Flyers use depth to mine OFSAA gold
The Eden Flyers’ remarkable run of success at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations AA volleyball championships continued this past weekend in Stratford.
With a 3-0 victory (29-27, 25-19, 27-25) over Franco Cite in the championship match, the Flyers won their second straight OFSAA gold and 11th championship in the past 15 years. It was also Eden’s 15th straight provincial medal in an amazing run that also includes two silver and two bronze medals.
“The team relied on more than two-thirds of its 16-person roster in the finals as a result of injuries occurring late in the tournament,” Eden head coach Bill Markham said. “It took a lot of grit, hard work and experience to win the gold medal in straight sets at OFSAA.”
Eden entered the championship match with its two starting left sides, Zack Reimer and Ethan Maroudas, out of the match with ankle injuries and Markham replaced them with junior call-ups K.J. Robinson and Cameron Moss.
“In the gold medal match, I had two young guys in key roles and we as a team we were able to overcome that and win in straight sets,” Markham said.
That next man up mentality has been part of Eden’s makeup all season.
“We had to overcome a lot of adversity with injuries to key players at critical times this season. Every time someone stepped into their role with confidence,” Markham said. “This only happens because these guys come to practice every day willing to work hard no matter what their role on the team. This is the definition of a great team.”
Other members of the championship team were Ashton Nieuwets, Cole Duncanson, Jared Dyck, Leighton Friesen, Tobias Jeffries, Dylan Kelcey, Chad McArthur, Ethan Mewhinney, Kyle Mulder, Jake Mumford, Peter Pilling and Issac Tenyenhuis.
“This group of athletes embodied excellence, teamwork and dedication and the coaches could not have been more proud of everything they have done,” Markham said.
At OFSAA, Eden advanced to the quarter-finals with pool victories over Ingersoll (25-9, 25-19), North Albion (25-18, 25-20), Crescent (25-15, 25-15) and Cochrane (25-2, 25-13).
Following a 3-1 triumph (25-23, 25-22, 17-25, 25-16) over Essex in the quarterfinals, the Flyers swept Westdale (25-16, 25-23, 25-18) in the semifinals.
“I am very proud of this group of athletes. In order for us to be successful, we had to all check our egos at the door and be committed to putting the team first,” Markham said. “We had some dominant players, but in the end it was this passion to trust the system and each other that won the day.”
Markham made special mention of his graduating players Pilling, Mewhinney, Maroudas, Nieuwets, Duncanson, Mumford and Friesen.
Pilling was the team’s captain.
“He lead this team with his calm and confident demeanour on and off the court,” Markham said. “His focus and attention to detail put his teammates in a great position to score every time.”
Duncanson was a mostly unstoppable force in the middle.
“His kill percentage was amazing and I know that he is going to be very successful at Queen’s,” Markham said. “His ability forced other teams to focus on him which opened up opportunities for his teammates.”
He described Nieuwets as a game-changing player.
“His leaping ability and court sense is second to none. He sees openings and scores almost at will. When we needed a kill, I knew that we could count on him.”
Eden went into OFSAA with an overall record of 65-2 and victories at the prestigious Waterloo, St Michael’s College and Uxbridge tournaments.
The Flyers were also unbeaten in Zone 4 action, including straight set victories over Sir Winston Churchill, the OFSAA AAA silver medalists, and the Smithville Christian Storm, the OFSAA A champions.
“We have worked hard to create a culture that gives us the best opportunity for success,” Markham said. “This is rooted in a firm believe that each individual has value and that when we understand this and willingly embrace our role, we all win.
“We refuse to get distracted from what we are trying to accomplish as a team and I believe this is why we are successful.”
Since taking over as head coach from Albino Pereira, Markham has now guided the Flyers to a bronze, a silver and two gold medals.
“What I love about volleyball is that one player can’t win the game for you. We played a lot of teams that had very strong individual players, but it was our commitment to our system that always came out on top,” he said. “This is such a great life lesson and I know that this group of athletes will be successful in life if they incorporate this philosophy in everything they do.”