York looms in playoff future

Fraser Caldwell

Sports Editor

For a Marauder team that had sealed the second seed in the OUA playoffs a week before, the season ending tilt at York on Feb. 12 meant little to nothing. But don’t tell that to Marc Begin.

The rookie member of the Maroon and Grey had seen little to no time on court this season, being buried on a stacked depth chart and struggling to adapt to the university game. But with his team trailing two sets to one against the Lions, Begin was inserted into the lineup to test his luck against the Marauders upcoming quarterfinal opponents.

More than simply playing out his rare cameo, Begin excelled. Although he has practiced and been penciled in throughout the season as a libero, the Marauder rookie played on the outside of the McMaster formation and provided an instant attacking spark.

In less than two full sets, Begin notched seven total points and converted six of nine hitting attempts. His renaissance lifted the Marauders’ spirits, and the visitors would win the final two sets to snatch a five-set victory from the jaws of defeat.

Winning the game ball from his coach and teammates for his late-game heroics, the Marauder rookie expressed his surprise at his sudden discovery of form.

“I’d say that I was surprised,” said Begin of the Sunday afternoon performance. “One of the main reasons that I wasn’t getting as much time was that I’d been struggling at practice. This being my first year I’ve felt like I’ve been having trouble getting into the swing of things.

“Sunday was the first time that I really felt comfortable. Everything seemed to be going right for me for the first time since the season started. It was just one of those days.”

Part of Begin’s battle this year has been a problem known to any first-year varsity athlete: the challenge of learning to adequately balance school and training. But while he admits to suffering early in his university career under the burden of scheduling, the rookie Marauder is confident that he has established a workable routine that does justice to both his school and workout requirements.

“I definitely like the scheduling format better than high school,” said Begin of the more free-flowing class schedule of the university level. “But it’s still not easy though, because you’ve got to fit your studying into some pretty awkward times. And with my program, all of my classes are conflicting with practice.

“I’ve had to miss some practice time and that makes it hard to get the reps in and keep up with the rest of the guys sometimes. But I think I’ve figured a routine out and it seems to be working for me.”

On court, Begin’s adaptation to the more demanding university game hit early snags, and saw him drop down the depth chart at the libero spot. More seasoned Marauders Sean Lowe and Chris Spack were performing well as a defensive tandem, and the rookie appeared to be the odd man out.

Interestingly, it is because of his difficulties at libero that Begin earned the opportunity to cut his teeth on the outside.

“Because of injuries, I’ve been filling in on the outside,” the rookie Marauder explained. “I’ve always played that position so it wasn’t a problem for me. But I tried out here as a libero, because I knew that my natural skill set would help me in that role.

“Ironically, I’ve been having more trouble with those skills, and guys like Spack have really stepped up and filled that role.”

Fitting in among a close-knit group of players is a trying process for any newly recruited rookie, but it has been particularly tough for Begin this season. Struggling to find his game meant simultaneously struggling to endear himself to his teammates.

But the Marauder rookie believes that his breakthrough effort against York has gone a long way toward breaking down that barrier. With teammates and coach alike heaping praise upon him, Begin was the centre of attention in the wake of the Sunday afternoon win.

“It felt great obviously,” said Begin of the reaction of his teammates. “In one of the chats I had with Dave after the first half of the season, he told me that in order for the guys to be more comfortable with me on court I was going to have to make an impression and step it up.

“I feel like I’ve finally done that and the guys saw what I could do. Hopefully they’ll have a little more trust in me and I really want to keep that up.”

Begin knows that the onset of the playoffs most likely spells his return to the sidelines, but remains focused on the task at hand alongside his teammates. Hosting a quarterfinal rematch with the Lions team the rookie so recently torched, Begin indicates that the Marauders are fully focused on the opening stage of the OUA postseason.

“We’re taking it one step at a time,” said the rookie of his team’s approach. “Right now we’ve got York in front of us again, and even though we just played them on Sunday, we’ve told ourselves that it’s a clean slate. We’re going to treat it like any other playoff game.”

McMaster will look to deal a more lasting loss to the Lions when they host the York club at the Burridge Gym on Feb. 18. The quarterfinal is set to get underway at 8 p.m.