By Sarah Tone, Communications Coordinator
Brooklyn Olfert has Canada Games volleyball in her blood. Both of her parents, Rob and Julie Olfert, played volleyball in previous Games, and her brother Isaiah played beach volleyball during week 1 of these Games. Rob and Julie are here to cheer on their daughter for every point, even if she may not be focused on the noise.
“I don’t really hear the cheering, I think I tune it out a lot,” says Brooklyn. “I hear the crowd, but I don’t really hear it. It’s in the back of my mind.”
Brooklyn’s head coach, Alix Krahn says her quiet demeanor is a benefit to her game.
“Quiet does not mean unfocused,” says Krahn. “[Brooklyn] is always ready to go; eye on the ball. Being quiet and calm is sometimes a better way to go in high-pressure, intense situations.”
This is Brooklyn’s second multi-sport Games experience. She placed 2nd in beach volleyball during the Western Canada Summer Games in 2019. That experience led her to be one of the de facto leaders of this 2022 team.
“[Both Games] were a lot of fun, I assumed this year would be a lot like Westerns,” said Brooklyn. “It’s similar but the crowds this year are way bigger. They’re awesome.”
Brooklyn’s experience translates to a ‘lead-by-example’ type of leadership on the court.
“She’s our quiet kid. She leads through action,” says Julie. “She loves being excited for her teammates as much as she does herself. She’s her best self on the court, and we love watching it.”
In addition to playing volleyball at previous Canada Games, Rob and Julie Olfert both played amateur and professional volleyball nationally and internationally.
“Volleyball is her comfort zone,” says Rob. “It’s basically where she feels most comfortable in life.”
“There’s different ways of leading, and Brooklyn has her own style. She leads in how she plays,” says coach Krahn. “She lets her game do a lot of the talking for her. She just makes eye contact with [her teammates], and they respond. At the end of the day, Brooklyn is just a fantastic person and a great athlete to work with.”
Team Manitoba plays British Columbia in the semi-finals for a chance to make it to the gold medal game on Sunday.
“My biggest wish for them is they just work with each other, bond with each other, no matter what the outcome,” says Julie.
“My mom tells me stories about how she’s still friends with all the girls she played with,” says Brooklyn. “It’s nice that with our team, we all came together and meshed together pretty well, and it was like ‘okay. Let’s go.’”
Brooklyn attended Dakota Collegiate in high school and she is entering her 2nd Year at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops BC, where she was awarded 2022 Athlete of the Year.
