It’s safe to say the Nipissing Lakers women’s volleyball team is in safe hands with Marc LaRochelle at the helm.
LaRochelle has been the head coach of the Lakers for the past nine seasons (eight in the OCAA and one in the OUA), has posted some solid seasons and boasts an impressive winning percentage, both in the regular season and the playoffs.
During the past eight seasons in the OCAA, LaRochelle has guided the Lakers to an impressive 121-19 regular season record, good for a .864 winning percentage. In the playoffs, LaRochelle has guided the Lakers to a lot of success as well, going 23-6 for a .793 winning percentage.
And in those eight years, the Lakers, led by LaRochelle have advanced to the OCAA championship match seven times and have a total of eight medals – one gold, six silver and one bronze.
LaRochelle and the team, who just wrapped up their first season in the OUA, are now tasked with repeating the success they had in the college loop.
The Blind River native played volleyball all five years while in high school at Ecole Secondaire Jeunesse Nord as a starting middle and setter, winning a NSSSA title and placing second at NOSSA in his rookie year. He was named captain and athlete of the year in his senior year in 1988.
The veteran bench boss has always had coaching in his blood, starting as early as Grade 11 and really developing as a strong, hard working and determined coach.
Leading the Jeunesse Nord Senior girl’s team, LaRochelle captured two consecutive NSSSA titles which eventually led him to take over the Canadore College Panthers women’s program and lead the Panthers from 2000-2003.
Following a few years of being an assistant coach with the Lakers (2003-2005), LaRochelle took the reins and began what has been a remarkable run as head coach.
In 2006-2007, the Lakers claimed Nipissing University’s first ever provincial title, winning the OCAA championship and thanks to that outstanding season, LaRochelle was awarded with OCAA and CCAA coach of the year honours.
Always looking to improve his program, as well as himself, LaRochelle has taken his team to Calgary, Cuba and Tampa Bay the past few years to play some of the top competition from the OUA and CIS, making sure his athlete have all the tools to be at the top of their game.
LaRochelle is NCCP level 3 trained, but his accolades don’t end there.
Since 2011, LaRochelle has been technical director of the North Bay Youth Volleyball Cub Lakers; he is also summer camp director of two very successful volleyball camps – All-Skills and Peak Performance, which run every year at the Robert J. Surtees Nipissing University Student Athletic Centre.
In the summer of 2013, spearheaded by LaRochelle, the Ontario Volleyball Association (OVA) held its annual High Performance Centre (HPC) and provincial training at Nipissing University in which LaRochelle acted as a coach.
But he wasn’t done there. This year, LaRochelle was selected to be part of the Team Ontario U18 women’s program as an assistant which will compete in July in the National Team Challenge Cup in Winnipeg, Man.
