His English may be a bit slow right now, but he’s very quick on the court, said WolfPack men’s volleyball head coach Patrick Hennelly.

Behlul Yavasgel, a 6’4″, 190-pound 18-year-old who played 13 times for Turkey’s National Team, will play middle for the WolfPack men’s volleyball team this year, wearing the #15 jersey for Thompson Rivers University.

Yavasgel, who is enrolled in English as a Second Language courses in preparation for embarking on business studies, has already won many awards for his prowess on the court in his home country.

In 2000, he was named Best Blocker for his high-school play. The next year, playing for the Arcelik Sports Club, Yavasgel was named Best Spiker at the national tournament, and then Best Blocker on the junior national team. In 2002, he was named Best Younger Player at the Balkan Championship, and Best Blocker and Best Spiker at the club level as well. Then, in the 2003/04 season, he helped his team to a national 2nd-place victory at the Turkish tournament.

Coach Hennelly is expecting Yavasgel to have a major impact on the team’s performance this year, its first year of play in the Canada West conference of the Canadian Interuniversity Sports league.

“I think it speaks volumes when an 18-year-old moves to a different country to play varsity ball,” said Hennelly. “Behlul has already shown that he has the necessary character to take on that challenge. He’s prepared to take risks, and I’m looking forward to working with him.”

For more information, please contact Patrick Hennelly at 250-377-6118 or 250-572-6619 or email.

Photo available on request to: Browen Scott.