The history behind Apex
The story of
Apex Volleyball Club
In the summer of 2005, the Vertical Limit Volleyball Club merged with the Paranoia Volleyball Club to form East Vancouver’s largest youth volleyball club under the name Apex.
From 5 teams in 2005, we were able to field 9 teams to compete in the 2006 season, of which 5 teams competed at the 17U/18U National Championships (Abbotsford), and 1 at the 14U Western Canadian Open (Saskatoon). Our program now branches from its roots in East Vancouver to the west side, Richmond, North Vancouver, and Burnaby, and some of our coaches are affiliated with college and university teams in the Lower Mainland.
The 2010 season was a banner year, involving over 220 club members and 16 teams, making us the 4th largest club in BC. Eleven teams participated in national championship tournaments bringing home four medals, and club president Ken Li was awarded the 2010 Community Sports Administrator of the Year by Volleyball BC.
Since then, we’ve amassed provincial championships and other podium finishes, and a top 5 finish at the 18U Boys level at the national championships. Our club continues to grow and every year brings new athletes, new coaches, new goals, and new feats.
Our club aims to provide quality training and preparation for competition for enthusiastic volleyball players, to promote lifelong physical activity, and to help mold these young adults into responsible, hard-working, motivated, and self-confident leaders and team players through the sport. We strive to create a strong community of members under the Apex name.
The Apex staff are all dedicated to the sport of volleyball and volunteer their time for the benefit of the athletes. Our coaches are all experienced players and have undergone training in the 3M National Coaching Certification Program (3M NCCP). All our coaches adhere to the Volleyball BC Coaches Code of Conduct and undergo Criminal Record Checks and Safe Sport Canada training.
Paranoia Storyline
- 2001
Paranoia Volleyball Club, a group of U17 boys from Van Tech, Templeton, and Alpha Secondary Schools forming a single team was established.
- 2002
Now in their final year, Paranoia competes in the BCVA U18 Tier 2 Provincial Championships and wins the gold medal.
- 2003
All main core players graduated. Paranoia fielded no team for 2003.
- 2004
Ken Li, Aaron Lock, and Allen Tsang, the coaches of a Van Tech boys team, finished the season with a disappointing loss. Fueled by their determination to achieve more successes, the need to resurrect Paranoia and practice more over the year was evident.
Vertical Limit Storyline
- 2002
The Vertical Limit Volleyball Club was created in 2002 by Wing Chan, the coach of the Gladstone Secondary Juvenile Girls team, which placed second in Vancouver.
- 2003
Vertical Limit was unfortunately dismantled as all the tournament play and club activities were taking their toll. The Vertical Limit Volleyball Club was replaced and the players were coached under the well-established Sting Volleyball Club with new coaches Chanh Vuong and Simon Li.
- 2004
As fate would have it, the next year saw the rise of Vertical Limit once again. With the emergence of great coaches such as Chanh Vuong, Clara Lee (now Clara Vuong), Simon Li, Tony Wong, and Edmond Ma, a push was made to resurrect the club that was lost only a year ago. Thanks to the effort of all of the coaches and players, the Vertical Limit Volleyball Club was born again fielding two U16 teams and one U15 team and was now serving all willing players not only from Gladstone Secondary but in the whole Vancouver district.