Tigers Claw Their Way to the Top
Alix Hill (left) and Teodora Lazic of the Waterloo Tigers 15U volleyball team block during an exhibition game against the Tigers 16U team. Photo: Mathew McCarthy, Record staff
As the eighth ranked squad in Ontario in its age division, the Waterloo Tigers 15U Black team has its sights set on tier-one competition among the 24 top teams in the Ontario championships to be held at RIM Park in April.
To help the Tigers get there, the team, lead by coach Marek Gwozdz, has been ratcheting up its practice and exhibition-game schedule this winter. Co-captain Teodora Lazic, 14, attributes the team’s success to its work ethic and good team unity.
“I think we really get along well on and off the court,” she says. “We know how to play together, and when we make a mistake we
fix it together. We have good communication as a team.”
I watched the Tigers play a mid-week exhibition game at Eastwood Collegiate against the Waterloo club’s 16U team as they prepare for the Feb. 13 Challenge Cup premier tournament at Forest Heights Collegiate, which will feature teams from Scarborough, London and Etobicoke.
“We’re definitely ready to improve our ranking. We’re seeded 7th in the tournament,” says Gwozdz. “The Challenge Cup will be tough, but that’s what happens when you compete against the best of the best.”
That competition is fierce indeed. The Tigers struggled this past weekend in a 16U tournament, though they did take the No. 1 seed Halton Hurricanes to three games before losing – and with a short bench of only eight players.
The team has played together for about three years, with some of the girls coming through the club’s house league and development programs. Co-captain Shae Reaman knows they will have to be nearly perfect whenever they meet the older, stronger competition ahead.
“We have to communicate and help each other when we get down. We have a tight relationship with each other and will need that when we get tired.”
Unlike minor rep soccer or hockey, volleyball is a tournament sport. The Tigers don’t play in a league; rather, they practice, play exhibition games and enter Ontario Volleyball Association sanctioned tournaments.
Exhibition games like the one against the 16U Tigers hone their competitive edge for the big tournaments. And they’ve had some success playing against older teams, Gwozdz points out. He’s a firm believer in the value that competition provides.
“Highly competitive players thrive in a highly competitive environment that leads to fun, team-building, and close friendships that last a lifetime. We played a 16U tournament in Wingham in January and ended up winning silver. That’s an outstanding achievement for a team that is a year younger.”
The night I watched the Tigers, it wasn’t to be. They suffered a loss – a rare “off night” Gwozdz describes it – but they showed they possess good power on serves and accuracy on kills as well as quickness, agility and that important team unity.
They’ll need it all because ahead on their competition calendar is the national championships in Sherbrooke, Que. in May and a tough tourney in the United States.
“We finish off our season with a bang, competing in the huge Happy Volley Club Championships hosted by Penn State University at the end of May. It features 350 teams from all over North America,” Gwozdz says.
In the short term, the Tigers will need to execute their best skills in every game during the Forest Heights tournament this weekend as their mettle is tested against some very solid squads.
“We want to place in the top three so we can stay in the Premiership division and get ranked as high as we can in provincials,” Lazic says. “We want to do our best.”
Andrew Coppolino, The Record
