Clearly, success was on the horizon for the Champlain Requins this year – just as long as Horizon wasn’t on the horizon for the recently anointed OFSAA “AA” silver medal winners.
For the second straight year, the Chelmsford-based school would go toe to toe in regular season play with their francophone Val Caron rivals, the Horizon Aigles, succumbing in the city finals both in 2024 and 2025.
And for the second straight year, the Requins would pick themselves up by the bootstraps, claiming gold at NOSSA and qualifying for the championship playoff round at the all-Ontario high-school playdowns – all while punching above their weight class as the school of just over 200 students battled to the finish in the “AA” division (501 – 950 students).
“We lost in the city championship and our goals got reset,” acknowledged head coach Guy Perreault, the man who saw his team string together a six game winning streak at OFSAA before falling in the gold medal affair to the powerhouse that was the Oakridge Oaks from London.
“The goal for OFSAA was to try and medal,” Perreault continued. “Mentally, we needed to be prepared in a way that champions do, knowing how to face adversity and how to deal with it in games. From a technical aspect, our first contact was key. We needed to get our pass to the setter to run a good offense.”
The fact that Perreault should make note both of the setter position as well as adversity drips of irony. After serving as team setter for basically the entire year, Kaylee Seguin was moved over to left-side attacker for NOSSA, and again for OFSAA, with grade 10 student and Northern Chill club talent Marissa MacLean stepping in to fill some very big shoes.
“It was done mostly for the dynamics on the court, just having a different type of left-side come in,” said Seguin, part of a large graduating class of seniors as the talkative teen prepares to suit up with the Cambrian Shield in the fall. “A lot of the left-sides will kill the ball hard where I tip and try and score off the hands.”
Though she dreams of the day she will top the charts at 6’2”, Seguin makes the best of her 5’7.5” frame thanks in part to a “do whatever it takes” type of mindset. “I just have a different approach (than most other left sides) and Guy (Perreault) has really helped me with that.”
It didn’t hurt that Seguin could lean on at least some experience in an attacking role when she competed for Team Ontario at the North American Indigenous Games in Halifax two years ago – and at another indigenous tournament in Alberta last year as well.
“Kaylee is our primary setter and she played left side and did it extremely well, especially for not even practicing it at all,” noted middle Olivia Nicholls, the latest in the line of local commitments to the Acadia Axewomen program in Nova Scotia, joining fellow Sudbury athletes Alexia Lemay-Evans (AUS first team all-star – 2024-2025) and Mia Lemay-Evans (AUS All-Rookie team).
Of course, as the primary hitter on the team, Nicholls likely focused even more on assisting the incoming setter (Marissa MacLean) in getting up to speed as quickly as possible. “We had not practiced that much with her, working on our tempo, the ball height (for the set),” said Nicholls.
“She was asking: do you want it higher? do you want it lower? – so I would help her out with that.”
Apparently, it worked as Champlain emerged triumphant in matches against the Aurora Eagles, Port Perry Rebels, St Joseph’s Jaguars (Barrie), St Mary Thunder (Cobourg), Franco Ouest Vikings (Nepean) and Glenview Park Panthers (Cambridge).
“What I liked most as a coach is that these girls just don’t quit,” said Perreault with a great deal of pride. “Even when we are down, we find a way to come back. That was probably the most impressive thing.”
As for their in-town nemesis, the long-time volleyball mentor whose daughter (Emma) actually competes with the Horizon Aigles offered his take on why that specific opponent seems to present such a large bugaboo to his talented team.
“Their energy,” emphasized coach Perreault. “They’re really loud compared to us. Once they get loud, it becomes a mental game for us.”
Certainly, it’s not for lack of effort or a deeply rooted desire to topple the city champs.
“When we play Horizon, I really want to win because we always lose to them,” suggested Nicholls. “It makes me want to compete even harder.”
With the Aigles representing NOSSA at the OFSAA “A” Championships, finishing fourth in Toronto, the Requins could focus on the task at hand in North Bay, one which they executed to their top potential, leaving one and all to soak up the memories, moving forward.
“I haven’t really had time to process it,” said Nicholls. “It seems crazy to think about it because I’ve been with this team and these coaches for so long.”
“It’s a pretty awesome finish for our last year,” summarized Seguin.
For now they focus on the next horizon that lies ahead and whatever that may hold in store, forever OFSAA medal winners.
The remainder of the Champlain team features Abby Laurin, Ella Dionne, Andrea Bernard, Jade Toner, Olivia Lachapelle, Calixa Lalonde, Kahlan Bellaire, Anna Houle, Emma Mathieu and coaches Dan Trepanier and Lindsay Digby.
