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It happened in the Gold Medal game between Pakmen 17U Gold and Phoenix Legacy (17U) at OVA Challenge Cup, on Dec 2 2023, in Oakville:
By DAVID WINER Special The Pakmen have drawn a line in the sand that may never be crossed. Competing at the Ontario Volleyball Association Beach Provincials, the Pakmen Volleyball Club prevailed with a flurry of gold medal performances that would confound the most optimistic prognosticator. “It was a record performance!” said ecstatic Pakmen director Kelly Smith. “These were the most Tier 1 gold medals at a Provincial Championship in OVA history.” Many of the 200 enthusiastic youngsters, who took to the six regulation sized courts this summer to participate in Elite Beach training, competed at an unworldly level resulting in 10 out of a possible 15 Tier 1 gold medal showings. “We are especially proud of head coach Jessy Satti after coming off a record-breaking indoor season,” said Smith. “His 18U boys won Provincials and Nationals, and he became the first coach to ever win three consecutive 18U national titles. Now, his male beach athletes performed so well, winning almost every single event, including several all-Pakmen finals, and in some cases, winning gold, silver and bronze. “Also, Arjun Selhi, who played for Jessy as an indoor player and was one of Jessy’s assistant coaches on the beach for three years is now in charge of the girls’ program and they also enjoyed a lot of success.” Assisting Satti on the boys’ side were Omar Abu Jazar, Saad Shaikh and Kadeem Clarke, while Selhi was assisted by Osemi Efosa. “Across the board on the boys and girls side we’ve had a tremendous amount of success, said Satti. “I give a lot of credit to the athletes, who make the conscious decision to stick with their teammates and do beach volleyball with the club. It creates a really good dynamic and team culture. There’s lots of opportunities for players to do different beach programs with other coaches, but I’ve found our athletes enjoy our beach program. It shows that the club is able to offer high quality programming 12 months of the year, and our results from indoor and beach proves that.” Setting the tone were Pakmen trailblazers Salma Abdelrazak on the girls’ side and the tandem of Misha Panasiouk and Aleksa Rakic on the boys’ side who worked overtime to collect two gold medals apiece. Panasiouk and Rakic mastered the 15U and 16U Tier 1 age groups that were chock-full of Pakmen teammates. “I think Misha and Aleks had a great summer. When they played up (16U) and won, it was definitely a special moment,” said Satti. “I think they showed people that the way beach volleyball is played can outweigh factors like size and athleticism. We make sure to teach beach the way we feel it should be played, and we’ve done that since the inception of our club. By getting athletes to buy into the training and structure, it puts them in a position to have a lot of success.” The 15U division, contested August 12-13 at Toronto’s Ashbridges Bay, was swept by Panasiouk and Rakic, followed by silver medalists Davis Hinshelwoods and Spencer Ham and bronze medalists Cooper Spehr and Jonathan Sousa. Pakmen inhabited two of the three podium placings in the 16U competition on August 5-6 with Yahia Elsayed and Chris Tang securing the bronze. The highlight of the tournament for both Panasiouk and Rakic was beating Elsayed and Tang in the 16U semi-final. “We lost to them in the final at an earlier tournament and they became the duo that we always wanted to play and beat,” explained Rakic. “While we lost to them in the first set, we fought through it and eventually won the third set 18-16.” “Even though we were ranked No. 1 entering the competition, the favorites were Yahia and Chris, who are both really good beach players and were also the tournament winners last year,” added Panasiouk. “We are also a year younger than them. But in a really close third game we were able to win, despite the fact the majority of the audience supported the opposing team.” A lot of planning had to go into Rakic and Panasiouk’s style of play considering there would be extra wear and tear on their bodies competing on back-to-back weekends. “Having to play multiple games a day with only about an hour of time for a break, it came down to how efficiently we used our time to rest and recover,” explained Rakic. “Sitting in the shade, and wearing towels and shirts to conserve our energy, was a must. After finishing each day we used our time to recover using ice, a roller and massage gun to prepare us for the next day and stay as fresh as possible.” However, the biggest reason for success, other than talent, is the rapport the two have developed. “Since Misha joined our rep team two years ago we’ve stayed close friends,” said Rakic, who attends Mississauga’s Applewood Secondary School. “Being able to connect easily from this friendship, it was easy to play together. All the time that we spent practicing on the beach and indoors made our basic skills better and helped us learn how to help each other through our struggles. If I’m struggling Misha is there to help me, and if Misha is struggling, I am there to help him.” Panasiouk, who attends Earl Haig in North York, says there’s a number of factors for their success. “The first is, of course, trust. We know that at the most crucial and stressful moment we will make the right decision that will lead the team to success. The second is communication. We are good at making our jobs easier and more efficient by communicating on the court; and the third is we are strong players in terms of set of skills no matter who the opponent serves, we know that we will definitely score a point.” “We are able to adapt and learn from our opponents,” added Rakic. “We understand how our opponents play and not only play to our strengths, but to their
By DAVID WINER
It’s a case of deja vu all over again.
Fresh off a gold medal showing at the OVA Ontario Championships in Waterloo over the weekend (April 15-17), and in search of a medal at next month’s Nationals in Edmonton, Pakmen 18U girls head coach Michael Albert has agreed to return to the 18U team for next year’s indoor season.
Current 17U head coach Tyler Robinson, who led the Pakmen 17U squad to silver at the Provincials after entering the tournament as the third seed, is expected to join the boys’ side.
During his 15 years of coaching at the club level, Albert has been no stranger to winning.
The graduate of Sheridan College, has seven Ontario championships to his credit as a coach as well as two silver medals. He also has two National Championship gold medals, and a silver.
Two of those Ontario medals have come at the 18U level, having won silver on the boys’ side and the recent gold on the girls’ side.
Albert also has substantial experience at other age levels, having won gold medals in the 13U, 14U, 15U and 17U divisions.
“The wide range of age groups have been so valuable in developing my skills as a coach,” said Albert. “I’ve trained male and female athletes from Grades 5-12 and enjoyed my time assisting a talented college team at Sheridan.
“Skill development is a key component for me as a coach,” added Albert, who has been at the helm of three teams in the 18U level. “I believe this is the foundation in preparing (players) for higher level competition from university to college and on to the international level. Additionally, I believe athletes need to develop their own self awareness with every aspect of the game. Developing their ability to self correct when required, learning to evaluate and react to opponent tendencies during competition and have the freedom to make mistakes through supportive coaching staff and teammates.
“I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to coach at Pakmen,” he added. “The deep resources available to me as a coach, combined with the many training programs offered to players, have created an exciting and effective environment to develop high performance athletes and teams.”
Before graduating from Sheridan College, Albert enjoyed a successful career as a setter, winning four OCAA titles, a National silver medal and a National bronze medal. Albert also competed for Team Ontario, winning yet another National Championship.
As an assistant coach with Sheridan, Albert enjoyed more success, including a number of gold and silver medals at the provincial and national levels during the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons.
Albert also has experience as a middle, having played the position for nine years on a men’s team.
Albert says taking over a new team entering its final year of club competition, poses both advantages and disadvantages.
“Advantages are the ability to quickly impact players with your coaching style,” explained Albert. “You are new to the athlete and your coaching methods, can be an exciting change for both the players and coaches.
“This disadvantage,” he added, ” is that you are limited to a short period of time to make more difficult changes.
Based on their performance this season in 17U action, Albert has a strong nucleus to mold into an instant winner.
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