The Team Saskatchewan U-19 girls volleyball team began their quest for a medal at the North American Indigenous Games months ago. But one of their players has been pursuing this dream for years — and almost didn’t make it.
Two years ago, Cassidy Lemaigre was just starting to come into her own in volleyball. Then some friends planted the seed in her mind about the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG).
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The young talent from La Loche, Sask., tried out with hundreds of others in the province, but fell short at the time.
Lemaigre set a goal to make the team in 2017 — but she also had a tough decision to make. She could stay at home in La Loche with fewer volleyball opportunities, or move to the city, where there were more players and coaches.
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“I wanted to play club this season, and we didn’t have a club back home in La Loche, so I just thought I’d try out for a team here in Saskatoon,” Lemaigre said.
But it wasn’t easy for her.
“It’s tough moving away from my family at a pretty young age. But to go and play volleyball, there is nothing that I regret,” Lemaigre said.
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Fast-forward to this year’s tryouts, and the sacrifice paid off.
“Now I’m on the team — feels a whole lot better!” Lemaigre said. “My team is actually pretty good and we communicate pretty well.”
Lemaigre recognizes that being able to represent Saskatchewan at the Games is a unique experience.
“There’s a huge background to where I come from, and knowing that there’s a bunch of girls who would have loved to play,” Lemaigre said.
She notes that teamwork is what her team expects from themselves at the NAIG event.
It appears to be working: Saskatchewan’ U-19 volleyball team won silver on Saturday in Toronto.
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