CATCHING UP WITH CHAIM

Chaim Schalk

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2010
Q&A

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CATCHING UP WITH CHAIM

LANGLEY, British Columbia – Former Trinity Western University Spartan Chaim Schalk has taken his volleyball game outdoors and abroad since graduating in 2009 and is now competing with some of the best beach volleyball players in the world.

The Spartans former setter is playing with Martin Reader as part of Canada's national beach team this summer and is hoping it’s the start of a long career on the sand. Schalk and Reader have competed in three FIVB events this year and plan to enter two more, along with three NORCECA events and Nationals.

We recently caught up with Schalk to find out what life is like playing barefooted and two-a-side.

Q: Since graduating from TWU in 2009, what has the past year been like?
A: All winter I was training out in Toronto and I did that from October to about March and then I started up playing on the FIVB beach tour. I’ve played three events on that and, in the mean time, I’ve been coming home and playing in different events in Western Canada and Toronto.

Q: How do you feel you and Reader have played this summer?
A: It’s been a pretty good summer so far. In Canada, we’re one of the top teams. We’ve been battling some of the other Canadian teams and playing on the tour, so it’s been good.

This is my first year taking beach seriously. Before this, I was kind of playing for fun and playing tournaments in Canada. When you play outside of Canada, you can see the how high the level is and it’s a lot different. I was watching the Olympics in 2008 and you see all the teams play and now I’m in the same tournament as them. It’s intimidating at first but, at the same time, it’s exciting because there’s not that much of a difference between their level and where we’re at.

Q: Although you’ve been close, you have yet to make the main draw for an FIVB event. What do you need to do to get past the qualification stage?
A: It’s a grind when you’re at those tournaments. You have to be consistent the entire day. If you have one bad set or one bad match, it’s going to wreck the whole tournament. You only have one chance and if you lose one game, you’re done.

We physically have the skills to do it. It’s just staying level headed the whole day and you have to play your best in all three matches and they’re all in one day. It's all about consistency.

Q: What are your short and long term goals as a tandem?
A: Hopefully by next summer, we could be a main draw team on the FIVB circuit. It’s a learning process and it takes most young new teams about three years before they’re a main draw team, but I want that to happen as soon as possible.

As for our long-term goal, I mean, the 2012 Olympics is pretty close around the corner, so the chances of making that are very minimal. We’d have to have an unbelievable season next year. It would be pretty ridiculous to make 2012.

More likely, long term though we would want to become a main draw team and then qualify for the 2016 Olympics.

Q: Are you able to work while you train?
A: It’s pretty much impossible to work right now because we’re training so hard. I have been doing some small camps and some minor coaching. I also went home (to Red Deer, Alta.)  for a couple weeks and worked for my dad where I made some solid money.

Q: How is the funding from Volleyball Canada?
A: We get carded through Volleyball Canada and that gives you minimal amounts of money to survive but then I have to pull money out of my own pocket to pay for some of these flights to get to Europe. It’s sort of like an investment into the future because once you make the main draw, you start making good money.

Q: What’s it been like adjusting from going to school at Trinity Western to playing all over the world on the beach?
A: It’s definitely been a life change since going to Trinity every year and doing my thing with the indoor. It’s really fresh and new but I’m starting to figure it out a bit and I’m getting into more of a rhythm.

Right now I don’t really have a home. I don’t have a place in Toronto and I just kind of live out of my suitcase. I go from city to city living out of my suitcase and just getting by. I just kind of stay with friends. That parts kind of tough but I think that long term I’ll have to end up having more of a base of where I can stay in Canada. It’s been a change for sure and it’s been positive and I’m looking forward to doing this for several years.

-TW-

About TWU:

Trinity Western University, located in Langley, B.C., is a not-for-profit Christian liberal arts university enrolling over 4,000 students this year. With a broad based, liberal arts and sciences curriculum, the University offers undergraduate degrees in 41 major areas of study ranging from business, education and computer science to biology and nursing, and 17 other graduate degrees including counselling psychology, theology and administrative leadership. For more information, visit TWU's Official Athletics site at gospartans.ca.

About Canadian Interuniversity Sport:

Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Fifty-two universities, 10,000 student-athletes and 550 coaches vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. The CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, and 32 World University Championships. For further information, visit www.universitysport.ca.

About CWUAA:

"Canada West is consistently the most decorated of the four conferences in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), winning at least 10 CIS national titles every year since 1997-98. Comprised of 13 schools, from Manitoba to B.C., the CWUAA produces numerous major award winners and Academic All-Canadian student-athletes each year, with many going on to athletic success around the globe in events such as the Olympics or Universiade Games."

-TW-

Last Updated: 2010-08-04
Author: Mark Janzen