Team Nova Scotia Athlete Profile – Yarmouth/Acadian Shores

For the past three years, for nearly every weekend of the summer, Zach Bélanger has been making the three-hour drive from Meteghan River to Halifax for volleyball.

When the 17-year-old is staying in the city he lives with teammate Sebby and his dad, Eric Villeneuve, a member of the coaching staff for Team Nova Scotia’s Men’s Indoor Volleyball 2025 Canada Games Team.

“Sebby and I have become close friends. So that’s definitely helped me make connections with my teammates, and then because of that I now have friends in Halifax, and I know them way better,” says Zach.

This is Zach’s third year playing volleyball for Team Nova Scotia, and his first Canada Games. He is excited to take to the court and show the rest of Canada what Nova Scotia can do.

“Since we’re out in Atlantic Canada, we might have a smaller population than these other provinces, but I want to show how that doesn’t matter,” says Zach. “We are good enough to put our name on the map as a good volleyball province.”

Zach’s journey to The Games has taken a lot of dedication and sacrifice. Spending so much time practicing, playing, and travelling, Zach has missed out on things back home, but he says it’s worth it to go to the Canada Games.

Zach only started playing volleyball in the tenth grade after transferring from a small French school to Yarmouth Consolidated Memorial High School. He made the provincial team that same year, and Tyler Simmons, a member of the coaching staff for the 2025 Canada Games Team, says over the years the now 6’7 Zach has fully grown into a coordinated and tactical player.

“He’s an amazing teammate. He works extremely hard. He always puts the team above himself in everything that he does. He really helps the whole team culture and he’s a very intense guy and I love having him on my team for sure,” says Tyler.

Zach’s whole family will be travelling to Saint John’s to cheer him on. Plus, he will have ample hometown support. The local university, Université Sainte-Anne, has a very successful volleyball program, and Zach says the games are often packed with fans.

“Both my parents teach there, and the school has a really good volleyball team. So ever since I was younger, we’d always go watch the home games and the atmosphere is electric and the whole town shows up. So, I’ve always had a little interest in volleyball ever since watching those guys play and I think that’s one thing that motivated me to try volleyball,” says Zach. 

Zach will be playing volleyball at Université Sainte-Anne this coming fall while pursuing a Bachelor of Science. This will also see Zach playing against Sebby and another teammate he is close to, Will Crouse, as they all join different teams within The Atlantic Collegiate Athletics Association.

But this is not the first time Zach and Sebby have played against each other, they got into a heated match at club volleyball provincials this year, but no competition could shake these life-long friends.

“There were fireworks in that game and to see the guys go and give each other a hug in the middle of the game, it meant a lot, the team connection was there,” says Tyler.