The Twin Lakes Secondary School senior boys' volleyball team is hoping to bolster its underdog status at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) tournament this week.
The Thunderbirds repeated as Georgian Bay Secondary School Association (GBSSA) champions this year after a "Cinderella story" type season, says coach Andrew Corry. He said, coming into the new campaign, he was expecting it to be a "rebuild" year.
"The goal is to always win, but I don't think anybody expected us to go back to OFSAA," he said. "We don't have a single club player on the team and nobody over 6'3"."
The Thunderbirds are, he says, a deep and well-rounded team full of "excellent athletes" who have a high drive for winning.
"The commitment from this team has been incredible," Corry said. "The guys just keep getting better and better as the season goes on."
In the Simcoe County Athletic Association championship game earlier this month, the Thunderbirds upset Nottawasaga Pines in straight sets, 3-0.
Then, at the Georgian Bay Secondary School Association semi-final, they downed Huntsville High School 3-0. In the finals, they defeated St. Joseph's Catholic High School 3-1 to bring home the gold.
"We were unexpected to do much this year and here we are," Corry said. "It's a real underdog scenario."
The Thunderbirds, who leave for OFSAA in Stratford Wednesday, finished in the top-10 in last year's tournament that features the regional champs from around Ontario. This year, they are ranked 20 out of 20 teams and will be matched up with Lasalle Secondary School in their first game.
"I've watched Lasalle play, and they would beat some college teams," Corry said. "They are the defending champions, so we are in tough."
While the Thunderbirds are managing their expectations for their OFSAA chances, they are also swinging for the fences, vowed the long-time coach.
"We have nothing to lose," Corry said. "This will be like fighting your older brother. We are fighting up, we are trying to reach, and trying to get an upset this weekend."
No matter the result at OFSAA, it has already been a successful season for the Thunderbirds, said Corry..
"We feel like we have already exceeded expectations," Corry said. "Now our goal is to go get an upset or two at OFSAA and try to really shake things up."
This is the first time in school history that the Thunderbirds senior boys' volleyball team has gone to back-to-back OFSAA tournaments.
"It's a unique thing to do to finish in the top 20 in Ontario," Corry said. "It's kind of special."
The Thunderbirds only have two returning starters from last year's team. The team is made up of bench players from last year and a mix of Grade 12 and 11 students.
"Last year we talked about how special this was and how it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Corry said. "Now that we are going back, some of the other coaches on the staff and I are saying this is something we can try to make into a regular thing."
Michael Harper, a Grade 12B student and a starter on the left side, says he is surprised by his team’s success this year.
"At the beginning of the season we looked at our players and didn't know if we would be able to get to that final destination," he said. "In the end, we rallied together and got it done."
Harper says the Thunderbirds are a hungry team, which has allowed them to defeat more talented squads.
"We know that we are underdogs, so we don't care what the outcome is," he said. "We just want to try our best."
Connor Dyball, a Grade 12 student, and the team's starting centre, says the goal at OFSAA is to just have fun.
"We don't have any real expectations," he said. "We just want to upset some teams and prove that we shouldn't be the 20th seed."
Dyball says being a member of this year's volleyball team has been the best experience of his high school career.
"The bond that we've built as a team is almost like a family," he said. "We all truly love each other and have a great time every time we play. This is something I will remember forever."
