When thinking which two athletes to profile next Alina and Anna popped into my head. Alina and Anna. Anna and Alina. If you know these two souls, you know that they are always together.

With that being said, I wanted to start off 2018 blog-posts on the right foot so thought why not dedicate it to some of my teammates I had the pleasure of working along side last summer. I really wanted to take a moment (or a blog post) to write about some of these girls that you might not have seen on the court or the roster last summer, but still have a large effect and a large part on our Women’s National Team Program. They are the up-and-comers; the College Kids. 

I am super happy to have the chance to write this post about Meg. A lot has happened since I was rooming with Megan at the end of last summer for Grand Prix. I remember that time in Argentina as being especially difficult for multiple reasons; we were just finishing up three weeks on the road, we were out in the boonies somewhere in Argentina, and Connor’s one-year anniversary was comin' around the corner.

Tammy Mahon has played a huge part in my career with Team Canada. When people find out that I play for the National Team, it is often followed with “oh yaaaa – I know Tammy! She’s the captain, right?” She clearly had a lasting impression on all staff, players, and fans.

After talking about my own life and experiences here Italy in my last blog, I decided it was time to write about my lovely teammates. This year, we really are spread from one end of the earth to the other, but that just makes things all the more exciting. I wanted to give everyone a mid-season, halfway-point-update on where the girls are and how their teams are doing thus far. 

Since I started writing these player blogs I was excited to eventually get the opportunity to write Dana’s. Not only is she a wonderful teammate to me and everyone else, she is also one of my dearest of dear friends. For those of you who know Dana, you are well aware that she is one of the greatest human beings on this earth. The NICEST individual you will ever meet. 

Oh Shanis. This girl is a champion through and through. I would say majority of you reading this, if not all, have already heard of Shanice – she’s been everywhere and wins EVERYTHING. I first really got to know her when she came to UBC... and it took about 42 seconds for us to become really good friends. She was a year behind me so I got to play with this girl for 4 years 

Let me introduce you to one of our amazing liberos: Janie Guimond. I’ve been playing Team Canada with Janie for the past 7 years and we still have at least 2 more to go after this! We’ve been through so many team changes, transitions, ups and downs, and luckily I’ve had her by my side thru it all. I’ve been all over the world with this girl which is a pretty special thing. Janie really has an incredible zest for life; wherever she is in the world she wants to gain the best experiences

I really got to know Beeks in my 2012-2013 season in Potsdam, Germany. Luckily, her and Janie were playing on Kopenick SC, which was just on the other side of Berlin (Berlin was about a 40 minute train ride from Potsdam). I met them in Berlin very often on our days off to grab coffee (and a treat) and explore some major parts of the city. She’s definitely my Starbucks buddy and our obsession grew a bit more after spending so much time in the city; chilly Berlin days made us (me) take the leap from Grande’s to Venti’s…. 

ennifer is SUCH a pleasure to work with on the court. Her positive attitude and confidence in every one of her players really come out in the situations where we need it the most. I sometimes find myself "arguing" with her on the court on who’s fault the mistake was. I’m thinking that it was just a dumb swing and she’s blaming it on her setting; she’s always taking accountability for things she does (or doesn’t do) and is constantly working hard to be the best she can be. 

I've been playing with Marisa for 8 years now. I had the privilege of playing my first 2 years of UBC with her where we broke the curse and brought home the CIS National Championship banner in consecutive years. Reese is usually found slamming down wicked blocks and crushing push-50's to the T.