Four years ago when St. Clair College hired Jimmy El-Turk to head its Women's Volleyball program, there were only 10 players on the roster and little prospect for making it to the playoffs.
He was hired in May 2015, well after recruiting season had begun and after most athletes had committed to another school.
But El-Turk, an elite volleyball player in his own right who had been an assistant coach at the University of Windsor, had a long-term vision for St. Clair's program.
"That year my focus was trying to develop the culture that I wanted, which was around hard work, team, togetherness, commitment," says the nationally-recognized coach. "We were trying to get the athletes to think there's more for them than just participation. That we can leave a bigger impact on each other, on the department, on the community."
El-Turk has done just that.
This year's recruiting class is the best the college has ever seen.
"This is the most talented team we've had. We're the biggest and we're the most experienced."
El-Turk was able to recruit rookie Keyome Ellis, who came from Toronto's Jean Vanier Catholic School and played on an elite club team which won a national championship. Ellis, a five-foot-eleven prospect, had never heard of St. Clair College before meeting El-Turk.
"She was being recruited by a few universities to go play there and we were able to win that recruiting battle."
El-Turk has been recruited himself by Team Ontario and Volleyball Canada to head up, first an Ontario boys 16-under team, and then to assist with the Canadian youth women's national team.
He just returned from Egypt in September, after the women's 16-under team qualified for the world championships. The team went into the tournament, ranked 16th in the world. They played eight matches in 10 days, and were in contention for gold, silver and bronze. The team is now ranked 14th in the world.
El-Turk says it was a great learning lesson that he will bring to the bench at St. Clair.
"We use volleyball as a way to teach life skills and allow them to be successful students…I think our program here at St. Clair has made a ton of inroads and I think our reputation is definitely changed since I started."
But with that success comes pressure.
"There's a difference being hunted versus being the hunter," El-Turk says. "In the hunter position, there's no pressure. Last year we were being hunted. Teams were giving us their best effort. So we're getting everybody's best punch all the time.
"So being comfortable talking about winning is important. Because winning is really hard and it's daunting and sometimes we don't want to put that out there because then there becomes an expectation and failure becomes a lot more within reach than if you don't talk about it.
"So we have to get comfortable understanding that it's going to be very hard, but if we want it we have to work hard for it."
There are eight players returning from last year's roster along with six rookies. Key returning veterans are first team All Star outside hitter and West Division scoring champion Te-Anna Stephenson (3rd-year, Whitby, Sinclair Secondary) along with first team All Star libero Julie Ann Milling (5th-year, Woodstock, Woodstock Collegiate).
Of the six rookies, large contributions are expected from six-foot outside hitter Chantal DeVlugt (Wyoming, LCCVI), five-foot-eleven middle Keyome Ellis (Toronto, Jean Vanier Catholic), and five-foot-eight outside hitter Baylee Mailloux (Belle River, St. Anne's).
The St. Clair College Women's and Men's Volleyball programs open their regular season at the SportsPlex Saturday afternoon against Cambrian College (Sudbury) and then host College Boreal (Sudbury) on Sunday afternoon.
For more information, contact Jay Shewfelt, Athletic Coordinator, 519-972-2727, ext. 4217, www.saintsathletics.ca
