In their first season together, Sophie Bukovec and Jamie Broder won gold at the Volleyball Canada 2017 Senior Beach Nationals.
This is the first national championship win for Bukovec. She found the calibre of competition to be quite strong.
"A lot of the teams we train with were here competing this weekend, which is always awesome. We know each other pretty well so you have to find ways to strategize in order to beat each other. Especially in that last match, because we know each other so well, you have to make mid-game adjustments and I think we did that pretty well, and we came out with the win."
Jamie Broder has won the Nationals at the youth level but never before at the senior level. She brought forward her experience playing at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
"I think it's just knowing that you have to be patient with the game, that the other team is going to score points, especially at this level. They're a very experienced strong team as well so not letting that affect your next play and to be able to recover and stay calm."
Her advice to focus on staying calm under pressure was golden.
"I felt really good today. We had a really tough quarter-final where we didn't play our best ball and I think that was actually a blessing in disguise because we kind of came in a little bit more focused in both the semi-final and the final. We knew we really needed to execute our side of the court but make sure that we were taking care of our game in order to win, and we did that."
Taylor Pischke and Julie Gordon took home silver.
"We're a new partnership this weekend so we really didn't have any practices under our belt so it was good. We got better with every match. I don't think we played as well as we wanted to in the final, but overall it was a good learning opportunity for us," said Pischke. "I think there's lots to learn going into the off-season. It's kind of our last tournament of the year so we've got a lot to build on and work on for next year."
Julie Gordon says she's happy with how they came together on such short notice but disappointed with the final outcome.
"But we're happy with the silver medal, as happy as we can be," she laughs. "There's a lot to build ongoing into the off-season so we're excited to have our off-season now after a long, long season.There's some things in our minds that are fresh that we know we can work on, things like team chemistry, basic skills. You can always improve on basic skills no matter if you're the best in the world or a recreational player, so we're excited to see how good we can get."
David Culin VSE (Vision Sports and Entertainment) director says there were a few upsets over the weekend.
"Every game is different, that's why we play them. It's neat to see some younger teams, some new teams, different teams. It's great to see some of the up-and-coming Canadian National players that we're going to see in the future," said Culin.
"That's what keeps the sport fresh for both the men's and women's sides. It's what grows the sport. Beach volleyball in Canada is very strong, and its a testament to the fact that there are so many teams that can compete, which is amazing. Seniors start at 19 and there are a number of players that have had a lot of international experience and are still competing."
Volleyball Canada Senior Beach Nationals brought together 33 men's and women's teams from across the country. Seventeen women's teams made up the overall total.
Steve Anderson, head coach for the Volleyball Canada Beach National Team, used the weekend to scout out young, talented athletes.
"Primarily I'm looking for their character, if they have resilience, problem-solving skills. We have a lot of talented athletes that just can't do the journey. Beach volleyball is an interesting sport because often times you don't have a coach with you, you're living in the same room as your partner, so you've also got to have a lot of relationship skills."
Anderson was impressed by the toughness and determination resonating from the athletes.
"There were so many tight matches, and there were some errors made because it's a very difficult, technical sport. In spite of the errors, the fight and grit was quite incredible, so that was what I was quite impressed by, a lot of good results by up and coming players."
The National Team Selection Camp runs in November.
"And that's where we decide on our carding for our development athletes. They're judged on 10 different criteria, one of them is results, the other is international potential."
The ultimate goal is to mold future Olympians.
