A pair of Canisius High School volleyball players will be making their way to Cuba this summer.
Devin Joslyn and Griffin Schmit were selected to the 2016 USA Boys' Youth National Team. They will compete in the NORCECA Continental Championships in Havana, Cuba in June.
Both Joslyn and Schmit are juniors at Canisius.
Schmit was featured as a 7ABC Super 7 Athlete of the Week in October of 2015.
Below is the full press release from Canisius High School:
Canisius High School volleyball players Devin Joslyn and Griffin Schmit have been selected to the 2016 USA Boys' Youth National Team, and will compete in the NORCECA Continental Championships in Havana, Cuba this summer. The competition will take place June 22-30, 2016.
The U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team is the highest level of programming for the Youth age group (born in 1999 and 2000). Devin and Griffin, both juniors at Canisius, were selected for the team after national tryouts. This is Griffin's third year playing for the USA team, but the first opportunity to play with the team outside of the U.S.
"It is always fun because of how competitive it is," Griffin explains, "Locally, there are generally just one or two exceptional players on a team. When I compete for USA, everyone is exceptional. It also gives me an opportunity to play with kids from California, which is considered to be the hotbed for volleyball."
Devin is now in his fourth year traveling and competing with USA volleyball. He previously traveled to Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Oklahoma, and Des Moines, IA. He's also competed in December holiday camps in San Diego the past couple years. "The competitiveness of the players and coaches really push you to see if you can play at the next level," says Devin.
In addition to the experience they'll gain, both Devin and Griffin say it is an honor to play for their country. "The number one thing I am excited about is being able to represent USA in a different country," says Devin.