CANADIANS LOOK AHEAD TO TOKYO
Men’s national volleyball team poised to make Olympics history
For almost three decades it has been the exclusive domain of two Canadians — Al Coulter and Garth Pischke — the only people to play indoor volleyball for this country at two Olympic Games.
The doors to that club were flung wide open last Sunday in Vancouver, as the national men’s team qualified for Tokyo 2020 with a core group of eight returnees from Rio 2016. They will make their own history in July in Japan, since a Canadian indoor team has never appeared at back-to-back Games.
“When we qualified in 2016 I had a huge sense of the history we had made,” Blair Bann wrote in an email to Postmedia. “I believe it was the first qualification for 25 years for Volleyball Canada. Now we have gone and done it again.
“It means everything to the team, for the older guys who will have our second chance, and for the new guys who have really come in and lifted the team to new heights.
“I will always remember a moment in Rio when we lost in the quarter-finals to Russia, a bunch of us were sitting on the court, over top the rings logo, and saying how we gotta get back here in four years, and now that we have accomplished that, it makes me believe we can give yet another boost to volleyball and continue its growth.
“We have a responsibility to the country to put forth our maximum effort and that’s what we are going to do and as we witnessed this weekend, when we do that, really anything can be possible for the group and our country.”
Canada finished up their qualifying run with a win over Puerto Rico, but the crucial moment came earlier in a stunning comeback victory over Cuba. They were down 2-0 and stormed all the way back. Coulter was glued to his TV in Calgary, entranced by the action and overcome by memories of his own career. He played at the Olympics in 1984 and 1992. The team fell just short of qualifying for 1988.
“We all started playing pro, and it was a bit of a pain, because in ’87 the governing body passed a stupid rule that if you went and played pro for that year, you couldn’t come to the Olympics. We lost 11 of our 12 guys.
“They said they didn’t want to come back to make $550 a month when they’re getting $10,000 a month to play overseas. They stayed for the money, and you’ve got to do that. I was the only guy who stayed because I had a job.
“We were in the qualifier, took Italy to five and lost 15-13 to qualify. If we’d had a couple of those boys, we would have qualified. That’s a tough one for me. I look back and think we should have gone to three Olympics in a row and we should have medalled at one of them.”
No Canadian team has won an indoor volleyball medal at the Olympics. The 1984 men came closest, losing the bronze medal match to Italy 15-11, 15-12 and 15-8. Pischke, who played in
1976, was the only team member in L.A. with Games experience, and Coulter said Canada paid the price.
“That’s why we had trouble in ’84 with Italy. They’d been there three times and were confident in the bronze medal match. Our eyes were wide open, we were going ‘look at the crowd, it’s incredible.’ These guys have now got to be going ‘we’ve been there before, we’ve done it, now it’s time to play the game the way we can and put on a show and get to that semifinal.’”
That’s certainly the goal. The Canadian team that qualified in Vancouver is ranked No. 7 in the world and has been drawn into the weaker of two groups, with Poland (3), Italy (4), Iran (8), Japan (10) and Venezuela (36). The other group features the top two teams, Brazil and the United States, as well as Russia (5), Argentina (6), France (9) and Tunisia (22). The top four teams in each group advance to the playoffs.
“Without a doubt we want a medal,” said assistant coach Dan Lewis. “Now, you could easily not even make playoffs, the level of international volleyball in the top 10, top 12 is that high … Out of the top six or seven, any of those teams can make it. We are right there on the fringe. If we go in and we’re prepared, if we start executing well, if we play similar to our level we are finding now, there is a good chance we medal.”
That’s six busy months down the road yet. Most Canadian players left Vancouver on Monday to rejoin pro teams in Europe, and their seasons will continue through the end of April. Only then will the national team come back together for training to prepare for the gruelling five-week Volleyball Nations League tournament that will take them all over the globe. By the time the Olympics roll around in July, they will be well travelled and well trained. When they get to Tokyo, the experience many of them gleaned from Rio should pay dividends.
“The first time you go it can be overwhelming,” said Lewis, who was in Brazil as an alternate. “You can get a little bit distracted. One of the dangers sometimes is it becomes about your Olympic experience as opposed to the team’s Olympic experience. Being able to go the second time around and really understand what those distractions are going to be and how they could manipulate you, you’re going to have a clearer focus.”
They’re going to Tokyo with a team that has skill, depth, experience and a good chance at making some Canadian history.
“But that’s not what our intention is,” said TJ Sanders. “Our intention is to be the best team in the world and along the way, if that happens, of course history will be made. We have the expectations and confidence that come with being one of the top teams. And you can feel the weight of making history because of the response from people watching. That feels cool. That’s sweet.”
They should revel in that feeling, because it is so rare in Canada. Perhaps that will change. Perhaps the sport is building momentum and a wider talent base that will fuel topnotch national teams for decades to come. Regardless, a second straight trip to the Olympics should never be taken for granted.
“Obviously I have amazing memories from Rio and the whole event in general was like a dream to me,” said Nick Hoag. “It’s hard to describe how amazing it feels to go back and to represent this amazing country once more at the peak of the athletic world. I’d want to go back another time if my body allows me.”
A third trip? Now that would be historic.