St. Clair volleyball teams start off hot

The women’s and men’s volleyball teams for St. Clair College started their respective seasons this past weekend. Both teams defeated their competition 3-0 in all four games against Boreal College and Cambrian College.

Shawn Reaume is entering his first season as coach of the men’s volleyball team at St. Clair and said he is very excited about this coming season and expects his team to improve steadily.

“I think my toughest challenge this season will be managing my athletes effectively,” said Reaume.“It’s a long season and we have so much to work on, so finding the line between challenging them physically without crossing into overuse and injury territory will be key.”

The men’s team has added nine rookies to the roster this season and Reaume said he is working to shape those athletes into being building blocks for the seasons to come.

“The learning curve is steep since things move quickly in this league because of shorter programs. These rookies will become the leaders next season, so I have to make the most of having them now,” said Reaume. “He said he expects his team to surprise some opponents and continue to steadily improve and accomplish small daily goals culminating into bigger outcome goals by playoff time.”

Jimmy El-Turk has been the coach of the women’s volleyball team for four seasons and said he is really looking forward to the start of his fifth season after last season ended on a sour note following a loss to Mohawk College in the finals of the OCAA Consolation Championship. El-Turk said he believes the toughest challenge this season will be making it through the long season as healthy as possible and helping the athletes grow as much as they can.

“Maintaining a balance between academics, athletics and personal life is very tough for both the athletes and the coaches and if we can continue to work hard to find that balance, I feel like our minds will be sharp at the end of the season,” said El-Turk.

The women’s team has added six rookies to their roster this season and El-Turk said he believes all athletes should be treated the same whether it is a fifth-year senior or first year athlete. 

“The first years have already made a big difference with our team culture and have added a lot of value to our program off the court in their first two months here,” said El-Turk. “I think with the young athletes we have in our program they will be able to be cornerstones for the program for the next few seasons.” 

As far as expectations for this season, El-Turk says winning is always the goal.

 The women’s and men’s volleyball teams will be looking to continue their hot start to the season as they play Reedemer on Saturday, Nov. 2 at St. Clair College.