Thirty-year-old survives bumps of rough journey to finally become volleyball Olympian
The drive to finally become an Olympian has been a bumpy one for Brett Walsh.
Literally.
But this time around, the Calgary volleyball star knows he is getting off the bus in Paris with Canadian teammates, unlike the setter’s “bittersweet” journey to the doorstep of the Tokyo Games.
“I was on the bus that took everybody into the Olympic Village in Tokyo,” recalled 30-year-old Walsh of his 2021 Games misadventure. “And there was myself and two other guys who were named as alternates that didn’t get off the bus.
“We said goodbye to everybody, and we carried on and headed back home,” continued Walsh. “So it’s about as close as you can come without actually being able to call yourself an Olympian and getting the Olympic experience. That was bittersweet — I was excited for the team, but it was hard to not continue on with them.”
Three years later, the feeling is excitement, of course.
But in the build-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, it was motivation — as could be expected — driving Walsh to be present and counted on in Paris.
“Yeah … that certainly has been deeply motivating for me since Tokyo,” Walsh said. “And it makes it definitely sweeter now to know within a couple of days, I’ll be getting to the village and actually getting to go through the doors.
“I feel like I’ve improved as a volleyball player, certainly,” continued Walsh. “But with age and experience and maturity, I think I’ve been able to settle into the game a little bit better and understand the game, which only comes with time and experience. And then I’ve settled into my role on the team as a more veteran guy and maybe more of a leader and a vocal guy on the team.”
Indeed, it’s been a decade of growth and staying committed to volleyball — and the national body — for Walsh in getting to these Games, which open for the Calgarian and his Canadian teammates Sunday versus Slovenia (1 p.m. MT) at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles conference centre.
They follow with two more Pool A preliminary tilts versus host France on Tuesday, July 30 (1 p.m. MT) and versus Serbia on Saturday, Aug. 3 (1 p.m. MT).
“I’ve really gone through the whole generational change of the team from being a really young guy with some guys that played for many, many years before me to being a younger guy on the team but amongst peers and now to being one of the older more experienced guys on the team,” said Walsh, of the changes within the Canadian team which correspond with the last three Olympic cycles. “So it’s been a cool journey that way.
“But there’s been a few of us that have been along that very similar timeline that I’ve been on.”
Three of them are now in their 30s for Paris — Walsh, Edmonton’s Lucas Van Berkel and Quebecker and captain Nick Hoag, who’s the squad’s only holdover from as far back as the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
So the veteran trio is at the centre of Canada’s focus to improve on its disappointing eight-place finish in Tokyo.
“We’re ambitious, for sure,” said Walsh, who credits a lot of Canada’s lead-up success to the national team’s head coach of the last two years, Tuomas Sammelvuo. “We demonstrated this summer through the course of the (FIVB) Volleyball Nations League competition to ourselves and to other teams in the world of volleyball that we’re capable of playing with, competing against and winning against any team.
“We know that, and I think other teams know that. And so our expectations are simply to put ourselves in a position to play our best possible volleyball during the Olympics and then compete really really hard and try to do it for each other and for the country and Volleyball Canada and then see if it’s enough at the end of the day.”
For Walsh, of course, just being there might seem enough after all he’s been through in his Olympic journey, but he wants to earn a medal as much as anyone in Paris.
“Yeah … I’m really happy to still be a part of this team,” said the 6-foot-5 setter, now a pro with France’s Alterna Stade Poitevin. “A big thing is just staying committed to Volleyball Canada first and foremost — something I care about a lot. Anytime I’ve have been given an opportunity to wear a Canada jersey, I have always jumped at it. So that’s been my mindset.
“And I’m now believing in doing things based on my principles of wanting the best for the team — first and foremost — and doing whatever is necessary to help the team and then letting the chips fall where they may.”
Those chips falling come with big support, as well, with his parents and girlfriend, Tessa, in Paris to cheer him on.
Dad Rod was a setter for the Calgary Dinos back in the late 70s, while Mom Karen was a setter at the University of Alberta, where Walsh himself honed his volleyball before turning professional.
“I certainly wouldn’t be in the position to be going to an Olympic games without any of those people,” added Walsh, who graduated from E.P. Scarlett High School. “So I’m so happy they’re going to be there in person and get to experience kind of a once in a lifetime thing.
“It’s a dream come true. Going to the Olympics is truly the pinnacle of our sport, and every professional and national team player’s dream.”