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By Ron Guillet
When the Franco-Cité Faucons shattered the Eden Flyers’ eight-year stranglehold on the OFSAA ‘AA’ boys’ volleyball championships, they aptly described the feeling as being “on cloud nine.”
Every year since 2006, the St. Catharines school had topped the province, including a 2011 triumph over the Faucons by 2 points in the fifth and deciding set, but Franco-Cité turned the tables and prevailed in a four-set final over Eden on Nov. 22 in in Dryden.
“Without a doubt, (ending Eden’s run was) the cherry on top of the sundae,” signals Faucons coach Thierry Lavigne. “Winning OFSAA is an amazing accomplishment, but being the team that snapped the streak is truly special.”
The Faucons’ first boys’ volleyball provincial crown – and second OFSAA gold in school history – represented a fairly swift jump up for a team that lost in the national capital semi-final round in 2012, and were runners-up locally and only quarter-finalists at OFSAA in 2013.
“I remember the boys watching Eden in the finals last year and being amazed at the level they were playing at,” Lavigne recalls. “To be able to knock them off that pedestal only one year later is pretty incredible.”
The Flyers – who knocked out Lavigne’s alma mater, Rockland’s L’Escale, in the semi-finals – and the Faucons both entered the championship clash having won every set they played, but there was no stopping the Smyth Rd. school in the final two sets as Franco-Cité prevailed 26-24, 20-25, 25-19, 25-20.
“The players who went to OFSAA last year, including me, had revenge in our head,” indicates right-side and key offensive weapon Jordany Sémajuste, one of the team’s few graduating players. “Last year we lost to St. Michael’s in the quarters and this year we faced them in the semis and our intensity increased during that game. We were able to keep that intensity through to the finals.”
A pair of losses to Eden at their own late-October exhibition tournament also further fuelled the Faucons’ championship drive.
“It helped a lot that we had already played them earlier in the season even if we lost,” underlines setter and captain Mathieu Utting. “It was probably one the best feelings I’ve experienced to have ended Eden’s domination at the ‘AA’ division.”
With many top Grade 11 contributors set to return next season, the Faucons are hoping to take further inspiration from Eden and start a little streak of their own.
“We definitely stamped our place in this tournament. We won it once, why not win it again?” smiles Grade 11 player Paul-André Abou Zeid.“ But we can’t take things for granted, as the other teams, including the Flyers, will try their hardest to beat us.”
Exceptional team chemistry is one element that serves the Faucons very well, Abou Zeid adds.
“We’ve known each other off the court for a long time and we’ve played with each other for a couple of years,” highlights the libero. “We have a perfect mix of humour off the court and seriousness on the court. We really have a special group of guys.”
Versatility & repetition not-so-secret keys to success
It was a dominant season all-around for the Faucons. On top of their perfect run at ‘AA’ OFSAA, Franco-Cité also went undefeated in their local league against many schools with larger student populations.
One component that Franco-Cité enjoys that most others don’t is that their athletes are part of the French Catholic school’s sports-études program, which provides the volleyball team members with an extra gym period together every second day.
“Like pretty much everything in sports and in life, you have to do something a lot to become better at it,” explains Lavigne, also a coach with the Maverick Volleyball Club, which is a current and past home for many of his players. “At Franco-Cité, we try to give a lot of opportunities to kids to practice and to play. The more contacts you get, the better you will become. It’s no secret. Kids do have time during class to play volleyball, but the coaches try to be available mornings and afternoons so that the kids can keep growing volleyball-wise.”
Along with assistant Réjean Godmaire, Lavigne focuses on moulding versatile players, such as his two starting left sides who’d played middle the previous campaign, while several others played two or three positions throughout the season.
“Our focus on the process instead of the result was really key,” emphasizes Lavigne, a former All-Canadian at Université Laval. “At no point during the season did we talk about winning a tournament or beating a specific opponent. We just tried to get better and growing as individuals and as a team.
“We were also able to improve a lot at the end of the season thanks to our attention to detail. The guys were very coachable. As you can see, it was a lot of things coming together in a short period of time.
“I tip my hat to the boys for taking everything in stride.”