BASKETBALL. New leaders and a transformed roster: it’s a new start for the Cégep de Drummondville women’s basketball team.
Over the past few days, Geneviève Pilote has been named head coach of the Voltigeurs, who play in the second division of the Quebec college circuit. Last season, the 40-year-old woman supported head instructor Alexandre Yergeau in his duties.
A product of Drummondville school basketball, Geneviève Pilote played with the Voltigeurs for three seasons before making the jump to the first division with the Cégep de Sherbrooke. For 17 years now, she has been giving back to young people by coaching teams of various calibers within the Patriotes program at La Poudrière high school. She has also acted as a referee at the school level for a dozen years.
For Geneviève Pilote, team spirit is the most important value within an organization.
“As a coach, I always aim to create good chemistry within the team. I like when there is a good atmosphere in the gym, both in practice and during matches. Usually, once that chemistry is set in, the rest will follow. Then, perseverance, work and relentlessness are very important aspects. When you do something, you don’t do it halfway,” she explained.
From a strategic point of view, Geneviève Pilote advocates a style of play based on speed. “I’m a girl who works a lot on the defensive side, but also likes to have a fast counterattack. We’re going to work a lot on that. It’s a style in the continuity of the one we had last year, with a few differences, ”said the Drummondvilloise, who will continue to be involved as a coach at La Poudrière as well as in her role as an official.
Carol-Ann Smith as Right Hand
Geneviève Pilote will be supported in her duties by Carol-Ann Smith. Originally from Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Conseil, the latter evolved with the Riverains of Marie-Rivier high school and the Lynx of Cégep Édouard-Montpetit. As soon as she finished her studies, she turned to the coaching community at Marie-Rivier school.
“Carol-Ann will bring a breath of fresh air. She has another basketball experience. We played more or less in the same levels, but not at the same time. Basketball is changing a lot. We each have our game tactics. I’m really a team girl, so I want us to put our ideas together. This is what will allow us to accomplish great things”, explained Geneviève Pilote.
“Team chemistry is important, but it often starts with the chemistry between the coaches. We both want the girls to work hard, but have fun every time they show up in the gym.”
On occasion, Geneviève Pilote will also call on her husband Simon Beaulieu as a guest coach during training. The latter leads teams from the Poudrière in addition to being a referee.
“Basketball is really healthy at the high school level in Drummondville. Even mini-basketball is going very well in primary school. Young people have grown bored of sports during the pandemic. They are back in large numbers. Now we are short of coaches.
A young team
Last season, the Voltigeurs compiled a record of eight wins and four losses, climbing to fourth place in the standings in the Centre-du-Québec section. This was a marked improvement over previous years. During the last annual gala of the Cégep de Drummondville, the women’s basketball team inherited the title of sports discipline in progress.
“The team has come a long way. From last place in the standings three years ago, it moved up to the top four last year. The coaches and players worked really hard to achieve this result. Together they developed the team for the third year. Even against the teams ahead of us in the standings, it was close games.
During the Northeast Conference championship played at Cégep Sainte-Foy, the Drummondville team lost to Cégep Champlain St. Lawrence in the quarter-finals.
While no less than seven veterans have completed their college internship, only five players should be back with the Voltigeurs in 2022-2023. They are Jade Marcotte, Laurie Allard, Heidi Payeur, Alexia Chaput and Charlie Smyth.
“To this small core which already has a good basketball background, we will add five to seven girls from Marie-Rivier school and perhaps a few players from outside the region. We are also going to try to convince a few veterans to start playing again. We hope to have some nice surprises in the gymnasium during the August camp,” said Geneviève Pilote.
“We’ll have a slightly younger team than last year, but I’m still aiming for a record above .500. We have good teams in our section, like Trois-Rivières and Sherbrooke, but I think we are able to compete with everyone,” concluded the new Voltigeurs pilot.
