EP28 Brittney Page - Volleyball - National Team

This is the Empowered athlete podcast, episode 28. The empowered athlete Podcast is thrilled to welcome Brittany Page to the show. Today, Kari and I are going to be talking to Brittany about her stellar international volleyball career. She represented Canada for eight years. She was the captain of the team from 2012 until 2016. And she played abroad in Europe for years in countries such as Italy, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Finland, Germany, and she was the first Canadian women's player to play professionally in China. Let's get to it.

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Day challenge and we're so excited about it. This month is Mindful March, so we are stepping into our self awareness and the awareness of others. And here's how you can choose your own adventure if you want to participate. Yes is the answer. In Mindful March, we will meditate daily, do yoga weekly, and gratitude journaling daily. And it would be listing three things you're grateful for. We will also do an act of kindness towards ourselves or towards others on a daily basis in this challenge. And of these four options, if you want in, you can do some or all of them. You, you can't just do the weekly yoga, you gotta do some of the other ones too. The daily stuff. That's why it's a 30 day challenge. So Paul and I will be doing all of them and I'll be posting helpful tips in our email that we send out. So if you want to be part of the 12:30 challenge, all you have to do is sign up. There's a link in the show notes and when you do that, you're going to get little helpful tips from us like the apps we use, like our structure struggles and our successes along the way. And you'll also learn about the new challenges that are coming up. So we can't wait to have you join us in this 30 day challenge.

Welcome to the Empowered Athlete Podcast. Created to support athletes in their pursuit of excellence and inspire others toward their best lives. Hosted by Kari Schneider, coached to top performers in sport, sport and life. And Paul Duarten, former national and professional volleyball player.

Hello everyone. Welcome to the Empowered Athlete Podcast. And Brittney Page, international volleyball star. Just retired, basically just wrapped up in 2016, but former captain of the women's national volleyball team, a veteran of the squad, tons of volleyball history and an amazing person. We are so excited to have you on today with us. Welcome, Brittany.

Thank you guys so much. Thanks for having me. I really appreciate you reaching out to me for this one.

So you're all the way out in bc? We're in Ontario Right now. That's where you grew up. Tell us. Tell us. Tell us about your start in volleyball.

Okay. Yeah. I grew up in Vernon, which is the north end of the Okanagan. And I basically started playing volleyball because I have an older sister, too. She's two years older than me. And she started playing, and she was really good at it. And I was like, well, obviously, I have to try and beat her and be better and, you know, try and get all the attention. So she. I really went into it because she started, you know, she was the same stature, and he's really, really good player. And I really got into it because she did.

And how tall are you?

I'm good 6ft, maybe 6 1. And she was 6 2. I think, like, at some point, I was the shortest in my family. Like, my brother's tall, my dad's tall. My mom's shrinking a little, and she's like 5 11.

So you felt like the little one that had to keep up.

Yeah, yeah, definitely. And I was always super active. I was like a competitive Highland dancer growing up, too, till I was about 15. So I was really like, what am I going to do, volleyball or highland? And obviously, there's more opportunity and.

Okay, hold on, hold on.

Skip over this.

So just so I get this right in my head, I'm picturing. Is it Michael Flatley?

That's Irish dancing.

That's Irish dance. Okay, so you did Highland dancing.

Highland dancing. I do know the Irish jig.

Is it similar?

It is very similar. It's. It's in kilts, you know, and it's very powerful.

I had a good friend in school who used to do highland dancing, and her calves were like. Her calves were like. Like. Kind of like Paul's calves. Like these boulders. These little boulders?

Yeah. Well, you're jumping on your toes, and you're kicking and doing the splits. And in retrospect, I was like, wow, this is great training for volleyball.

You had this fantastic foundational build for plyometrics and explosive power.

Exactly. And that's why I was good at it, because I was very powerful compared to dancers. Right? Like, they're. They're a little bit more dancing and flowing, and I.

That's wild jumping a lot.

And sometimes, you know, now I'm like, okay. Alone in the gym, I'm like, I'm gonna try some. Try some Highland dancing. And I'm like, I can barely do this. It's hard.

I. I just want to see the person who catches. Catches your move out of the corner of their eye and it's like, these are. So what is she doing?

Yes, The Highland was actually a big part of, you know, kind of my leeway into volleyball and being competitive because we're. I was going to competitions and you're alone on the stage and competing for. For trophies and medals and, you know, accepting that failure and it was really just a good.

You know what's fantastic about that, though, is that, you know, Paul's heard me say this many a time, but I always try to instill in team sport athletes the work ethic of an individual sport athlete. And you basically, you know, kind of had that almost that work ethic. Even though you're probably performing with a group, with your. With your group, but you. There's so much of an individual element with dance that you likely develop this high work ethic.

Yeah, it is individual. Like for Highland, it's the one. Everyone learns the same dance and they go compete against that dance. We have four of you on stage doing the same dance and footwork and then they pick who did it best. So it's very individual.

So to be clear, how many times would the judges see the same dance over and over in a given competition?

Oh, every competition you'd be in your category and there'd be maybe 50 in your category and they'd go have four on the stage at a time and switch to the next four. Solid. Wow. It's really different. It's a different kind of dancing. It's not the choreographed, like subjective. It's very.

It's technical.

Yeah.

And. And very fine tuned.

Yes, exactly.

So how much. I mean, we think that athletically, we kind of mentioned that that helped you for your jumping, but the technical side of things, the learning that. Do you think that really helped you pick up skills in volleyball?

Yeah, I think just really being in tune with my body too, like knowing and what muscles did what, you know, and it's just moving over into volleyball, it's a little bit bigger movements where in. In dance it was really fine tuned and really coordinated. So I had to really focus on coordinated coordination at a young age when I was, you know, 5, 10 in the class with everyone else being like little dancers at five, six and trying to keep up with them with coordination was really tough. And as a result, I think I always think my defense in volleyball factors into that because I'm really flexible, I'm really fast and I can get to these positions really easily for my stature. Oh, huge.

That's so amazing. That's so huge because that usually when you take a young Volleyball athlete. They're kind of like a wobbly legged gazelle when it comes to coordination. Right. So like, those are some of the hardest athletes because of all that leverage to teach coordination and patterns and how to take them, make them faster and more explosive and all of that. But you, you had this base training and this prerequisite that just served you so well, I imagine.

Oh, yeah, definitely. And posture and everything. So it was, it was always like a joke on my, my club team in grade seven, I was always dancing on the court, you know. Cause it was my prime when I felt in love with dance, encouraged volleyball. So, you know, all these points where you're waiting around and I was like, oh, let me practice my fling here, you know, so.

Oh my gosh. You know, it's the. One of the things that was always a little bit nerve wracking for me was working with the women's team versus the men's team. The women's team in their defensive positions really adopted a very Asian style with a very rounded sloped back.

Yeah.

Not. Not as much of a bent knee athletic position, but for the women. So the women's defensive position looked very much, very different than the men because the men would have more of a bent knee, bent hip, neutral spine athletic position, which is much easier to move laterally out of. And the women would have this kind of straight kneed, rounded back, bent hip. Right. And it drove me nuts because I was just like, okay, this isn't helping your speed. You know, I'm trying to undo what all the coaching was doing. But I can imagine that for you in that postural position, more of a ready position, you would have had that explosive first move that is so hard to come by with a long levered athlete.

Yeah, absolutely. I can agree with that.

Wow.

Okay. So we got sidetracked on the highland dancing because that's so exciting and so fun. Highland dancing. And then that you, you stepped into volleyball, you were trying to choose between the two, which probably was tough.

It was. I was gonna go to world championships for highland dancing or try out for the youth national team. So I tried out for the youth national team and made it. And that was kind of the factor where I was like, this is it. This is what I wanted to do. It's where I fit in. And from there I just kind of dedicated myself full time to volleyball. I pretty much let go of everything else by probably 16 years old. And yeah, I was driving out to Kelowna two or three times a week from Vernon.

How far is that?

50 minutes, depending where it is in Kelowna, a little bit over an hour sometimes. So we just had a really strong team out here and a lot of great players. At that time, there was only one club team, which was awesome. I loved it because we had, like, such amazing players to play with and coaches. So it's very.

Yeah, it doesn't get. It doesn't get thinned out and diluted to the best players being spread out to three different clubs.

Yeah. Yeah. So we had a good, good program there, and I think we ended up being, like, third at provincial, something like that. But, yeah, so I started with that and just kept moving forward. My sister, she ended up getting a scholarship at Eastern Washington University and had a great experience there and recruited me to come with her. So I was little sister following her along, and she was such a standout player. She played on, you know, all the provincial teams, and she was right off the bat amazing at College and Division 1 NCAA. And I was like, okay, this is what I want to do. So I was back to being Lindsay's little sister in college.

Did that make it? Well, there's a couple questions there. Number one, when you backed up or if we back up, and you said that you. When you really committed, when it was that youth national level, what did really committing look like for you? So when you had decided and you were traveling back and forth, but mentally you had committed, what was different about your life and what was the. What did that look like in a given day or week in your life as a 16 year old?

At 16, I was pretty social and I was pretty close with all my friends, so I just knew that the choices I made were for volleyball and, you know, you feel a little left out when in the summer they're having all this bonding time and growing together, and I would feel a little bad. And then I just decided, like, no, this is what I want to do. They'll always be there for me, and I'm still great friends with all those girls. So I think the biggest thing was socially for me at that age was like, you know, this is where my social life is with my team and my friends and driving to Kelowna and having this. This different life there.

Yeah.

And coming back to Vernon and.

And your goal at that age, if you could rewind in your mind, what was your goal? Was it to simply make it to Eastern Washington like your sister? That would have been her first year. Is that as far ahead were you looking or had you thought about potentially playing for the national team? Did you know you could play pro at that point or where you were at in terms of your goal.

I could play pro as a. As a female athlete. I knew there's, like, a little bit of, you know, I knew the Paul Durdens of the world playing pro volleyball.

At that age.

But for me, just being introduced to the national team, I was like, oh, there's a senior national team. But I didn't know where I stood for, you know, to be a part of that. I didn't know how good I was, how bad I was. So it was just really goals that were right in front of me, and the biggest one was going to getting a full scholarship and going down to the States. Like, I really like the programs in the States.

Because you saw your sister doing that as well. So you had a clear example.

Yeah, exactly. And there was, you know, for us, like, Washington, the school in Spokane is about a five hour drive, so it's really close. It was really small and quaint and inviting. It wasn't overwhelming, and it was just, like, the right fit and looking.

That's.

Maybe it was a little small, but I'm like, I'm so glad I went there. It was a great introduction to the different world.

Before we dive into the university experience with Division 1, I have to touch on your first introduction to Paul because.

Oh, come on.

Paul definitely does not remember this, but, like, I made the youth national team, and we were training in Winnipeg, where you guys were training at that time, and we finally got to go to a men's practice, and I was like, the only name I knew was Paul Durden. And I was like, oh, my gosh. And, like, is he actually gonna be here? And I. Paul, I'm gonna have to dig it up, but I have your picture in my photo album from that summer with, like, Paul Durden written beside it with an arrow and, like, a heart. I' why I'm always still so amazed when you, like, call me or know my name. I'm like, oh, my God, it's Paul Durden. And later that summer, we were like, oh, my God, we have to meet him, because we didn't get a chance to actually meet you. We were at a fundraising tournament with the men's team, and I don't think you were there. It could have been maybe the guys who didn't travel. And we went up to every guy and asked if he was Paul Durden. And one guy said he was, I'm pretty sure. And we were like, I don't think that was Paul Durden.

Yeah, that sounds like what they would do. Yeah, you would have known it if it was him or not.

Yeah, exactly. So no, it was definitely like. Yeah. My childhood memory, teenage memory of meeting Paul Durden.

That's hilarious.

Glad we could talk about that.

Do you feel old now, hun?

I always feel old.

Okay, so let's hear about what. There's that transition to university. But I imagine for you it was so much easier because your sister was there and you'd already been there and visited and it probably felt so familiar. Oh yeah, you made that transition. And what was, what was that like, your years as a Division 1 player?

When I first got there, I ended up redshirting and you know, you're like, you're playing junior national team, high level competition, competing and then I get there and I'm like, oh, I'm red shirting, like, okay. Which was fine now that I look back, because I was just like this little string bean, like physically and technically I was not there. You know, I had everything else and they could always see the potential. And my sister had red shirted too, so it was just like a really good situation. But you come in with the other freshmen who are in these like high caliber club teams and really, really developed. I think Canada is kind of moving more towards that now. But at the time we were just, you know, kind of just hitting balls and practicing a lot. We weren't doing that physical. Physical.

You hadn't had any strength, you hadn't had any strength training at that time?

None. I had to do like a hang clean with a, with a pole. You know, every time.

You want to know something funny? Every time we had BC athletes come onto the national team, none of them had an. Even if they were in university, so they were beyond club. They weren't, you know, that 18 years old. So they, they had a bit of university experience. They typically, if they were coming from a Canadian university or they were coming from a BC team, they didn't have any strength training background. Like it was, it was so frustrating because we would have to start with the basics. And in my mind I was just like, this is wrong. As a national level program, how on earth can we compete with the world when we're getting rookies coming in or potential tryout or recruits coming in who have never lifted and they're trying out at this level. It was insane to me.

Crazy. Yeah. And I remember that from my first year playing with the national team, some girls coming in and they had like, oh, we just kind of work out on our own in the weight room. And I was like, what do you know what I've been through for the last five years?

It's so behind, like it's so far behind. And that's where our Canadian system, whether it's club or university, in my opinion with what I've seen is just so far behind what other countries are doing, what the US is doing. And then we wonder why on a world stage, as a national team, why we can't compete. And then our country kind of is like, well we, you know, we're one of the best countries in the world economically and yet why aren't we competing where we should be in air quotes, where we should be for on a world stage and we just aren't. And part of the reason is right down at that grassroots level that those fundamentals aren't happening when it comes to the physical development, which is crucial with long levered athletes. And it's just not being done especially on the female side. It's not being done very well on the male side, but it's not being done often at all on the female side, which is mind boggling to me.

Yeah. When I went in at what, 18, 19 years old, I had never touched a weight, I mean maybe a squat here and there. So when I walked in there, we had had a new strength coach and he was straight from UCLA football program.

Oh, solid.

And you got the football program, I'm sure.

Oh y.

Because that's often what happens.

It was so intense, it was so much so fast. Like I remember coming home crying to my sister, being like, I don't, I can't lift. I'm the only one who can't do a hang clean. And you know, she was really, really. Cause some of the best players on our team weren't necessarily the strongest, but.

Yeah, and that's so hard to start with things like that, especially when you don't have experience or a foundation and. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So in, in.

That's a recipe for injuries.

It is, yeah. Well that's why was smart though.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And, and in what you experienced with your US school experience or career and you have friends who maybe went to Canadian universities. How would you say the difference in either intensity or competition or, or coaching. What would you say some of the differences are between Canadian university and US?

I think I don't know so much the depth of the Canadian schools, but just from playing with the girls a little bit. I do. I just think it's a lot more, a lot higher standards and really strongly regimented down the States like, there's so much competition for players as players, individually, all the teams, all the conferences, the coaches, you know, they've got a lot to lose when they're coaching, and if you're not performing, they're not performing. Like, their job is on the line, and they let you know it. You know, they do not cut a single corner of their. So it's been like. Yeah, it's been really eye opening when I came to the national team and. And see how that was still a part of me.

Yes.

You know, so I went into the national team, and I could definitely see that I, you know, had this training where my standards are a little bit, not higher, but I was just very strict.

Yeah. And do you think we have. We have dogs at home, so.

There. Try to lock them away?

Do you. Do you think that your coach, who was very intense.

Yeah. You described Wade Benson, who's your coach at Eastern Washington, as a total hard ass, to quote.

You know what? He was just very strict with everything. And he knew, you know, going in there, when you have young players, he knew the potential that you had and how to get it out of you, and he just wouldn't let you let up, you know, everything you did, you would wrap it out until you figured it out. That was the thing. Figure it out, Brit. But what a.

What a lesson, right? Because as you, You. It forces the athlete to try new things instead of. Instead of waiting to be told what to do, being comfortable, you know, try new things to see what's gonna start to work. And, yeah, you just lay it all.

Out on the line and you don't care really, how you're acting. And if you're crying in practice, like, no one cares. They've all been there. And you push your hardest and you really see what you can get through and what you can accomplish. And, you know, it was always a short leash with him, so you. You had to be on point.

It's funny you say the. The crying in practice because it. Being in a role where my job was to push people to the physical limits in many, you know, and pull them back as well. But so many times in pushing to those limits, that's where the emotional break happens. And that's where, you know, I would come home and basically say, okay, I had a crier today because. Because it's. That's once a week, depending on what stage of my career I was in. But, yeah, like, there. There were so many people that, you know, you get pushed to that physical brink, and then it becomes emotional and often for the guys, it might be, you know, kicking something or storming out or whatever. For the girls, it might be a cry or anger, you know, but it. Pushing someone over and over and over physically, and they're exhausted. And then that emotional break eventually happens, and it's. It's almost a. It's one of those rough parts of the process in. In that later on, say, you flash forward a few months or a year, that same athlete could be pushed way, way, way past that point before and not have that emotional break. Right. Because they've grown.

I've got to. I've got to say that it's. When what you're describing, when you say the limit. Just got to remember there's two limits at play. So the athlete believes they have a limit, and you as the expert, Curry, you know, the actual limit. And that's where the breakdown happens, is that the athlete thinks that they are doing everything they possibly can and they're at. What they can do physically. But you know that there is more there based on, you know, the numbers you've tracked with them, their lifts, you know, different performance metrics that you're keeping that in this workout we can go to here, which you don't even know that you can do yet. And that's what causes that big breakdown. But, like you're saying, people come back so much stronger after going through those.

Yeah, it builds resilience.

Air. Air quotes, downs or breakdowns. It's really a breakthrough, and it's just. It's a really cool, powerful thing.

No, that's. That's how I felt. I think he really built the resilience, and if you didn't bring your 100%, he would let you know it. And then you just start bringing that every single time. And that's really hard to do. And I think that's, you know, athletes are like, yeah, go in 100 all the time. Put everything you can into it. But that is really hard to do.

Yes.

Yeah. Yeah. Like, I was. I was so lucky. You had Wade, obviously, to teach you that at the right age when you were 18, going to school, I. I had Clement Lemieux when I got to the national team at 18, doing the exact same thing, just simply putting the bar up at 100%, 110%, every single time until you realize that you can actually do it. But it's just this painful process of having your butt kicked day in and day out, learning to bring it on your own without the coach having to.

Yeah, well, yeah, because somebody's watching you and they can see whether you're bringing 100% or not. And you may not. You may think you're at 100%, but then you've got someone else looking at you, going, you're not. Step it up. And that's tough. That's tough for athletes. But then you bring that. You translate that Brit into the real world post career, and you look around and, you know, we'll talk more about your retirement in a little bit, but I'm sure you look around and see how there's such a difference between maybe your attitude or mentality towards things than the next person who hasn't experienced a high level of sport.

Absolutely. I think that you nailed it perfectly when you said that.

So you, what, you went from university with all kinds of not only amazing growth and experiences, and you even became a captain on that team. Is that correct?

Yeah, I think I want to say last two years or definitely in my senior year as captain. So that meant a lot to me. You know, when I was a freshman, red shirting, I didn't think I would get there at all. So it was really cool to have that leadership role on the team and that respect from Wade, too. Right. I'm pretty sure he cried at my senior night. I'm just gonna put that out there.

It's all the supposed tough ones, right.

That have the heart.

Yeah. The softy inside.

Yeah. So, yeah, it meant a lot to me to have that role in my college career.

So as the career wrapped up, we talked about, you know, your vision of looking ahead. When you were 16, did you. Were you wanting to go right to the national team after school, did you want to play pro?

I felt a little disconnected from how'd that transpire, Just going down to the US So that was kind of one of the factors where you kind of question, like, should I go to the US Will I still be part of the national team? But I was like, I just want to play volleyball. I want to still play. You know, it's odd. You're at your peak, and then you're expected to finish. And I was like, I'm not ready for that. Yeah. I think an agent had reached out to me and, you know, offered me this little contract in the south of Spain. So in my mind, it was like, do you want to go to Spain and get paid and play volleyball? And I was like, I don't. I don't even know. Need to know anything else. Sign me up.

Yes. And yes.

Yeah. Sold. So next thing you know, I was on my way to Spain and it was obviously a lot different than coming from an NCAA program. It was a little more laid back. It was a second division. So, yeah, I had a couple of other American girls on my team and we really rallied together and, you know, did the best with what we had. And the following year, I was in the same kind of situation in Austria, and I was like, I don't know if pro is for me, if this is what it is. And I was really close to like, hanging up everything because I just didn't know what else was out there when my agent's like, hey, why don't you try out for the national team? And I pretty much fell in love with it as soon as I got there and made the team. And yeah, the rest is history.

Ah, that's incredible. Now, did the, did the development you got with the national team when you went back to play pro, were you up to better teams and better contracts and Division A? Higher division? What was, what was the shift for you?

Growth.

Growth wise.

Just learning to play at that international level. Like, like physically higher level. Like, you're hitting a higher ball, you're. Everything's just bigger. So translating that, like, to be able to see that I'm a player that can physically touch those levels and hit that high was able to open more doors for me. So I kind of started building from there and, you know, moved on to playing some of the bigger leagues by the end of my career. And that was important to me when I was like, oh, okay, I want to do this. I want to dig in and be a professional volleyball player. Because I felt like when I was playing in those smaller leagues, I was just, you know, just there to play around a little bit and travel.

Dabbling. Yeah, dabbling. Experience the world.

Get, get some different. Like when I go to a team my last couple years, I was going there like 100% to compete. I didn't care where I was. I wanted to be on the best team. I wanted to be in the best fit for me and like, dedicate my whole life and choice to doing that. And that made a difference and I felt so much more fulfilled as a result.

Now, to give listeners just a bit of an idea, because in North America, they're just. We typically tend to not have as much exposure to professional volleyball, just not having anything like that in North America. So give the listeners an idea of what a pay range for a contract for a one year contract could be for a female volleyball player going from, you know, say a Division 2 to like, one of the top foreigners in, in, at the best in the world.

It's, it's so bizarre because it's such a huge gap, you know, my first couple years.

It is, it is.

What other kind of career path is like this at this level? But it may be career. You're, you know, maybe a couple thousand euros a month. You know, we have everything, your accommodation and everything paid for. So you're maybe €20,000 a season. Contract, contract versus, you know, you move up and you can get into like six figures. And the top players are probably in Turkey, you know. Yeah, they're making, they're making good money. So. Yeah, and it's such a multiple, six.

Multiple six figures to, to potentially a million dollar contract with a female athlete as a volleyball player. And that's, that's the thing that most, you know, when, when people listen to this podcast and they come from other sports, they don't realize that if you are among the top in the world as a female athlete in volleyball, you know, it's mind boggling because they just don't have the exposure to that to understand that they can get some incredible contracts.

Oh yeah, it's definitely worth it. Especially now that I'm in the, the, the corporate world. I was like, you know, it's like.

Everything pales in comparison. You're not, you're not living overseas, you know.

Yeah, exactly. So it's, it can be a really good gig, but it's just ebbs and flows. It's, you know, one season you can be killing it, the next one you're like, am I gonna have a job?

Okay, yeah.

Very specific needs that you need to fit in. And as a foreign player, it just gets harder and harder.

How you spent time in seven or eight different countries as a foreigner playing pro. Was there any. There are a couple memories that stick out of maybe somewhere where you culturally completely goofed up or you know, just had a really unique life experience that due to the country you're living, I mean, you were the first professional player from Canada to make it in the Chinese league. So that's something huge.

You know, I'm like, I've got this pro life. I've been living in Europe for years. I think I've got it all figured out. And then I get a contract in China and I'm like, okay, let me see who's played there. And I'm like, oh my gosh, I don't know any women who have played there. So I reached out to, you know, I think Freddie, who had been there, and he was like, just Go jump in with two feet. Figure it out. So.

I've heard that before.

So, yeah, I went there and that was definitely just a complete change. And for. For them, I was the first foreigner to play on their team as well, along with another girl. So they didn't really know how to treat us. And they definitely. They took very good care of us. They did not want to offend us in any way, and which I kind of made me cringe, like, they're treating me like this Western princess. And I was like, oh, my gosh, no, I can carry my own bags. I can take care of myself. And I had a translator. She came everywhere for me, with me, and it was just really different and seen just the hierarchy, even on the team and how these. These young women grew up in these institutes playing volleyball, dedicating their life with, you know, kind of under the government's control to play if they wanted. Yeah. So it's just really. It was really humbling. Like, I was like, I'm so lucky to have grown up in Canada, but they're also so lucky to have this amazing opportunity, and they're really happy to. To be doing.

Yeah.

So it was fascinating.

Yeah. There were we. Our performance enhancement team, so the exercise physiologists and some of the coaches, like, we had talked extensively about how things were done in countries like China and Russia, and they would really take massive groups of children and body type them and categorize them into what sport they'd be good at.

Yeah.

And so, you know, we were. This discussion was around swimmers and swimming, but. And that's why I always marveled at it, because Paul would have probably been plopped into the swimming group, not necessarily the volleyball group. Those long arms. But, yeah, like, to have that decided for you at such a young age based on who your parents were or what your body type was, and really be groomed into it instead of living the life you lived and having the choice and falling in love with the sport.

Exactly.

You know, it's such a different thing that we don't. Sometimes we take for granted, I think.

Yeah. Because you could feel with some of them, they didn't love it. They didn't love the sport and didn't want to be there. And that's really draining on me as a teammate, too. I was like, I feel so bad. And then the other ones that are like, I want to be there, and this is what I want to pursue, but make a little bit of a toxic environment sometimes.

Yeah. What were some. Go ahead.

Well, I just wanted to Ask you, Britt, that you're a captain at Eastern Washington and you're a captain with the women's national team. And just talking there about fit and fitting in with a team, with the women's national team for a period, you're playing behind Sarah Kavin. And you also kind of talked about, you know, you've mentioned to us that in your development, you thought your first quad with the national team, the first four year kind of span was where you really became a professional. Can you maybe just share that process mentally, how you really learned to play your role, but at the same time be a leader in the group?

Yeah.

So when I started with the national team, you know, obviously you're so excited and you kind of reached this huge goal in your life to play on the national team. And then, you know, I make the traveling team, I make the core group. It's on and on and on. And I'm like, I'm never going to play because I was started off as a right side, as an opposite. I just hit a lot harder from there. And I'm like, okay, Sarah. And so Sarah Pavan was ahead of me. And it's very. Volleyball is very unique and there's like, there's only kind of one spot for a lot of positions or two spots. And it's not like, you know, hockey where you're taking these crazy shifts all the time. You're just like, I'm not playing for an entire tournament. That's the reality. So, you know, I focused on things that I could help with, with being positive, with being part of the team, with being connected. That was always easy for me. It was really in my control. And later I started moving over to left side and I was like, I can, I can try to do this and this. I think at this point, Sarah wasn't on the team anymore, but I was like, I'm going to try left side. And I haven't passed since maybe my first couple years of college. And I was like, oh, great, I'm going to have to learn to pass again. And I finished my last, you know, four years with the national team as a left side. And I was like, wow, it's my favorite position now. And I could also. That's why I got the gig in China, actually, because they had a really strong left side who couldn't pass. So I was a passing right side and I was able to do that with the national team as well.

You became the versatile player.

Love it.

That's awesome.

Anytime when we had, when I was playing right Side. Anytime my left side was struggling, they just pushed them up and put Brit back.

That's great.

Yeah. So I just tried to really fit in, and I think that was my biggest strength, was being adaptable, and I never complained. I remember my. I specifically remember my coach Lupo in our last quad. He's, like. I said in front of everyone, he's like, I just want to let you guys know, like, there's one player who just never complains and, like, does the grind. And that was me. And I was like, what? Really? I don't. But it obviously had an impact, right? Like, you're just. You're focused on what's in front of you and what you can control and just being grateful, too.

And where do you think you learned that skill? Was that something from in seeing, you know, in harnessing what you can control versus dwelling on the things you can't? Do you think that was something from your family or ingrained in you on one of your teams with your coaches?

I think I've never been, like, the best player on any team I've been on. I've just always been on awesome teams, too, so that's been awesome. But I just feel like being humble is just kind of part of my story and my path, and it's almost easier when you're not expected to be the best player and number one. So I just always had really surrounded myself with really strong players. And, yeah, I don't know, maybe that's how it got ingrained with me, where it's just like, I have to always fight to keep up and work to be at the top, you know, being little sister.

But at the same time, that. That kind of contribution is so underrated sometimes. I think just the ability to keep going forward positively versus complaining or getting bitter or things like that, like, that's such a skill and so underrated sometimes.

Yeah. And at some point, you're just like, what's the alternative? Not being on the team, not playing? So it's some. That's what I mean. It's just. It's in your control and it's in your. It's your choice how you want to pursue.

Yeah. Yeah. I think a coach plays a huge role in that, in the defining clearly of expectations and roles. If that isn't well set with the group, it can be toxic. If you have that miscommunication or doubt or players on the bench just unclear of where they sit, that it can be destabilizing. So you obviously have that. You have a fantastic attitude about it. But Those who don't, in the right circumstances, can just combust, I think, if that, that relationship isn't there. So I imagine it. Well, it sounds like it must have been to some extent with the group. But it leads me to another question for you, though. As captain, what would you say was your biggest leadership challenge that you faced or the toughest thing you had to deal with? Where that role for you was challenged the hardest?

I think when I was first named captain, I was like, kind of, kind of surprised. I was like, oh, my gosh, really? Like, I don't know if I deserve this or I can do this. And really what it was was just continuing doing what I was doing. That's what the coach wanted out of me. And it's funny, I remember being named captain of my, my grade 5 rep soccer team and I had the exact same reaction. It's so funny. I was so embarrassed. Like, I was like, I can't believe I'm captain. I'm not good enough to do this. So fast forward to the National Team and being named captain of the National Team and that, you know, that can have some weight having that title.

Yeah.

But when you, when you let go of that and don't think about the title, it's just you're, you're doing what you were doing before and that's why you were named the captain. But it was really hard because we had a big change over in the second quad, and that's when I was named captain. And so all these new girls were coming in and I felt like their, their standards were just not, you know, they were all just like, here to have a good time and learn how to play national team. And we had one, you know, one tournament in Mexico and it was just considered a building year. And so that was just the mentality of it. But I was like, no, this is, this is my time with the National Team. I've done so much to, to be here. And I, I felt, you know, I think that it had a little bit of stress because I felt like I was imposing this, like, negative stress on the team because I wanted to reach these high standards when they were like, okay, we're just still figuring it out, but yeah, progress through. It was so great to have such, like, a strong core group of leaders with, you know, Kyla Richie, she's still on the team, and Dana Cranston and Lucy Shorook, all those girls, we just really work together. And it was like, you know, at the end of the day, the captain bar is just a bar on your shirt and you, you know, maybe you're like the voice of the team at some moments, but you have other people with those leadership skills that you work together with. It's not individual.

Yeah, especially in that, that team sport. It's. You're relying on everybody.

Yeah, absolutely.

So what, what would you say was, you know, if you look at your career, you've gone through so many different scenarios. You know, you've played so many national level matches. What would you say the biggest challenge that you've had to overcome is?

I think it's just, it's so emotionally and mentally wearing, being a professional volleyball player as, maybe as a woman, maybe it's just a little different than, you know, having the, the glam, the fame and the glamour of being, you know, say a professional hockey player. Right. So I think the, the story as a whole, being a player like you are, you were worn down mentally. You're going to all these places by yourself, you're learning a new system, a new language, everything. And I just felt emotionally drained when I was done. And we don't have an off season. Our off season is Team Canada. That's pretty intense. You know, I'm sure, Paul, you can empathize with me, but yeah, I think it was just the mental grind of it and the emotional grind of being isolated. But at the same time, you know, you have to really think if I'm, if I'm doing this, I'm going all in and I'm accepting that I'm going to be alone out here in, I don't know, isolated Finland, whatever it might be. And I think it was definitely just the grind as a whole. But looking back, I wouldn't change a thing.

Would you, would you say that? How, how would you say, in your opinion, you think it would be different for a woman versus a man in that scenario?

I think just society sees male athletes as a little bit more maybe status, so they get a bit more respect automatically where we have to really work for it. You know, when you come back, I'm like, I finished Team Canada. I was captain of the team. I had this elusive, you know, this crazy pro career. And to be done, it was kind of like I was left with nothing, like no one knew who I was. It doesn't transfer over, you know, I think now we know the qualities that transfer over into career. But you know, being female also with relationships, men aren't too set on coming over and being a stay at home boyfriend while you're out playing professional volleyball. Like, it just, it doesn't sit well with them. A lot of. A lot of men that I've dated, so I think that was a factor, too. And that added to kind of the emotional and physical isolation grind between.

Between the relationship factors or maybe not being taken as seriously as the male athletes. Do you think that that's one of the reasons that the average female career, or whether it's pro or national team is so much shorter in length than the men?

Yeah, I think there's definitely, like, a bit of. A. Bit of a stigma. And her idea of how, you know of women's volleyball, even when I finished, I remember, you know, everyone's like, oh, I guess it's time for you to finish. I'm like, yeah, I guess so. And looking back now, I'm like, I could still easily be playing physically. I think we speak a lot later physically, too.

So I'm like, yeah.

And, yeah, you know, I've heard a lot. I was telling someone that my friends were still playing pro, and they're like, wow. Like, the women, they're like, wow, she's still hanging on to that, huh? And I'm like, what?

Like, no. Yeah, yeah. They don't get it. Yeah, they don't get it because there's.

Not enough exposure, which is, you know, fine, it's. It's far away. But it's great now that, like, the women's team, I love what they're doing on the Instagram and sharing their life and their successes because it's just making it more global and more accessible for. For everyone to see that women are professional players. So it's kind of see that growth.

There was a. There was a women's. The hashtag was women's soccer. And I was looking on this hashtag on Instagram the other day, and they had. And there was. There was a split. A split photo of. Profile of one of the women's players. I'm not sure who she was. I wasn't familiar with her, whether she was pro or national team, but she was five months pregnant and practicing and playing and that kind of thing. And so it was just interesting to see it because you just don't see as much of that in volleyball. You know, lots of the players will have a relationship, a husband, a baby, and then get back playing pro. Because, you know, if you're one of the. You have one of the Russian contracts or Asian contracts, you know, and you're. You're making more in that span of time than you probably ever will in any other career in your life, then you're going to keep playing. And, you know, I wonder if. If there was less of that, if there was more respect for women's athletes, pro athletes, and if there was more of an understanding of really when they peak and how long they could play, whether players like you might have had the automatic that, well, I'm going to be playing for another five years or whatever. And when you look at that financially, that would make a huge difference in your life. Huge difference versus the expectation every time you come home from your pro career, the expectation of, oh, are you done yet? You know, if you're done with the national team, are you done playing pro? Are you coming home now? And. And those types of questions, you don't realize how much they start to kind of influence maybe your thoughts.

Yeah.

When your own career finishes.

Yeah. I'm like, should I be done now? I have to go back so I can, you know, be. And be a normal girl and date normally and be here and those kind of things. So it's a lot that kind of wears on you, I think, being a female athlete. Because it's just. Even when I was like a kid, like, I. I couldn't name any female athletes that I really inspired to. I remember watching the NBA and being like, well, I guess I want to be in the NBA.

Yeah, you see some tall female athletes. There you go.

And just like. And, yeah, exactly. I didn't see myself in anyone. So I think now that's why women are kind of being more present and being like, you know what little girls. Like, this is what you. You can do.

Yeah.

I think women and girls have to see themselves in someone to. To really be inspired. And that's been kind of eye opening for me coming back to Kelowna, because I've done. In the past three years, I've been kind of involved in the community and the volleyball community, and I've had a lot of young kids come up to me, the girls, and tell me, like, you know, like, wow, it's really inspiring to hear your story and your path. I didn't know you could do that. And I was like, yeah, I didn't know at your age. So I'm glad I can share that with you. Yeah.

And that's you changing the landscape of what they're seeing for what's possible for their future.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah. That's amazing. That's amazing. So, what, I mean, is there anything else you want to add about your pro or national team career? Because I'm about to ask about the transition to retirement.

Oh, goodness, no. It was just Such a gift in my life that I feel like I just, like, appreciate to the fullest and I don't regret anything. As hard as it was, it was just. Everything was worth it, and yet part of me wants to do it again. You know, I heard they were getting a new coach, and I was like, should I try out? Can I try out?

You can.

Not that we're suggesting anything. So what prompt retirement? What was the were you did? Do you feel like you were burnt out? Do you feel like you were ready, like. Or a combination of a bunch of things. What was it? It was.

It was definitely the timing. The end of the quad. We didn't qualify for the Olympics, which is, you know, a little heartbreaking, really. Heartbreaking. And just playing pro, I was just like, I don't know if I can do another pro season by myself. And I was training in Winnipeg, which is pretty isolated from my family and a lot of friends. So I think at that point I was just so emotionally burnt out. I finished and I moved back to Kelowna, and you could not even get me to go to Vancouver for a road trip. I was like, nope, I'm staying here. I could not catch a volleyball. Everyone asked me to be on their teams to help coach, and I was like, no, no. Like, yeah. Literally. It took me to probably last year, maybe a little bit more into this year, to enjoy playing volleyball again at, like, a rec league level, you know, and I did it just for social purposes, and I'm glad I did that. But to actually enjoy playing, I was like, oh, I like volleyball again. Yeah, just being burnt out. I think.

Paul, you kind of went through something like that in the. Not wanting to play socially or recreationally.

Absolutely. Yeah. I. I couldn't enjoy it. I. I want to be playing at a high level and playing. But, yeah, playing hard, playing my best, or. It. It's not good enough to me, and it's not. It's just not fun to try to do anything less than that.

It's so weird.

It's. Yeah, I. So I haven't had the itch to. To really play. It's been, for me, the toughest part has been, initially, was just being away from the routine of being with the team and the guys and the. The daily. Yeah, the camaraderie and the daily joking and just that whole component of it is something that you miss right away.

Definitely. Like, I. I can say that, too. Like, the sisterhood of having those teammates. I was like, I. I don't know if I'll find that again. In another group. Like, definitely not with my co workers. So, yeah, it's. It's a family. Yeah. Yeah. So.

So let's talk about. We know why you stopped. Did you have a plan and how did it go? If you had one. If you didn't have one, how did it go? Tell us about the real transition into the air quotes, real world.

I didn't have a specific plan. I knew I wanted to be back in Kelowna, so I just kind of packed up, headed. Headed home. And I was like, what am I going to do? Like, how am I going to get a job? I make this resume and there's no, nothing on it. I was just like, captain of this team. Played on this in Europe.

Like, what was your degree in from?

I was in children's studies, so it was early childhood education, which I really enjoyed, but it's just not something I wanted to pursue after being graduated, you know, 10 years. So, yeah, after that I was like, I don't know. And I was just a different person, you know, after being a competitive volleyball player. And I just, you know, I saw a lot of success in some friends who got into sales, just friends from college and other people retired from volleyball. And I was like, I want to get into sales. So I just started working part time at like a real estate office, which basically I just did admin work. It was pretty mindless. And I was like, oh, my God, I'm so nervous for this job. What am I gonna do? And like, I spoke to one person a day and then some emails.

Yeah.

So I had an opportunity. I kind of got. I can't remember. I applied for a sales agency and they paired me up with this outside sales job because I knew I did not want to be in an office 9 to 5. I was terrified of that. That was the only thing I knew I didn't want to do. I don't know how I would be able to handle that after, you know, being. Being so physical so long. So there's an opportunity for outside sales. And my manager at the time, he. He was an old athlete. He had played baseball down in the States. I shouldn't say old. He was former athlete. And so he basically called me the next day and hired me. And it took me a while to ask, but I was like, why would you hire me? I used to be an athlete. Kind of started from that and it went really well. I was just like, sales, that I think, is just really parallel with a lot of things, a lot of qualities I learned from playing sports. I feel like I get little wins all the time.

Yeah.

And it just. It can be really aggressive.

It can, you know, setting goals, that kind of thing. Yeah.

And, like, numbers. I would like to reach my numbers. I like to win. And, you know, they give me prizes and sometimes trophies. I was like, oh, my goodness. Yay.

Well, let's be. Let's be honest for our listeners. You won the Presence award for sales in your first.

You didn't just rock was really great, especially being in Kelowna because it's a little bit smaller market. So I really hammered it out. And I. I didn't know until we were at the. At the. The sales conference, and they announce you and say everything about you and. And they don't give your name, and they're just like, you know, was my boss up there? And he's like. And she's. She can hit a mean volleyball. And I was like, oh, I think it's me. And then you go up and accept it. So, yeah, it was like the top three at my. My. In my field for sale. So I was really, really honored to receive that. And it meant a lot to me just knowing where I was after volleyball. You know when you're like, down in the dumps and you're like, what does the future hold for me? So, yeah, you know, when I got that, I was like, I just, you know, my. My younger self is so happy for me right now.

So would you say that.

That.

That that's something that you almost needed to be able to grow into something or progress with something once you. You had to find something that you could really grow with?

Yeah, I feel. I feel pretty fulfilled with it, which I was surprised at. I just. I'm very performance oriented, so it's something I can work hard to perform at, and I really like having that focus every day.

That's amazing. Do you. Do you. Are you still involved in volleyball at all in Kelowna? I know you're about to move, but to Vancouver. But have you been involved lately?

Yeah, a lot of clubs asked me to come out. They always ask me to coach, and I'm like, you don't want to coach, but I'll come play with your team. So the girls love that. They would prefer me to come play with them and hit as hard as I can at them because they can see my balls. They don't, you know, and they surprise themselves and they can. Yeah, they can hang with me. So I think that's been great.

Yeah.

I don't know if you guys know Tammy Thomas. She runs a Great club out here. And she helps, stays involved and gets me in touch with the girls and lets me chat with them and really tell them, you know, what it is about volleyball that to like, what, what you need to do to get to the next level or whatever your goals are. When I first moved back, Steve Manuel, he's the coach at ubco. He was my coach in high school. And he was amazing because he said, you know, he's like, Brit, whatever you need from us, you have. If you want to come coach, coach, you want to come play with the girls, play. If you just want to go to the parties with the girls, go to the parties. So he really understood like that part.

Proximity. Yeah, the proximity with the other athletes.

So I went out and practiced with them like when I retired in the fall. Yeah, every month or so, which is great. Just having that like kind of team atmosphere.

And that's really a nod to you, Brett, in that he realizes that the value you can bring in so many different ways, off the court, on the court, sitting beside the court, whatever it is, he knows that you can bring experience and class and caring to those people in all those different ways. So that's absolutely why he's extending that, you know, invitation to you, obviously coaching of a relationship. But I think his knowledge of what you bring to the table just makes that an absolute obligatory ask.

He's got to ask. It was good for me. Like, it was giving me something like, I don't feel.

Yeah, it's a win. It's a, it's an amazing win. Win because. Because those you're giving back in a way that you're having fun and they are allowing to be around you, which is an experience that, like, it's the experience that you didn't have that you probably would have just eaten up at that age, you know, and that's what you're allowing them to experience, which is. Which is beautiful.

That's fantastic.

Yeah, thank you. That's great.

So we're gonna kind of circle back and ask a few rapid fire questions.

Sure.

I don't know where to start here. What is something about you that most people may not know that might be quirky or unique outside of python dancing? We already covered that one. Yeah. What's something that's unique about you?

Oh, my gosh. I'm a bit of like a. A Pinterest nerd. So. I love baking and crafts.

Oh, my gosh. I love baking. That's fantastic.

You guys should start a bakery.

Yeah. Yeah. You're self interested in that. So you want all the banana bread?

Yeah.

And what. So since you, you love to bake and craft and that kind of thing, what about favorite food or favorite dessert?

Oh, let's see. You know what? I'm not a dessert person. I always bake my cakes and I don't eat them. I would say like, I like scones a lot. Like a raspberry white chocolate scone is probably my favorite.

I could go for that or. Yeah. Cranberry white chocolate or raspberry white. Yeah.

Yum.

And do you have a favorite meal?

I. I really like soup. I've always loved soup. It's been my go to since I was a kid. So whatever kind of variety and like my, my kind of cheat days or when I'm kind of feeling like guilty pleasure. I love ichiban. It's like so bad for you.

But that's.

I know.

I lived on that in high school. Yeah, I lived on that in high school. People, people are probably going to.

Guys I know kids listening and be.

Like.

Kari Schneider did.

Look at that.

I was just thinking, this is gonna bite me. People are going to blackmail me with this. But yeah, no, I, I would. I had my own little system. But part of it was that I was too lazy to make Kraft dinner because it took longer.

Craft dinner.

Right. Isn't that horrible? I hear myself saying that right now and I'm like, wow, that didn't happen. Yeah, that just did not happen. But that I was going to ask you something else. What was. Was the itchy band that really, that really threw me there. Oh, I know what it was.

So.

So that implies that you are still looking to perform your best via eating well. And are you still working out?

Yes. Oh my gosh. I. When I finished volleyball as a spin instructor, so I keep doing that. I just started working out, doing boxing, like a nine round and I love it. Fun for my, you know, I want to hit something.

So the intensity.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So really fun.

That's a fantastic transition. I love it. So some of my clients love boxing too. So. So that would be your favorite workout right now, would be boxing?

Yeah, it's like, you know, 30 minutes hit you're. It's aggressive, it's. It's hard. I love it.

You feel good after? Yeah, that's fantastic. Okay, good stuff. What about favorite book?

I kind of, I really like page turners just because I'm kind of impatient. But one of my favorites is probably A Thousand Splendid Suns. It's from the same author as Kite Runner. Oh, I read that yeah, yeah, it's really good. It's kind of a deep, deep book. But I remember that reading that one overseas.

Look for that. And then what about. Do you have a favorite Netflix show or anything like that or something you've watched recently?

Netflix, I love my. Also guilty pleasure is like watching teen dramas.

My daughter, my daughter keeps asking me to watch. What is it?

Riverdale? Yeah, that's what I watch.

She's just like, you have to watch Riverdale, Mom. I'm like, I don't have time. She's like, just watch it because she wants to talk about it. Are you okay, Paul?

You can send her my way. I can talk to her about it.

Oh yeah, that's awesome. What about any favorite music or did you have certain. You might have different music now, but when you were playing, did you have certain pump up songs or music for getting into that key state before playing or practice?

I have like kind of corny music to case like I love just the mainstream pop. So Britney Spears has like always been a favorite of mine and she's always got a hit. So she just stayed with me through my whole career.

We're so getting. We'll use this against you someday.

I own it. I like it.

That's awesome. That's awesome.

I'm a country music fan for sure, but it doesn't really motivate me when I'm playing.

No, you gotta have the Britney's work song.

Right?

The work has to come out. And then what? Just as a, as a wrap up. What, what tip would you have to young female volleyball players just coming up in the sport? What's, what's something that you would advise.

I would encourage them because social media is so global and so much access right now is to find someone who you can relate to, to follow along with. Like, you know, I think Kyla Richie's a great example because she puts it all out there and you can follow her path on her career path. But also I think just being really present when you're playing, being really focused, focus is really hard and just in the moment and not necessarily as a whole, but when you're going into practice, like dedicate those little mini goals. But yeah, being really present.

Can you expand on being present just for the young athletes?

Yeah, they might be a little lost. We, we agree and want that. Yeah.

I think a lot of times there's, you know, there's a path that you're on and there's always another season coming up, another game coming up. But just to put yourself in the position where you are and own that. It's just, it adds a lot of pressure and anxiety if you're thinking about, okay, what is it? What does this game mean for the rest of my career, the rest of. To my friends? Right. Like, I think you just really have to be in the moment and enjoy playing and doing the next point. One point at a time, one practice at a time. Instead of thinking of like, oh, am I going to post a really cool social media post after this practice? You know what I mean? Yeah. I find a lot of kids now, the reason they're doing something is so they can post it on social media.

It's a lot of looking good and yeah.

So just being in the moment and, and not thinking about anything else and what's in front of you.

Yeah, that's fantastic advice. And with, with such distraction out there and it's a different generation that's been raised with such massive amounts of phone time or social media that a lot of us didn't have when we were kids. And it is, yeah, it is. So it's so different yet to be fully present, you have to be fully immersed in that moment. And it's such a gift to be in that moment because it can be so fulfilling and fun just to eat up what that, the quality of that one move or that one point or that celebration with the team. And so, yeah, that's a wonderful advice.

Yeah.

Well, how can people reach you if they want to ask you a question, questions about your career or just advice.

Or things like that?

Are you, you're on social media? You're on Instagram?

Yeah, I'm on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, but I, I usually only use Instagram. Okay, that's definitely the best method. And your handle is at Britty Page. B R I T T Y P H E.

Awesome. Pretty page. Awesome. So we just love the, this chat with you. You're so vibrant and so fun to be with. So I really, really appreciate this time that you've given us.

Thank you guys so much. It was great to talk with you guys and I know you guys can empathize and you know, give a lot more feedback to, to the young players too. So it's been, it's been really special for me. Thank you.

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