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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
Edmonton, Alberta: The sun is setting over the Sunday night skyline, and Pakmen’s 18U girls are exuberantly munching pizza in the meeting room of a suburban Holiday Inn. Black baseball caps are jauntily perched on their heads. On the side of each hat, there’s a red maple leaf embroidered with a white volleyball. Above the peak it simply says, 2017 Champions.
It’s a historic first for the club. In the final act of the indoor season, and on its biggest stage, a Pakmen girls’ team has just won the 18U Volleyball Canada National Championships.
For many in the room, this three-day journey has been three years in the making. Five players took home Nationals bronze medals in 16U and 17U with Pakmen. Another two have won silver. Coaches Mike Albert and Pat Daniels led last year’s 18Us to the Nationals’ final for two consecutive seasons, only to endure heart-breaking losses. But this year’s talented Pakmen roster would give them the opportunity to take one more run at that coveted national title.
On Friday, the tournament begins under brilliant blue skies. Pakmen have a tough day ahead, as the Volleyball Canada seeding process has placed three of the country’s top teams in the same group of four. Only the top two will advance to the Tier 1 power pools, and it’s quickly dubbed “the group of death” by observers. Pakmen’s opening match against Alberta’s Junior Dinos is a three-set thriller worthy of final day status. The Pakmen girls eventually take the game 27-25, 21-25,15-9. It sets the tone for the day. They make short work of Saskatchewan’s Stealth, and finish by defeating the Ducks, the British Columbia provincial champions.
The players wake up in the misty pre-dawn on Saturday. They’re at the Saville Centre by 6:45am, where the courts are a deafening cacophony of teams warming up. It’s another hard day, with no room for error. Once again, only the top two in each pool will qualify for the Tier 1 playoffs. But the Pakmen girls are now firing on all cylinders, and their serving, passing, blocking, and hitting are outstanding. They win all three games of the day without dropping a set, defeating the South County Bandits and BCO Elite, then grounding B.C.’s Airbourne.
The weather on day three turns cool and cloudy, but the mood is sunny in the Pakmen camp. The team is operating like a well-oiled machine. Mike Albert has deftly managed his players, giving every member of the team on-court time, resting his starters when Pakmen take a lead. It’s a deep squad. Defensive specialist Megan Smith, middle Beth Rohde, hitters Vanessa Leslie and Nicole Thompson — they are all contributing. Even injured setter Alex Bartmann has made the trip, her foot in a cast, to cheer on her teammates.
With three games to go in the knock-out stage, the girls are confident, but cautious. This is no time to be complacent. The Junior Bisons are the first up. They hang on gamely, but the Manitobans gradually fade under the Pakmen onslaught. They succumb 25-14, 25-12. Next is the semi-final, where the Cobras await. The Cobras are big, strong, powerful, and the Bisons girls cram into the packed stands to support their provincial compatriots. But Pakmen put paid to the Cobras’ hopes. They defeat them 25-15, 25-13. The Pakmen girls are rolling, and the hallways are alive with talk of the team.
Over on the next court, Ontario’s Halton Hurricanes have breezed through their quarters, eliminating the Ottawa Mavericks in two sets. In their semi, Halton face the Tigers for the second time in the tournament. It’s a repeat of the first day’s game, and once again, they narrowly beat the Maritime champions in three sets. The 18U championship final will be an all-Ontario marquee match-up: Pakmen versus the Halton Hurricanes.
The court-side spectators are buzzing. This season, Pakmen have bested the Hurricanes all four times they’ve met, winning three one-day tournaments and the Ontario Grand Prix. The Hurricanes have taken advantage of Pakmen’s only two missteps, and after Pakmen were eliminated, took victory in one regular-season tournament and at the Ontario Championships. Now, at the biggest event of the season, can Halton finally beat the Pakmen girls? Or will Pakmen prevail for a remarkable fifth time and take their first National Championship?
As the final begins, the teams match each other point for point. But the Pakmen girls have the edge. Setter Alicia Lam is moving the ball left, right, middle, confounding the Halton blockers. Lucy Glen-Carter is crushing balls from right, hitting line, cross-court, deep corner, seemingly unstoppable. Power hitter Janelle Albert is suddenly cutting shots and chipping winners over hands. Megan Beedie and Jenna Woock are a wall in the middle. Julia Wiercigroch is an ever-present threat from left. Libero Caitlin Le is diving and rolling across the back court, saving every ball she can.
Pakmen are peaking when it matters most. They’re out-thinking their opponents. They’re playing as one. And that’s the thing about volleyball — it’s the only team sport where individual brilliance can’t consistently bring a team success. You have to work together, in synchronicity. The coach must adjust, motivate, encourage, praise, and there’s Mike Albert on the sidelines, doing just that. Pat Daniels and Ken Burns are doing the same behind him. The players are throwing themselves around the court. For each point they win, there’s an explosive celebration. At time-outs, they recover, exhausted.
For each Halton score, Pakmen respond. The Hurricanes cling on stubbornly. Yet slowly, inexorably, Pakmen move ahead. They seize the lead and maintain it through both sets, taking the first 25-19, and the second 25-21. It’s all over. They’ve done it. For the first time, the Pakmen 18U girls are the Canada Volleyball National Champions.
Back at the hotel, after the medals, the awards, the photos, and the celebrations, the sun also sets on their club volleyball careers. Like all youth volleyball players, they’ll remember their teammates. They’ll remember that sense of shared community at tournaments. They’ll remember the training, and all the hours they put in. They’ll remember what their coaches taught them.
And for these Pakmen 18U girls, whose talents, hard work, and physical gifts have placed them among Canada’s volleyball elite, they’ll remember those hats.
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