Thana Fayad was so far ahead of the curve through her secondary school career that on Friday, when all her classmates at Oak Bay Secondary in Victoria celebrate the final day of school ahead of the holiday break, she will be enjoying the final day of her high school life.
Fayad, however, will be leaving in style.
Two weekends ago, she helped lead her high school volleyball team to the program’s best finish in school history, fourth place at the B.C. senior girls Quad A championships.
And following hot on the heels of that team accolade is an individual one.
Fayad, in voting by the coaches of B.C.’s CIS and NCAA volleyball programs has been selected The Province’s Best In B.C. girls high school volleyball Player of the Year.
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It’s with those honours that Fayad, whose older sister Shimen was accorded similar status in 2014 when she played alongside her then-10th grade sister at crosstown rival Lambrick Park, leaves for collegiate life, enrolling early at the University of San Diego to take a few classes and get adjusted for the start of the 2016-17 NCAA Div. 1 season in the fall.
“It never occurred to me to do this, but they offered me the chance to get down there and get a head start on classes and training,” says Fayad, who has had a personal trainer throughout her teen years. “I go by the quote ‘If you want to be No. 1, then you have to train like you’re No. 2.’ Shimen was always No. 1 and then it was my turn. She is a Div. 1 player (at Wichita State) and for me, it’s been a great advantage. I have been able to go into all of this with a lot more information.”
“Her physicality sets her apart from most girls her age,” says SFU Clan head coach Gina Schmidt. “It’s evident by her strength and power that she also spends a lot of time working out off the court to be the best all-around athlete she can be.”
Yet if there is one other thing Fayad has been able to do well throughout her high school career, it’s been to excel despite frequent changes to her environment.
Last season, as a Grade 11, Fayad transferred to St. Michaels University School, but had to sit out the season to be eligible to play for the Blue Jags this fall. But before that happened, she had a change of heart and decided to enrol at Oak Bay.
“Coming to a new school for any athlete can be a hard task,” said Oak Bay girls head coach Scott Millington. “But for her there was added pressure because of her reputation for being such a great athlete.”
To her credit, Millington says, Fayad intergrated seamlessly with the rest of the team, captaining the group in an encouraging way that helped build the team’s chemistry even tighter.
And then there’s her skill and it’s enough to make you trip over your verbiage.
“Thana is a once-in-a-lifetime player, which you don’t see too often,” says Scott Millington of a player who has become a recent mainstay in the starting lineup of the Canadian junior national team program.
Adds Camosun College head coach Chris Dahl who has coached her in summer programs: “Thana is a generational player.”
Like we said, with all of those accomplishments in tow, she’s leaving high school in style.
