2014

Quick update: Made the 2014 Canadian Women's National Beach Volleyball Team!

Looking forward to an exciting season! Stay tuned for my competition schedule which will be posted soon. Looks like there will definitely be some more home events in Toronto! Can't wait to play on my home and native sand with some Canadian fans in the stands!

Also looking forward to some heat, this winter has been wicked cold. Brrrrr

Thankk you everyone for your continued support and many thanks to my wonderful sponsors.



- Julia

Switzerland/Germany

A long overdue blog update. So many great things have happened in the past few months. 1) We are now officially training full-time OUTDOORS. The winter depression has passed and now my home is finally Ashbridges Bay again. My beach partner Victoria Altomare and I, train every morning with Steve Anderson and Adriana Bento. As I mentioned previously, Steve is a former coach of Natalie Cook (Olympic Gold and Bronze medalist) and is now our National Team coach. Adriana Bento was a world-class athlete competing internationally for Brazil and now is a stellar coach. In addition to this dynamic duo, Vee (Victoria) and I have our own personal coach, Joe Body (2012 London Olympic Coach). Having all these amazing coaches in our corner has really set us up for success this summer and in the future of our long volleyball career's ahead of us.

Thus far, we have travelled to Locarno, Switzerland to compete in the Suisse COOP National Beach Tour. We placed 5th in this event, after losing a tight match to a stronger and older Spanish team. Next we travelled to both Luebeck and Kiel, Germany to compete in some local events in which we took home 1st place finishes in both! It was a great experience playing so many matches in just two days and pumped us up for the following weekend. We competed in a much larger tournament, part of the SHVV tour in Schilskee, Germany in which we took home a Bronze. We dealt with some harsh weather conditions, training in the pouring rain for 14 days straight, suffered from frost bite one day and then sun burn the next. It only made Victoria and I stronger and pushed us forward as a team.

We're super excited to be back on Canadian soil and to prepare for the Canadian Trials taking place in Toronto, June 25th-27th and the OVA Grandslam June 28th-30th at Ashbridges Bay.
Hope to see you out there!

Namaste,

Julia

In the hopes to spark a smile

I stumbled upon this video today and it sparked a smile on my face, hopefully it will do the same for you.

Laughter is truly a beautiful thing.




Namaste!

Julia

What Do You Desire

I thought I'd share this video. I am so blessed to have been brought up by such wonderful and inspirational parents. They taught me to follow my heart, believe in myself and build a life worth living. Each and every day I go confidently in the direction of my dreams, feeling supported 100% and never once look back.
My parents don't work for a living; they truly live.
Cheers to you Mom and Dad!
Namaste!

 

Let The Games Begin

My 2013 Season has started off with a bang! The National Team program has been blessed with a brilliant new head coach, Steve Anderson. I will miss a lot of training and technique taught by our former head coach, but Steve brings a whole new mindset for Canadian volleyballers. For those of your unfamiliar with Steve Ando, here is a link to a quick bio: Steve Anderson.

Training everyday at the High Performance Facility has been such a joy. I have found a perfect balance in my life with training, conditioning, studying and down time. The harmony connecting all these events in my life together is happiness. I truly enjoy everything that I am doing in my life. After a heavy-course load of work first semester, I realized there is no benefit from worrying or creating stress in my life. All I can focus on is one thing at a time; to be in the present moment and put 100% effort into doing just what I am doing at that exact moment. Whether I am in the gym or on the sand, I cannot be thinking of the biochemical processes in the cingulate gyrus and or being trying to organize my volleyball travel schedule during physiology lecture. By focusing on just one event at a time, I am training at a higher, more focused level and have received high grades on my first midterms in Neurobiology and Biochemistry. I realize that I am not super human, but have learned how to optimize every second of everyday. Time is so valuable and there is so much I want to accomplish in my lifetime. I realize what is important in life, what my goals are, and exactly how I am going to live out my dreams.

My competition season is about to begin shortly and I am doing everything I can to properly prepare myself for #Podium2013 top finishes. I am lucky to have such amazing and wonderful sponsors supporting me this season as I work hard day in and day out on a pathway to the Olympics.
A HUGE shout out to Maui&Sons for creating the most stylish beach wear for me to wear this season. From bikinis, to hoodies, tanks, flip flops and unreal polarized shades, Maui&Sons has got me covered.

With Reid's Customized Workout Program I have seen tremendous gains in my strength, core and stability. His vast knowledge of athletics, conditioning, and nutrition allows him to design a fitness program customized to your own personal needs. I would highly recommend his training to any athlete! While training, I am able to utilize the best supplements from Rivalus knowing they are clean and effective. Their pre-workout mix has zero caffeine in it, leaving me without that shaky feeling at the gym. I'll keep you posted on my gains from Rivalus products over the next few months.  GP8 has changed my entire perspective on water. I was a little skeptical at first that water could actually be "enhanced" with oxygen. However, after training and drinking GP8 for one day I was completely convinced. I did a thorough read through of their scientific papers and the facts hold true! This water delivers more oxygen to your blood stream, thus creating a greater partial pressure for the oxygen stored in your hemoglobin to be deliver to your tissues with more efficiency. I can taste the difference in the water, it's lighter and I don't feel bloated while hydrating with lots of GP8 Sportwater. Definitely a product I would recommend!

Thank you everyone for your continued support as I am able to live out my dreams each and every day knowing I have amazing friends, family, coaches and sponsors. I hope I can continue to motivate, inspire and enlighten those I come across in my path. Feel free to reach out to me if you'd like to connect. I love sharing my life with those around me!

Namaste friends.

Julia

Brasil

Arriving at night in Macieo, Brasil, I had the pleasure of waking up in surprise to a beautiful beach in front of me. An early sun rise crusted the sand with golden rays of heat and a cool lively ocean awaited me. Overpowering all of this, was the smell of competition. My desire to win, conquer and defeat. My new partner Caleigh Whitaker and I spent the first two days training against other countries in preparation for the tournament to begin. The venue was great, sparkling white sand, a big stadium, four game courts and a couple practice courts on the side. The people of Macieo were very friendly and extremely welcoming. Perhaps it was the many whistles and hoots we received from the locals that made us feel like movie stars!

First day of competition we face a strong USA team and were not able to pull out a win. A close two setter but Caleigh and I were still getting used to playing with each other on the court. Communication is everything in volleyball! We learned that fast. Next up we faced the Suisse, a highly competitive main-draw team. Taking the first set 21-19, then just shy of winning in the second 20-22 and then a heart-wrenching loss of 13-15 in the third. This was by far our best performance thus far and gained us respect from other countries in the tournament.

Then it was playoffs, first round we faced a feisty Chinese Taipei team. We won in two straight sets but were definitely challenged by our opponents. Now in the third day of the tournament, we faced Spain. It took us a while to get into our groove early that Friday morning losing the first 15-21. But we were not going down without a fight. We came back to win 23-21 to take Luciano/Alvaro to a third. Point for point, again we could not capitalize on stealing a defensive transition and lost 16-14. Very frustrating!!! This team ended up winning the rest of the their matches and ended up in the finals against USA. 

Losing in second round we crossed over to the loser's bracket of the draw. Got a W against Germany and advanced to see another day of competition. Saturday morning we played Slovakia, a team that had a huge upset and also ended up in the loser's bracket. We battled long and hard but unfortunately were eliminated from the tournament.  

All in all, we played some of the strongest teams at the tournament which some can see as a negative by not getting "easy advances" to the next round however, this is what I want. I want to lose to the strongest teams now, to battle and fight and be just shy of winning. I don't want to learn how to win easily, I want to experience losing tough matches. Because right now, I am young and I am learning. I see my potential and I can see where I'll be in five years time. I was one of the youngest blocker's at the tournament. I'll be back next year in Russia to compete in the World University Games and I'll be kicking and punching! I have realized I learn a lot more from my losses than my wins. Next year it's time to start owning the podium and making my way into FIVB. I want to make a dent in the tour and I know it will take time. But it all starts here, training 6x a week at the National Team Training Center, conditioning everyday and striving for greatness. "Indoor Beach" may seem odd, but it's the countless hours of dedication and continuous reps that will separate those on the podium and those eliminated in the early rounds of playoffs. I am very excited to experience training full-time for beach volleyball for the first time!!

Thanks so much to everyone who supported me both emotionally and financially for this amazing event. It really means the world knowing I have a community and huge support system behind me. I look forward to representing my family and friends as well as my country as I continue to compete in events across the world. 

Namaste.

Ju

Back on the Sand

So basically, I lied.

I failed to update my blog on summer results, training and travelling. However, I have a great excuse...it was because I was having so much fun! This summer made me realize that I had made the best possible decision to move back home and train on my home and native sand. I had the privilege of working with great coaches, playing with an incredibly talented partner and competing in events across the country. My partner Charlotte and I competed in events in Quebec, played many events in Ontario, travelled to Vancouver, BC to compete in the Senior Women National Championships and finished off the season with a 9th place finish at FIVB U21 Junior World Championships in Halifax, NS. Like any season, there were many ups and downs but the future looks bright for both of us. It was very exciting getting my first experience of international volleyball. I was quite nervous at first but my coach explained "they're all twenty something year old girls, playing beach volleyball just from a different country-that's all!". Once I was able to accept the fact that I was just playing the same game I do everyday, I became extremely comfortable on the court. I was able to feed off the energy from the crowd and play at a whole new level. I loved playing new teams I didn't know, having no expectation of their play and only focusing on my own side of the net. I started swinging even more aggressive and becoming a force at the net. My confidence in Charlotte sky-rocketed as she was digging up balls all over the court. Together, we played strong. Now that I've had a taste of the FIVB, I want more. I feel like this is where I belong and I am more excited than ever for my career in volleyball ahead of me.

I received some unfortunate news yesterday from the Big-East conference informing me that I will not be eligible to play in the CIS this year. I was extremely devastated having planned on being a Varsity Blue at the University of Toronto this coming fall. However, I believe everything happens for a reason and although this news may seem like the worst thing ever right now, I will eventually find some greatness from it. I plan on trying out for the National Beach Volleyball Team October 13th and try and pursue that pathway for this coming year. I was planning on training beach once my indoor season finishes in March however looks like I'm staying on the sand all year long! Perhaps that is greatness all in itself!

I head to Brazil this Saturday to compete in the FISU World University Games in Maceio, with my partner Caleigh Whitaker, a National Team member. This will be my second taste of international volleyball and I cannot wait for the games to begin! It'll be tough having not trained with Caleigh all season but we're both fully committed to making this partnership work and kicking ass in Brazil! She's an extremely gifted defender and I can't wait to see what we're capable of out on the court.

Believe, achieve, succeed.
Striving for excellence,

Sincerely,

Julia