Record doesn’t tell whole story
Foundation for Trent Excalibur success is there, coach says
Rusty Haines isn’t afraid of a challenge.
He knew the challenge he was taking on when he applied to coach the Trent Excalibur women’s volleyball team. Haines coached the Excalibur men’s team from 2004-07 when they competed in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA). At one point they were ranked 11th in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association. Prior to that he coached at Fleming College for nine years.
The Excalibur women’s team was a perennial contender for the OCAA championship but since returning to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) in 2016-17 wins have been few and far between. Their record this season is 0-6 following a 3-0 loss to the McMaster Marauders Saturday night at the Trent Athletics Centre.
The Trent job came open when head coach Craig Barclay got an opportunity to take the same role in his hometown of Thunder Bay with Lakehead University. Haines had stepped away from volleyball for several years while raising a young family and working at RBC. When he heard the Trent job was still vacant with the season fast approaching he threw his hat in the ring.
“It’s a huge challenge,” said Haines. “There is a huge talent pool in the OUA. There are national team players now who play on university squads in Ontario. You’re literally playing against some of the best athletes in the country in regular league play.”
The record doesn’t tell the whole story, says Haines.
“What’s really impressed me with the squad at Trent is they’re a solid, talented group of athletes,” he said. “It’s a matter of getting over a little bit of a mental aspect to recognize that, yes, Trent is a smaller school but we can compete at this level. One of the key things we’re working on is recognizing our potential and the possibilities.”
He said they pushed Ryerson, the defending national champs, in a recent match. They split a pair of five-set pre-season games with Queen’s and played well against University of Toronto.
“These girls can play but we’re not as big as some of these other teams,” said Haines. “We’re giving away two to three inches across the board on every position.”
Veterans Camille Garzon and Carley Gourgeon are relied on for offence and leadership. What gives Haines hope is a strong group of first-year players who are pushing for playing time.
“We’ve got a really strong core of first-year players who are not only contributing in practice but they’re taking advantage of those opportunities when they get time in a match. Our school sees some of those first years coming in off the bench much more consistently than other teams do. Not because I’m trying to change something but because they’ve legitimately earned those opportunities and are taking advantage of it. As they get more comfortable with the speed at this level we’re really going to start to see a little more success come our way.”
He has a larger team with 18 players so there is pretty good commitment and interest from players. He expanded his coaching staff to three assistants All three are Trent alumni; Rebecca van Staalduinen, Leith Perron and Hayley Perron.