Volleyball pro takes long, winding path but returns home to coach at Red River College

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This article was published 28/06/2019 (2335 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Take a glance at Chris Voth’s resumé and you’d think professional volleyball clubs from around the world would’ve lined up to sign the left side attacker from Winnipeg.

For starts, he made a name for himself at St. Paul’s High School where he led the team to back-to-back provincial titles before starring for the University of Manitoba Bisons for five seasons from 2008-13.

But before Voth turned pro, he came out as openly gay in a Free Press story in January 2014. A couple months later, he signed his first professional contract in the Netherlands with Abiant Lycurgus — one of the top clubs in the country.

“The first year I went to play in the Netherlands, it was my first time playing pro, so already that’s scary,” Voth told the Free Press this week. “And I didn’t know anyone there, everything was new. So, for anybody, that’s a scary experience and just adding the sexual orientation on top of that was just another perceived constraint, if you will. But since I was in the Netherlands and that’s like a liberal country, it’s not viewed as an issue at all.”

Voth quickly showed he belonged at the pro level, helping the team to the North Dutch Cup, Dutch Cup, Super Cup and the league championship. He also spent time on Canada’s national B volleyball team. But despite all the success in his first couple seasons at the pro level, his next opportunity didn’t come easily. Heading into the 2016-17 season, Voth and his agent had a lucrative contract offer pulled at the last minute.

“The team didn’t want to have a gay player,” said Voth, now 28. “So that was tough, but I wouldn’t change anything because it allowed me to revisit the topic. When I did come out, people were saying ‘Why do people have to come out? Why do athletes have to come out? It’s not a big deal.’ But that really showed them it is an issue. Maybe not so much in Canada or parts of Canada, but it is an issue throughout the world and we’re not at our goal yet. So, it did allow me to kind of revisit it and show people yeah, maybe it’s OK in your house, but if you look outside your windows a little bit, it’s not as great as you would think.”

Voth eventually scored a contract with Perungan Pojat, a professional team in Finland.

“You know, not the most gay friendly country,” Voth said. “They border Russia, so they have kind of a lot of perceived problems with it. I think that’s just part of the culture that it’s not as colourful as the Netherlands would be and like Western Europe. No one on my team had met anyone that’s LGBT before. That added pressure I think, but also allowed me the opportunity to show them everything is the same. There’s no difference. I don’t know why people make a big deal of it.”

“Why do athletes have to come out? It’s not a big deal.’ But that really showed them it is an issue. Maybe not so much in Canada or parts of Canada, but it is an issue throughout the world and we’re not at our goal yet.”
– Chris Voth

The team made a lot of progress, off the court that is, as players went from having never known a gay person to marching in the Artic Pride parade a couple months later alongside Voth. They became the first professional volleyball team in the world to walk in a gay pride parade.

“I did hear from the president that a few of the supporters, like longtime season ticket holders, not a lot, but a couple, said ‘I’m not coming to any more games. Don’t ask me to buy tickets anymore. That’s it.’ So that’s kind of tough,” said Voth. “But I was able to get some of the people from the parade to come to our games. So, if you look at the net gain, I think we gained people. But I do kind of feel bad that they have these season ticket holders who didn’t want to be supporters anymore, but I guess that’s just the way it is.”

From there, Voth played in the Czech Republic before returning to the Netherlands last year to play with his original pro team. But after a season of battling a torn abdominal muscle and a shattered pinky, Voth decided to retire from the pro game and start his coaching career.

It was announced this week he’s coming home to become the head coach of Red River College’s men’s volleyball team. RRC competes in the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference. As a player, Voth said he knows he was skipped over by many clubs due to his sexual orientation, but he’s not worried about that being the case as a coach. He does, however, have some concerns.

“A thing that worries me is are players going to be scared, you know? I was worried about other teammates being nervous about being on a team with someone who’s gay. But then, would you want to play for a gay coach? Would people think that would be weird? I have no idea,” Voth admits.

“I was worried about other teammates being nervous about being on a team with someone who’s gay. But then, would you want to play for a gay coach? Would people think that would be weird? I have no idea.”

“I’ve been in the Netherlands for three out of the last five years and have lived there more than I’ve been in Winnipeg, so I’m kind of used to that culture now, so I don’t know how it’s going to be so much when I come back. But from what I’ve heard and what I’ve seen, I think it’s a non-issue.”

As for his future in coaching, Voth is trying not to get too far ahead of himself. He said one day coaching at the U Sports or professional level would be a special opportunity, but for now, he believes RRC is the perfect place to launch the next chapter of his volleyball career.

“I’m just looking forward to getting out there and passing down the knowledge that I’ve accumulated over the last couple years and I hope to inspire these players to keep pursuing volleyball and try and help the program as much as possible.”

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“I’m just looking forward to getting out there and passing down the knowledge that I’ve accumulated over the last couple years and I hope to inspire these players to keep pursuing volleyball and try and help the program as much as possible.”