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12U ATHENA

 12U ATHENA ATHLETES

Kendall C.

Mila W.

Chloe O.

Sage T-W

Valentina C.

Ellie V.

Adielle M.

Sofia B.

Ella R.

Cara C.

 12U ATHENA COACHES

Dawn Trussell

Head Coach 12U Athena

Coach Dawn’s love for the game has only deepened over the last three decades as both an athlete and coach. She is a former Varsity/University volleyball athlete and has continued to compete in women’s and co-ed leagues since university. Dawn is a certified development coach and has coached volleyball at the high school and club levels. Growing up, she was a multi-sport athlete and was the head coach of a Varsity/University women’s rugby program.

Professionally, Dawn is a Professor in the Department of Sport Management at Brock University, where her research and teaching focuses on women and girls’ participation in sport, inclusive coaching practices, and community sport governance. She has published several book chapters on these topics and led national initiatives while serving on the Canadian Gender+ Equity in Sport Research Hub. As a parent of two daughters, she is personally invested in creating meaningful opportunities for all young women in sport.

Dawn’s coaching philosophy is guided by Sport Canada’s Long-Term Athlete Development model, with an emphasis on developing a love for the game and supporting athletes to be active for life. At the U12 level, her goal is to foster a skill-focused, positive environment. She will work to build a team culture grounded in respect, accountability, and sportsmanship, while nurturing personal growth and helping each player realize their potential both on and off the court.

Emily Stanski

Assistant Coach 12U Athena

Emily began playing volleyball at a young age, quickly developing a love for the sport. Throughout her youth, she competed in the OVA from 13U to 18U. Her volleyball career was cut short by the pandemic, which ended her final season, but her love for the game has never wavered. Emily’s experience on the court, combined with her dedication to the game, led her to coaching. This is her second year as an Assistant Coach, where she is excited to continue to share her knowledge and passion with the next generation of athletes.

Outside of volleyball, Emily is pursuing a degree in Graphic Design at OCAD University, but hopes to use this as experience to pursue a career in teaching. She is committed to helping youth and athletes grow both on and off the court and looks forward to supporting the team in their development.

Veronica Stanski

Assistant Coach 12U Athena

Veronica has been involved with the OVA and volleyball since she was 12 years old. Though injury cut her days of playing short, she has been actively involved with assisting and supporting teams both on and off the court for many years. Before Smash, Veronica was very involved in her sister’s OVA journey, helping her and being her biggest cheerleader. Veronica volunteered her time to stay at her sister’s practices and helped her sister’s team be prepared for every game and tournament they played. Veronica felt it was very important for the young girls, including her sister, to have a positive and enthusiastic female role model who believed they could achieve whatever they set their minds to. Veronica rarely missed a practice and went to every tournament to support, offering her various skills to not only the players and coaches, but to the parents as well. The parents of her sister’s teammates grew easily comfortable with her and trusted her aiding at tournaments when things got overwhelming. She always stayed on top of the schedule, observed the other teams, made sure everyone was eating, was well hydrated and even helped boost morale when times seemed a bit tough. This is Veronica’s second official year as an assistant coach, she believes the skills she picked up over the years, including last year during her first year of coaching, as well as aiding with her sister’s teams will help her create a strong bond with fellow coaches, her players and their parents.

Outside of volleyball, Veronica recently finished her University degree in Graphic Design. She hopes that one day she will be able to combine her passion for volleyball and design into a career doing Graphic Design for the OVA and the clubs who are a part of the association. She is a lover of music and you will often find her gaming on her computer or hanging out with her friends and family when she has a bit of free time.

Skye T-W

Assistant Coach 12U Athena

Skye is going into her 4th year playing rep volleyball and 2nd year with the club. In 2025, she was selected for the Team Ontario Regional Program where she trained among the top 120 athletes in her age group across the province. Committed to improving her game, Skye was honoured to be awarded the “Most Improved Player” for the 14U Smash Attack team last year.

This is Skye’s first year as a coach, and she hopes to help young athletes develop their skills and love for the game.

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