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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
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 would usually come in to the game having nothing to lose, since Pakmen is usually the stronger team. This made teams always play their best against them. But now I get to practice with some of the best attackers in the country, which has elevated my game to a new level.”
And like Sani, Pereira is yet another OVA all-star, as are most of their teammates. Pereira’s game was so advanced early on, he was an 11-year-old on a 14U provincial team.
The 6-footer, who is a student at St. Catharines’ Eden High School, quickly points out he wasn’t a starter on that squad, which makes “The feeling of winning provincials (this time around) indescribable. This has been one of our goals since the beginning of the season, and to work so hard for something and to achieve it, is an amazing feeling.”
Next stop for the Pakmen are the National championships in Ottawa. After three successive national titles, Pakmen missed out on a first-place showing last year. Something Stanko would like to change this time around.
“We learned (in Waterloo) that as a team we are able to rebound from an adverse situation. This is a valuable team trait and should serve us well at Nationals. Moreover, it also sends a message to other teams that we are mentally strong.”
Should the Pakmen succeed, even Pakmen founder and president Kelly Smith will have to admit this team is one for the ages.
Asked if this team is the best in Pakmen history as club head coach Stanko alluded to, Smith admitted, “That’s a tough one.
“Our 2008 team won u18 Nationals in a final widely considered to be one of the most exciting finals in the past 20 years. We defeated Garth Pischki’s (former National team head coach) Manitoba Bisons, who were previously undefeated. That team had some of the best players in OVA history.
“The past three years Pakmen has fielded very, very strong teams,” concluded Smith. ” But there is certainly an argument that Orest’s team this year may indeed be the best team so far.”
Other members of the powerhouse gold medal winning Pakmen include, Jakson Paterson, Malcolm Prentice, Tomas Sorra, Xander Ketrzynski and assistant coach Karim Khalil.
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