3rd year Disability Studies student named OUA West Division Player of the Year
March 17, 2017
King’s student athlete Kelsey Veltman named OUA West Division Player of the Year and U SPORTS All-Canadian for women’s volleyball.
Congratulations to Kelsey Veltman 3rd year at King’s studying Disability Studies and leader on the Western Mustangs volleyball team. Veltman was recruited to the Mustangs volleyball team after playing competitively prior to university for the Eclypse Volleyball club and Team Ontario in Brampton, Ontario. She was a highly sought after student-athlete who received several university offers both in Canada and the United States, but she decided on King’s & Western in part because of the coach, Melissa Bartlett.
For Veltman, the best part about being an athlete and being at King’s is the sense of community. Life as a varsity athlete can sometimes be difficult, but Veltman says “everyone here is family and I always see someone I know.”
Although she doesn’t get as much free time as she wishes, she says being a varsity athlete has taught her a lot about time management, “If I know I am going to be away for the weekend, I make sure I get my work done before I go.” Even if there are challenges involved with being a varsity athlete, in the end it is all worth it, she says.
For the future, Veltman hopes she can one day play professional volleyball. Although it is a challenging goal, Veltman is positive she can rise to the challenge and fulfill her dream. She hopes by going professional, she will be able to travel around the world and play against some of the world’s best athletes. She is looking forward to finishing university and expanding her passion for volleyball beyond the horizons of North America. Veltman is also an avid beach volleyball player, which she plans to play more frequently in the future
After an incredible season thus far with the Western Mustang’s volleyball team, Veltman has received the OUA West Division player of the year award and she was named to the U Sports All-Canadian team She credits he teammates, who also captured major awards as well, for bringing out the best in her ability. The Western Mustangs were the OUA Silver Medalist after falling to McMaster in a nail-biting five sets. But more than anything, the Mustangs beat the two-year undefeated University of Toronto team to make to the OUA final, which was a major goal for the team.
The Mustang’s are now competing in the national championships this weekend at Ryerson after qualifying for Nationals as one of three OUA teams.
Good luck to Veltman and all the Mustangs!