Van Berkel has eyes for Olympic volleyball podium
Making it to the Games was the goal, the real hope is to win a medal for Canada
It's his first trip to the Olympic Games, but Lucas Van Berkel has already played a role in helping Team Canada men's volleyball reach its second in a row.
For the first time ever, the Canadians have entered back-to-back Olympics, as their eyes shift to a bigger prize — one involving the podium.
“We've already created history with going two times in a row, but I don't think really anyone is kind of looking at that because, as cliché as it sounds, we're not happy to be there,” said Edmonton's Van Berkel, who has joined fellow hometown teammates Jay Blankenau and Blair Bann. “We want to win a medal, which Canada has never done either. I mean, that's our sole focus, so that's kind of like all the other background stuff that we're not too interested in.”
OK, happy to be playing in his first Olympics, yes. But satisfied in just making it? Not even close. Not even for Van Berkel and the other four Olympic newcomers who are joining the seven members of Team Canada making a return to volleyball's grandest stage following a fifth-place finish at Rio 2016.
While it's the team's second time in a row to the Olympics, it's also just the second time in the latest seven editions of the Games that Canada's men's volleyball team has played in. But there is no overlooking the fact they are starting to make it a regular occurrence.
“It's definitely a good step in the right direction for the program with the second in a row,” said Van Berkel, a six-foot-nine, 240-pound Trinity Western University product. “Every time we can be at the Games is another chance to get on the podium.
“That's what our real goal is.” Last time around, Canada proved they can compete with the top countries in the volleyball world, finishing second in their pool to advance to the quarter-final round on the way to a top-five finish.
The 29-year-old middle blocker was in the national program at the time, but didn't travel with the team to those Olympic Games.
“I was on the extended roster, but I didn't get the selection,” said Van Berkel, who plays professionally for United Volleys Frankfurt when he's not with his fellow countrymen. “My one sole goal in volleyball was to make the Olympics and to compete like this, so it's pretty cool.”
An Edmonton Christian high school grad, Van Berkel certainly comes from the right roots in Canada, considering his hometown has resulted in one-full-third of Team Canada's Olympic roster.
“Yeah, that's pretty cool, I guess,” Van Berkel said with a laugh.
“I don't know, we're doing something right in Edmonton, I don't know what the program is, but we're doing OK.”
Oddly enough, none of the three played for their hometown University of Alberta Golden Bears program under former Team Canada Olympian Terry Danyluk, whose fourth-place result at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles continues to set the bar for the Canadian indoor game.
“And it's cool that a lot of those guys are still involved today in coaching and everything like that,” said Van Berkel, who is coached on Team Canada by Glenn Hoag, another 1984 team member. “They were real role models for us because they were so close (to reaching the podium) and they know what it takes. So, it's cool to be coached by some of those guys who were in those shoes at one point and taught us a lot of lessons.”
Along the way, Van Berkel won back-to-back U-sports national championships in 2011-12 with the Spartans.
“It was a tough decision not to go to U of A, but if I can say I'm at this point right now, then I'm happy with the decision,” he said. “But Terry's a great guy and an amazing coach, so it was tough to turn (the offer to play for the Bears) down, but it worked out.”
And if things continue to work out that way for him under his new Olympic backdrop, it could certainly bode well for the sport's popularity, not only back home but across the nation.
“It's cool that we can do this and continue growing the sport Edmonton-wide,” said Van Berkel, who plays professionally in Germany when he wasn't suiting up with Team Canada.
As for the Japan experience, given the state of things with no fans allowed in the stands, there is an upside there, as well.
“I think we can use that to our advantage,” he said.
“We have Japan in our pool, so it takes away the home-crowd advantage for them.
“Now it's even more dialed in with less distractions.”