England International Golding brings physical presence to WolfPack

KAMLOOPS – A new face is set to join the Thompson Rivers WolfPack men’s volleyball team for the 2022-23 season, as head coach Pat Hennelly announced that Archie Golding has committed to the ‘Pack.

A 6-8 right side from Lymington, England, Golding joins a long list of international athletes that have played for the ‘Pack. From France’s Kevin Tillie – who won an Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo Summer Olympics – to the recently graduated Anton Napolitano of Australia, players from outside of Canada have a long history of helping the ‘Pack achieve success.

“We’ve just had a great run with Anton and again recently we had Tim Dobbert who had an immediate impact, so we’ve been pretty successful with international guys that have had an impact on our program,” said Hennelly. “He’s definitely coming to pursue both volleyball and a degree, and any time you have a guy motivated to do both, it usually works out.”

A former member of the U-19 England International team, Golding is excited to get the chance to not just join the WolfPack, but also to attend school at TRU.

“The volleyball program at TRU looks like a perfect fit for me in terms of continuing my volleyball career whilst pursuing an academic qualification and I am very grateful to coach Hennelly for giving me the chance to join the squad,” said Golding. “I found the (recruiting) process fascinating and I am very grateful to all the coaches who took time to speak to me about opportunities, but it was the opportunity to join the WolfPack under coach Hennelly that really stood out for me. In addition to playing volleyball, I am really looking forward to continuing my studies.”

Golding, also a standout in beach volleyball who has shone on the UK Beach Tour, will bring a physical presence to the ‘Pack with his 6-8 frame.

“I can obviously bring height to the team, a real focus on playing right side and a keenness to learn from my coaches and teammates,” said Golding.

“That’s the first thing that popped in the video, is that he looks like he’s a guy that physically is going to be able to play in this league,” said Hennelly. “It’s a little tough to make that call based on video a lot of times, but we’ve had some experience recruiting guys just based on video and we feel like a guy of Archie’s size and physicality is exactly what our team needs right now.”

With aspirations to eventually play professional volleyball, Golding hopes to become one of the many WolfPack players who have gone on to professional teams after university play. Currently: Kyle Behiels, Randy Grundmann, Brad Gunter, Gord Perrin, Kevin Tillie and Sam Taylor-Parks are all WolfPack alums playing professionally.

“I chose to come to TRU and join the ‘Pack after some research into the university and the fact that some great volleyball players have come through the program such as Kevin Tillie and Gord Perrin,” said Golding. “I guess like all ambitious young players I would eventually like to play professionally and joining the TRU program is definitely a step in the right direction.”

While he’s never been to Kamloops, Golding has heard positive things from family members that have been to British Columbia and will now get set to join a TRU team that qualified for the playoffs for the ninth time in program history in 2021-22.

Archie Golding
Position: Opposite/right side
Height: 6 ft 8″
Hometown: Lymington, England
Last team played for: Weymouth beach volleyball club – NVL div 1

Achievements: 
Has played volleyball at national league, regional and U19 England level. Also played on the UK beach tour.