Tyson Alexander is currently one of the best volleyball players in the country, on one of the most dominant teams in the CIS—but it didn’t start out that way.
The 6’8, 245 pound middle from Shanty Bay, Ont. was originally a competitive hockey player, like a lot of Canadian kids getting into the game at an early age, first lacing up skates at the age of three.
His hockey career would extend fourteen impressive years, with Alexander seeing success early on, playing at the Junior C level. Though typically comprising a roster of 16-20 year-olds, Alexander managed to crack the line-up as a fifteen-year-old.
When he was seventeen, he got an offer to play for the Stouffville Spirit Junior A team. He tried out for the OHL hockey team the Barrie Colts with the intention of trying out for them again when he turned eighteen, but somewhere along the line, his plans were changed.
Volleyball was always more of a side-sport for the multi-talented athlete, coming onto Alexander’s radar when he was in high school.
“I played for fun through school, my first year was in Grade seven,” said Alexander, “and then in high school, I started to get better at it —I got MVP all four years.”
Despite Alexander’s obvious success in the game, he was an under-developed volleyball player. He did not have the experience of a competitive league under his belt like most of the MVP high-school volleyball players did.
So when Coach Dave Preston was invited to the OFSAA championships in Alexander’s grade 12 year to watch another athlete play, he was blown away by Alexander’s level of play despite his lack of volleyball experience.
“I talked to the coach right after the match, and the coach knew who I was there to see and I said ‘Thank you very much for the opportunity to take a look at this other young man, but I would really like to know who that guy is,” said Coach Dave Preston.
“And the coach said ‘He’s not a volleyball player, he’s a hockey player.’ I said ‘Well I beg to differ.”
Alexander’s physical presence alone was enough to gain Preston’s interest in wanting to have him involved with the Marauders team, as his 6’8 stature is key for the physical demands of the sport.
“He was 6’8, 230 pounds and he jumped out of the gym. That got my initial attention,” said Preston.
Alexander’s technical skills were not great, but the way he carried himself on the court is what impressed Preston the most.
“The way he interacted with his teammates—he wasn’t always doing the right things, but he was always complimenting someone else who made a nice play, supporting someone who didn’t, it was neat to see,” added Preston.
Preston was able to talk to Alexander’s coach after the game, and gave him his business card so that Alexander could contact him about his options.
Alexander originally was not going to contact Preston due to his initial intention on continuing on with hockey, but after talking with his father, he decided to at least check out the option.
“I got a call from Tyson saying ‘my coach gave me your business card and I have no idea what we’re supposed to do next.’ I said ‘No problem, bring you and your parents to campus and we will sit you down and talk about it,” said Preston.
In their meeting, Preston told Alexander to give him two years to work with him and develop him into a phenomenal player, and he’ll be able to dominate in league-play.
“I told him the worst thing you’re going to end up with is two years of great education,” said Preston.
When Alexander first came to McMaster, he had a lot of work to do in order to catch up to the skill-level of the guys around him with the majority of them coming from very competitive leagues.
He did not start or play for his first two years of eligibility. He had to really work on his technical skills before being able to crack the starting line-up.
“I wasn’t really that good when I got here, I had to work, Dave had me pinned for about two years until I was ready to start,” said Alexander.
But his tremendous improvement in the past five years has gone exactly how Preston has planned, and Alexander has continued to exceed Preston’s expectations.
“When he first got here in first year he couldn’t continue a rally, he couldn’t make more than a single contact at a time. To see that development is remarkable, and how he has handled all that is even more remarkable,” said Preston.
Alexander is now in his fifth and final year at McMaster, and the progress he has made in the past five years has been incredible. He not only gets to play for one of the most dominant teams in the nation, but he is also one of the most dominant players in the CIS.
“His story will last a long time. That is something that will go down in history. I have been coaching for 20 some odd years, I don’t know if I’ve had a more remarkable story than his. He is one of those top notch kids,” said Preston.
Despite switching sports, Alexander still gets to play a team sport at a very competitive level, and has managed to make a name for himself and reach high goals both athletically and academically.
As for his decision to quit hockey, Alexander lives without regret, as he knows he’ll still get to play the sport whenever he wants to.
“I am happy I did it, no regrets. Whenever I go home I play hockey with my Dad and buddies, any chance I have to go on the ice is good. I will always play, so I’ll never miss it.”
With a 9-4 record, one would expect that McMaster’s women’s basketball team would be in a good spot – standings wise. Currently, Mac sits fourth in the OUA West. Ahead of them is Windsor at 12-1, Laurier with a record of 11-2, and Western with a 10-2 record.
On the Marauders’ heels is Brock, with a 7-6 record and Lakehead at 6-6. The OUA West is as competitive as ever, and McMaster is headed into its most important stretch of the season.
On Jan. 18, Mac travels to Waterloo, Ont. to take on the Laurier Golden Hawks, a team who ascended to No. 9 in the CIS top-ten. There’s a relatively easy game against the Guelph Gryphons, who are in rebuilding mode with a new coach and young roster.
But Mac will have to host the Western Mustangs after that, who walloped the Marauders in the last game of 2013.
In order to get a first-round playoff bye – a huge advantage in an ultra-competitive division – McMaster will have to sweep those three games to give themselves a shot. More importantly, Mac will want to be able to avoid Windsor for as long as they can.
The Marauders have not matched up well with the Lancers, something that was reconfirmed on Jan. 11 when Windsor beat Mac 83-44. The 39-point thrashing was the worst loss since Jan. 8, 2011, when Western beat an injured Maroon bunch, 89-39.
The road only does not become easier after those games because they have to travel to Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont.
The Thunderwolves have a major home court advantage, given teams have to fly there, play back-to-back games, and perform in front of a raucous crowd at the aptly-named Thunderdome.
McMaster’s five-game stretch is one of the most important in recent memory. The Marauders have inched towards becoming a top-ten team and certainly have been in the conversation for being on the bubble for the CIS national tournament. But they have not played consistently against the best teams.
They lost in the final seconds to a strong Ottawa Gee-Gee team, hung tough with the Saint Mary’s Huskies in exhibition play, and dominated Brock – a team that started the year ranked No. 7.
The blowout losses to Western and Windsor will stick around come tournament time if Mac wants to make a wild card bid.
The run back to nationals starts this weekend. If McMaster defeats Laurier and Western, they will put themselves back in the conversation. Lose one, or worse, two, Mac will be facing an uphill battle and have to nearly win-out the season to end the four season national tournament drought.
After a successful season on the cross country course, the Marauders running team is back in action on the track.
The team laced up their spikes on Jan. 10-11 at the CAN AM meet in Windsor, Ont. and were able to run to some impressive times, especially this early on in the season.
The women’s team was led by Madeleine McDonald, a former member of the Canadian junior cross country team, who ran to a time of 4:42 in the 1500 m, which brought her to a 9th place finish overall in the quick race.
McDonald is expected to be a huge threat in track this season, given her extremely successful outdoor season last summer that saw her run to a huge personal best time in the 3000 m, (9:36), which ended up qualifying her for the Junior Pan Am Games, where she finished in second place overall.
Crossing the line after McDonald in the 1500 m race was Raquel Burgess, who finished the race in a time of 4:55.
Another impressive performance on the women’s side includes Kaitlyn Pansegrau’s fifth place finish in the 1000 m, which saw her run to a personal best time of 3:05.
On the men’s side, Brandon Huzevka had an impressive race, finishing second overall in the 600 m with a time of 1:25.
In the 1500 m race, rookie Patrick Deane ran to a great time of 4:02, while Captain Blair Morgan ran to a time of 4:05.
For Captain Morgan, after an incredible cross country season, his performance on the track will only improve as the season goes on, and he could be a top ten OUA contender in the 3000 m or 1500 m race.
In the grueling 3000 m race, rookie Paul Rochus broke the 9-minute barrier and ran to a time of 8:57, which was good enough for second place overall.
The team will be joined by more athletes on the roster this coming weekend in London Ont. at the Don Wright Challenge, where they will attempt to reach the podium and run to more personal best times in the early stage of the season.
In the midst of a seven-game win streak, the McMaster men’s basketball team is firing on all cylinders. They ripped off an important win in the Burridge Gym against the No. 10 ranked Windsor Lancers – their second win over a ranked team in OUA play, their third if you include the preseason victory over Acadia – and Mac has ascended to the No. 6 spot in the CIS top-ten poll. The sixth place ranking is the highest placing in the past four seasons and the best in head coach Amos Connolly’s tenure.
While the ranking is a positive, what is most encouraging for the Marauders is how the whole team is contributing. Through twelve games, Mac has been led in scoring by five different players. The squad has also had a 20-plus-point scorer in only four of their 12 matches. Their leading scorers are Taylor Black, Joe Rocca and Aaron Redpath, who have put up 15.9, 11.9 and 10.5 points per game, respectively.
Mac has tweaked its starting line-up a handful of times this year, but regardless of who is coming off the bench, the players are producing. Connolly has the personnel to avoid burning out his players. Black is the leader in minutes played a game with 27.2 minutes per game, 39th in the OUA.
Of course, this is not by mistake. Connolly has built a roster to play an up-tempo style littered with offensive weapons.
“This is 100 per cent by design. For our situation, we are best to play off of a guy like Taylor Black, and if he can score, so be it. But if not, he is a good decision maker and we have guys who can capitalize on that,” said Connolly. “We spend a lot of time talking about what is a good shot and what isn’t, and we are less concerned with who takes it.”
McMaster’s offensive design incorporates labels for players. Some examples for perimeter players are shooter, slasher, or point. A handful of players are a combination of two labels, and only a couple have all three. Connolly says that this system help players understand what they are supposed to do in certain situations.
In order to have this balanced offense, Connolly has to get the players to buy in. A certain sacrifice is required for Mac to succeed – players have to put individual statistics aside and focus on what is best for the team. Any given night, McMaster has players capable of getting buckets.
“It is nice to have different weapons that can put the ball in the net. Against Windsor I was struggling and it’s a comforting feeling to know that other guys will step. It’s nice to have that backing from your teammates,” explained Rocca, who is second on the team in points per game.
For most players, the numbers they are putting up are drastically different from their high school days. Mac has brought in high-level recruits over the past few seasons, but Rocca says that no one is upset with the change in statistics.
“It is definitely a change, but if we are winning basketball games, you cannot be bothered by it. With more weapons, you’ll have less shots. That’s not a bad thing, you’ve just got to adapt. It’s working and the guys are buying in for sure,” said Rocca.
There is room to grow for the Marauder offence, especially in the fourth quarter – something the coaching staff has duly noted in conversation. But there is no reason to think that Connolly’s crew is incapable of progression, given how the team has evolved over the past seasons on both ends of the court. If the Maroon and Grey keep the course and stick to the process, McMaster fans could see their team contending for championships.
Tobi Abdul
Staff Reporter
The Marauder women’s volleyball team slid into second place in the OUA West by sweeping the first two games of the 2014 conference season.
McMaster took on the Western Mustangs at Burridge Gym on Jan. 10 and despite a slow start to the match, the Marauders were able to come out on top in all three sets, beating Western 3-0.
Taylor Brisebois was a key factor in the win over the Mustangs, completing 10 kills and a kill percentage of 44 percent, along with new national women’s beach volleyball team member Sophie Bukovec who had 11 kills and a kill percentage of 28 percent.
Although the game against Western was the Marauder’s first 2014 conference game, the Marauders had just returned from the annual Innisbrook Invitational which took place in Florida.
McMaster went into the finals undefeated where they suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Ottawa Gee-Gees, the number one team in the OUA East and sixth overall in Canada.
“We had some really great performances and that got the confidence level up. In terms of jump starting the second half, we tactically worked out a few things,” said Head Coach Tim Louks.
The game started off slow as the Marauders had a weak offensive start to the match, ending the first set with a kill percentage of 13.9. The Mustangs initially led in the opening set, but the Marauders started to work together and pass accurately, helping setter Kayla Ng hit her stride and place the ball extremely well, leading the Marauders to win the set 25-18.
“I don’t think there was a point where I was ever too concerned. Even though it was a little bit slower, I never felt that there was never a need for me to call a time out,” said Coach Louks.
The Marauders were able to pull ahead in the first set, however, the second set saw a similarly slow start for the Marauders who fell behind early, but better offense would give Mac a 16-13 lead at the technical timeout.
The Marauders then continued to outscore the Mustangs who were only able to score six points before McMaster would take the set 25-19.
The third set saw another sluggish start for the Marauders but soon the offense picked up speed, leaving the Mustangs unable to defend despite an attempt at a comeback, letting the Marauders take the set 25-20 and the match 3-0.
“You have to make sure you get the ball in bounds and you have to make sure you serve the ball well and I think we cleaned up that as we went along and I don’t think that Western had an answer to that,” said Louks.
The Marauders didn’t have much time to rest as they took on the Lancers on Jan. 12 in a game they knew they had to win to keep their second place spot in the OUA West conference.
The sluggish play that Marauders saw in Friday’s game continued in the start of the set, allowing the Lancers to take the early lead as they immediately jumped to 10-5.
Knowing that this game was crucial, McMaster pushed to outscore Windsor but still trailed by four at the technical timeout. Following the time out, McMaster started to serve inbound and attack with great accuracy, allowing them to outplay Windsor and take the first set 25-23.
“We wanted to come out and run a faster paced momentum attack. In order to do that we had to receive the ball at good consistency at a really high level and I think we did that well. I don’t think [Windsor] knew where we were at and I think that we wore them down. They had to defend so much, so often and we played good defence,” said Louks.
McMaster entered the second set with a momentum that continued on in the set. Excellent serving from Maicee Sorenson, who soon after left the game due to injury, allowed McMaster to take the lead at the technical timeout.
The loss of a key player seemed to distract the Marauders however, and Windsor used this distraction to their advantage, eventually pulling ahead and taking the set 25-22, making the match tied at 1-1.
The third set was a complete opposite of the second as Windsor had the lead at the technical timeout, but after the return of Sorenson to the floor, the team found the cohesion that was missing in the second set and was able to outscore Windsor 25-22.
Knowing that this game was a must win if the Marauders were to keep their second place win, McMaster played with a fervency that showcased their technical timeouts as both setters were utilized and the Marauders were placing the ball strategically, great service from Sorenson and Brisebois helped the Marauders to pull ahead ending the set 25-16 and taking the match 3-1.
The Marauders took Windsor’s spot in the conference but they can’t relax yet.
“Crystal ball, we push and shove the rest of the year but Windsor is a team we may see in the playoffs,” said Coach Louks.
The Marauders must utilize their weekend off to get ready for their remaining matches.
The last six matches are crucial as every team in the OUA West conference is in close standings.
The Marauders will travel to Waterloo on Jan. 24 to take on the Warriors and then will play the number one team in the West, the Guelph Gryphons at Burridge Gym on Jan. 26.
The Marauder men’s volleyball team is back in regular season this weekend after the winter break, which saw the team travel to Florida to compete in the Alden Cup Tournament.
The team came back from their trip victorious, winning the tournament. But this was not an easy task facing their first loss of the year, against their OUA rivals, the Waterloo Warriors.
“Our game is really intricate, our game is really timing-based, really rhythm-based and coming off a month of not competing, our rhythm and timing was poor at best,” said head coach Dave Preston.
The Marauders last match before the break was November 30 against the Guelph Gryphons, and their match against the Warriors was on Jan. 2.
Their long break from competitive play and action hindered their performance in the match, and the Warriors were the better team overall.
“Waterloo was just too good for us to be able to win that match,” said Preston.
After the loss, the Marauders did not waste any time hanging their heads.
Instead, they used the loss as motivation heading into their other two matches against the Montreal Carabins and Calgary Dinos, which saw them pull off two key wins to prevail in the tournament.
“One of the comments that I heard that probably sums it up best, is that our loss against Waterloo was really good for Waterloo, but it was great for McMaster. It kind of grounded us, and made us respond accordingly,” said Preston.
What was key in the Marauders success in the tournament was their ability to learn and develop from their loss to the Warriors, and their ability to stay calm under pressure.
“We reacted, but we didn’t over-react. We didn’t panic, we kept our composure. So it worked out pretty well,” added Preston.
The Maroon and Grey managed to win both of their matches in the remainder of the tournament, with their best game coming against the Calgary Dinos, where they managed to win it in straight sets (25-18, 25-21, 26-24).
Before the game against the Dinos, the team was informed that they would need to win the match in three or four sets in order to win the tournament. If they happened to win in five sets, then they would lose, and Waterloo would win the tournament.
Despite the extreme pressure that the team was under, they still managed to dominate the match, as they began to play a similar style to how they played in the first half of the season.
“Our transition game, our passing and our serving was all back to and closer in range to what we like to hold it to. So we were pretty pleased after the fact not just with the result but with how we were playing,” said Preston.
Although the team was looking more and more like how they looked in the first half of the season, coach Preston thinks that it is not good enough.
“Where we were at in our first half isn’t going to be good enough in the second half. We’ve got to be better than how we were in the first half, and have to get back to a standard of how we like to hold ourselves to,” said Preston.
The Marauders will attempt to get back to a standard of play that they will be satisfied with on Friday night against another OUA rival- the Western Mustangs.
In the last two showdowns between these two teams, both matches have been taken to five sets.
Coach Preston knows that the match against Western will be a battle from start to finish, but after the tournament in Florida, he believes that his team is more focused than ever, and will be ready for the fierce competition that the Mustangs bring.
“We’re at a better position now than we were a couple of days before Florida. We’re healthy, we’re motivated, we’re close to where we were before the break, but I think more than anything because of our motivation we’ll be better Friday than we are right now,” said Preston.
The match will take place at 8 p.m. in the Burridge Gym, and Coach Preston knows that his team will be prepared for it.
“We know our reality, Western is a great team and we’re going to have to play really well to take care of that match, but we’re ready to.”
William Lou
The Silhouette
The McMaster women’s basketball team narrowly avoided a winless weekend by snatching a come-from-behind victory from the York Lions on Nov. 23.
After having their five-game winning streak snapped by the Ottawa Ravens, the Marauders were looking to get back on-track when they travelled to Kingston, Ont. on Nov. 22 to take on the Queen’s Gaels.
Coming into the contest, the Gaels sported a record of 3-3, but their hot shooting carried them to a 79-72 victory over the Marauders.
The two teams played to a standstill in the first half. The Gaels and the Marauders exchanged leads, but McMaster’s Danielle Boiago hit a buzzer-beating runner to give McMaster the 39-36 advantage going into halftime.
As usual, opposing defenses struggled to contain McMaster’s leading scorer Hailey Milligan who chipped in with 13 points and 10 rebounds in the first half.
McMaster stretched their lead to nine points halfway through the third before Queen’s hit two three-pointers to end the quarter. The Gaels maintained their momentum in the fourth and used a 9-4 run to tie the game at 58 apiece. I
n an effort to stem the tide, the Marauders fed the ball into the post to Milligan, which allowed McMaster to retake the lead at 65-60 with four minutes left in the contest.
However, McMaster’s offense fell apart down the stretch. The Marauders committed five straight turnovers that allowed the Gaels to outscore the Marauders by a 19-7 margin over the final four minutes of the game.
The Gaels won by a final score of 79-72 and they were led in scoring by Liz Boag, who had 18 points. Danielle Boiago scored 24 points in the game and Hailey Milligan put up 25 points and 17 rebounds in the loss.
The team travelled to Toronto the following night to take on the York Lions. On the surface, the Lions also appeared to be an easy opponent as they ranked near the bottom of the OUA with a record of 1-6, but the Marauders barely escaped with a 55-53 victory.
McMaster came out flat and York jumped out to an early 8-0 lead. The Lions had a 15-11 lead after the first quarter.
McMaster’s offensive struggles stretched into the second quarter as they failed to score a single point until the 4:48 mark, at which point the Lions were doubling the Marauders by a score of 24-12.
After increasing the pace of the offense, McMaster ended the half on a 12-2 run and were only trailing by a score of 26-24 at halftime.
However, the third started much like the first. York scored the first seven points in a row before McMaster picked up its play and trimmed the lead to 40-37 at the end of three quarters.
After Vanessa Bonomo tied the game with a three-pointer, the Lions and Marauders exchanged leads right until the dying seconds of the game.
With less than a minute left and York up 53-50, the Marauders ran a play for Milligan in the post, and she promptly scored to pull Mac within one.
After stopping the Lions on their ensuing possession, McMaster went to their bread-and-butter play - the high screen-and-roll with Milligan.
York’s defenders over-committed and doubled Milligan which left Boiago wide open from 12-feet to sink the go-ahead basket with a mere 37 seconds left on the clock. York failed to score on their final two possessions of the game and Boiago sunk a free throw to give McMaster the 55-53 point victory over the Lions.
As usual, the Marauders were led in scoring by Milligan and Boiago, who scored a combined 34 points.
The lack of scoring beyond Boiago and Milligan is definitely a growing concern for the Marauders.
Last week, head coach Theresa Burns stated, “we need to get more offensive contributions from more players - we can’t just focus on Milligan and Boiago because there will be nights where they can’t get it all done, so we need to find some other players who can chip in.”
After the weekend split, the McMaster Women’s basketball team now sits in fourth place in the OUA West division with a record of 6-2.
With the interlock period over, McMaster’s men’s basketball team sits with five wins, three losses and a No. 10 ranking in the CIS top-ten.
Their record also puts them in a tie with Windsor for first place of the OUA West standings.
The East is undoubtedly the stronger conference.
At the end of cross-conference play, the East was a combined 49-19 against the West. Carleton and Ottawa are both 8-0, with Ryerson right behind them at 7-1.
McMaster owns the lone victory over Ryerson, and was tied with Carleton and Ottawa in the fourth quarter of each game.
Head coach Amos Connolly said he wanted to have six wins – pointing to the 87-84 loss to Laurentian as the game that should have been a sixth victory – but was satisfied with the team’s play.
“We’ve lost three games to teams whose combined record is 20-2. Should we have lost to Laurentian? Ottawa and Carleton? We took ourselves out of those games. There’s glimmers that we might be an okay team,” said Connolly.
After a two-and-oh weekend, Mac put their fourth quarter woes from the previous double-header in the rear-view mirror.
Despite a five-point fourth quarter against the Queen’s Gaels, McMaster found a way to get the win.
They forced turnovers throughout the quarter and pressured the Gaels into a bad shot at the end of the game.
The next day while taking on York, Mac surrendered a ten-point lead but still came through with a W.
It was Taylor Black and Presutti – the two Marauders Black said needed to step up in the fourth quarter – that led the Maroon and Grey through.
Black hit a three off a great Lazar Kojovic pass and rebounded a missed shot and threw down a right-handed dunk.
Presutti sealed the game by making two free throws.
“I think that we got that performance from Taylor and Adam, and that the guys played off them, was good,” said Connolly.
The head coach also praised Aaron Redpath for his defensive work in both games, forcing turnovers and irritating the team’s scorers.
The third-year combo guard has long been regarded in coaching circles as the “X-factor” for this team, but his defensive play has grown and Redpath has disrupted some of the best scorers he’s faced.
McMaster turns now to inter-conference play before the winter athletic break.
They ran Guelph out of the gym in the second half, winning 89-64.
The game was fast-paced and physical, but the Marauders were clearly the better team.
The squad shot 35 of 66 from the field.
On Dec. 2, Mac will head to London, Ont. to take on the Western Mustangs (2-6).
The ‘Stangs have been a tough team to figure out. They grabbed an 11-point victory over the then-ranked Laurentian Voyageurs on Nov. 22 but also lost to Carleton 117-42.
Mac throttled the Mustangs last year at Alumni Hall and have the potential to do the same this year.
Mac will need to run rampant over the West in order to grab the No. 1 spot in the conference over Windsor, as the Lancers are capable of using a stifling defence to go undefeated in the West.
But with the up-and-down play McMaster has shown in games this season, time can only tell where the Marauders will finish.
It looks like McMaster swimming will get the push they need to finish off their season at the top of the ranks thanks to new 2013 men’s team recruit – Eric Anderson.
With 15 years of competitive swimming under his belt (starting his career at age six) Anderson is prepared to make an impression on McMaster swimming during his time here at the school.
“Swimming for McMaster means an opportunity to build something truly great, and be a part of something truly meaningful,” said Anderson.
“I have two seasons here where I’d really like to make an impact not only in the pool individually, but for the program as a whole.”
Anderson knows that his time here at McMaster is valuable and he has a lot to prove being that he has not been a Marauder for very long.
“I represented the Dinos for the 2010-2011 season and won a CIS championship with that team,” said Anderson.
“For me, Calgary had been home for a number of years, but the dream had always been to go to a Division 1 NCAA school. After that first season, I transferred to the University of Denver, in Colorado. After two seasons of struggling with injuries, health issues, and a relatively poor coach-athlete relationship, I was ready to pack it in and be done with swimming.”
It was under the suggestion of his father and past swimming coach to contact Andrew Cole, head coach of men and women’s swimming at McMaster University.
Coach Cole would prove to be the deciding factor, which would lead to Anderson’s switch to the Maroon and Grey.
“Andrew made it sound like he could make swimming fun for me again,” said Anderson of his head coach.
“He talked of a Marauder family and an environment that could support whatever goals I had.”
“Three months into the year I can honestly say my experience has been nothing short of incredible. The team spirit is outstanding, the support staff is great, I love showing up to workout every day, and I’m swimming better than ever before.”
After experiencing many high’s during his career such as winning the 2010 Junior Nationals in the 200 freestyle and getting the opportunity to represent Canada internationally at the Pan Pacific Games, McMaster University would prove to only further nurture Anderson’s budding talents.
“On three months of training I’m swimming faster than I ever did back then, and it’s been really exciting,” said Anderson.
“This season is all about putting the pieces back together after the last couple of years in Denver.”
“Coach Cole has been amazing to work with, and the team has been really supportive.”
With lots of responsibility mounting for this young swimming Anderson hopes to lend a hand in helping his program get recognition in the McMaster sports community as well as helping the Marauders achieve a top title in the OUA and CIS.
“I don’t think the program gets the recognition it deserves from the swimming community sometimes, and I’d like to change that,” said Anderson.
“Ideally, by winning some gold medals at the OUA and CIS championships in February. I think I’m really just scratching the surface of what’s possible this season, and I’m excited to see where the team can go over the course of this year.”
Anderson’s passion for the sport is what drives him to be the best he can be. Every day is a new opportunity for him to achieve a new feat and surpass new boundaries.
His attitude and love for the sport will certainly drive this young athlete as well as his teammates to a potential OUA title and we can expect amazing things from the young squad this season.
Coach Dave Preston is very aware that his team is ranked first overall in the country.
Although the ranking speaks measures of the sheer talent and hard work that the team has put in, Preston knows how the rankings can change so easily, and he knows that he and his team will not let the promising ranking effect their overall performance.
“For us, the ranking is an external validation of the work we are putting in,” said Preston.
“It doesn’t create any more pressure on us because we always wanted to be number one anyway. That’s our internal validation, so now, it just means that our internal validation and our external validation might be a little more in-line. But that could change this week, the coaches could change their mind and say that we didn’t beat York by enough so we’re going to drop to number 2. It doesn’t change our mind, we still want to be the best team in the country,” he added.
And right now, that’s exactly where the Marauders stand. They have the best record in the country, and they are getting recognized for it.
“You pay attention to what other people are saying, you recognize it, but it doesn’t change anything we’ve done. Just because other people think that we’re number one, we’ve thought that all along,” said Preston.
But the team did not just get there based on their talent. The Marauders are where they are now from hard work and determination, and they have been required to work especially hard within the last week, where they were either in practices, in matches, or traveling for long hours – so they had little time to recover.
“We are definitely working harder, last week was probably the hardest we’ve worked all season long,” said Preston.
“This week they have Sunday off, last week we went from Monday to Sunday with no break in between and Saturday off but we didn’t get home until four in the morning, so that’s not really a recovery day,” added Preston.
The team will have other weeks like this in the schedule, so this past week has prepared them for the meat of their season, where the challenges will be more difficult, and the team will reach their peak performance.
In the past couple of weeks, it seems as though the challenges have not been too big for the Marauders, as they have been able to pull out a total of seven straight-set wins so far this season.
Although this is positive for the no. 1 team, Coach Preston thinks that the start and finish are the best parts of the game for the Marauders, and what they need to improve on and capitalize on the most in their game is the middle, where they tend to let off a little bit.
“The start of our match was awesome. We are very, very focused and attentive. And the finish of our sets was awesome. We are trying to deal with the middle part right now, and maintain that for a longer period of time,” added Preston.
The Marauders will attempt to work on maintaining their overall power and determination in the start, middle and finish of their matches this weekend, where they will take on a notable rival, the Waterloo Warriors.
The Warriors have had a break in their season, with their last match played on Nov. 15, so their upcoming match against the Marauders in the Burridge Gym is sure to be a challenging one.
“They are very good, and they’re very well-rested. They have had a big break in their match schedule to get ready for us, so they’re going to be fresh and excited and motivated,” said Preston.
After the two games this weekend against the Waterloo Warriors and Guelph Gryphons, the Marauders will be taking a well-deserved break in the exam period, where each team member will have to sign up for a mandatory five, out of a potential nine, practice slots.
“We lift three times a week and really focus on active recovery of the physical training part of it, and we have these nine training sessions and they sign for five of them,” said Preston.
The major thing that Preston stresses they will be concentrating on in the exam period is active recovery.
“They’ve got to stay active and keep their body focused on the physical development of things, and not necessarily the technical or tactical stuff that is volleyball specific, so they could get up and get a work out in and then they could go to the library and study for seven or eight hours or whatever they’re going to do, but we’ve got to maintain that physical component.”
After exams, the team will be looking forward to a trip to Florida where they will face some talented Canadian teams, while getting the privilege to also practice with and scrimmage with some NCAA teams.
“We leave on the 28th and we play Calgary, Montreal and Waterloo, and then there are three other teams down there, but there’s four other college teams down there that we’re going to be scrimmaging with and training with,” said Preston.
Although the Marauders are heading into a big break before they get back to regular season action, head coach Preston knows that they will not need motivation in their time off, and will be back on track and ready to take down the Western Mustangs on Jan. 10.
“I think we’re going to be fine, I’m very, very trusting in where this team wants to go. This isn’t something that is mandated for them, this isn’t something that has been imposed on them, this has come from them, so I don’t think that they’re going to let it go, because they don’t want to let it go.”
