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Université Laval's Rouge et Or is about to return to the CEPSUM, a venue renowned for its boiling atmosphere and the fervour of the Montreal Carabins' fans.
Every visit to this university stadium is accompanied by the same rhetoric: hostile environment and constant pressure on the visiting players.
Yet in Quebec City, mental preparation remains a top priority. Already last year, the Rouge et Or displayed a confident attitude in the face of this challenge.
“We're aware of the situation, but we're not afraid. We're going to make the occasional bad play, but nobody's afraid. In a stadium full of 5,000 spectators, we can handle the noise. Noise doesn't mean we've lost our nerve. Even though no-one on the team has ever won in Montreal, we don't have any complexes. We'd like to give the fifth-year boys their first win at CEPSUM. Even though this is my third season, I want to win too.” – Olivier Cool, via Journal de Québec
The Laval team knows that the Carabins have an intense crowd, but the experience accumulated over the seasons has forged a team capable of dealing with this type of context.
The athletes are aware that there will be mistakes, less successful sequences and moments of hesitation, but the objective remains clear: stay focused on execution and don't let the atmosphere disrupt the game plan.
With 5,000 spectators packed into a stadium that boasts a tenfold decibel level, the CEPSUM represents as much a psychological test as a technical one.
As the Rouge et Or knows: it's not the noise itself that decides the fate of a match, but the players' ability to maintain their composure and show discipline.
Managing noise to perform better
The trip to Montreal will be not only an athletic duel, but also a test of character. The Lavallois see this noisy environment as an opportunity to prove their resilience and maturity.
By preparing to manage communication on the pitch and strengthening their cohesion, they want to demonstrate that no external context can make them lose their bearings.
In the end, while the Carabins rely on their fortress and their crowd to destabilize their opponents, the Rouge et Or, for their part, approach this challenge as an opportunity to assert their composure and their identity as a tight-knit group.
Once again, the CEPSUM will be the scene of a confrontation where noise and pressure will be an integral part of the show.
This content was created with the help of AI.
