A Voice from the Eastern Door
A Voice from the Eastern Door
L to R: First Row: Logan Francis-Mitchell, Aryanna Jacobs, Kohe David and Jaden Barnes. Second Row: Mike Labelle – Coach, Jackie Benedict, Janisa Benedict – Captain and Tristan Thomas – Co-Captain. Missing: Madi White and Krista Loran (injured).
Submitted by Lisa Francis-Benedict
The 18U girls Akwesasne Soaring Eagles Volleyball team competed in the Ontario Volleyball Championships from April 26-28, 2013 in Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario. They played hard all weekend and placed 4th out of 16 teams in Division 2.
For the majority of the team, this tournament will mark their last Ontario Volleyball Association (OVA) competition. The younger players, Jaden Barnes, Krista Loran and Aryanna Jacobs, still have a few more years of volleyball competition and it is hoped they will remain in the game. This will mark the last year of OVA play for Janisa Benedict, Tristan Thomas, Jackie Benedict, Kohe David, Logan Francis-Mitchell and Madi White. They will be moving on to “bigger and better things” and hopefully play some college volleyball.
The team has been coached/mentored by Mike Labelle. This is the third year that he has been working with the team. For the most part, the team players remained the same for the last three years and have become well aware of Mike’s expectations. He accepts that everyone make mistakes and encourages them to “shake it off” and get back into the game!
The team competed in two OVA sanctioned tournaments throughout the season and they also competed in two tournaments in Gatineau/Ottawa. They practiced two nights a week for two hours. The volleyball season runs from November to the end of April, which at times seems to be so long, but with commitment and determination it all works out in the end!
Congratulations to the 18U team! You make Akwesasne (and especially your parents!!) proud!
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