Ecole Acadienne Lynx among best in D1 high school volleyball

Despite only having about 30 students in the high school grades, the NSSAF told them half-daringly to go ahead and try it. But they'd have to stick it out for two years against the biggest schools in the province.

"Yeah, we're OK with that," Bastarache recalls saying with a wry grin. "And here were are, right there at the top of Division 1."

Ecole Acadienne has reached the finals of 20-plus team tournaments twice in the last month. Last weekend, they won gold at Mount Saint Vincent University against Cobequid Educational Centre, a school with 1,400 students.

"I like to fly under the radar, but I think we can't do that anymore," Bastarache said. "I'd rather be an underdog and not grab a lot of attention, but we've got such a good group of girls here."

Regardless of standings, the girls will always feel like David taking on Goliath.

"Always being the underdogs, we've always been able to get motivated to move higher up," said senior player Thalia Moors.

"Especially as a French school, to be able to play against the bigger English schools, nobody really expected it," added Sophie Bastarache, a fellow senior player and the coach's daughter.

The girls have also banded together to form a club team not affiliated with the school, which begins play in December. It started when players tried to join Truro's club program but were told it was a feeder for CEC. If they didn't want to play for the Cougars, they had a tough time getting playing time with the club team. The result was their own squad to play year-round.

It's also resulted in kids choosing to stay with Ecole Acadienne after junior high, which has been a problem in the past.

"Now we're starting to see more retention," coach Bastarache said. "The kids are staying here."

"That was definitely a factor for me staying here," Moors added. "I have everything I need here."

They also have a junior program with 15 girls eager to play senior ball. The strong numbers mean the Lynx will remain in the top division again next season.

"I think it's super exciting," Moors said. "It's like the beginning of a legacy."

A legacy that all started with a daring group of girls and a coach with a winning philosophy.

"Even if you lose, it's still better to have that (top) competition," he said. "If you get invited to dance, dance. Why sit on the sidelines?"