Hey everyone!

Well a long time has passed since I wrote my last blog post, and although a lot has happened all I can think of to write about is my team winning the national championship!

A lot of the other athletes here have made fun of our team for going so over the top in our celebrations, but for us players, the coaches, alumni and everyone else involved, our first championship in 35 years meant the absolute world.

Obviously, we couldn’t have asked for a more successful season. Tournament favourites and reigning champs Trinity Western University, our long term local rivals, were looking for their 3rd national championship in a row and were ranked #1 in the country almost all season. We had split our games with them in the regular season (1 win, 1 loss) and went on to defeat them in 3 sets in the national final to put the cherry on top of an incredible year.

There was no one secret to our success, but something that we took pride in ourselves on was the relentless competitiveness of our practices. Our non-starters would often win practice matches against our starting players, pushing them to be better every day of the week. We really were training how we wanted to play, often saying that our gameplay drills had some of the most competitive sets we played all year.

As with the end of any season we’ve had to say goodbye to some graduating players, and will soon welcome some new young talent to the squad. Our team is looking strong going into the future and if we keep our process the same, we hope to have some more successful outcomes in the years to come.

Coming back from nationals the past two years just a couple of weeks before final exams led to long nights at the 24-hour library. This year, I actually managed to improve my grades, despite our team’s need to give the trophy tours of Vancouver’s nightlife.

I spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with two different very welcoming Canadian families (yes Canadians are as nice as the stereotypes say). I had my first white Christmas, went tobogganing for the first time and even saw a moose.

After the grind of the school year and a quick break to see my family and some friends in Australia, I came straight back to Vancouver for my first Summer in almost 3 years. You may not believe it but Canada isn’t always cold.

Our coaching staff have put a huge emphasis on strength and conditioning over the past year and going forward. Our team has a great culture when it comes to the weight room, and it has shown with a number of us getting PBs in jump testing (including my new spike touch of 362cm), and us all being able to stay relatively healthy through a long season. Similar to what I experienced at GMVA full time, our coaches monitor our jump loads to make sure we don’t overdo it in practices. As well as having great physios and student trainers who help us recover and stay in our best condition.

To any athletes looking to continue their volleyball career overseas; keep training hard, use the resources you have around you, and good luck!

PS. Everyone should follow @ubcmensvolleyball on Instagram!

Harry Byrne

University of British Columbia Thunderbird.

I play volleyball and study engineering at the University of British Columbia. The UBC Thunderbirds are in the Canada West Division of the CIS - playing against universities from across western Canada. 

Over 2 months ago I flew out of Melbourne airport, both nervous and excited. Since being accepted I had spent about a year looking forward to this move to Canada and was so glad when the time finally came. The long flight (delayed over 2 hours) and getting lost in LAX airport took its toll, but when I finally cleared immigration to meet my new coach Kerry MacDonald, and Canadian Libero Blair Bann who was on his way home from Rio (and happened to need a lift from the airport) my mood shot back up. 
24 hours later I would be back on a plane to Korea, where we would complete a 10 day preseason camp there hosted by our partners SKK University, where we played against university teams, and professional teams the Samsung Bluefangs and Korean Airline Jumbos. The camp was a fantastic team builder as we bonded over long luxury bus rides, daily Korean spa baths, and of course, karaoke. 
Since arriving back in Vancouver I was finally able to settle in to university life at UBC. We have on-court practice every day for 2/2.5 hours, plus lifting three times a week, as well as optional morning practices. 
We are currently with 1 win and 1 loss, our first games were on the road against the Saskatchewan Huskies where we lost on the Friday but bounced back to win on Saturday. This weekend is our home opener against Winnipeg. It looks to be a very strong year for us. The squad is a great bunch of guys, having 15 new and welcoming mates right off the bat definitely helped making settling in easier.
The campus, and Vancouver in general is incredible. Definitely one of the coolest places in the world that I urge everyone to visit. 
To anyone wanting to take their volleyball further and go overseas for college, I highly recommend it. To think that 3 years ago I was picking up a volleyball for the first time; to be where I am today is awesome and I'd like to think this is still the beginning of my journey. 
I encourage anyone that wants to know more about the recruiting process, university life in general or wants to hear some stories from my time here so far to email me (harrybyrne19@gmail.com) or message me on Facebook. While I was starting this process I talked to quite a few other Australians who were already overseas and I can't stress enough how reassuring it is to compare notes with someone who has gone through the process before you. So I'd be happy to offer any knowledge that might help you in achieving your volleyball dreams in the coming years.   
I look forward to seeing all of the GMVA athletes working hard when I return home in April, all the best!

For updates follow the team on Instagram @ubcmensvolleyball or Facebook!