Hybrid Player

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.

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.

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.