For a few minutes in their season opening match it didn't appear to matter that the Capilano Blues men's volleyball team was up against a Douglas College squad with bigger, stronger and more experienced players on it.
It didn't matter that the Royals were the defending PacWest provincial champions while the Blues trotted out a lineup that featured no returning starters from last year's team that finished fourth in the league and lost in the opening round of the playoffs.
It didn't matter that the Blues had another new coach — the fifth time in the past six years that they've started a new season with a different head coach than the one who finished the previous season — with Drew Venables making his rookie debut as a collegiate head coach.
Once you toss the ball up for the first serve, none of it matters. And on opening night Friday at the Capilano Sportsplex, the Blues were going toe-to-toe with the champs.
"You always have these grand ideas that you might just win every single game you ever coach," Venables said with a laugh after the match.
Upset mode was in full effect in the first set with the teams battling to a 20-20 tie in the race to 25 before Douglas rolled off three straight points. The Blues battled back to 24-23 but couldn't get over the hump and lost a tight one 25-23. From there, however, the grand ideas of an undefeated lifetime were swept aside as Douglas took control and won the next two sets to finish off a 25-23, 25-15, 25-19 sweep.
Though the final score looked lopsided, Venables said he liked what he saw from his young team as they battled what is projected to be one of the best teams in the league.
"Seeing the top team it's nice that you can gauge yourself, where you're at," he said. "I'm not disappointed with our guys' effort.... I thought we had a chance to win tonight. It's encouraging, because in my opinion they were the best team coming in to the start of the year. If that's where we're at, then I'm pleased with our start."
The Royals beat the Blues again the following night to hand Capilano an 0-2 record to start the season. The job of whipping a bunch of new parts into a machine that can climb back up the standings now lies with Venables, a former CIS player with stints as an assistant coach at Thomspon Rivers University, Capilano and Vancouver Island University on his resume, as well as experience as a head coach in club programs and with British Columbia provincial teams. Venables took over for Nathan Bennett who moved to Thompson Rivers University.
Venables inherits a lineup that is led by third year captain Taylor Hammond, an explosive outside hitter and server from Regina.
"He's our vocal leader," said Venables. "It's nice to see he was one of the guys who put in a lot of work in the weight room over the summer. I think it showed a lot in his play."
Backing up Hammond on the leadership front will be Terrence Reitsma, Elijah Needham, Tristan Stanjeck and Armin Hosseini, a pack of second year players who will be getting a chance to hit the floor this season after spending much of last year on the bench.
"I always say to the guys, you always hear about those no-names in the NFL or any of the big leagues — the starting guy goes down and now it's time for the guy you've never heard of to step up," said Venables. "I think that's good. A lot of these guys are now having the opportunity for the first time in their college careers to step up and be the guy to make the plays that will help the team win, instead of being on the sideline watching someone else do it."
Pushing the young vets is a pack of even younger rookies, including a group of four in setter Matthew Graham, libero Aleksa Protic, and hitters Brendan Cairns and Daniel Soloman who are expected to contribute immediately.
"It's exciting because they've all got long-term potential," said Venables. "As a coach you always want to work with those guys who can handle next-level coaching, and all four of those guys can. I'm very pleased with their work ethic and how they're coming along."
Venables knows, however, that rookie enthusiasm also comes with rookie mistakes, and all four of those rookies are joining the team straight out of high school.
"Here at this level — and as the levels get higher and higher — your mistakes are amplified," he said. "If you make one you know teams are going to put the ball on you again and you'll feel the pressure that way."
With no real pecking order established on the team, Venables said it will be a weekly, even daily, battle between players for playing time, and that's just the way he likes it.
"One thing I've said to the guys right from the start — being a younger coach I get to coach the guys the way I wanted to be coached," he said. "For me that's the best guys in practice day in and day out get to start. That's all I could ask for as a player. I know there are some programs out there that if you're in your third or fourth or fifth year you get to play kind of as a mandatory thing, but for me as a player it used to drive me nuts if I was beating someone in practice but they got to start over me in games."
The dream of winning every game is already out the window but Venables said he's intent on building throughout the season so that the Blues are ready to peak when the provincials finally roll around in February.
"With such a young team my first goal, the first thing I wrote down, is I want to show these guys how to train, how to be a high-level volleyball player," he said. "I want to show these guys that if you want to go to the next level — CIS, national team, pro — there's a certain way you have to come to work every day and I think a lot of guys were surprised to see how intense that is day in and day out. And it is a grind. Our season is insanely long. It's about as long as a professional season. These guys are also going to school, some of them are away from home for the first time. Just kind of politely shoving them into the world of men and athletics is my goal."
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The Capilano women opened their season with a pair of wins over Douglas. Both Blues teams will be back in action this weekend at the Sportsplex, hosting Vancouver Island University on back-to-back days. Match times will be 6 p.m. women and 8 p.m. men on Friday night and 1 p.m. women, 3 p.m. men on Saturday.
