Role Players Extraordinaire

They stand at the end of the line, cloaked in relative obscurity, bumping, diving and spiking during timeouts.

Well before the Lakeland College Rustlers defeated the Grande Prairie Wolves in the ACAC women's volleyball championship game on Feb. 25, head coach Austin Dyer knew he had an embarrassment of riches at his disposal. In fact, he's known it all year.

While his starting six was the better of every squad at the tournament, the Rustlers possessed a weapon superior to everyone else in the eight-team conference championship. 
Case in point.

The opening game of the ACAC championship started with an 'uh, oh' moment when middle Chelsey Steinley went down with an ankle injury in the first set. No problem. Rookie Brooklyn Boehm bounced off the bench, into the game, and handled the chores like a veteran. Libero Olivia Thomson lost her starting job when fifth-year senior Laura Popplestone returned to the squad, but Thomson didn't complain. In fact, she was an outstanding defensive replacement off the bench, making several spectacular digs in the second set against the Wolves on that gold-medal Saturday night.

"I have a number of players that can do important things, that can help us get points," Dyer said. "Where as other teams will have bench players that are really good, but won't do much for their team. I'm lucky enough to have players who can go in and swing a match and do some things that are going to help us win."

The bench plays an important and unheralded role on this team. They may be called the 'B' side, but that's in name only. They're crucial to the overall effectiveness of the starters on a weekly basis.

"You need to have competitiveness within your team for starting spots for all the game play you're doing," Dyer said. "If the 'A' side just beats up on the 'B' side, it's really hard to push and make the starters better. The good part is some of the things our bench can do really exploit our weaknesses."

But the 'bench' needs a link, some body to set an example for everyone else and perform that job as naturally as pass, set and kill. That link is bench captain Tawnee Dupuis.

"I haven't said anything to Dupuis and I haven't told her about this job but she's taken it (for) herself," Dyer said while admitting having a bench captain is a new experience for him. "It's in her character and she knows what it means to be a Rustler and she takes pride in that, you can see it in her behaviour."

And the coach is well aware of the nature of the job. It's not likely Dupuis gets a 'thanks for being a great captain' pat on the back every game. She might not need/want it, but it's a crucial role.

"If you're lucky enough to have a leader on the bench that controls everybody and runs the show back there, it makes a difference," Dyer said.

"It shows the new players what it takes to be a bench player, to be a productive bench player, and the attitude you need to bring to the gym everyday to get better."

The 5-foot-9 middle/outside hitter from Bellevue, Sask., just gravitated to the role, but it's a job that can be a minefield, rife with competing agendas, jealousy and egos. Perhaps those petty emotions sabotaged this team internally in the past. But not this year.

"I just think our team dynamic is good because everyone has a very selfless attitude," Dupuis said. "They're not selfish and thinking they want to be out there playing over someone else. I think that's important and really different from previous years."

And Dupuis is living proof of that 'selfless attitude.' There's no doubt she would love to be the star, playing every minute of every game, but personal and team goals have been neatly categorized and put away.

"You work on your personal goals during practice and that's how you get better and get the court time to play," Dupuis said. "When you're on the bench, when we're playing real games, you know the best (players) are the ones out there."

When she's called in to a match, Dupuis has to be prepared. Dyer demands players who can accept lesser roles, and more importantly, perform them to his standards.

"She's predominantly used as a serving substitution and she knows she's going to go in and serve one round every set, and it's hard to prepare for that, coming into a match knowing you're only going to see a couple of points that night," Dyer said. "She's worked on that. She works to ensure she keeps that role."

And while Dyer is mostly focused on the game play, he's not blind to the obvious going on behind his back.

"Just the way she handles herself in that role, her body language and the way she behaves when she's standing on the end of the bench, you know it shows her character, what kind of teammate she is, knowing she's not here for herself," Dyer said.

Gordon Anderson
The Meridian Booster
www.meridianbooster.com

Posted: March 14, 2017