By Noel Arnason (Holland College Journalism and Communications Student)
Connor Daniels is in his second season with the Holland Hurricanes studying Pathways to College and Workplace Success, in 2024/25 he won the leadership award for the men’s volleyball team.
Feb. 5, 2026
Connor Daniels
My Hometown
I lived in a small place growing up called Victor Harbor, a regional beach town in South Australia.
My Volleyball Story
There was a volleyball clinic called Spike Zone, which came down to Victor Harbor and my parents encouraged me and my brother to go and give it a go.
It was once a week for about a year, with kids aged five to 12, and I was 12.
It didn’t get the biggest of turnouts originally, and I would end up just showing up with some of my high school friends or middle school friends and drag them along.
Being one of the older people that came consistently, the coach, Cameron Usher, made sure he managed to get me a trial for the South Australian Volleyball Academy.
That was two hours away from where I lived because I was from the regional place.
I travelled and got in and then it just sort of went from there and my parents then drove me up for a couple of years to the South Australian Sports Institute once a week and then branched out from there and got into different teams.
Sports I Played / Why I chose volleyball
Growing up I played a multitude of different sports. The main one was probably Australian Football Rules, AFL. It is only in Australia, similar to Gaelic, the Irish sport. I started playing because all my friends played it growing up. It’s engrained into Australian culture, most guys growing up play that sport and now girls. I started volleyball at 12 and balanced the two and then ultimately chose volleyball around age 17.
I think it's the feeling of getting a big spike, block or dig and having an entire team celebrate how cool it was really enticed me to the game.
I wanted to feel that feeling every time, every single point. I think that’s why I ended up choosing volleyball. Just the feeling of how small the team is. Having five other guys support you the whole time and celebrate when you do good things is pretty cool.
My Childhood
My childhood was very active, I didn’t have a Playstation or Xbox growing up so I was outside every single day.
If I wasn’t playing sports I was playing with my brother.
I was extremely fortunate to have supportive parents who encouraged me to pursue whatever dreams and aspirations I had.
They drove me up to the academy for a four-hour commute and then trained for two hours and then drove me back home.
They were so supportive in every way.
How I ended up at Holland College / Why it is a fit for me
I came to Canada purely for Holland College.
The balance of work, school and training while having enough time to consistently study for good grades, go to the gym and having supportive teachers who’ve taken the time to get to know me rather than making me feel like just another student or athlete.
They actually want to get to know me and how I go about life.
That is the difference that Holland College has over other different schools.
The people here genuinely care.
My Role Models Growing Up
My parents were pretty big role models for me growing up. As well as my teachers in school, Andrew Palumbo, Luke Schenscher, Jacob Crate and Jodie O’Donnell. They were very supportive in wanting to hear about how my sport was going growing up.
They all encouraged me to do that and it ended up giving me other opportunities down the line. When I went back in the summer, I would help coach the volleyball team there.
My Hurricane moment
We played at home for the semifinal last year against the STU Tommies. The atmosphere that the crowd brought was electric, I’ll never forget that moment. The entire moment leading up, from warm-ups and the pressure building. It was such a surreal experience. I’m sure they’ll be another level to that net year with nationals.
Leaders I’ve gotten to play beside
The two obvious ones that stick out to me are Tyler McBride and Carson Gray.
There’s someone who goes pretty unrecognized and is really admirable.
That is Joey Horne, I think his work ethic. He’s the type of person that will bring 100 per cent to every training session. Not just sports related but in life as well.
He’s going to be really successful because he’s such a hard worker and tries his hardest in anything he does.
Subconsciously, that makes me and other teammates want to work hard because we see how hard he works.
What it means to be a Hurricane
Being a Hurricane to me is showing up every day for your teammates, your teachers, your family and most importantly, yourself.
Even though it might feel like you’re not improving, you are getting one per cent better every day.
That is all you need to do, and when game day comes around it helps to be confident knowing you’ve put in the hard work.
Everyone here supports you, so just try your hardest.
Charlottetown as a home away from home
It was very easy to transition here and it feel like home right away.
I think it being a similar small rural community to back home helps.
Everyone here knows everyone.
Straight away coming here, I felt like I wasn’t out of place because of how welcomed people made me feel especially coming from another country.
Teammates and random people would offer me to come into their house for dinner with their parents and it was really nice.
I just felt really supported and I’ve never felt out of place here.
It’s just a nice feeling knowing everyone wants me around.
My Future
I’m someone who just focuses on whatever’s in front of them at the moment. At this moment, I’m purely focused on the season and trying to win and get to nationals and compete there. After that, I’m probably going back home. It’s sad, but I've had two years here which has been the best experience of my life.
I want to go into firefighting or something like that.
I want to compete for a spot on the national team in Australia. It would be amazing to pursue this dream of going to the Olympics. It’s hard because a lot of people want to do that. I think growing up realizing and having these goals and aspirations of wanting to succeed changes over time. Reality kicks in, but I’m just trying to plan what to do with the rest of my life.
140 Weymouth Street, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada C1A 4Z1
Tel: 1-800-446-5265 | Fax: 902-629-4239
