FACP: CCAA Volleyball apprentices

The Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) is proud to announce its 2021-22 participants in the annual Female Apprentice Coach Program (FACP) for the sport of Volleyball.

This season, 12 former student-athletes are being mentored in CCAA Volleyball. This week, we feature five apprentice coaches from the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ).

At Cégep André-Laurendeau, Marie-Ève Dorion is being mentored by André Gendron with the Boomerang.

Dorion is a former student-athlete at McGill University. She has also worked as an assistant coach at the collegiate level since 2018.

“Having competed at the highest level, I understand the importance of teamwork as well as working together to reach a common goal and develop one’s critical thinking and autonomy,” said Dorion.

As Dorion’s assistant coach during her final season at McGill, Gendron quickly saw her potential as a coach.

“It was during the pandemic that she really became aware of her interest in coaching,” said Gendron, who in addition to coaching at André-Laurendeau and McGill, is also a learning facilitator for Volleyball Canada and regularly serves as a head coach and an assistant coach for Volleyball Québec’s team programs.

“I am convinced that Marie-Ève has what it takes to become an outstanding coach,” he said.

At Cégep Édouard-Montpetit, Sharly Roberge is being mentored by Louis-Michel Bergeron, who is entering his sixth season as Head Coach of the Lynx.

Roberge was a multi-sport student-athlete at Édouard-Montpetit, where she played Division II volleyball as well as flag football.

Afterward, she began her coaching career as an assistant coach for the Lynx’ U14 community team before joining the Espoir Rive-Sud team, also as an assistant coach.

Last season, Roberge worked with her former Division II team at Édouard-Montpetit, where she supported coaches in order to help give student-athletes the opportunity to practice during the pandemic.

“During this time, my interest in coaching grew considerably,” she said. “This experience helped me see the game from a coach’s perspective.”

At Cégep Garneau, Noémie Daigneault is being mentored by Ian Poulin Beaulieu with the Élans.

Daigneault starred for Garneau for three seasons – the last two as a co-captain. She then went on to compete in U Sports at l’Université de Laval.

“These experiences helped me grow as an athlete, but also as a person and I want to stay involved in volleyball to share my experience and knowledge,” said Daigneault. “I want to give my athletes what my coaches gave me when I was an athlete.”

Last season, she returned to the Élans to assist Poulin Beaulieu, who has more than 15 years of coaching experience. He also coordinates Club Essor’s women’s programming and is responsible for the Capitale-Nationale region’s Espoir program.

According to Éric Lavigne, Athletic Director at Cégep Garneau, Daigneault’s knowledge and skillset will be a tremendous help to the Élans.

“As we are already familiar with her abilities, we hope to have Noémie join our coaching team on a long-term basis,” he said. “She’ll be able to share her many experiences as a student-athlete.”

At Collège Lionel-Groulx, Émilie Bisson is being mentored by Danyk Sauro with the Nordiques.

Bisson competed as a student-athlete at Cégep de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue before joining l’Université du Québec à Montréal in U Sports.

She has gathered experience coaching beach volleyball at summer camps in addition to coaching at the Quebec Games in 2018.

Bisson believes she can bring a unique vision and different values to the Nordiques.

“I can serve as a role model for girls and young women who aspire to become volleyball players, but also accomplished women,” said Bisson. “I want to share my passion and the values associated with volleyball to these young women, to help them reach their potential as athletes and for some perhaps eventually as coaches as well.”

She’ll work closely with Sauro, who has 27 years of coaching experience and has been the bench boss at Lionel-Groulx since 2004.

Finally, at Cégep de Sherbrooke, Molly Racicot is being mentored by Sylvain Loiseau with the Volontaires.

Racicot competed in the RSEQ for three seasons, one with the Élans de Garneau and two more at Sherbrooke.

She’ll work alongside Loiseau, who has 35 years of coaching experience under his belt. He is also a learning facilitator for Volleyball Québec and Volleyball Canada.

Over the last two years, Racicot has gained coaching experience herself, working for Club de l’Envolley’s 17U team, Cégep de Sherbrooke’s 18U team and the École Secondaire du Triolet’s Youth Division I team.

“Since becoming involved at Cégep de Sherbrooke, I’ve cherished the idea of leading the team in the next few years,” she said. “A program like the FACP will help get me there by allowing me to focus on my professional development.”

The FACP, which is funded in part by Sport Canada, is designed to identify and support female graduating student-athletes who demonstrate the desire and skills for coaching by providing them mentorship and practical coaching experience in the CCAA.