Midseason reflections

» Sitting down with men’s basketball coach Denis Beausoleil

Davie Wong
Sports Reporter

t has not been a good start
for the men’s basketball. It
isn’t easy for any team to come
back from 0-5 to start a season.
But the road to redemption was

off to a good start last week
as the team picked up their
first two wins of the season.
Previously, when asked
about what his team could
be doing better to win, coach
Denis Beausoleil often referred
to various aspects of the team’s
play that were key to the loss.
Recently, in an interview with
the Other Press, he further
explained the way his team
plays and how he tries to fix
things when they lose.
“After we lost the first
five games, I went back and
watched them all again to see
what the trend was... I realized
after re-watching all the game
tapes that we were executing
the plans we had made pretty
well, but because of how much
we had changed, I realized that
we would need much more
time to adapt to those changes
than I had originally thought.”
The stats backed up what
he thought as well. Although
the men played an intense
pre-season with over 15
matchups, not many of those
games resulted in a learning
experience. Typically, when
things work, they don’t need
to be changed. With the new
strategy being implemented
by Beausoleil, fine tuning was
much needed, and winning pre-
season games did not provide
the data needed to see what
the holes were in the strategy.
Now that the regular
season has started, Beausoleil

: now has an abundance of

: data to work with, and that is

: where he excels. One of the

? most unique factors about the

: way Beausoleil coaches is the

: emphasis he puts on game data.
: While the scorekeepers keep

: track of essential data, there is

: not enough depth to the data

: that they track. That is why the
: sole job of Beausoleil’s assistant
: coach, Jacques Beausoleil,

: during games is to track specific
: statistics that the team wants

: to closely monitor. Using the

: data, Denis is able to gain an

: understanding of what is and

: isn’t working for his team.

“I think every great

: team has an identity. I think

: our identity is our outside

: shooting but we need to

: balance it with inside scoring.”
: Beausoleil stresses improving

: their balance in scoring to

: avoid being predictable.

With the two wins in the

: books, the team is headed

: towards the stagnant month of
: December. While continuing

: their winning momentum

: from the last couple games

: in November to the start of

: January seems improbable,

: Beausoleil hopes to do just that.

Beausoleil has scheduled

: friendly games throughout

: the break month. He firmly

: believes that the tempo of

: practice and the level of effort
: will be the factors that carry

: over into the next year.

One of the small positives

: that have come out of the

: season so far is the team’s

: ability to stay healthy. While

: the regular nagging injuries

: have been present, they’ve been
: minimal. Beausoleil has made

: a strong effort to keep his team
: healthy, both physically and

: mentally. “I am cognizant of

: the players’ wear and tear, and
: their physical breakdown. I am
: also aware of their mental and
: emotional breakdown. Iam

: cognizant of how much stress
: we put our athletes under and
: I make sure that it is never too
: much.” The goal in that regard
: for Denis is to make sure his

: team goes into the playoffs,
“healthy, rested, and happy.”

Regardless of the start, the

: team’s goal remains the same.
: Make it to Nationals. It has

: been their goal for a number

: of years, and Beausoleil doesn’t
: see it changing anytime soon.
: He recognizes the massive

: amount of work that the team
: will need to put in to make it

: there, but he firmly believes

: that if they take it one game at
: a time, they have a real good

: shot of making it this year.

Whatever the results,

: Beausoleil is aware of just how
: hard his coaching staff works

: to give the players the best

: chances for success. “The more
: an assistant does, the better.

: If they have a strength, I make
: sure they have an opportunity
: to apply that to the team...

: It’s too much work for a head

: coach to do everything. It’s

: so inefficient that you're

: actually doing a disservice to

: the athletes. The difference

: in perspective is so important
: to the players so they get a
broader range of experience.”

He also recognizes the

: incredible work done by the

: support staff for the team: “Jake
: Elder and Alvin Tseng have

: made sure our team is fit and

: healthy.” But it is one of the

: newest additions to the support
: staff'who has had arguably the

: greatest impact, “Dani Wilson

: is our Mental Performance

: Coach. She comes in, works

: with the team on the mental

: sides of things and helps them

: prepare week to week. It’s been

: tough losing after having such a
: dominating pre-season but she’s
: helped us keep things going”.

In closing, Denis mentioned

: how important the fans have
: been to the team. “It’s nice to

Photo by Alvin Lescano via douglascollegeroyals.ca

 

: see fans come out to support

: us. The other Douglas athletic

: teams have been great about
coming out to our home games

: to support us and the energy

: they bring is much appreciated.”
: The men will continue their

: regular season campaign

: in January as they close the

: book on an eventful 2015.

 

Player of the Month

» Spotlight on men’s volleyball’s Matt Santema

Davie Wong
Sports Reporter

he Player of the Month for

November is Matt Santema!
In the first half of the volleyball
season Matt has been essential
to his team’s success. At the end
of week 6 of PACWEST action,
Matt is ranked 6th in average
blocks per set, 12th in average
kills per set, and mth in average
total offensive stats per set. On
the team, Santema leads the
team in numbers in offensive
stats in 3 out of 4 categories.

This year is Santema’s third
year of play for the Royals.
He dominates the game from
his position of outside hitter.
However, his career in volleyball
was not always apparent.

: Much like his teammates,
: Matt started playing a little
: after he got into high school.

At the time, he played a

: variety of other sports, including

: soccer, lacrosse, and basketball,

: all at a competitive level. When

: he began playing, he immediately
: started his career strongly. After

: his first year of competitive play,

: he was invited to a provincial

: level camp, eventually making

: the provincial team the following
: years. His decision to make the

: complete transition to volleyball

: was aided by the welcoming

: community of players and

: coaches, but Matt credits the

: start of his career to his mom.

He fondly recalls the

: first time he was invited toa
* training camp with high level

: players. Originally, he was

: hesitant and reluctant to go to
: the camp but his mom would

: have none of that. She made

: sure that he attended, much to
: his disdain at the time. By the

: time he came home, he was

: in love with the game and it

: was all he could talk about.

Santema’s work ethic has

: also been a huge part of the role

: he plays on the team. Co-captain
: Nick Lightfoot describes Matt

: as “an intense guy that doesn’t

: make errors. He racks up the kills
: on the court and is one of the

: most emotionally stable players,

: which is huge as it helps settle

: the team down when we need it.”

Off the court, Matt is known

: describes him as “a selfless

: teammates who brings a funny

> and fiery attitude to anything

: he does” He also contributes to

: his community by helping coach
: club volleyball in his free time.

This year, Santema hopes

: to help the team go to and win

: Nationals in front of his friends

: and family. At the moment, he

: has no plans as to whether he

: will continue playing after his

: college career. While he hopes

: he can continue playing at the

: same level, he would only pursue
: it if the opportunity is right.

Outside of the game, Matt

: is enrolled in the Bachelor of

: Business Administration program
: : with an emphasis on Accounting,
: for his fun yet selfless personality. :

: Co-captain Angus Ireland

 

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