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A Silver Summer with Team Ontario
(PHOTOS)
Lauren Carter (’09)
August 3, 2009 — This has been a great and totally different summer. Typically, my summer is spent at camp and at the cottage by the lake, dressed in a bathing suit and flip flops. The prospect of being in downtown Toronto, with access to electronic devices and traffic, spending my day in the gym was a totally different experience. Although, after receiving the email, I couldn’t be happier because I had made Team Ontario!
Despite arriving late in downtown Toronto on a bus ride from Ottawa, a drive many are familiar with, it didn’t take much time to get used to things at the University of Toronto Residence. New teammates, with only a couple of familiar faces from years in the OVA, were extremely welcoming and eased any anxieties I had been feeling. I was so excited and proud to have achieved my goal. I was finally getting the chance to train and compete with Team Ontario!
Our first training session at the Varsity Arena took place almost immediately after arriving. We had our first team meeting, introductions, and a basic practice with lots of ball control. The walk from the Residence was about 15 minutes and along the way, we picked up some great post-training smoothies from Booster Juice! Our floor was full of provincial team athletes, 17U and 18U girls and boys, as well as the 20U and 21U girls and boys from the Canada Summer Games teams. Dinner at the residence cafeteria was followed by some team time, where we had more of a chance to get to know one another. We knew we were going to be spending a lot of time together in the next two weeks. After a few games and team discussions about goals and expectations, I was totally pumped up as I went to bed that night.
Over the next couple of training days, we did a lot of video analysis and learned about our technique, habits, etc. and a little bit of team play. Afterwards, we had a two-day break, which was filled visits to the Royal Ontario Museum, the beach and lots of team bonding, not to mention watching several episodes of One Tree Hill. Feeling rested, we went back to training, ready for two-a-days. The next week, we were literally eating, sleeping and living volleyball. We did have one session off and took the opportunity to go see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, something most of us had been looking forward to for a long time!
By the time the 23rd of July rolled around, other provincial teams began arriving. They replaced the empty residence rooms of our provincial teams who had gone to Kelowna or gone home. This put us in the competition mindset and we were ready for the NTCCs in our very own Toronto. Although we didn’t travel anywhere, having fans for almost every game was a unique experience! With our own dressing room, music blaring and new uniforms we were proud to wear, we were focused and ready to go.
The Day 1 schedule had Ontario 18U playing Ontario 17U for the first game. Familiar with each other’s tendencies after playing a tough game the previous day, the 18U team prevailed, but we were all happy to have that game over with so we could cheer each other on for the rest of the tournament. Game 2, we faced Team BC and took them to a close fifth set, taking the last game 15-12. It was an exciting, but tiring first day, but our nerves were controlled and we were excited to continue playing. On Day 2, Team Ontario went 2-0 again against Alberta 17U and Quebec. It was another successful day. Ensuring we were sleeping and eating well, we were prepared for the third day of competition, where we played Alberta 18U and beat them in another close five set match. We ended pool play undefeated after our last game against Manitoba. We went to bed feeling confident and ready to face BC once again for the gold medal.
Having difficulty with the pressure that was on us, we were nervous and down after the first two sets, but we fought back hard to force a fourth game. Team BC came back strong and determined to ensure there was no fifth game. Although we did our best, Team BC was the better team that day. We were pleased with the silver medal and happy about the training we had and the experience we gained.
Thank you to our coaches for all your hard work throughout the entire month. Thanks to friends and family for your support, picture taking and cheering. Thank you to all the organizers, who made it all possible. And finally, thank you to my teammates for making the experience everything that it was. I know that my summer with Team Ontario will be something I won’t soon forget!
— Lauren Carter (’09)
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