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| Dabrowa Gornicza |
When I sit back and consider the last five years of my life, I am in shock about where I am today. As I've said to many friends, after graduating in 2012 I was ready to hang up my court shoes and move on. Now 5 years, 3 countries and 2 positions later, I am still playing volleyball without any idea of what I'd do without it. What is most confusing to many who are unaware of my career prior to arriving in Europe, is how I made the sudden switch to opposite. After playing middle professionally and with Team Canada, how and why could I make the sudden change? The truth is, it wasn't as 'out of the blue' as it seems. Growing up I played every position. From middle to setter, my father made me do it all. While it seems a little unconventional in today's volleyball world, I played just about every position until I left for university. Because of my father's commitment to my development as a volleyball player, instead of as a middle blocker, I was able to gain skills I would have missed out on otherwise. It's also because of my developmental years, that when I was being recruited to the NCAA it wasn't always clear what I was being recruited to as.
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| Kentucky 2010 |
After my first season as a middle at Kentucky the team started getting creative. Just as when I was playing at home, I was never a 'true' middle, my coach liked to refer to players without a clear position as hybrid players. For two seasons we played a three middle system. This meant that I played one rotation as a middle and two as an opposite while in front row. Then the spring of my junior year I became a full time opposite. This was all normal to me, but after our second preseason tournament my senior year, the staff changed their plan. I was no longer an opposite. I was delegated to the bench and spent weeks fighting my way back onto the starting line up...as a middle. I don't tell this story out of anger, I simply share it to show that my change of position was far from random.
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| Beziers, France playing middle |
Fast forward through a few professional seasons, Grand Prix, World Championships and a handful of Pan Am Cups to the summer of 2015. After a couple summers of rotating our left sides through the opposite position, the team settled on moving a different left side and myself into the position. While I had known the switch possible, I never imagined that after one practice in Calgary, where we were scrimmaging with Puerto Rico in front of the Canadian club nationals, that I would be thrown into the game. But this is how it happened and I managed not to completely embarrass myself. Unfortunately a month later, in my second international game, I compound dislocated my right, pinky finger in Cuba and was unable to return to the court until Pan Am Games. This left me with no video, searching for a contract in a position I had barely played.
Like I said, I have been extremely fortunate in the opportunities I've been given. More than any season before, I count myself lucky that Juan and Dabrowa Gornicza took the chance to hire me for the 2015/2016 season. It was because of my good friends in the volleyball community, that just as things were looking grim, I was able to find a contract and continue my new dream of playing opposite. I am now in the final months of my second season as an opposite and I am feeling more at home in the position every day. I don't think I'll be hopping back in the middle any time soon, but I like to think I could, just to make my father proud of the fact that he made me a well rounded volleyball player.
As always, I give a big thank you to everyone who has played a part in continuing my dreams.
10 years ago I was one of you, sitting at the KW Predators first ever banquet. I was 20 pounds skinnier, all arms and leg and full of excitement for my next adventure at the university of Kentucky. Since that day I have represented Canada at multiple international tournaments and played professionally at two positions in 3 countries over 5 seasons. But my story is far from what one would expect from a high level professional athlete.
Despite appearances today, my story is of an underdog coming out on top. As a kid I was never the athlete. I couldn't ride a bike until I was 11 and I got cut from every rep team I tried out for. Even volleyball, that I was constantly surrounded by, was a challenge for me. I attended my father's camps and was consistently one of the worst players in my group. Regardless when I was entering 6th grade my parents allowed me to start playing club volleyball. While I remember this season fondly I can now see my parents must remember it a little different. What I remember is looking forward to practice every Thursday and Sunday. Goofing around with new friends, spending time with my parents who coached me and spending hours trying to serve a ball over the net. I also remember trying over and over to perfect skills with almost no success. I spent most tournaments comfortably sitting on a wood bench hoping my team would play well enough that I'd get a chance to step on the floor. With no exaggeration whatsoever I was the worst player on my team. I knew it, my parents knew it and my team knew it. But that didn't mean I wasn't improving. It didn't stop me from working hard every minute I had the chance to and it didn't stop me from being a good and supportive teammate.
At the end of my first season I vividly remember my parents gently sitting me down and letting me know they would be ok if I didn't want to continue playing volleyball. I had no idea why this conversation was happening. Why would I chose to leave my team? I loved playing even if it wasn't pretty, I enjoyed going to the gym and working hard and while they may not have known it, I knew I would be going onto play university volleyball some day. And so, they continued to coach me and I continued to work hard. I took every opportunity to play. I would hit the balls against a wall, practice my foot work in the hallways trying to touch the ceiling and I would volley while laying watching tv. I put everything I had into being good enough to step on the court. And for years it wasn't enough. In my first 2.5 years of club I spent more time on the bench than any other player on my team. 
Finally going into 9th grade I was starting to over hand serve a ball consistently. In what seemed like an over night miracle all my hours of practice finally started clicking into place. I became a starter on both my club and high school teams. Many of the girls who once were considered the best in Ontario started falling behind. This small successes for made me hungry for more. My summers were filled with volleyball. I attended all the high performance centers, my father's camps and found any excuse to play that I could. All of that volleyball didn't leave me with much time. But I had made my choice. Instead of school dances, movies and weekend get togethers I was in the gym working towards where I wanted to be. Thankfully for me, all the missed parties and sleep overs eventually paid off when I signed to attend the University of Kentucky. 
Even today when I run into coaches who knew me in my OVA years they raise and eye brow in surprise when I tell them I am playing as a professional. No one expected me to do what I'm doing today. What these acquaintances never witnessed were the years of work spent laying a foundation. While it wasn't obvious that I was improving I was quietly setting myself up for success. The perfect analogy for this is of the Chinese bamboo plant. When a farmer plants a seed for a bamboo tree they water it with care all year. But after months they see no growth. The following year they continue to water and care for the seed devotedly. Yet again no growth is seen. This continues for five years. The farmer waters and tends the seed that was planted waiting patiently for it to break the earth never seeing any growth. But the farmer has faith that all their devotion is working. Suddenly after five years the bamboo plant shoots up 80 meters. Had the farmer lost faith and patience and stopped tending his bamboo it would not have built its root system that allowed it to grow to 80 meters when the time came. Like the bamboo plant volleyball is the same. While you sit on the bench, struggle with a skill or fight for perfection never lose faith that your hard work will pay off. Also remember that when you're on top there is always someone working hard to catch up to you, so you have to work just as hard.
In closing I can't speak at the 10th anniversary of the Predators without mentioning my father and Russ Woloshyn and the executive committee. 10 years ago they also took a risk. They had a vision of running an elite club. From our developmental programs to our club teams they wanted kW to have a club that encouraged excellence. When they chose to split from the Tigers many people in the province didn't think it was a good move. There weren't many clubs in that time and many questioned why anyone would leave a successful club to start their own. The executive we have today all supported and joined in this dream as well as many coaches from around the region. Being a part of the original 18u team it warms my heart seeing how the hard work of the executive and coaches has paid off. The club has grown and gotten better every season. It takes time just like an other worthwhile venture but the athletes and coaches we have this season have proven that the Predators are a club to respect and feared on the other side of the net. I'd like to congratulate the executive on the massive accomplishment it is to have grown such a successful club that offers so many opportunities for young players. It is something to celebrate.
