By DAVID WINER “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” There’s some disagreement on whether it was John F. Kennedy’s father Joseph, or famed Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne who coined the phrase, but few would disagree that the Mississauga Pakmen 18U girls delivered on toughness when it mattered most during the OVA Ontario Championships at Waterloo’s RIM Park over the weekend (April 15-17). While managing not to lose a match in the opening two days of pool play, the Pakmen did suffer lost sets at the hands of Oakville Thunder Blue and Defensa. Entering the championships as the No. 1 seed, doubts may have cropped up regarding the team’s mental toughness. But all questions were put to bed when the Pakmen proceeded to sweep Oxford Crush 25-19, 25-11, Defensa of Burlington 25-11, 25-17, and Aurora Storm Vortex 25-19, 25-16 in Sunday’s championship round to claim the gold medal. “I believe the scores on the third day are a reflection of our improved performance level over a three-day span,” said head coach Michael Albert. “By the second day, our team was becoming a cohesive (unit) on and off the court with an increased level of focus, combined with consistent execution with their individual skills and team systems. “On the third day,” added Albert, “our team’s performance reached its peak level of the season, which is every coach’s dream. “When our girls hit the court in the finals, there was a clear determination from all 11 players to win a championship and their months of hard work paid off with a gold medal performance.” No gold medal comes without hard work. And hard work starts in the trenches. That is why Albert had high praise for Lauren Veltman and Kristen Burns. “There were too many key plays from individuals to mention,” said Albert. “The final was packed with amazing plays. I will say that our middle players significantly impacted our performance level with their blocking. Their blocking improved all weekend and it was at its best in the finals. Often people watching, may not appreciate the hard work and impact they have, but their impact on the team is deeply appreciated from my perspective. Our two middle players Lauren Veltman and Kristen Burns have been steady performers all year long and they didn’t disappoint.” “It feels really good being complimented on my blocking,” responded Veltman. “I’ve really been working on my blocking and getting my technique right and it’s great seeing the results I get from it.” The 6-foot-3 Brampton native, who is finishing Grade 12 at Woodbridge’s Toronto District Christian High School, will attempt to be a star blocker for the Ryerson Rams in the fall. “I do take much pride in my blocking because it’s such a rush to feel that ball hit your hands and go straight to the floor. As a middle blocker you really have to commit to your block, the set can go either way so you really have to be patient to see where the ball is set and really commit to where you’re going.” Unlike some other players, Veltman has a history of playing in the trenches. One could say it’s in her blood. Coming from a famous lacrosse family, Lauren herself has played the sport for many years. But unlike other Veltmans, she insists, “My favorite sport, of course, is volleyball.” And now, after a lengthy absence from atop the podium, Veltman can enjoy the sport even more. “The last time we won a provincial championship was when I was in 14U,” recalled Veltman. “The last three years we have gotten silver — we fought so hard for three years. “It makes it even more special that it’s our last year and we ended it with something huge. Also I wouldn’t have wanted to do it with any other girls. It was so special to have all these girls by my side and to be able to call them all my best friends.” One such friend is Burns, her fellow middle. Nearly as tall at 6-foot-2, Burns grew up in Mississauga, attended Meadowvale Secondary School and competed for the Pakmen for five of the past six years, “and have enjoyed every year.” But Burns will make a break from Mississauga in the fall when she attends the University of New Brunswick, where she will ply her trade as a left-handed middle, “which I know is unusual. “I believe my coaches know that our ability to block well allows the rest of the team to set up the defense around it,” said Burns. “A big block at the right time, can be the same as a kill for us. Sometimes a block can really change momentum and get the other team to start changing their offense.” Like Veltman, Burns feels winning the OVA title in their last year together is extra meaningful. “Coming so close the past couple of years to winning, motivated the team that much more and we worked even harder this year,” she said. “Knowing this was our last chance for the gold, really allowed us to focus and play to the best of our abilities.” And, in a way that crystallizes how united the Pakmen have become, the team chose to celebrate the night away before disbanding on the night of the championship. “After the medal ceremony, we all took pictures together with the coaches, each other, and our families to remember the achievement,” said Burns. “We then all went out for a team dinner to celebrate, relax and enjoy the evening.” Other members of the celebrating team include Janelle Albert, Julia Balatbat, Emma Armstrong, Julia Krebs, Cailin Wark, Melissa Langegger, Mady Timpany, Jessica Lam, Brenna McArthur and assistant coach Pat Daniels. They will attempt to duplicate their feat in Edmonton at the National Championships May 5-8. “The key to Nationals is to find a way to ramp up and peak a second time,” said Albert. “This is not an easy task, but if there’s

By DAVID WINER There was no chance the Mississauga Pakmen 18U boys were going to be denied a fifth straight OVA Ontario Championship title over the weekend (April 15-17) at Waterloo’s RIM Park. It was comparable to the long-running Broadway smash hit nobody wanted to see come to an end. An array of stars, even the dominant Pakmen Volleyball Club had never seen come together as one. And other than a brief scary moment in the gold medal match against Aurora Storm Lightning, the Pakmen accomplished what its core had been striving for since taking to the floor as 14U neophytes in 2012 under the leadership of Ed and Jessica Turalinski. In fact, as if to place an asterisk on how powerful this group has been over the past half decade, they managed to capture six provincial indoor titles in five years by winning both the 17U and 18U OVA crowns last year. “Winning provincials in my final year of club (ball) does feel different,” said OVA all-star setter Jordan Figueira. “It’s made me very emotional, considering my OVA career is officially over, and grateful to have been given the chance to play with some of the top athletes in Canada for my entire career.” The group of five-year returnees includes Figueira, Alex Reiner, Andrew Smondulak, Jonathan Reid, Parvir Jhajj and Sharone Vernon-Evans. “This is the team’s fifth straight career win, excluding last year’s 18u win. And although our bond extends, considering we’ve been with each other the longest, I feel that over the past few weeks, our team has been coming along and really beginning to bond with each other. And going into Nationals, we are feeling very strong.” Head coach Orest Stanko sees a difference with this group of young men considering it is the last year of club ball for all but two of them. “There is a sense that this particular team has an opportunity to solidify their legacy as one of, if not, the best team in Pakmen and OVA history,” said Stanko. “The athletes were well aware that winning back-to-back 18U Provincial Championships is an extraordinary accomplishment.” Making the win that much more satisfying was the fact the Pakmen had to work for it. After 2-0 sweeps over Bluewater Ballistix, the Ed and Jessica Turalinski-led Mountain Athletic Club and Leaside Thunder 17U, in the first day of pool play, the Pakmen followed with 2-0 decisions over Oakville Lakeside, Pakmen 17U Gold and London’s LVC Heat in the round robin. Playoff Sunday began much the same way, as Pakmen swept away Leaside Thunder 25-12, 25-23 in the quarter-finals and Scarborough Titans Nemesis 25-13, 25-16 in the semis. However, Storm Lightning weren’t going to allow for a 5-peat without a tussle. After Pakmen won the opener, 25-21, Storm forced a third and deciding set with a 26-24 upset. “After losing a tough second set, and being down 3-0 in the third set, our team decided to trust in each other, and leave it all out on the court, which shows a lot of maturity and proves that we are a strong group of athletes and are not easily broken down,” said the 6-foot Figueira, who is in his final year of studies at Oakville’s Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic School. “Yes, the team was a trifle anxious towards the end of the second set,” added coach Stanko. “At one point we held a 24-21 lead and were poised to close out the victory in two straight sets. Unfortunately, we committed a few, untimely, unforced errors and Storm was able to take advantage. (But) the boys demonstrated their ability to cope with the adversity. It is a testimonial to how much they have matured as athletes and people over the course of the last two years. The third set was approached in business-like fashion (ending at 15-11).” While there was much on the line for Figueira, Reiner, Smondulak, Reid, Jhajj and Vernon-Evans, first-year star Taryq Sani had just as much to prove. A member of the Aurora Storm last season, Sani couldn’t fathom crossing the net and shaking hands with his former teammates wearing gold around their necks. “Defeating my old team was filled with only one emotion…happiness,” said Sani. “That game showed me that I made the right decision in joining Pakmen. “I was only on Aurora for one year prior to joining Pakmen, and prior to Aurora, I played for Leaside. In comparison to both of my previous clubs, the environment in the Pakmen community is more suited to my personality. So there are no mixed feelings whatsoever, I am proud to have triumphed with my new family.” A Grade 12 student at St. Michael’s College in Toronto, the Scarborough native often wondered what set the Pakmen apart from their rivals when lining up as an opponent. “Within the Pakmen family, there is an expectation of excellence, from coaches and alumni, and from teammates,” said the 6-foot-2 outside hitter, who will call the University of Alberta home in the fall. “As an outsider it was hard for me to understand what it is that makes Pakmen seemingly invincible. But (after) having joined the program, I realize that excellence is not solely an expectation, but it is stressed, and it eventually becomes a habit. It is contagious in a way. Each player on the team has complete confidence in one another, something completely unique to anywhere else I have played. I believe that the confidence we have in one another stems from our expectation of excellence.” Fellow first-year star Jordan Pereira says there’s an added bonus to representing the Pakmen, and that is getting the opportunity to practice with and against them every week throughout the season. “I always loved the opportunity to face Pakmen, since they were always a very physical team,” said Pereira, who makes the drive to Mississauga from St. Catharines for practices. “As a libero this meant that I would get a lot of opportunities to dig balls. Most teams facing Pakmen

By DAVID WINER The one pitfall to being the favorite is that anything short of absolute success is often regarded as a disappointment. The Mississauga Pakmen endured more disappointment than anticipated during the first two weekends of OVA Ontario Volleyball Championship action prior to the 14U boys taking to the floor for their gold medal match at Waterloo’s RIM Park. Of course, one has to take into consideration that what the Pakmen deem as a letdown, is a categorical success in the eyes of others. The Pakmen had already scored a quarter-final result in 14U girls’ play and gleaming silver medals in 17U girls and 17U boys action. But in Pakmen culture, a gold standard is just that, a standard of excellence for which all other volleyball programs are compared. That is why the Pakmen entered this year’s Ontario Championships ranked first in 13U, 14U, 15U, 16U and 18U boys’ and the 18U girls’ categories. Meanwhile, the 17U boys and 17U girls were seeded second and third respectively throughout the province. So, with the club’s first gold medal on the OVA championship calendar still unclaimed, the Pakmen 14U boys placed the proverbial monkey on their collective backs and delivered a boost in confidence to their fellow clubmates with a convincing straight-set 25-20, 25-17 victory over the Ottawa Maverick Bandits on last Sunday (April 10) afternoon. “We would like to wish all of our boys teams competing for the rest of the Ontario Championships great luck to bring home some more banners!” said 14U head coach Thomas Leca. “We know how much of an honor and a privilege it is to be an Ontario Championship team and we will wear the title with pride,” added Leca, who described his feelings as, “Overjoyed, surreal, and thankful.” “Getting the big win in the finals was one of the biggest moments of my and my teammates’ volleyball careers as we worked seven tough months with a lot of adversity along the way,” said captain Harjas Chahal. “But it didn’t stop us, as we persevered, and the victory couldn’t have felt better!” With the word ‘negativity’ absent from both his character and vocabulary, Leca offered nothing but positive energy throughout the year, and his messaging seemed to hit a chord with his charges. “Heading into Provincials our coaches were very purposeful in how they prepared us,” said 6-foot middle Ishaan Thandi. “Some of the best practices we had were leading up to provincial weekend. “The coaches had us play an U15 tournament a few weeks prior and a few of our players also played an extra warm up tournament leading up to provincials the week before,” added the Grade 8 student from Mississauga’s Lisgar Middle School. “All of this, combined, had us ready to take on the best teams in the province last weekend. Mentally our coaches also had us prepared. Even after losing a match on Saturday evening to Aurora Storm, we were able to re-group and come back stronger on Sunday. Our coaches spent lots of time on the mental aspects of the game. For example, Saturday night before championship Sunday, they sent us a letter that talked about not being fearful but rising to the occasion with courage.” “Both our coaches (Leca and assistant James Gomez) mentally and physically prepared all of us,” chimed in left side Dan Torres. “Before each game or practice they always gave each player a pep talk to build their confidence. They both also promoted positivity which was key in our win over the weekend. To play without pressure is another thing they told us because, since we thought of ourselves as No. 1, we seemed too uptight and nervous for each game, thinking we would lose everything.” And if anyone was allowed to be nervous, it would have been the 13-year-old Torres, who was playing up an age group. “Of course heading into the finals of the OVA championships, I definitely felt the pressure to perform well and make my club proud,” said the 5-foot-8 Torres. “I feel like with this win, we inspired other teams to play their best to get a provincial medal around their neck.” “Dan Torres is playing up an age group and dominating the competition,” said Leca of the player he calls a superstar. “He is, in my opinion, the best left side hitter in the OVA. Teams fear his power arm, his smart offensive decisions, and his consistent passing. Any of the teams in the OVA would vote him the No. 1 left side attacker in the province…and he is in Grade 7!” “That comment coming from an amazing coach really means a lot and gives me the confidence to perform to the best of my abilities,” said the Grade 7 St. Raymond Catholic School student from Mississauga. “It was an incredible tournament,” summed up Leca. “We have been working towards this as a team for the entire season. “The first practice of the year we set a goal to win a Provincial Championship this year. We read this quote to the boys that day in September: ‘Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill’. We came back to that quote last week as we tried to peak at the right time and encourage them on how much that is true. Everyone has skill at Provincials, but something deep inside has to drive performance in a tournament like this….and that’s exactly what happened.”   Having a desire to leave no stone unturned when preparing their players for an important competition, Leca, and Gomez, are consumed with ingraining their youngsters with positive messaging. In a letter they wrote to the boys on the eve of the championships, Leca and Gomez stated, “The pride we feel for being your coaches, that washes over us like waves, is incredible,” began the message. “The seven-month journey