. “I felt like that was the first time where I really had to work hard to succeed at sports. Previous to that it came naturally. It kind of changed everything about the way that I played volleyball.
“My arm swing changed and all sorts of things. A shoulder injury is a pretty pivotal area of the body for a volleyball player, so it was definitely a grind and a climb back. But, I don’t regret that it happened because I do feel like it taught me a lot.”
Tyree was back healthy for her senior year. She was named co-captain, and once again received an American East All Conference honourable mention while helping Maine to the American East Championship.
Tyree said her time in Maine made her appreciate Saskatchewan that much more. After graduating, she eagerly returned.
“I was kind of in a stage where I just needed to get out of Saskatchewan for a little while, and I’m thankful I did. I think that’s why, ultimately, I ended up back at home. Had I not done that I might have done some travelling in this stage of my life, whereas I’m just really thankful to be back in Saskatchewan now.”
Tyree still plays volleyball today in a local women’s rec league, but she’s more focused on her children’s athletic achievements than her own. Still, she said it’s been fun to enjoy the Hall of Fame recognition with her family.
“I’ve definitely shifted my focus to the kids,” she said. “I want them to have some of the experiences I was able to have…. It is interesting now, me being the one to get this honour, because I think even in my kids little young world the think of themselves as the athletes, not dear old mom and dad, so it’s kind of cool to share this experience with them.”
The Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame induction banquet is scheduled for Saturday, May 2 at the Ches Leach Lounge.
