Playing for Canada a learning experience
CAMBRIDGE — His volleyball wish list includes playing as a professional and competing for his home and native land at the Olympics.
Cambridge native Joel Rudd took another step in that direction last week, representing Canada at the FIVB under-21 world championship in the Czech Republic. A soon-to-be second-year player at Queen’s University, Rudd played a limited role as Canada finished in eighth place at the 16-team tournament that saw Poland blank Cuba 3-0 in the gold-medal match.
“It was a crazy experience for me. I have worn a Canada jersey before but not in a setting like this, at a FIVB tournament with all the other countries represented,” said the 18-year-old Rudd, who twice played for Canada’s U18 team at smaller competitions.
“It was a really cool opportunity to see how I stacked up and how we stacked up against the best players and top countries in the world. It was a cool experience, for sure.”
Canada opened the tournament with wins over the Czech Republic and Morocco before dropping three straight to Poland, Brazil and Russia. Canada closed out pool play with a win over Argentina but fell to China and Argentina in the classification round to finish eighth.
Rudd, who returned to his Cambridge home on Monday night, said he plans on taking a few days off before turning his attention to his second year of competition at Queen’s. His summer plans include competing in a few beach volleyball tournaments as well as hitting the gym in hopes of adding a bit of bulk to his six-foot-four, 176-pound frame.
Rudd, a former standout at Jacob Hespeler Secondary School and MVP of the Waterloo County high school league, was named to the Ontario University Athletics’ all-rookie team in his first season at Queen’s. The left-side hitter appeared in 17 games, starting eight of them, as the Gaels finished the regular season with a 10-8 record.
Despite his personal success, Rudd considered the season to be something of a disappointment as Queen’s was eliminated by McMaster in the quarter-final round of the OUA playoffs.
Buoyed by his recent experience in the Czech Republic, Rudd said he’s eager to take his game to a higher level in the weeks, months and years to come.
“Short term, I want more success at Queen’s … long term, it’s always been a dream of mine to go to go the next level and play professionally in Europe, or maybe South America, and also to eventually move on to the (senior) national team and play at the Olympics,” he said.
“Playing in that tournament, it will push me to get even better, to grow my talents and grow my strengths, to be able to compete at that level and the next level.”
London’s Matthew Maudsley, who enjoyed an outstanding freshman season with the University of Waterloo Warriors, was also on the Canadian squad that competed in the Czech Republic.