Volleyball In Toronto

Volleyball is a rather cool game. It's not particularly easy to play well, though. It took me quite a while to go from being completely useless (as I was when Trish Frantsi and the CN Tower crew got me into it in late 1995) to my current level, where I play Competitive Beach 4s volleyball in Toronto's (Central and East) Sport and Social Clubs.

Note that I didn't say I play Comp 4s volleyball well. I just like to be challenged. I also like to learn from my teammates instead of trying to teach them... I wonder how my teammates like this strategy?

• Misc² is Mick and Sophie's team.
• Meat 2002 is René, Tai, Heather, Joe, Terri, and Mike. In the playoffs, we ended up 11th. The leaders, Settem Hussain were defeated by Sock It.

• Beach Patrol is Deb, Ken, and Heather's team (Intermediate 4s, B Level, Mondays.)
• S.U.Y.H. is René, Tai, Sophie, Rob, and Erin. (Intermediate 4s, C Level, Thursdays.)
• The Pylons is Dan, Chris (Hoke), Kathleen, Pam, and Vinnie. (Intermediate 4s, C Level, Thursdays.)

So anyway, I started out playing Rec volleyball in Toronto Central Sport and Social Club. Specifically, court volleyball. This is pretty fun stuff, although it always used to frustrate me when i would bounce the ball off the roof trying to bump a fast serve. How can I absorb all the energy in this ball? The other thing that frustrates is when I chicken out rather than dive after a ball. Yes, court volleyball players do dive - especially men with big, strong chests to land on, and no fear of breaking a rib. Sometimes I'll dive after a ball in the gym, but it's always with some reservations. (It doesn't help that we often play in a primary school gym, where the walls of the room don't permit one to go sailing off unimpeded in pursuit of a bad bump.)

These restrictions caused me to try beach volleyball. Real competitive beach volleyball (see your local Olympics) is played with just two on a team, and is a very demanding sport both in terms of mobility, strength, and mental quickness. I'm just not up to that. Rec and Intermediate beach volleyball are often played with six on a team, and I like that fine. Diving is safe and easy in the sand, and the soft beach also reduces the game's impact on a player's knees, feet, and spine. Also, you never hit the roof or walls - you can bump the ball up 50 m if you think it's wise.

I started playing beach in 1998 with the Netcom (now AT&T Canada) folks, on a team Sandra created called Quicksand. Quicksand and the teams that descended from it play at Ashbridge's Bay, on the shore of beautiful Lake Ontario, right at the foot of Coxwell Ave.

Photo credit: Naseem Husain

Sometimes I subbed in on the team of Val and Captain Ed. (The flexible, intelligent, and goofy Ed). In summer 2000, this was "Service with a Smile." These guys actually got bumped up from the Wednesday night Rec league to Intermediate.

In Toronto, you can actually play beach volleyball in the winter, at facilities like Northbeach and Beachblast, where an AT&T Canada team started competing in the fall of 98. This was a reincarnation of Quicksand, helmed capably by the intense and brittle-boned Glenn. Our solid 6'7" friend René is often a central presence on this team.

Photo credit: AT&T Canada

Summer 2000 was a good time for beach, and I ended up subbing in on "Denial of Service", Franz's beach team that plays at the Docks. Cool mix of AT&T and other people on that team, including Sarah who played varsity vball for McMaster U. The Docks is OK, but it has many fewer players and teams than TESSC's league at Ashbridge's bay. Also, the sand at Ashbridge's is natural, whereas the Docks uses trucked-in sand atop concrete.

The team I actually belonged to in the summer of 2000 was Hit For Brains. This is TJ's team, with some serious flyers who show us how spiking is done. The team is sort of a greatest-hitters group from a few other teams we've played on. (I bribed my way in.)

Paul with the flying set of death:

I should apologize to Paul for publicizing his butt like this. To be honest, when I first posted the photo I didn't even notice. Really. And now that it's here, I just can't find the will to take it down.

Val, with a good set, bad footwork:

If asked why I like the game, I would say that the attraction is mostly intellectual. There is no other sport that I "get" to the same extent, probably because there's nothing else I've spent as much time doing. All decent sports have a flow, an order of events that is sometimes followed and sometimes broken. An aware player can both follow the flow and play wisely with it, and break from the flow to surprise the opposition. A beginner or non-player can only dimly see this internal organization of volleyball, perceiving it merely as a combination of grace, prescience, and luck. What's really happening is a combination of team communications, experienced predictions of the coming play, and skilled execution of specific shots. Having played for about seven years, I am finally starting to follow the flow, and it definitely makes the game more fun.

The Captain and the Tower (Ed and Naseem) demonstrating a proper post-game cooldown. (That's me in the background with a big forehead and a 35mm camera.)

Photo credit: Naseem Husain

Links to add: Franz Vasquez and Denial Of Service!

Rene (Big Show) and the final year of play before Boston.
Uncredited photos are © East Pole Productions, 2000.

File: http://www.eastpole.ca/sports/vb/index.html
Created: 18 Sep 00, 01:02:14 
Updated: 06 Sep 07, 10:40:10