Former pro joins Northern Chill coaching ranks

Vanessa Chorkawy wasn't ready, quite yet, to close the book on her playing days of professional volleyball.

After one season in Sweden and a short stay in the Czech Republic - "it wasn't a great fit" - the 26-year-old Lively native signed a contract in Switzerland last January, only to find out she had missed the signing deadline.

By this time, the Lo-Ellen Park Secondary graduate had begun taking courses at Laurentian University, between stints in Europe, and had provided some coaching help with the Lockerby Composite junior girls team last winter.

Maybe it was time to move on.

"As much as I wanted to play for a few more years, you also get the itch to establish some roots," Chorkawy said. "I was seeing all of my friends moving on with life."

Thankfully, life away from volleyball was almost non-existent. Through the help of Lockerby principal Heather Gaffney, the Northern Chill Volleyball Club was able to reach out to Chorkawy, adding yet another well-established volleyball talent to their core of young up-and-coming coaches.

"I thought it was going to be hard, and it was, but it was also so nice to be back and involved with the sport," said Chorkawy. And so begins the transition from player to mentor.

"For me, it was a matter of remembering that these kids were just starting out," she said.

"Practices are so different at the pro level, and even in university. It's a lot more self-directed, the coach's involvement is minimal.

"With the junior girls team, a lot of them had little or no experience with volleyball. It was back to square one, but it was really kind of exciting to be involved at the grass-roots level."

A right-side player throughout her time as an all-star with the Lakehead University Thunderwolves, as well as with various stints with the national team, Chorkawy carries a more varied perspective of the game than others in her shoes.

"I had a really good coach in Sweden, who was from Ontario," Chorkawy said. "He was so good at breaking down the game, and making sure in practice, that people understood everyone else's position."

And, understandably, there is the influence of Tom Sutton, from the hours and hours that Chorkawy spent as a member of the Lo-Ellen Park Knights.

"I model myself after him in terms of his loose style of play," she said.

"I've had a lot of coaches who are very regimented. Tom was always so good at making sure that you learn the skills, you learn how to play, and then after that, you just play. My coach at Lakehead was kind of the same."

Chorkawy will get the chance to put those lessons to the test within the next few weeks, joining head coach Carly Santi and the 15U Chill girls as an assistant coach, a helping hand loaded with the benefit of playing alongside some of the top female volleyball talent in the country, at times.

"Right away, I thought that this was an awesome opportunity for me," she said. "I thought that I could give back to volleyball in Sudbury. It will be great to work with Carly and learn this whole system. I think that it's really important for these girls, at this level, to develop technique."

"Hopefully, I will have a little freedom to bring some of the things that I have learned, especially overseas," Chorkawy said.

"They play such a different game, such a fast game - and speed kills. If I can get a little bit of that going, it would be great."

Not to mention helping to ease the transition from player to coach.