OVA News

In John Child’s PROfile he mentioned “I’m a big believer in you won’t do anything well if you don’t enjoy doing it.” When you watch Kara Zakrewski play, coach or as a inspirational speaker it’s clear to see that a lot of her success comes from the enjoyment and passion she has for beach volleyball.

Kara has played in over 30 FIVB events, and was a silver Medalist at the 2009 OVA Provincial Championships and the 2009 Volleyball Canada Beach Nationals. Before Kara was spending her time playing professionally and training full time in Toronto and California she was a strong Indoor Athlete at the University of Ottawa. At Ottawa she was a two time East First Team All star and a First Team All Canadian in 2002-03. Here’s a quick Q&A:

OVA: Why did you start playing Beach?
Kara: To train for indoor during the summer.

OVA: What are the advantages to indoor athletes who play beach volleyball?
Kara: Development of all your skills since you have to do them all and you receive many more repetitions each practice and game.

OVA: What do you like most about Beach Volleyball?
Kara: The athleticism of the game, how much of an impact I have on the outcome of the game.

Volleyball continues to grow in popularity every year in Ontario and Canada. Volleyball Canada and the OVA have made some big strides for our National team, including the hiring of our National Team coach Lennard Krapp and partnering with Beach Blast and the Canadian Sport Centre to create a National Beach Volleyball Practice Centre in Ontario.

OVA: What message would you give to any young beach athlete wanting to play for Canada?
Kara: Keep going.  Even if someone says you’re not good enough, or you’ll never make it, believe in yourself. Other people don’t know what’s inside of you and what you’re capable of, you don’t even really know. The best you can do is to push yourself and do your best at every moment, in this way you will never fail.

OVA: If you could change one thing about our sport what would it be?
Kara: I wish there were more events in Canada, to showcase our sport, to get more sponsors, and so that I could play close to home more often.

OVA: Where do you see Beach in Canada going in the next 5 years?
Kara: I would like to see a full beach tour, I really believe our sport was at it’s best in Canada when we had a strong Canadian tour.  I also see a huge shift in the development of Canadian athletes, since each province has taken an avid interest in developing beach athletes and since we have a new National training centre in Canada.

OVA: What was it like playing on the World Tour?
Kara: I love competing on the World Tour because I get to play against the top beach athletes in the world, and, in so doing, push myself to my highest level.  It’s amazing to see how many people in the world are truly passionate about beach volleyball, and I’m not only talking about the athletes.  For some tournaments fans sleep outside all night to watch the games.  It’s also amazing to experience different cultures and to travel around the world, and to realize that my favourite place to be is at home in Canada. But, I wouldn’t know that, nor would I be as good a player as I am if I hadn’t traveled and pushed my limits.

OVA: Best memory from playing?
Kara: My best memory used to be when Annie Martin and I beat a top Brazilian team to qualify for the Shaghai FIVB Main Draw in 2006. However, about 2 weeks ago, I created a new favourite memory – winning a Norceca tournament stop vs. Cuba in a tough 3 sets with my partner Julie Rodrigue.  We came back from an 13-11 deficit in the 3rd game to win the game 17-15.  If you want to watch the comeback, you can do so on our website www.dreambigg.ca

We would like to thank Kara for all of her help with this article. We wish her the best of luck in the upcoming season.

If you would like to recommend someone for PROfiles please contact Josh Nichol
jnichol@ontariovolleyball.org | 416-426-7233