Chasing the Olympic dream

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/09/2019 (2409 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The journey to his first Olympics is no small matter for Jason DeRocco, nor is the fact the road to Tokyo passes through his hometown.

DeRocco is the only Manitoban on the Canadian men’s volleyball team competing this week at the NORCECA Continental Championship at the University of Winnipeg’s Duckworth Centre. Technically, DeRocco now calls the bedroom community of East St. Paul home but was raised in Winnipeg and is a proud graduate of Miles Macdonell Collegiate.

Even after a decade donning Canadian colours, the 29-year-old still maintains representing the country never gets old — not when the chase for the Olympic dream remains alive. And not when there’s a golden opportunity to take a critical step forward in front of friends and family.

“It’s something I haven’t been able to do in my career for quite some time. I developed a love of the game here and I left Manitoba to pursue university in Alberta, so it’s something I’ve wanted to do. It’s going to be a great event, it’s going to be emotional, very difficult and we’re going to have to fight our way to win this one,” DeRocco said Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s hard to explain (playing for Canada), the feeling you get right before the anthem is played, those little butterflies, it reminds you why you do it. There’s such a passion and a love, it’s almost beautiful. I’m very proud to be part of the best 14 players Canada has to offer.”

Sentimentality aside, there’s real work to be done at U of W.

The seven-team championship is a qualifier for a four-team, ‘last-chance’ tournament in January at a yet-to-be-determined site. The teams there will include Cuba and the top three teams from the Winnipeg event — with just one moving on join 11 other teams on the grand Olympic stage.

The Canadians are ranked sixth in the world, the highest-ranked team still without a spot booked for the 2020 Summer Games.

In 2016, DeRocco was a member of the national program but wasn’t included on Canada’s squad that finished fifth at the Rio Olympics. The 6-7 outside hitter, no longer a youngster in the fold, said it’s a daily challenge to focus on the task at hand and not become overwhelmed by the potential prize at the end of the road.

“It’s always in the back of your mind but it’s something that you think about off the court. It’s not something that should creep up in your mind while you’re in a game,” he said. “This is what we do for a living. We train every day, we play a lot of matches professionally, a lot of matches internationally, so for us this should be like riding a bike out there.

“We know what we have to do, we know we have to work together and we just have to prepare properly and execute our game plan. We always have a great chance if we do those things.”

DeRocco has always been a heavy hitter from the left side — with the Buckeyes high school squad, the University of Alberta Golden Bears, pro teams in France and Poland and this past season in the Japanese top league. With the national squad he began earning additional court time as a skilled server and defensive specialist, and is now one of the team’s premier passers although not in a starting role.

“It’s interesting how things have evolved. It’s definitely an awesome role for me, but I’ll take anything to be here. We have so many good players at my position and we really develop that competitive edge,” said DeRocco. “Whoever goes in, it’s someone we all trust will do the job.”

He wasn’t substituted in by head coach Glenn Hoag in Canada’s three-game sweep of Mexico on Tuesday night, despite the colossal mismatch, but will likely get some court time tonight in a big match with Puerto Rico at 8 p.m.

DeRocco has volleyball in his blood. His parents, Valerie and Stelio, both played for the Canadian national teams, and Stelio went on to coach the national program during a stretch when it was based in Winnipeg for 11 years before moving to Gatineau, Que., in 2008.

Jason spent three years in Poland’s top league before signing a one-year deal with a club in Tokyo. He’s a free agent but is mulling over a few opportunities for the upcoming season, including a return to Japan.

“Huge culture shock,” he said of the most populated city in the world with more than 38 million people. “You can imagine taking the train every day, getting squished in like sardines. I was being the tallest person for as far as the eye could see. But the people are very kind and I really enjoyed my time there. My teammates were great and I had an awesome translator who helped me a lot.”

Indeed, DeRocco stood out everywhere he went, and people on the street weren’t discreet with their gazes of wonder.

“I was at the grocery store one day and this lady was staring up at me with her mouth open. I was a little bit uncomfortable. And suddenly she just says two words, ‘Jumbo jumbo,’” he said, laughing. “That became a nickname out there with the guys. They all died laughing.

“So every time someone was staring at me, I’d say, ‘Yea, jumbo jumbo.’ That word worked in both languages.”

 

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell