The little school that could

École Valois is the little school that could this year.

For the first time in the small French school's history, the Gaulois have a senior boys' volleyball squad. There hasn't been a team before because there simply haven't been enough students.

And that's not to say the halls are crowded now. The school has just 29 students from Grades 6-12 and 13 boys from Grades 10-12. Nine of those 13 are on the new team.

"I think it's a big deal," said Gaulois captain Guy Fiolleau.

For the 17-year-old, this will be the only year he's able to play on the senior team because he's graduating in June, but it might not be the end of his career on the court.

"I wish I could play some more now that we got going, but whatever," he said. "I might go play somewhere else next year, in Saskatoon or something."

Fiolleau has been a part of the school's junior teams in the past, but this is his first year playing with the big boys.

"You see a big difference," he said. "The hits are a lot harder and the serves are a lot harder to pick up, but I think we're doing all right."

One of the things that's been troublesome for the Gaulois is mental toughness on the court during matches,

"Sometimes you get stressed out on the court," Fiolleau said. "It gets to our head too much when we're losing, but all we need to do is keep our confidence up and play the game."

Jeremy Vogt, who teaches French and social studies, got the program going after finding out there was enough demand to warrant a team.

And Vogt's players aren't being eased into their first year in the senior ranks. The École Valois Gaulois practice at 7 a.m. three times per week.

The team's strong work ethic has led to some early success against some stiff competition.

"We placed third place in two tournaments," Vogt said. "We just finished placing third in a tournament against 3A and 4A schools, and we're a 1A school, which is very impressive for us."

Vogt has also already organized École Valois' first senior boys' tournament on Sept. 20, where the hosts finished third of four teams.

"A lot of them didn't know we have a senior team, so I had to make about 100 phone calls just to get four teams," he said.

The PACI Golden Bears won the inaugural Gaulois Cup.

Vogt is now planning a second tournament at École Valois for November.

tpruner@paherald.sk.ca