Korol excited to join Bobcats’ Wall of Fame

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This article was published 17/10/2019 (2362 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

From the Brandon University hardcourt to Oak Lake Community School, Andrew Korol has carved quite the legacy by setting others up for success.

The Selkirk product made his way to the Wheat City a few years after high school, just in time for the team’s inaugural Canadian Interuniversity Sport — now U Sports — men’s volleyball season in 2005.

When it was all said and done, Korol finished his four years as the school’s all-time assists leader at 2,417 — a mark only surpassed by Reece Dixon last season — and was named a national championship all-star in his fifth year when he helped the Bobcats to their first-ever bronze medal.

On Saturday, his name goes up on the Dick and Verda McDonald Sports Wall of Fame, along with teammate Paul Sanderson from that 2008-09 squad.

“I’m super honoured, especially because you look at the tradition and the history of the basketball program. It’s a super honour to be up there beside Joel (Small) who is up there already, then looking back and being one of the first five to be up there, the tradition that will be maybe 10 or 20 years down the road for this program,” Korol said on Tuesday, adding that it’s the icing on the cake to get in the same year as his team.

“It’s super cool to go in with those guys you went to battle with every day, the gruelling two practices in pre-season. You build bonds and you build memories, and it’ll be fun to see their faces and reminisce about the old times. Those don’t just go away, it’s the brotherhood. Those memories aren’t made up, and each team has them, each team cherishes them, and it’ll be super cool to see their faces again and relive the glory days.”

Many will be around for Friday’s Canada West home opener against Thompson Rivers University at the Healthy Living Centre, and the induction ceremony on Saturday at the Victoria Inn at 9 a.m.

Korol’s trip there will be much shorter than some, as he developed roots in Brandon after his playing days, and has continued to impact the community as a coach with Cats Volleyball Club.

Looking back, each step in his volleyball journey contributed to who he is today.

First, the advice from his father Stan that he should be a setter was big. Andrew recalls his dad telling him: “If you want to be a part of the game and have a big impact, you might as well be a setter because you pretty much touch the ball every rally,” Andrew said. “My height had a big thing to do with it as well.”

Fast forward through high school and the six-foot-two setter joined the University of Manitoba Bisons as a redshirt for the 2002-03 season. That team captured a national championship and showed Korol exactly what it took to be successful at the university level.

“I learned a lot, just being an 18-year-old and playing with these grown men. You learn so much and pick things from the players. There were four guys in their fifth year and were like ‘Nothing is going to stop us from winning this year,’” Korol said. “I learned to be fearless. You get hit in the head and you keep going. It was a fun year.”

Understandably, Korol wanted a greater chance to see the court, and transferred to Grande Prairie Regional College of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference. The atmosphere was completely different: He got to play a lot, but it came with a whole different challenge of living away from home.

“I lived with a buddy, but 19, being away from home for the first time, you learn lots. I thought I could do it on my own without any support, and you learn fast that you need to have good people around you to make the environment,” Korol said. “It was an eye-opener, 19, thinking you’re going to conquer the world and you’re blown away. It was tough.”

As a result, he stepped away from the sport and focused on school for his second year at Grande Prairie, when it became more clear that he wanted to pursue degrees in kinesiology and education, and grew increasingly focused on accomplishing that goal.

Getting back to the country’s top level of post-secondary volleyball was certainly a big goal as well, and as luck would have it, the opportunity to join a brand new CIS team in Brandon arose.

Korol suited up for the Bobcats, a team filled with rural, local talent and some guys he had played with and against back in high school. The familiar faces helped the transition, as did recognizing that the first few years might not be the prettiest ones for the group.

“We knew mentally going in that it was going to be tough to compete because we’re considered an expansion team. It was tough, but a good learning experience and lots of fun our first year,” Korol said. “There wasn’t any pressure. We just tried to do what we did, played our hearts out and had lots of fun. We started the year 2-0 against Regina, so that was fun, and we kind of went down a slippery slope after that.”

Things turned around in a big way a few seasons later, in part thanks to then head coach and current BU athletic director Russ Paddock’s recruitment of Australians Paul Sanderson, Luke Reynolds and Cam Blewett.

A year after that, the Bobcats made their breakthrough.

BU swept the UBC Thunderbirds in the conference quarterfinals on home court — including a 24-22 fifth-set victory in Match 2 to earn its first trip to nationals. Sanderson put up 21 kills, with Kevin Miller adding 15 and Small and Paul Robidoux recording 14 apiece.

BU knocked off Thompson Rivers in the conference semifinals before dropping the title match to the host University of Alberta Golden Bears, who were also hosting nationals the following week.

“They really brought the level up, on their cultural background, how they play, their intensity,” Korol said of the Aussies. “We competed the year before but were just missing those pieces. They came and really fulfilled those pieces we needed to be in the mix.”

It was Korol’s final year, his last chance to leave his mark on the school, but he said he didn’t feel that pressure after already pulling off the feat of reaching nationals.

“I took it in stride, it was what it was. I knew we wanted to make a run and I knew we had the team to take us over the top,” he said. “A big moment was … when the guy for UBC sets it out of bounds and we win in a fifth set on the second night, just erupting and being like ‘Yeah, we’re finally making it to nationals.’ To pave our story in this small town, we really just enjoyed it.”

The Bobcats headed back to Alberta as the fourth seed and drew Dalhousie University in the quarterfinals.

“I remember telling myself ‘We can’t lose to this team.’ A Canada West team never wants to lose to an East Coast team or an Ontario team,” said Korol, who ensured that would not happen with a five-set victory.

The title run was halted by top-ranked Alberta in the semis, but Korol stayed motivated to end on a high note and come home with a medal. He had to have something to show for the journey after getting a taste of that success six years earlier at Manitoba. That meant beating another eastern team in Hamilton’s McMaster University, which only took four sets.

“That was fun. You could tell the boys were down a little bit but they started to rally and play, not necessarily for you, but wanting to play with you for your last year, so that was pretty cool,” Korol said, adding the progression from “expansion team” to contender was great to be a part of in Brandon.

“I really cherish and value the time here. I live here now, I’ve grown roots in this city and met some great people I have a lot of really great memories and a lot of positives here. Growing from a team of just being able to hang in here to that fifth year, going out every night and having the expectation of winning and doing something.”

That was far from the end of his time playing volleyball, however, as he signed on with a professional team in France and travelled across the pond to a small town a few hours north of Paris the following season. It was exciting, but also tough emotionally, much like the trip west as a 19-year-old.

“I knew all the people that spoke English (in my town) and I can count them on one hand,” Korol said. “I really focused on myself, going to the gym and getting stronger, trying to stay upbeat, but you’re alone quite a bit and it’s tough so you have got to be really independent.”

He certainly grew that year, and learned how great the opportunity was that he had to learn about a lot more than volleyball while in Europe.

“You got to go out and really embrace the culture, and I think what helped me a lot in Germany was embracing the culture and putting yourself out there more. Just go out and who cares if you don’t know the language, just go to a coffee shop, sit out there and embrace their culture. Do what they do,” Korol said. “The fun moments are the volleyball, the travelling, seeing the countryside, and playing all the different types of cups they have.”

“The game of volleyball is the game of volleyball, but just the lifestyles and how they embrace it in their culture, especially in Germany. It was mandatory to go out to the sponsored restaurant after the game and have a meal on the restaurant. You didn’t scurry away, you had to go for a free team meal,” he added with a laugh.

He also had a lot of chances to learn about the history of the country, about World War II and the Berlin Wall, and took all of those experiences right back to his current home, where he jumped right in and started coaching with Lee Carter and the BU women’s team. He credits Carter with helping him find his passion for coaching and seeing the game from a new perspective.

Last year, he worked with the 16-and-under Cats Gold team, and relished the opportunity to play a role in so many athletes’ lives on and off the court.

“It’s nice to win, but I’m trying to get all of you that play on the Cats club team I’m coaching to post-secondary volleyball because I have so many strong, positive memories from it,” Korol said. “Just to see that you had the opportunity to coach or play with them, see them grow as a person, you’ll never lose those experiences.”

Now 35, Korol is teaching math, science and English in a Grade 7/8 blended classroom, and also gets to take on some physical education classes with the younger students.

All of his experiences, especially those during his time with the Bobcats, have helped shape him into someone who continues to shape hundreds of lives in Westman communities.

“I’m a confident person when I make a decision. I think I learned that in sport and playing with a lot of confidence,” he said. “That would have maybe some impact in decision making in any situation, being confident in yourself and not caring about what anybody else thinks, how you look or what you’re doing and just doing it. That’s huge, having that confidence to do what you want whenever you want to do it and just sticking with it.”

Also being inducted to the Wall on Saturday are women’s volleyball players Teagan Hunter and Becky Birch (nee Young), and community leaders’ Bill Gadd, Daryle McCannell and Bev Neufeld (nee Morrison).

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