GUELPH/ERAMOSA – Rockwood athlete Cassidy Frost is heading eastward next year to join the Acadia Athletics women’s volleyball team – a step closer to going pro.
A national all-star champ and Ontario Volleyball Association Grand Prix gold winner, the 17-year-old hitter officially signed with the Halifax university team in March.
“I’m really excited. That was really early for a Canadian university, not many people are signing that early,” Frost told the Advertiser by phone, en route to a practice with the Durham Attack.
Facing the setter, who lines up attack shots, Frost launches off the ground, reaching 10 feet at the tips of her fingers, before she twists her body mid-air.
The right-side hitter unwinds and sends an explosion of momentum through her arm and onto the surface of the ball.
Left-handed and standing six feet, Frost has a physical advantage over shorter players accustomed to predictable drives from a right-handed majority.
“It’s really much easier for me to turn and hit a really hard ball down the line from the side,” Frost said.
She opens up toward the setter, closes her shoulder and delivers.
But it hasn’t been easy turning her physical traits into an edge. As she put it: “lefties are still pretty rare.”
Coaches have struggled to understand how her brain works, giving right-handed instructions and telling Frost, “just flip it.”
Private lessons, particularly with Drayton native and University of Guelph women’s volleyball head coach Natasha Spaling, have helped, as has playing more demanding beach volleyball.
Team Canada beach volleyball blocker Brandie Wilkerson – “a tall lefty just like me” – also gives Frost a jolt of inspiration.
“I really relate to her … I can watch her and learn more about what I am capable of,” she said.
Cassidy Frost was named a 2024 Cwench All-Canadian, 2024 National All-Star and Volleyball Canada Nationals All-Star. Submitted photo
The John F. Ross Collegiate senior discovered her knack for the sport when she was around 12 years old and playing with the KW Predators.
“I wanted more, I wanted to play for a higher-level team,” Frost said, realizing she could go further with the right coaching.
“I’m ultra-competitive, so I want to win.”
That drive took her to the Halton Hurricanes. The team finished third in the country last year and Frost was named a 2024 Cwench All-Canadian and a National All-Star.
With Frost, the Hurricanes this year won gold at the Ontario Grand Prix and a secured a silver provincial medal before she joined the Durham Attack.
“I just feel an adrenaline rush when I play,” Frost said. “I go into a flow state.”
She scored one of her most memorable plays during a pre-season game against the Venom Vipers from York Region.
Blocking left against a notoriously good player, Frost said, she locked on to her opponent through the net, determined to shut her down.
Frost recalled getting into position early, lining up her hands in the right place and hammering the ball straight into the floor.
“The entire gym erupted,” she recalled.
Frost feeds on the audience’s energy and in turn enjoys the performance.
“All high-level athletes are kind of show-offs,” she said.
Cassidy Frost playing for the Durham Attack. Submitted photo
This time next year, she’ll be showing off her skills at Acadia and earning a kinesiology degree to become a physiotherapist – a path she chose after seeing the difference it made for her father after he suffered a hand injury.
“It’s really hitting me lately … I’m moving across the country alone next year,” Frost said.
She’ll have to learn how to hold her own among older peers at a higher skill level, but Frost said she’s ready for the challenge of upping her game to one day go pro.
“I really like the coach, because she appreciates my position,” Frost said of Acadia women’s volleyball head coach Michelle Wood.
“She really takes the time to develop her right sides.”
In a statement about Frost’s signing, Wood said Frost brings drive and a strong presence at the net.
“Her 10-foot vertical [reach] allows her to attack with power and range while establishing a dominant blocking presence,” Wood said.
“Driven and passionate, Cassidy approaches every opportunity with a strong eagerness to learn and grow.”
