Kamo High School volleyball trio among best

Three Kamo High School students are ensuring Northland volleyball is on the national selectors' radar.
After an impressive performance at the recent National Secondary Schools Competition, 18-year-old Levi Walters was selected for the New Zealand Under-19 volleyball squad, while Kane Turketo and CJ Wyatt, both 15, made the NZ Under-17 squad.
With only a handful of Northland volleyball players to have achieved national recognition over the years, to have three chosen for age-group squads in one hit was a massive coup for the region.
All three boys are a part of the high-performance sport programme at Kamo High School, and play for Kamo's senior boys side, who placed 12th in division two at the National Secondary Schools Competition.
The comparatively young Kamo team, coached by Scott McDonald, started their national campaign playing in division one, but were demoted during the competition - going up against teams who had experienced players in their last year of school, so their position was very good.
Under the direction of their coach, Walters, Turketo and Wyatt trialled against around 70 students (in each age group) from around the country.
"I made them trial as I need them to have confidence for their upcoming year in club volleyball, as well as next year. We plan to do well back in division one. Most of the team will be back for two more years after this one," McDonald said.
The boys are part of a 28-strong squad, which will be reduced to a team of 20 next month.
Each of the boys rated their chances of making the final cut, which will play in a transtasman competition, as "pretty good" - as did their coach.
"I spoke with the NZ coaches after the trials and the boys are favoured to play, but the biggest concern they have is the cost to attend both the training camps and the trip overseas, as it is at least $4500 all up for each boy," he said.
If chosen for the travelling contingent, Walters and the Under-19 team will head to the Australian State Junior Championships in Adelaide, from July 8-18.
Walters was also chosen for the North Island team and will contest the Quadrangular Test Series against Queensland, New South Wales and the South Island with the side.
All of that will be in preparation for the Under-20 Asian Junior Championships in 2012.
Meanwhile, Turketo and Wyatt will also attend the Australian State Junior Championships in Adelaide and play in the Transtasman Test series from July 18-22 while in Australia, if they are selected by the Under-17 NZ team to compete at the upcoming tournaments.