New Capilano University men's volleyball head coach Emmanuel Denguessi remembers the first time he came to the North Shore, a former Cameroonian national team member making his first appearance on Canada's West Coast following three years in Montreal.
It was 2007 and Denguessi was recruited to suit up for the Blues in the PacWest league. A native French speaker, he was not confident about his ability to communicate in English, which could have been a problem for someone brought in to be a team leader at the setter position on a college volleyball team.
"I came here I was a 100 per cent French-speaking guy," Denguessi says. "What I picture is a guy who struggled to communicate, and I also see people surrounding me and accepting me the way that I am. That's what Capilano represents.... Being an ESL student at the time, working out my way to communicate, I found people not understanding me, but making feel that I was the greatest English speaker in the world. When I look back at it I say thank-you to everyone who was a part of that journey."
It probably didn't hurt the Denguessi was a heck of a player, winning PacWest Rookie of the Year honours and a spot on the league's first all-star team. He was a shooting star, however, moving on after one year at Capilano, eventually landing at Abbotsford's Columbia Bible College where he won a CCAA national title as a player and made another trip to the Canadian championships as an assistant coach.
This season the head coaching chair opened up at Capilano once again and Denguessi jumped at the chance to return to the North Shore campus, calling it a "dream come true."
"Coming back to Capilano is like going back to the spot that you met your wife," he says. "Those good emotions, you re-live those good moments. Every single time I came to Cap as a player from another college or assistant coaching, there was some part of me that was still attached to that university."
It may be a dream job for Denguessi but the men's volleyball program has been having a bit of a nightmare ever since that 2007-08 season. Veteran head coach James Sneddon stepped down at the end of that campaign and since that time no head coach has lasted more than two seasons with the team. All but one of those seasons have started with a different head coach than the one who finished the previous year.
Denguessi, still sporting a thick accent but armed with a firmer grasp of the English language, says he's hoping to bring some stability to the program.
"I have that compassion for the players, especially the returning players, having a new coach every single year, a new philosophy every year that they need to adapt. I think everyone would come to the team with a little bit of scepticism if that guy is going to stay or is he going to go.... If everything goes well, I see myself there for a long period of time."
This year's team will also be challenged by a lack of experience, boasting a lineup that includes only one player with more than one year of previous college experience. The results on the court, however, have been encouraging so far.
The Blues lost a pair of contests to high-powered Douglas College to open the season but rebounded to score a pair of victories over CBC at home last Friday and Saturday. Denguessi downplayed the fact that his first ever win as a PacWest head coach came against the school he spent the previous six years with as a player and coach.
"People sometimes say it's a rivalry playing against your old institution, but for me it was another team against whom we needed to win," he says. "It's always gratifying to have a win but I think to put it in perspective that the result at this point is the least important. For us it's more about building the team and building strong student athletes. We see that coming." The strongest student athlete on the roster may be Brendan Cairns, a second-year outside hitter from Manitoba who earned a spot on the PacWest all-rookie team last season. "Brendan is definitely going to be one of the big names in the league this year," Denguessi says. "With what he can do with the ball and knowing that he's only in his second year gives us a good deal of hope. He's also somebody who I trust in terms of communication - he's not afraid to speak his mind.... Having a leader you can speak to openly as a coach on a new team is really important. I think this will be one of the best players in the league if he stays here for the next three years."
Outside hitter Victor Zych from Port Coquitlam, the team's elder statesman as a fourth year athlete, is another player Denguessi will be counting on for leadership."He's somebody that knows the game, knows the ball. He's really consistent in what he does and I have a good deal of expectations towards him and I have confidence that he can deliver the work that he is called to do."
Second year players Matthew Graham, a setter turned libero from Red Deer, and John De La Cruz, a middle blocker from Vancouver, will also play key roles for the team. Leading that attack will be rookie setter Simon Friesen from Abbotsford.
With the mishmash of young talent that he's inherited, Denguessi isn't putting any pressure on his team to win right now but has big plans for the future of the program, starting with a top-four finish this year.
"We're not going to be the top No. 1 team but we are on our way there," he says. "I'm satisfied with the team that I have. Yes we still have to work to reach the level that we need to be in order to compete against teams like Douglas, but I don't have any doubt that we're going to reach there.... We're there to build a program, we're there to make sure Capilano remains one of the big contenders in the PacWest."
Whatever happens on the court, Denguessi says that his work off the court will be equally important. Volleyball and life have taken him around the world and he's excited to share those experiences with young players and help them find their own paths. "It's not just about volleyball," he says. "It's about the persons you encounter in your life. Those guys are passing through my journey of life as a person and I would like to see them in 20 years and them stating that I have known Emmanuel Denguessi and because of him I've learned all these things.... An opportunity to be part of another life journey and to influence people in one way or another, I think those are the real excitements in that position.
The Blues will be back on their home court for a pair of matches against College of the Rockies tomorrow and Friday nights. Game times at the Capilano Sportsplex are 6 p.m. for the women followed by the men.
