This is without counting the coaches who will try to lead these formations.
There are familiar faces. Here in mixed badminton, the indefatigable Claude Tessier will start his 37th season with the best rackets in the region.
In contrast, Christian Milette, Jeff Dacelin and Daniel Alejandro Cuzmar Grimalt will make their debuts on the sidelines. The first two will take care of the men’s basketball teams in the first and second division respectively.
As for Cuzmar Grimalt, he takes over from Paul Tamburrini after a 14-year stint at the head of the Griffons in men’s volleyball. A program that has furnished the Cégep de l’Outaouais gymnasium with its share of banners over the past three decades.
Cuzmar Grimalt knows what he’s getting into. The 35-year-old Chilean has long been an assistant coach in Quebec, whether at Cégep Limoilou with Rock Picard or Laval University with Pascal Clément and Gino Brousseau.
“I did my bachelor’s degree in teaching at Laval University. I moved to the region here in 2019 to be closer to the national team,” said the former professional player who was a statistician for various Volleyball Canada teams.
Cuzmar Grimalt simultaneously became a physical education teacher. A position he still holds at Carrefour high school.
It was friends in the Outaouais who convinced him to submit his name to the Griffons.
At first, the main interested party hesitated.
“I will become a dad in January”, he underlines.
But the lure of reconnecting with “high-level” volleyball paid off.
“This is my passion. I had the chance to also coach with the Canadian team in the past. I wanted to get back to that.”
Daniel Alejandro Cuzmar Grimalt also has a fine personal track record. He had to learn French on the job in the fall of 2006.
“I was participating in a Rotary Club student exchange program. I wanted to come to Canada to learn to speak English. I was sent to Sept-Îles… No one spoke English or Spanish,” he says with a broad smile.
“I had an amazing year. I learned french. Then I returned to my country to study. But when I returned to Quebec in 2012, my studies were not recognized. I had to redo my baccalaureate, but in French. It was not easy.”
It is a bit of this determination that he will also bring to the Griffons on the volleyball court. Their regular season will begin on October 6.
Several teams in other CEGEP sports will play their first games in the coming days.
This is particularly the case in football where the Griffons will now play in the third division after having spent the last few years in the second division. Their inaugural game is scheduled for Sunday in Longueuil.
The men’s soccer team will try to defend its second division Quebec title won last fall. His first game is scheduled for Saturday against Rosemont, at Étienne-Desmarteau Park in Montreal.
2023-08-30 23:38:04
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