Gaudet the spark plug for Mustangs’ engine
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/09/2024 (548 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Kai Gaudet and his senior class will soon leave a giant hole in the MacGregor Mustangs athletics program.
For now, they’re making the most of the 10 months they still have, starting with their last volleyball season.
“It’s kind of bittersweet because there’s this core group of Grade 12s I’ve coached for a long time now,” coach Marc Gaudet said during the Brandon University varsity boys’ tournament on Friday.
MacGregor Mustangs setter Kai Gaudet was named MHSAA athlete of the week last week, after scoring a hat trick on the soccer pitch and leading his volleyball team to a tournament win. (Thomas Friesen/The Brandon Sun)
“They’ve been such a pleasure to coach that it’s been easy to come to practices and tournaments, bring them wherever. Always a positive attitude, always what’s best for the team and respectful behaviour.
“We’re going to try to go out with a bang.”
According to Marc, Kai and the boys have been “stuck” with him since he started coaching their hockey teams about 12 years ago.
The MacGregor physical education teacher knows the role Kai was born into as the coach’s kid isn’t easy, but he said he’s learned to handle it well.
“He’s done better than I have at it,” Marc said with a laugh. “He’ll speak his mind more than another kid will but he always says, ‘Oh, there’s three or four guys thinking the same thing, they’re just scared to say it.’”
It helps that Kai has always been willing to put in extra work to be the best player he can be. It started before his freshman year when he joined the Brandon Volleyball Club, playing for Grant Wilson’s 14-and-under team and has stayed with the program through high school.
Kai said it’s been big for his development.
“It’s pretty much the whole thing, to be honest. It’s phenomenal and I give lots of kudos to the organization,” he said.
Gaudet’s Grade 9 year, he said, was a steep learning curve as a freshman-heavy lineup struggled to keep up with bigger, stronger athletes.
They competed in AA provincials as hosts but lost all their matches. The following year, they lost a provincial qualifier to Immanuel Christian, 15-13 in the deciding third set.
MacGregor Mustangs Kai Gaudet sets the ball during the Brandon University varsity boys' volleyball tournament on Friday. (Thomas Friesen/The Brandon Sun)
Last season, the Mustangs reached the provincial medal rounds, falling to the eventual champion Gabrielle-Roy in two blowout sets.
MacGregor bounced back to earn a bronze medal — which the guys say isn’t good enough this year.
“They’re really highly motivated. I asked them their goals, ‘Write down your goals for yourself, for your team.’ They all said, ‘We want better than bronze,’” Marc Gaudet said.
“You can see it in practice. We have a lot of soccer players and they’re all banged up but they’re still all coming to practice and even though it would have been an easy excuse to say, ‘I can’t make it to practice tonight,’ they’re coming and doing whatever they can to make the team better.”
Kai is one of them. He plays midfield and scored a hat trick in a league victory over the Neepawa Tigers last week. Then, he followed it up by leading the Mustangs to a volleyball tournament win at Treherne, earning Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association athlete of the week honours.
He also competes in cross-country, basketball, badminton and track and field.
“I just love it. I just enjoy every sport and the team, that’s my main focus,” Gaudet said.
And he works to get everyone involved. As a setter for the volleyball team, he’s totally unpredictable. Whether it’s the first point of the weekend or match point of a tournament final, he trusts everyone.
“That’s what’s special. Everybody knows they can do something so I just give them the ball and hopefully they get that point,” Gaudet said.
The Mustangs went 2-2-1 on Friday at the Healthy Living Centre, finishing third in Pool A.
MacGregor Mustangs setter Kai Gaudet takes a swing.
They’re competing against some AAAA teams, including the Vincent Massey Vikings (4-0, leading Pool B at deadline) and Crocus Plainsmen (0-3-1, fifth in Pool D), and strong AAA squads like the Neelin Spartans (2-0-2, second in Pool A) and Winkler’s Garden Valley Zodiacs, both of whom swept them on Friday and have decent shots at making today’s final at 6 p.m.
For MacGregor, those matches are great tests to learn from and prepare for their last provincial championship Nov. 28-30 in Morris.
Kai Gaudet has one simple key to prepare over the next two months.
“It’s just coming to practice and working your ass off,” he said. “With any team I’ve ever been part of, our practices are long and hard and if you’re giving ‘er,’ we’ll get better.”
» tfriesen@brandonsun.com
» Instagram: @thomasfriesen5