DEFENDING A TITLE. CHAMPIONSHIP BLOG

Steve Pawelczyk has had a storied career to date as a member of the Mohawk Mountaineers. He has earned two provincial championship titles and fell only a few points short of a third title in the other year.

After playing behind some of the best players ever to wear the Mountaineer's jersey, this season the fourth year captain has left his own mark on the OCAA after changing positions from the middle to the right side and led all scorers in total points average. Pawelczyk has also quietly written his name into the OCAA All-time records books for career service aces, and with another year of eligibility, he could move up that one more notch to the top spot.

Despite all of the individual accolades, the Advanced Police Foundations student would like nothing more than to repeat as an OCAA Champion. Follow his days in Oshawa at the OCAA Championship presented by Belair Direct Insurance from the time he arrives with his teammates, through the Championship banquet and each of his championship games.

Day 1

Waking up this morning at 7:30am was extremely easy due to the anticipation of our provincial championship. Though I think every participant in the championship this weekend found the hardest part was getting to sleep last night. Our team continued the Mohawk tradition of several games of “Liars Dice” while on the bus ride to Durham College. Our team arrived at the gym for practice at 11:30 and everyone’s mental preparation seemed to be right where we needed it to be to compete at our hardest this weekend. I know everyone on the Mountaineers are very excited about the rematch of last year’s championship game against the Algonquin Thunder.

I’m very pleased to see how much time and effort Durham college has put forth to make this the best possible event they can. It all begins with an amazing new facility that I must say the Mountaineers are certainly not used too. Everyone is soaking in the venue and atmosphere of an event we have been looking forward to since the start of the 08/09 season. Practice went well with tons of energy but at the same time everyone was loose and having fun. Afterwards we headed right out because everyone was starving to death. We all had a great team meal at Swiss Chalet which is always great for team bonding. Once that was over we checked into the hotel and began to relax until the banquet. We are very excited for probably the biggest match we will have all year. I think we match up with our opponent very well and I hope that it will be an exciting match to play and to watch.

The awards banquet I must say had by far the best food I have ever had at any banquet I’ve ever been to in my life. I thought it was well organized and everyone on our team had a lot of fun sharing that as a team. I’d just like to say congratulations to all the award winners this year. I know how much time and effort it takes to be a successful student athlete and everyone, award winner or not, should be extremely proud of what they have accomplished over the last six months of competition.

Congratulations to Ryan Talsma, Landis Doyle and Stephanie Hancock on their All-Canadian awards for the 08/09 season. You are all leaders among all student athletes and should be very proud of your accomplishments. I’m extremely thankful for the awards I received today at the banquet and must give credit to all my team mates I have had the pleasure of playing with over my four year career.

I never knew that those people would impact my life so much on and off the court and they will continue to impact it for the rest of my life. Not only are they my team mates but they are also friends for the rest of my life and that is what means the most to me. I’d just like to finish today’s blog by saying congrats again to all award winners and thank you to the OCAA for the awards I received. These next two days of competition will be amazing volleyball to watch. Play hard everyone and O’Doyle rules!

Day 2

The day started with everyone obviously being pumped for the semi final game against our rivals the Algonquin Thunder. We all woke up at 9am and headed out to our light serving and passing practice at Durham College. It was clear that everyone’s mind was on the game and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Our practice ended at approximately noon on Friday and then we all jumped on the bus and headed out to subway quickly for lunch. After we grabbed lunch we went back to the hotel where we were informed that it was okay to grab a quick nap but only for about an hour and a half if you felt you needed one. I personally could never take a nap before a game that I’ve been anticipating since September.

Our assistant coaches went for a round of golf at 1pm before our game. I never went to see it but from what Matt Schnarr told me, the Best Western was host to a virtual golf simulator type entertainment somewhere in the hotel. Basically a way to play an entire round of golf in the hotel. I hope they don’t pride themselves on their golf skills. Matt Schnarr blasted out a round of 32 over par, followed by Peter Sniuolis hitting a 28 over and the winner Chris Davidson scoring a disappointing 23 over par. Sorry guys.

So while our coaches were off doing their own thing before the semi finals so were all my teammates. We all hung around the hotel together playing several different games of cards and watched a few movies as well. It was evident that everyone’s mind was on the game coming up tonight. For being a veteran fourth year player, I was definitely showed my nerves and anticipation to this game more than anyone on the team. I couldn’t stop pacing around the hotel and I tried to sleep but felt like my eyes were just taped open the whole time. Eventually time passed and we left for the biggest match of our season.

Once stepping on the court and warming up everyone looked ready and focused. The game started and I don’t think it disappointed anyone watching. I felt like every set was a battle to the end with Algonquin but they were just too much to handle. I believe it was obvious to see that they controlled the pace of the game and made the right decisions. Their serve reception was very quiet and under control even though they didn’t pass perfect every time, they didn’t allow themselves to get aced all match and passed out of several tough serves from my teammates. The Thunder blocked and serves aggressively and in the end deserved the victory hands down.

It was an excellent game with many proud moments on our side of the court. Rookie Leftside hitter Moe Sulaiman was very impressive in his first OCAA championship game. Right off the get go he attacked the ball with no fear against a team that blocks big and slows many attacks down into transition balls their way. I was proud to see him play aggressive and never stop attacking even when he did get matched up with Ryan “Nipples over the net” DeBruyn. Overall it was a great match to play in and to watch and I congratulate the Algonquin Thunder on a well deserved victory and good luck to them in the finals against Seneca.

Day 3

After a tough loss in the Semis to our rivals we had some time to sleep in Saturday morning. Most of us were awake by 10:30 am for our big bronze medal game against our division rivals from London at 2:30 pm. Fanshawe is a team that I always love because of the friendship we have with them off the court. Don’t let this disguise how the game actually played out. Tons of talking through the net took place in an attempted to get Fanshawe rattled and off their game. I wouldn’t say that strategy worked perfectly as the Falcons then stepped up their game and as a result it turned out to be a thrilling bronze medal game. All three sets were exceptionally tight and hard fought to the end. I think both teams were a little disappointed from their respective losses the night before which could have explained the sloppy play on both side at times throughout the match. Overall, I believe the bronze game was one of the most exciting matches I’ve participated in over my career.

After the game we spent a long time in the team room discussing the ups and downs through the long grueling season. Every individual member of the Mountaineers was recognized by all of us on the positive impact they have had not only as a teammate or coach this season, but as a friend for years to come. That moment was by far the most emotional one for me as a player.

Mohawk always has that team talk after our last game of the year and in my previous three years I didn’t realize how much it means to retiring athletes. Words cannot describe how proud I am to have played volleyball for the past six months with all of my teammates. Our goals as a team and my goals as an individual couldn’t have been achieved without the complete effort of everyone on our squad. It was a fantastic season and I’m glad I got a chance to complete my personal set of every OCAA medal.
Combined that with the CCAA bronze medal we received last year and I cannot ask for a better career with the Mohawk Mountaineers.

Lost in all of the “Thanks” is the Mohawk coaching staff. The assistant trio of Matt Schnarr, Chris Davidson and Peter Sniuolis were very special to me this year. I’ve had the pleasure of playing with these three guys earlier in my career. From day one they have been coaching me even when they were standing beside me on the court playing. The time and effort they put in this year allowed us to grow as players and individuals.

I can’t finish this blog without personally and publicly thanking my head coach James Bradley. I’ll simply say I wouldn’t be the player I am now without him. James is the reason I came to Mohawk and that’s a decision in my life I will never regret. He’s coached and developed me into a player a never knew I could be and I believe that if I had any other coach coming into college I wouldn’t have continued to play volleyball into my third season with Mohawk. James is a phenomenal coach and should be recognized for his accomplishments.

As the tournament concludes I’d like to congratulate many people. Algonquin Thunder men and Humber Hawk women, congrats on the gold medals and I hope both teams, along with the Nippissing Lakers women, represent well at their respective national championships. Congrats again to all the award winners from the season and the championship All-star team. Congrats to Ryan Debruyn and Michelle Overzet on championship MVP’s. I’d like to thank Durham College for being a great host this year and all the athletes really appreciate the time and effort is takes to run an event like the provincial championship.

The Algonquin Thunder men will be hearing my support in Fort McMurray during their first round match up. Bring home gold boys!!!!! :D