The 2017 Ontario University Athletics Final Four did not go as the Marauders had planned. Ending the season at second place in the OUA West division, the team looked like they had a strong chance at moving on to the national championships.
Unfortunately, the trip was never meant to be as Mac struggled in their playoff matches, falling short of bringing home any hardware. The end to the season felt undeserved, but those tough-to-accept losses are far behind the 2018 team as they face the challenges of this young season.
This season appeared to be a tough test right from the start for the Marauders as a significant number of upper-year players were put on a team suspension and were forced to sit out the first four games of the season. This left a hole in leadership, calling for younger players to step up.
One such player is Antonio Sereno, a third-year winger who started six of the 13 games he played in last season. This season he had to step up and be one of the players to lead by example.
“I got to be more of a leader on the field this year because most of the guys were suspended,” Sereno said. “I was one of the older guys, so you kind of have to lead the way, show the rookies and set an example.”
That is something that Sereno accomplished on the field during Mac’s Aug. 31 game against the Western Mustangs, when the third-year notched a goal in the eightieth minute. It was his first goal of the season and gave the Mac men their third straight win to start the year.
Sereno points to the culture of the team, a united front of rookies and veterans, as a key reason why the Marauders were able to remain successful despite some holes in the roster.
“Everybody's on the same page,” Sereno said. “We just really clicked. It's like we've been playing for a while, but realistically, it's been three, four weeks and yet everybody's just on the same page.”
“Everybody wants to be there,” Sereno added. “We celebrate every goal as a team. It's like we've won a championship. Even here at Mac, you got to go over the stands but we just jump up. I love it. Like even at Western, guys are running across the field. It's amazing.”
Throughout their six games, Mac has mostly played in close contests, boasting a goal differential of +4. This is in line with Mac’s style as Sereno described the Marauders as a team that excels on the counter-attack.
“We do our job defensively everybody works hard, and then on the counter we just we just click,” Sereno said. “I don't think we're more of an offensive team, we just work hard defensively and then when we get that chance we go.”
However, the counter-attack was missing over the weekend as the Marauders had a tough time on the pitch, scoring one goal in two games against York and Guelph. They will need to work hard to get that counter-attack back on track and luckily head coach Dino Perri has been able to keep the team competitive while training.
“Like [coach Perri] says, nobody has a guaranteed spot on the team, anybody could come in,” Sereno said. “Rookies could come in and fill in spots without any problem and it's just the hard work people are putting in. Everybody's working hard, even in training. I love to see it. It's amazing.”
After a Sept. 14 match against Brock, Mac will get a little break over Homecoming weekend, where they can use that hard work and grit to prepare for the last part of the season. Sereno believes that this team can end this season with a better result than last year, but to do so they will need to put the work in.
“I just hope things go our way,” Sereno said. “There's a lot of potential on our team and, like [coach Perri] said, if we work and we want to get to that next step I think Nationals is possible for us. That's how much talent and potential we have, we just got to put our mind to it and work.”
Six games into the season, coach Perri and the Marauders are on the right track to amass another successful season on the pitch. With a long road still ahead to the end of the regular season, the team will need to continue to work hard if they want to pull ahead in a division full of tough teams.
[thesil_related_posts_sc]Related Posts[/thesil_related_posts_sc]
The results speak for themselves. After being added as an assistant coach in 2010 to the Ryerson Rams, the team achieved consistent Ontario University Athletics Final Four and Quarter-Finals appearances. The Rams continued to surpass high expectations when he served as interim head coach in 2015-16 to win the Rams’ first Wilson Cup title as OUA champions.
U SPORTS, known as Canadian Interuniversity Sport at the time, awarded him the Stu Aberdeen Trophy as Coach of the Year. Tatham is the only Ryerson coach in its program’s history to be awarded the honour.
He then took a professional development leave from Ryerson for the 2016-17 season to become an assistant coach with the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League, affiliated with the Boston Celtics. They reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in its short history before losing to the eventual champions, the Raptors 905.
While McMaster has had a successful program in the past, Tatham’s hiring brings a new hope to return to the upper echelon of Canadian men’s basketball programs.
“Patrick has established himself as one of the rising stars among all Canadian basketball coaches and we are looking forward to his building on the great tradition of McMaster Marauder basketball,” said McMaster Director of Athletics and Recreation Glen Grunwald.
This tradition and established history of the program at McMaster is something that Tatham mentioned is on the forefront of his mind.
“I think that anytime you get an opportunity you get an opportunity to leave your mark on a program, especially one like Mac, it’s a no brainer. I can’t even use excited anymore, I’m so elated.”
Tatham also cited Joe Raso, who served the Marauders as the coach from 1992 to 2010 and achieved 12 national championship tournament placements, as a source of inspiration.
Since then, Amos Connolly led the team to a 151-66 record over his seven-year tenure as Head Coach, and received the OUA West Coach of the Year award in 2014 after leading McMaster to a third place finish in the conference. He will remain in the program as a Recruiting Coordinator and Player Development Specialist.
“Changing roles, while it may be unconventional, provides me the opportunity to stay connected to this great program in a way that lines up with my strengths and goals as a coach,” said Connolly.
This ability to recruit is evident when looking back at what he helped accomplish for the program. First-year players Adam Presutti and Rohan Boney won OUA West Rookie of the Year honours in 2012 and 2013 respectively. Presutti also won the Dr. Peter Mullins Trophy as U SPORTS Rookie of the Year as McMaster’s first-ever winner of the award.
“Hands down, there’s an OUA championship or at least an OUA final four birth in the next three years. There’s no ifs, ands or buts, that’s a must.”
Patrick Tatham
Head coach
Men's basketball
Though the team had a disappointing season last year, they finished with an 8-11 conference record, became plagued with injuries to top players and failed to make the OUA Final Four, Tatham acknowledged the positives he has to work with.
“The foundation of the men’s basketball program is rock solid…. I think it’s all set up in the right way now.”
Connor Gilmore, who earned a spot on the OUA First-Team All-Star list, and David McCulloch, the team’s minutes leader and a model of consistency, will both return for their fourth years. Tatham steps into his role with a young roster that wants to succeed on a provincial and national level.
Tatham’s resume, the program’s former pedigree and the current state of the team should come with high expectations. Though the team has not achieved an OUA final four since the 2013-14 season, Tatham responded with enthusiasm when asked about his expectations over the next three years.
“Hands down, there’s an OUA championship or at least an OUA final four birth in the next three years. There’s no ifs, ands or buts, that’s a must.”
Moving forward, Tatham will also be working with Canada Basketball as the assistant coach for the Cadet Men’s National Team over the next two summers.
[thesil_related_posts_sc]Related Posts[/thesil_related_posts_sc]
Correction: Connor Gilmore announced in late April that he will be transferring to the University of Ottawa.
[feather_share show="twitter, google_plus, facebook, reddit, tumblr" hide="pinterest, linkedin, mail"]
It started with a man and a clipboard.
Janzen would track stat after stat, not for anyone, but for himself.
“Throughout my university years at Mac I was regularly attending games. I would go with a clipboard and just track stats,” said assistant coach Nathan Janzen. “I just wanted to understand the game. I have a very analytical mind. I like to figure out how things work, especially in sports.”
Watching Mac volleyball games wasn’t the first time he started tracking stats. Janzen started when he played a season for Mac’s baseball team.
“I played for Mac in my second year. Even then I had a clipboard. I was tracking pitches, at-bats, and then I started doing the same thing in volleyball. I was tracking rotations, attacking tendencies and setting tendencies,” Janzen said. “I just wanted to know what was going on, and more importantly for me, I wanted to predict what was going to happen next.”
Following his graduation from Mac, Janzen spent short stints coaching at Toronto’s Bloor Collegiate Institute and the Ottawa Mavericks. In 2010, Janzen and his wife moved to Dundas, ready for a new beginning.
“I emailed Coach Preston and wanted to coach club, but he told me he had a different plan for me,” said Janzen.
Preston introduced Janzen to a program called DataVolley, which allows you to track all actions in a volleyball game and save them for analysis and study. It has been a staple in McMaster’s preparation the past half-decade. Since 2011, Janzen’s analytical mind found a home in one of the country’s best programs.
“He opened a door that I never thought was possible,” Janzen said.
His favorite McMaster memories come from 2013 — his first year coaching both teams.
“We won OUA championships on the same weekend. The women won in Toronto and the guys won at home. It was definitely a highlight of my career,” Janzen said.
While his impact on the court was significant, his impact off the court may be even larger.
“Another part of my job was athlete support. I would have coffee with athletes and try and get to know them so I could help them. I was just a sounding board for life,” Janzen said. “As much as I would love to believe that this is just about volleyball, it’s not. It’s about people and making an impact in their lives where you feel like you can make a difference for them. Student athletes require an element of support that goes beyond the court.”
One Mac volleyball player said that losing Coach Janzen is like losing an entire lineup. While his impact on student-athletes has been profound, Janzen insists it goes both ways.
Just ask him about his four year-old son, Eli.
“Rebecca Steckle babysits my kids all the time. My boy Eli is four years old. He plays balloon volleyball in our living room. He plays this game and he pretends he’s guys on the team,” Janzen said. “McMaster Volleyball has been life for a long time now. I’m really proud of what the young men and women I’ve gotten to work with have become as players and people. I don’t think they even begin to understand the impact they’ve had in my life and my family’s life as well.”
On March 18, Janzen officially began his first day as the Head Coach of the Niagara Knights Women’s Volleyball team, but it was the outcome of a vision birthed in him a few years ago.
“Three years ago I told Coach Louks about a vision I had and wanted to know what he thought. Part of my vision was to make coaching a career in three years. He thought it was possible so going into this year, I knew it was at least time to start applying for head coaching positions,” Janzen said. “I didn’t have any expectations at first, but I knew that it was definitely the next transition for my career.”
“As mush as I would love to believe that this is just about volleyball, it’s not. It’s about people and making an impact in their lives where you feel like you can make a difference for them.”
The Knights posted their head coaching vacancy this past Christmas and before McMaster entered the postseason, Niagara offered Janzen the job.
“It came about pretty quickly. I thought it was a great fit. They want to win and that falls in line with how I want to operate. I think that Niagara is a fantastic segue for me. I’ve learned to coach under McMaster’s winning environment and coaching at an institution that wants to win is the type of environment I want to coach in,” Janzen said.
Janzen is thrilled for this new season in his life, but admits leaving McMaster was very difficult.
“I’m excited to join Niagara College and be their head coach, but I’m leaving a place that I love. The athletes that I’m leaving behind are incredible people. This is so often not just about volleyball. It’s about people. I’m going to miss the people a ton,” said Janzen. “My time at Mac was life changing. Six years ago I never imagined I would be stepping into a head coaching role at a different institution. I can’t speak enough about how much I’ve learned from Coach Louks and Coach Preston. I’m very excited, but it’s definitely bittersweet. There were tears for sure.”
[thesil_related_posts_sc]Related Posts[/thesil_related_posts_sc]
