Here is the second email I sent to the elementary class that in Vancouver that has adopted me through the Canadian Olympic Adopt an Athlete program!
Hey Guys and Gals!
Thanks for the great questions this week, I have answered them as best I could!
1. Why did you choose beach over indoor volleyball?
Well I played every sport under the sun before I was 10 but my main focus at that point in my life was swimming. I was ranked in the top 10 in Canada for the freestyle 50 meter sprint and I still have records that haven't been broken from 16 and 17 years ago! Sadly I had an allergic reaction to chlorine so I had to stop swimming and I found beach volleyball in a fun professional demonstration event that was played in a local ice arena when I was 10. I couldn't stop thinking about it and told myself in grade 6 that I would move to Australia to play pro!!! I started playing in tournaments when I was 14 and I have been leading my Olympic dream since then.
2. Do you know the opponents you play?
This is a great question. I do know many of my opponents because alot of the time we are taking the same airplanes and staying in the same hotels. We get to know each other off the beach and I am really good friends with guys and gals from New Zealand, Brazil, Switzerland, Australia, Norway, England and France.
3. What % sure are you that you will make it to the Olympics
This is a very difficult question to answer because it is 2 years away and a lot can happen between now and then. With over 100 teams trying for 24 spots in the Olympics the competition is fierce. Lets just keep it simple and say that the odds are 50/50.
4. Do you ever relax at the beach?
One of the reasons I love beach volleyball so much is because of the beach! It is my favourite place to hang out because of the waves, the sun, the people and all the fun activities that can be enjoyed in the sand. If I could, I would be on the beach every day for the rest of my life!
5. Favorite food after a match
After a match I love a good pasta meal. Big chunks of italian sausage or chicken with a nice margarita sauce is delicious!
6. Favorite move in beach volleyball
I would say that nothing beats the feeling of a really big block on someone. That is my favourite thing to do to my opponent.
7. Cohen loved the alligator response and is now quite curious about great white sharks
Well Cohen, thanks for asking. I find white sharks to be extremely interesting because they are so powerful and so feared which in some part has turned them into an endangered species. Did you know that if a white shark stops swimming it will sink and drown?! Also I really enjoyed the Planet Earth video where it showed the sharks jumping out of the water to hunt seals in slow motion, that was really cool.
8. We were also hoping you could recommend a video of you playing. We already watched Can 1 vs. USA 1 in Cayman islands with Ray.
Well without being biased I would recommend the video of us playing in the National Championship final where we won!
There is also a really neat one where I am playing with a partner named ray against a German team on Ipanema beach in Brazil. You might enjoy that one because I show a bit of the beach and the scenery is amazing with the "Two Brothers" mountains in the background.
And to you Jackson, thanks for the videos. Pretty neat to see giant squid in their natural habitat because they are normally so deep in water. Did you hear about the time when a lot of them washed up on the beaches of Tofino on Vancouver Island? Here is the link to the story.
And to keep with our little tradition of watching videos, I wanted to send you my favourite funny video of all time. It is called "Bizkit the sleep walking dog" and it is HILARIOUS!
Recently one of my best friends Sean Rupert introduced a program to me where a school class adopts a national team athlete. The program is called Adopt and Athlete and it is run through the Canadian Olympic Committee.
Sean is a teacher in Vancouver and was keen to give this interactive fundraising program a shot. It would be a great opportunity to involve myself with a community, share my dreams, challenge individuals and positively influence youth to follow their dreams and pursue their passions! Sean and I dove right in immediately and I thought it would be neat to blog the interactions I am having with the class!
We have had two back and forth messages and I will be visiting their classroom this week for the first time! I am super excited!
Here is the first email we shared. Enjoy, there great, funny and rogue questions!
Sean's first email -
We gave a little info of we are from University Hill Elementary and we are Div 3 (grade 6) and Div 12 (grade 2/3). We live in Vancouver and loved the Olympics in 2010!!!!
Here is what we want to know:
What age did you start playing beach volleyball?
How old are you? (we want to do the math to figure out how long you have played)
Who is your partner?
What sports are your favorite to watch?
What do you do when you aren t paying beach?
Where are you from? (I didn't tell them)
How did you learn volley?
Also Cohen is wondering if you like alligators.....totally random, inappropriate questions. But funny and i am curious!
Andrea (the other teacher) and i will read your response to the class.
The kids are excited!!!
My response -
Unreal! Love how this is happening, you are right on it!
Here are the answers to your questions.
What age did you start playing beach volleyball?
I started playing beach volleyball when I was 14 years old. I saw there was a tournament in Parksville on Vancouver Island that summer and entered with my first partner named Patrick Gallager.
How old are you? (we want to do the math to figure out how long you have played)
I am 26 years old
Who is your partner?
The partner I am going to qualify with for the 2012 Olympic Games is going to be Chaim Schalk. He is a 6'5 and will play defence behind me. He is a fun guy and has a large blonde afro!
What sports are your favorite to watch?
I love watching tennis, snowboarding, ping pong and diving
What do you do when you aren t paying beach?
I have a passion for physical training so I am always in the gym working out. I also love to snowboard, surf and listen to music!
Where are you from? (I didn't tell them)
I am from the Comox Valley which is in the middle of vancouver island on the east coast. To get there you need to take a BC ferries to Nanaimo and then drive 1 1/4 hours north on the Island Highway.
How did you learn volley?
I learnt volley when I was in grade 5 and have been playing it every year since then. I played basketball, soccer, volleyball and did track and swimming until grade 8 when I chose volleyball as my main sport. I am still learning how to play volleyball every day and I know I will learn every time I play until I retire from beach volleyball.
And for you Cohen, do I like Alligators? We'll I ever since I did a project on Crocodiles in grade six I have been very fascinated with them large reptiles! I love the you tube clip "Battle at Kruger" which is an amazing video involving crocodiles, lions and water buffalo. Also, when I was in India I saw their largest Crocodile! You can see in the photo he is ENORMOUS at 23 feet long.
