Local girls overcome adversity to win volleyball gold

What do you get when you take nine girls who've never placed higher than fifth in a tournament together, represent five different high schools, live throughout the Caledon and Dufferin area and combine them with a recent appendectomy, a recovering sprained ankle and two very bad colds?

If you are on the ACTS (Athletic Centre for Training through Sports) Elite 17U Volleyball team, you get a Gold medal!

Coach Paul Panagiotou had his work cut out for him. The Challenge Cup, held in Bowmanville Jan. 19, was scheduled just before high school exams started. Rosemary Tamburini, a serving and back court specialist, had sprained her ankle in a recent tournament and Jaime Trueland, the setter, had appendix surgery before the holidays and was out for almost six weeks.

Panagiotou and his assistant coaches, Keith Lobban and Steve Halliday, were working on more than game tactics and strategies. They were also working on their athletes' mental game. When the Elites first stepped onto the court for their game against the Etobicoke 381, they believed that they could beat every team in the tournament. With brilliant serving, setting, blocking and hitting, Etobicoke was beaten 25-7 and 25-17.

Next came the Oakville Thunder. Oakville had been ranked first coming into the tournament and the Elites were able to beat them handily 25-9, 25-18. It was then that the players' parents began to see the difference in the girls' play - their confidence matched their skill.

The first playoff game saw the Elites play the Barrie Elites. Trueland stepped up to serve, and 10 points later the ACTS Elites finally handed over the ball. When they needed more points, Caitlyn Leimbroch and her deadly serves made the difference. The result? Final scores of 25-18 and 25-21.

The next team that fell was the Aurora Storm Vortex. The blocking wall of the Elites stopped almost everything. In offensive play, Olivia Clarke's hits just kept coming and coming. And when Amy McClure went up to hit, the other team simply couldn't return anything that hard. Nikki Cosack has the unique ability to hang in the air and then place the ball wherever she wants it. Martina Bowen would cross the ball into the empty spots on the court and rack up even more points. And without Trish Shurrie's blocking and accurate passing, there would have been no offense to run. Elites won 26-16, 24-26, 15- 6.

The gold medal round saw the Elites play the Peel Selects 16U team. By then, the Elites had established a rhythm and intensity that was unstoppable. Aimee Pudifin would step in to serve and the rest of the team knew she could place the ball wherever she wanted it. Rosie gave the same confidence to the team, along with the added knowledge that there was another setter on the court. The Peel team didn't stand a chance. The final score of the gold medal round was 25-9, 25-18.

The result of this effort was victory, and when Kate Fines knee ligaments return her to full strength, the team will be complete.

Thanks go out to the many sponsors, with special recognition to Peace Valley Ranch, Linkline Group of Companies and Albion Rentals, for helping us achieve this victory. Likewise, thanks to the coaches for their skill, patience, and commitment to these players. During the tournament, Panagiotou would spend time yelling to the girls on the court, "Patience, patience!" It appears his patience has paid off in gold!