Episode #19 - Attacking with Eric Loeppky

In this episode we are joined by Eric Loeppky. Eric dives into his near career ending sickness, the pressure and sacrifices it takes to be great, and how he ended up playing for one of the most elite clubs in the world. We discuss the power of using offspeed shots, where the lefty tip came from, and what goes through his mind when he’s attacking at the highest level. We talk about the value in rest, reevaluation, and detachment and how that helps him perform on some of the biggest stages in the world.

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Transcript

0:00

Hello everyone. And welcome back to the pit to pro podcast. In this episode, we are joined by Eric Lepke. Eric is a Trinity Westerner alumnus, a 2024 Olympian and a starting left side for one of the most elite pro teams in the world. Expect to learn about Eric's near career ending sickness, the pressure and sacrifices of becoming one of the world's best, how to score more balls using attack sequencing, and the value in rest, reevaluation, and detachment. Before we get started, I'd like to introduce our newest partner on the Pit to Pro podcast. I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants to hit harder and score more points. That's why we've decided to partner up with the athlete wellness Academy to deliver you guys the best in arm swing training With their new Arm Swing Academy, you'll receive personalized video analysis and feedback, along with individualized workouts and on court drills. for joining us. Continuous technical support and a dedication to this process will have you hitting harder and playing pain free. AWA has worked extensively with the three of us at the Pit to Pro podcast, as well as the top university programs across the country. If that sounds like something you want to be a part of, sign up for the Arm Swing Academy using the link in our show notes or Instagram bio, and get 10 off every month of your subscription. The Arm Swing Academy offers a 7 day free trial, which you can cancel at any time, and if you're not seeing progress after one month of joining the Academy, you will be refunded. It's completely risk free, so click the link in our show notes or Instagram bio and start your 7 day free trial today. But now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Eric Lepke. Hello and welcome to the Pit the Pro podcast. Jesse, Matthias, and Aaron Elson. This podcast is meant to guide young athletes on their journey to high performance. Join us as we share our first hand experiences in an effort to help you reach your own valuable goals.

Jesse 1:43

And we're live and we're live Eric. Thanks so much for coming on. This is so, so fun to reconnect with you and have you on here with all three of us. Um, A lot of people, I don't think, really understand how truly sick you were a couple years ago and how, how hard that must have been for you. Can you take us back a couple years and walk us through that?

Eric 2:11

Yeah, yeah, man. Oh, that's, uh, that's tough to, uh, to talk about. Honestly, it was so, it was so difficult. But, um, yeah, basically, logistically, what happened was around February. So this is my third year in Italy in Toronto, um, team that Brody's playing for now. Uh, and I just, I felt a little off for a couple weeks, some like weird things started popping up like rashes on my legs and like, just like weird feelings, just not feeling a hundred percent. And it was like, Oh, maybe it's like eczema or something or whatever. I wasn't thinking too much of it. Um, and I just woke up one night in the middle of the night and like my muscles just started hurting. Like. It felt like I had, like, been sedentary for a couple months and then decided to run a full marathon. Like, that's the best way I could kind of describe it. Uh, like, just my, like, my core was sore. Like, my whole abs were sore. My back muscles were sore. Like, everything was just aching. I had this like constant, like almost fever that like, didn't go away. I had this nerve pain, like in my head, it was joint started to swell up. I had like, I had to go like get x rays done on my ankle. Cause they, my ankle was just swollen. Like I couldn't walk. I had crutches and they were trying to like, so did you hurt it in practice? I'm like, no, like I didn't hurt it in practice. It's just like. Like there's nothing wrong with it other than it was just swollen. Um, so yeah, it was the scariest part was just not knowing kind of what it was or like what was causing this. Starting asking so many questions, like what's wrong with me? Like, do I have some weird disease? Like all my tests are coming back relatively normal. Other than that, like my white blood cell count is up cause my body's fighting something. Um, so there wasn't like any clear markers, which is like the, with the baseline testing. Basically I had to stop the season. I missed the last three games of the season. I tried to play one game. One game, but it was terrible. Like I, my shoulder was swollen, so I couldn't swing with my right arm. So I could only tip and I was doing like a float surf. Yeah. If you go watch the game back, it's crazy. We ended up winning five and that was the team like to like, not get relegated. Like we won in five and we beat them by one point that season, but I couldn't swing, like I didn't swing on a ball. There's one rally. Where I literally replayed it three times in a row. I got set three times in a row, like in system perfect balls, but it was just like replay to myself, replay, replay. And like, that's all I can do. Um, yeah, but anyways. Went back home to the U. S., got a bunch of testing done, uh, I ended up working with, uh, a private clinic there called, uh, Minnesota Personalized Medicine, um, and basically, they just, they have a bunch of swaggy stuff there that they could kind of do for me. I was doing all these, like, super in depth tests. Um, it was stuff with my nervous system, some toxins, issues, basically my body wasn't detoxing stuff and it just went into this crazy like overdrive of just like, we can't deal with this anymore. And then it just kind of exploded basically. Um, so yeah, and thankfully I was able to kind of recover and. And get back to volleyball, uh, for the Olympic qualifier. So I, I didn't play volleyball from February until till almost July. It was a long,

Jesse 6:25

I remember that that was a slow process, like really slow.

Eric 6:28

Yeah. There's so many details with this. Like I could talk about it for a long time, but that's kind of the, the big. Kind of spark notes version of it, but it was really scary. It was really, really scary.

Mathias 6:42

Was there ever a time in there where you thought that you might never play volleyball again?

Eric 6:47

For sure. For sure. I was like through that time I, cause they're, they thought maybe I had like some rheumatoid, like arthritis or something because of my joints. That were like aching. I know I'm not having that thankfully, but, uh, yeah, I thought like, Oh, maybe like, I, I just can't play volleyball anymore and I got to be done or like, maybe I can only play pro like, and I have to really rest in the summer. Like travel would be too much. So I was, I was ready to stop. Yeah. I was fully ready to stop, which is crazy that like the year that's come after that, um, from being like, kind of ready to stop. So.

Mathias 7:32

That's cool. What, what kind of keeps you going in those moments? And even if for that game that you had to play when you're, Yeah. Yeah. Basically like how do you view mental toughness and, and what gets you through those moments?

Eric 7:51

Yeah. So, so I think this is personally a little maybe inside into my personal life, but I think personally I put a lot of pressure on myself to, to reach maybe a certain point in a volleyball to quote unquote, make it, so to speak. I had this kind of. Idea in my mind and of like maybe a certain type of team I was playing for a certain type of money. I was making um certain level that I was able to play at and personally a reason why I think That my body was going through so much was because I put so much pressure on myself. Um, those years leading up to that year. So that year in Toronto, I had like my best year up until that point. It was kind of like my breakout year. Um, in the Italian league, I'd played well like years before, but This year I was, like, putting up big numbers, like, consistently, like, throughout the season. So, right around the time that I got sick was the exact time that I was getting offers for, like, my dream, basically. Like, dream offers that I had always wanted. Um, And I almost feel like I kind of had made it and my body was just like, and my mind and spirit were just like, like, we got here like we can't go anymore. Like you need to take a break or we can't live under this amount of stress. Um, so, yeah. That, that whole thing has changed me so much. Uh, like even, even getting through that, but, uh, yeah, I wouldn't be honest with you guys if I wouldn't be sharing, sharing some of this, but it, uh, it changed me for sure. Just like my whole outlook and, and everything.

Jesse 9:54

Oh, thanks for sharing with us, sharing that with us. Is there like a part

Mathias 9:59

of you that was almost okay with being done? Maybe not through those circumstances, but like, I don't know. Being a family man and being like, maybe this is something that leads me to something else or.

Eric 10:16

Yeah. Yeah, totally. Um, I think that I see it now as a lesson for me. Like, I think it put things in a perspective for me. Um, one as a family man, but also as someone of faith like that, it really rocked me because I just felt like I shouldn't have been living like how I was living, um, up until just like how I was. I was like maybe prioritizing things I don't think was in the right order and it really made me rethink how I want to prioritize things, who I want to be, and how I want to go about like life as an athlete, um, or maybe not anymore at that moment. But, uh, yeah, it definitely kind of just was like a gut check and maybe reevaluate a lot of things. Um, it was also that time too, I was, it was my first season overseas as a dad, like full time. Luca was born at the end of my, he was born after my season in Padova, like three days after our last game. So it was like my first year overseas being a dad too. So I was like learning all those new challenges of trying to be a dad, trying to play my best, eat my best, like all these things. And I think it just really forced me to. Zoom out, really reevaluate what I truly do care about and how I need to go about things going forward.

Jesse 11:56

It's cool that you had that big of a life changing moment, but still reached the goals you've had since you were a child. You know, like you're still playing for, what do you, I don't know, this is probably one of the top three biggest clubs in the world that you're playing for right now. And yet you went through that crazy sickness and, and like mental stress. I think it's really cool that you were still able to, once you put your priorities in check, you were still able to achieve your goals. I think that's super, super cool.

Eric 12:31

Thanks. I feel like, I feel like I almost, if this is like, makes sense to you guys, I kind of almost surrendered. And then once I did, I. Kind of was able to, to blossom even more. It's not like I, it's not like I was bad before. Like, I was not in a terrible place or any of these things, but I just feel like it really allowed me to grow even more. Like, the setback truly allowed me to grow even more than maybe if I wouldn't have had it. So, um, for that reason, I'm, I'm really grateful.

Jesse 13:04

How often do you, do you think about it? Like, Are you ever like trying to make a choice or choose between two things and that, that memory comes up or that feeling of not being able to play comes up? Excuse me.

Eric 13:21

Yeah. Yeah, I think it, it just, it helps me hold things more loosely and just, uh, The positive side to it is, is it helps me just be super grateful, like for, for everything that's happened and that I have now. It's like, I truly feel like everything's just kind of gravy. Like, it's just like, this is the sweet stuff and I'm just, I'm just trying to enjoy it because it could be taken away so quickly, you know. Um, And on the other side, maybe when I'm anxious or I'm, I'm doubting myself or whatever, I, I maybe worry like, Oh, like, could something like that happen again? Like, am I fully immune to that now? Or are those kinds of questions? But I see it kind of like a two sided thing that, you know, like days where you're just like, like the good Jesse's on and he's, you know, He's whatever versus like, they said, Jesse's like, ah, man, like, I don't know about all this, you know? So I think that's my best way to kind of explain it.

Mathias 14:31

I'm curious to know how you view that, like your goals and your aspirations and that ideal contract, ideal player thing, now that you have essentially arrived at that level, um, because I think that you never really just arrive at this level where you're content and everything's good. Yeah. Am I, have you done that?

Eric 14:58

No, no. I don't think. Yeah, that's a great question. I don't think I, I don't think you ever will arrive at a level where you're content, which was a lesson revealed to me. Um, but I also think that, like, just knowing that is so freeing, you know, and just enjoying, just being able to enjoy, like, getting better and seeing, like, how great you can be, becomes so much more free versus, Like putting all this pressure, like I have to get there. Like, or if I, if I don't, I'm nothing, you know? So like, yeah, I think it's just so freeing, um, because I, it's not like I'm like, uh, I'm here, I don't want to get better, like, no, no. Like I, I still love volleyball. I still love like the whole process of, of getting better, stronger. Um, Like recognizing my weaknesses, trying to attack those, like the whole shebang. And I, and I think even having a family now is like, that makes some of those things harder, but it also is so motivating too, to, to have them. So, yeah.

Mathias 16:14

How do you, like, uh, balance being a dad and a husband with playing, like, some of the best volleyball in the world?

Eric 16:23

Yeah. Um, good question. I think so. My first year pro, my libero, he's the libero of Slovenia. He told me the sooner you separate like volleyball in your home life, the, the better that is for you. And I think having kids and having a family, it forces you to do that naturally. Like I could have a bad practice. And I can, I come home and Luca is just pumped to shoot hoops with me on his mini hoop and, or throw the football around or just, just play or go to the park. Like he could not care less if I had the worst practice of my life. You know, so it forces you to separate the two. Whereas I used to come home, had a bad practice, just like waiting for the practice video to be uploaded, messaging the scout, man, can you send it to me? I need to look at what I was doing here and attack. I'm just like, or my reception here is bad or. Even when me and Sam were newly married and we didn't have kids, like I would talk to her about volleyball all the time because she knows volleyball too, which is great. But I would like, I sometimes couldn't turn it off. And I think having kids has really allowed me to turn that off. And honestly, um, the way I see it, it just takes away, you know, A lot of the extra stuff that I don't, that probably wasn't helping me out in the first place. Like, I don't get, like, I don't get to just watch Netflix all the time anymore or scroll on social media, cause I'm with my kids and it's, it's like, okay, like, yeah, that was nice to sometimes just chill, but. It wasn't like, you know what I mean? You know what I'm trying to say? Yeah. It's not like it was like helping me for volleyball and it's not like, and actually maybe being with my kids is potentially helping me even more, you know, just like, cause I, if I want to be the dad I want to be, I have to be fully present with them and to be fully present with them, I have to shut off my work life. So that's how I kind of see it.

Jesse 18:43

That's cool.

Mathias 18:43

It's a very mature answer. Yeah, it's nice. Do you think you would have arrived at the same conclusion had you not had a family and kids? Oof.

Eric 18:57

I don't know. I don't know. They've helped me so much. Like, I just see everything I've done, it's like we've almost done it together, you know? So I don't know. I think I, I would have like done great things, but I don't know. I don't know, man. I really don't know. That's a tough question. It's a really tough question. Yeah.

Mathias 19:25

Yeah. Fair enough. I guess that's just hypothetical.

Eric 19:28

It is. It's a good question though. Yeah.

Mathias 19:31

Because it's so interesting how these things that are out of your control give you these amazing lessons and leave you better off in ways that you just have no idea could even happen. Like your sickness. There's no way in the world. beforehand or during you could imagine how that would change your perspective and actually help you in your career. Same thing with having kids, having a family, having that time unavailable now to work on yourself can actually improve your, your play in your career. So I think that's, it's an interesting perspective to look at things that way, always in a positive light, no matter kind of what's happening to you in the moment. I feel like it's just a good reminder to look at things from both sides, like there's. In your life, there might be something that seems very negative, but there's usually always a silver lining and there's always something that can be spun into a positive in 99 percent of scenarios.

Eric 20:32

Yeah, I 100 percent agree with you guys. Totally.

Jesse 20:36

Well, I don't want to rag on the negative, but I do want to get into a little bit more volleyball here. And I think when people watch you, especially the younger generation of volleyball, they're very, uh, impressed. Like, more than impressed. Like, you don't make very many errors. You're a very solid passer. You have a really hard serve. You're a super stable blocker. And when, and when people, young people watch, they're like, this guy is incredible. But I want to know from, from your mouth, what are your greatest weaknesses and what are you working on? And where do you think the holes in your game are?

Eric 21:16

And it's funny. It's weird to think of like, uh, you just speak about the younger players. I still feel like a young pup, you know, but like, I have a funny story.

Jesse 21:28

Actually. I remember like you, it was, uh, one of your 18 summers when Antigo was the coach. And Dan had like a Zoom meeting with you and then us on the B team back in Gatineau. And he had this chart and it was like, you get one out of five for each skill. And he's like, you see Eric here? Eric's a three out of ten. And we're all looking around and we're like, if Eric's a three out of ten, we're like negative eight out of ten. Like, what is

Eric 22:00

going on? Oh man, I forgot about that.

Jesse 22:05

Yeah, we're just roasting all your skills and

Eric 22:07

Yeah, I forgot about that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, that's Dan's thing about being like a, like a complete player. You know, like, uh, with whatever the five kind of big things. But, uh, and that's funny. To answer your question, about how I see myself. Yeah, I, I don't know. I, I think I've never truly saw myself as like, Oh, you're just like amazing at that. And you're just need to, to what you can like, not think about that. Like, I, I definitely feel more comfortable and confident in certain areas, especially. As I've gotten older and like matured and like each stage of, of leagues. Um, but I, I truly don't see myself like mastering any sort of a skill. So I feel like I'm always working on. Working on stuff, um, and trying to, trying to find like, and just ask questions of like, what, what is my lowest hanging fruit? What do I need to do to upgrade that? And like, how, how do I, how do I do it, you know? And how can I make that practical into an everyday thing that I'm going to get better at? So,

Jesse 23:36

yeah, That was, that was evident for me, at least. Even when we were in university, like you were one of the first guys I think that I came across that worked with like the knees over toes guy and different mindset coaches and different athletic trainers and stuff and like you were very, very driven to improve your hip range of motion and improve the way you thought about certain things and where do you think that comes from? Like, is that just something that you've always had inside you that you just always want to improve? Because that's really admirable, I think. Like, I remember in university, watching you being like, man, this guy is just Needs to get better all the time, but you do it with such like grace. It's cool. Like, I'm just wondering where it comes from.

Eric 24:22

I've honestly never asked that question of where it comes from. I, I don't know. I think it's just, I think a part of it is who I am. And I, yeah, I think like, like I said, like I've never had a super big, uh, amount of confidence in myself. So I think maybe I'm always just like trying to like. Maybe prove to myself or, or that like, Oh, like I need to do all of these things just to like, kind of make sure that like, uh, maybe, um, what people think I am or, or whatever, if that makes sense, but back to the university stuff. I, that was definitely. Like, I think the weakest part, one of the weakest parts of in university was I couldn't break the knee pain. And after my second year, when I did have that first summer with Antigua on the A team, I was going to just tip out and go play pro. Like, I was like, if I'm picked to go to the world championships, I'm just going to stay and take a contract in Italy. And if I'm not, I'm going to go back to school. And I wasn't technically my, my first worry wasn't like, Oh, is my reception going to hold up? Am I able to hit hard enough or, or score at this level or service level? It was, is my body going to be able to hold up because I have some pretty serious knee pain. And looking back now, I'm super thankful that I didn't go pro solely the fact that I don't think I would have held up physically. And I really use those years at Trinity to just learn and experiment and find out something that worked for me. I was never satisfied with, uh, just the normal. Yeah, just do this. And we kind of hope it gets better. Just do like extensions or. Whatever, like ice your knees after practice. Like I was like, there has to be more out there. Like, how is this possible? Like, you know what I mean? Like I just wasn't satisfied. So I like to like look and do research and, and actually it was like the whole story on like wellness and getting into that stuff was, it was cool to see Delves because my first year at the team is, I think the first year that Ben had Misha come in, Delves was still playing pro at the time. But he was like slowly kind of starting to work with Misha. But just, I was like, this whole new area of like, taking care of your body. And, like, knowing things about your body was so intriguing to me, and I was like, wow, like, I think that's so cool, like, I, I want to, I don't want to have to rely on someone else to take care of me, like, like, I want to be able to take care of myself, if I have a problem that comes up, I want to be able to know what I need to do, and I can honestly say that when I'm injured overseas, if I have little tweaks or like, I'm feeling something in my back or shoulder and knees, ankles, like I have a pretty solid idea of what I need to do to get out of that. Like I've worked with some really awesome coaches and invested in some really high level, uh, people that I've learned a lot from. So, yeah, so I'm rambling a bit, but that's kind of,

Jesse 27:55

No, that's awesome.

Eric 27:56

Yeah. That's

Mathias 27:57

really awesome. I'm wondering if. You think it's more important to work on your weaknesses or to leverage your strengths in order to continue advancing?

Eric 28:12

I think weaknesses because, yeah, your strengths I think will be your strength. And it's not like in volleyball, like, If you go to a practice, it's not like, let's say attacking is your strength and you need to work on passing. It's not like you're not going to attack at practice. You know what I mean? Like you're still gonna, but maybe instead of like maybe coming early to pass instead of attack, like that would be super beneficial, you know, coming 30 minutes every day before asking the assistant coach to come and floats at you or, or get the spin machine or whatever. So I'm a big fan of. Constantly like re evaluating, re evaluating my body, re evaluating my skills of like, okay, where am I weak right now? I feel like I'm weak in my, like from my knee to my ankle, or I feel like my hips need some work, or I feel like my low back and my kind of. Quadratus Lumborum needs some work, whatever. Or for volleyball, I feel like, I feel really good in system, I feel really good high ball, but I need to work long side, semi system sets more. Like, I feel really comfortable short side, but I just feel a little weird timing from that long side. Or, I'm not able to high point the ball with that long side, you know? So I feel like I'm honestly analyzing a lot, either journaling, or just Even as I'm going to practice, um, kind of, I kind of just know, I feel like now what I, what I want to work on and, and I'm a big fan of, of, of just leveling up.

Jesse 29:50

It's, it's really cool to get a, an insight into your brain and see how your brain works, but, and if, if your theory is correct, that your body just shut down because you, you made it to the next level. I can see why, like, if you're that detailed in your, in your In your practice, in your game plan, in your body prep, in your, like, where the setter is in the court, like, that's a lot of toll on your, on your mind and on your body. That's crazy. I guess that's what it takes to be great.

Mathias 30:21

There's a, there's a cool, podcast I've been listening to. It's like, Instead of just looking at people's success or accolades or what they are at the moment It's it's also valuable to look at the price they paid for that and the sacrifices they made Because that will give you basically the the value judgment on like if it's worth it to go through that Yeah, I'm wondering like what are the biggest sacrifices that you've made to get to where you are today?

Eric 30:58

I feel, yeah, I feel like there's almost two parts, but, uh, the biggest one that comes to mind that I feel like a lot of North American volleyball players empathize with, it's just like time away from loved ones. Um, that one, to me, it's funny, like, the more life goes on, especially having this sick thing, and having kids, and all that stuff, like, the more those things are important to me, and less the volleyball, um, and, yeah, like, man, I don't know, for a number of summers, it was like, I didn't make one of the weddings I was invited to, and like, There were so many weddings, like, that I wish I could have been at, like, to support my friends, or family, or birthdays, or that year overseas, too, when I got sick, my grandfather passed away, and I just, like, couldn't make the funeral, and it's just all that stuff, I think, is, like, the huge sacrifice of being an athlete, specifically in our kind of niche, you know, like, with no league at home, and And having like a season, basically 12 months of the year, um, to me, that stands out as the biggest sacrifice. Uh, and then number two, I think would just be my own peace Like, and that's something I'm, I'm working through as well, like even now, still. But just constantly striving for something and, and maybe believing that you're not good enough or you have to like do something or else, or, or this might happen is, uh, it's wearing on the mind and it's, uh, and the soul. And I think, I think that's something that I've gotten better at balancing. And another thing that, uh, if you want to talk about something that kind of woke me up there when I was sick. It's like how to, how to balance that more and to truly rest in, uh, and the gains that can be made from rest is like truly resting, not like. Oh, like I need to get a certain sleep score or whatever, but like, like maybe just like sitting and going for a walk and not thinking about volleyball or reading the book, that's not about life coaching or something, you know? Um, so I would think I would say those two. And I know you guys could relate, um, for sure to the, to the family stuff, even just how big, even starting already in university, like leaving home. To, to go to school, like it's awesome. There's so many cool things to, to, to venture, but in like some things in life are precious, you know,

Mathias 34:05

it's a brilliant answer, man.

Jesse 34:06

That was a brilliant answer. I'm reading a book right now called get some headspace. And he, have you read it?

Eric 34:16

As I just stepped the guy who like did the headspace app.

Jesse 34:20

I actually don't know. But it's it's basic. Yeah, basically, let's say yes. Okay. Um, but he was just saying like we have to break the idea that that mindfulness and like meditating is like in robes with our hands like this, like in a field, like being mindful is like being super mindful with what you do. And like you said, like going for a walk as opposed to sitting on the couch is very mindful of Of resting and is very mindful to your body and to your health. So I think that's, it's really cool that you learned that through that, that process, um, but we should get it to all of all. I think, Hey,

Mathias 35:04

yeah, I was just going to say, should we start the attacking episode, this is

Jesse 35:10

cool. We could talk for hours about this, but yeah, I know, man. I know. Well, One of our most asked, uh, listener questions was about the lefty, lefty, lefty. Did you come up with that? Where did you see it? How did that come about? Because now it's huge. Like, it's like a thing. Like, a lot of people are incorporating it into their games.

Eric 35:34

Um, yeah, it's crazy how it's grown. Um, especially over the last year. But I can't take credit for it. It's not something that I came up with. Um, but, It's all going back to that one summer. It's the third time I'm talking about that one summer away. When my first summer with Antiga but, um, that was my first summer. Like that, I got to play against the big dogs. So, and that I got to play with the national team and my roommate that summer was Blair Bann. and, uh, And you know, he, so he was like older guy on the team and I was this young guy on the team and he just like had this huge, like, he basically tried to live through me vicariously, like, and he's obsessed with like push tips and dunks and wipes and, and all that stuff. So, so, so many times in practice, he would be like, all right, you can't spike until you score in the pot with the, with the Rolly or like until you drop tip line or until you like. do like a wipeout or something. So he was just like all about that. Anyways, he was playing in Germany and he told me about this Greek left side who was like six feet tall, that skyed and I think he played for Friedrich Hoffen, and they would set him shoots basically. To the pin and he would either bang it sharp cross or let it slide and drop it with his left hand. I'm like, that is so cool. Like, why wouldn't I try to do that too? Um, I actually never saw it. Like I never looked it up. I never, I never saw it. But I remember this one. I remember my first practice back at Trinity. I just started trying a bunch of stuff that I'd like seeing. Like I saw in Gopeth, like where he did this, like jump back on the line and hit line. Or like do these different drop stuff. And then I remember I, I, I pulled that out, I think for the first time and then started sprinkling it in more as my time at Trinity went on, but that's kind of the story of how, um, it came about in a cool full circle moment is last year. I actually got to play this guy in challenge cup. He was playing for Panthenaikos in, in, in Greece, in Athens. And he did it a couple of times against us. And I'm like, this is the, this is the guy, like I made sure to check the band. I'm like, this is the guy. So

Mathias 38:05

you get a picture with him.

Eric 38:07

I should have, I should have, I didn't say anything to him. I didn't want to be that we beat them. So I didn't want to come up after him and, and be all weird about it. But yeah,

Jesse 38:17

I think it's, I think it's cool. How, how much you talk about the tipping and the throwing the wiping. Cause that was. One of Kevin Tilley's biggest points about what sets the French national team apart from the rest of the world is their ability to score in however many ways. What was my question? Oh, yeah. So I want to know, like, when, how do you decide what you're going to do? What's your thought process when you're approaching setter, sets you the ball, how are you deciding what to do?

Eric 38:54

Yeah, I think, I feel like I have a good grasp of like the environment around me. like I know who's blocking me, I kind of know who's defending me, I know guys tendencies, I know shots that I've done before, I know tendencies that people think I have, like when they scout me, so, I think all those things kind of play into a role, and I try to like maybe set myself up, like me. I'm trying to think ahead or like if I if I just hit that sharp cross and then I just banged a couple high balls like the next fast in system set I'm dunking it on the line for sure you know or so I sometimes will do that but then I feel like you have to be able to to act on the fly as well you know like just because You can't predetermine all the time, um, and you just have to be able to act in the moment, but I think, uh, the main thing there is I'm super aware of my environment and, and that kind of dictates with how, how I'm going to going to play, like, even if I, like, for for example, if I know that that setter loves jump back block, like he loves diving back cross, then I'm for sure going to pull out like the, no, just like the cross body swing because like he's going to pick up my body cues, he's going to jump back cross and I know that's going to be open, you know? So just different things like that, just I'm, I'm trying to constantly, constantly think of.

Mathias 40:35

That's so cool. I think that's, that's the elite level of gamesmanship that is lost on people. I think club volleyball and you sports too. And I, even myself, like young, young pro guys as a setter, I thought like that all the time, like sequencing and what I've done, what I'm going to do, how that will affect the other team. But thinking like that as an attacker is, is next level to those small advantages that can compound over an entire match. Do you, do you try to set up your best shot or attack? For important moments in the match. Cause as a setter, that's, that's important to think about is who do you want open at the critical moments of matches, or is it just a sequence and you just adapt on the fly?

Eric 41:32

I think, I think naturally, like I would go to my comfortable swings. Um, I mean, if we're talking pipe, like pipe is, it's such a, just a fun ball to hit, like, I don't feel, I think about pipe as much because it's, it's, it's. It's a really efficient ball. Um, yeah, I don't know. I don't think I try to like set things up for the end of the match because I'm not sure exactly what will present itself. But I think I, yeah, like I said, I try to be aware. Um, even like if I've, I've dumped a couple of balls and they've scored and I know that position one's creeping up, then maybe I'll, I'll try to save the, just like some high line swing kind of over, over the one defender, like in my back pocket or something. But I don't think I overthink it too much.

Mathias 42:36

That's cool. Um, I'm curious what kind of the adaptation was to each, Increase in level that you went through. So from club volleyball to use sports, obviously becomes more difficult to score. I have to make some adaptation there. And then I remember we had a conversation about this when you went to Italy for the first time. That's a massive jump in ability to score. The blockers are so much better. Defenders are so much better. And I think until you said your year in Toronto is kind of your breakout year. How many years in was that three, two years?

Eric 43:18

Three, yeah, that was my third year. So what,

Mathias 43:21

what happened? What happened over those three years? And how come it takes three years? To reach the level where you can score at that level.

Eric 43:32

I think, okay, let's start with, we'll go three parts. We'll club like high school, university and pro national team. I think jumps from high school to university. I think big things are just learning, like, parts of the game. A huge concept that sounds so crazy now, but like, I truly never thought about using the block in high school in a club. Like, I always thought of just, like, hitting around it. Like, I'm like, okay, like, I'll, if there's two blockers up, I'll just hit sharper, or I'll go line. And now, like, kind of, like, I never thought of, like, Actually using the block to my advantage. And that was so cool. Um, I remember my first year, like Benjo, like just teaching, like the, trying to aim, like outside hand, skip the middle of his left hand, like setter's right hand, like outline, just those different like things were like, so. I think pivotal, um, to learning and the crossover like approach, all that stuff. Um, so I think just learning how to score at that new level, because I remember that first week of training my first year at Trinity, I was just getting hammer blocked by the middles, like trying to spike sharper, like, I'm like, I was on my recruiting trip. Like I saw delves hitting, like. Inside the three meter line all the time. Like how come I can't do that right now? And I remember Ben like talking to me, like, well, like delves, like he spikes at the corner and then like, he goes inside or he has a high line over like he's like, he's setting up all these things, you know, and he's going off and he's using the hands, all these things. I'm like, okay. Yeah. Like, so I think just. Just that was a huge thing for me from that level. And then obviously everything increases like passing is the speed of the game. Uh, like a, a quick pipe, faster sets, all that stuff from university to pro. That was a whole nother. Um, I feel lucky that I, um, was able to have some time with the senior team while still at university because it exposed me to the, the level, um, while I was in university. So when I was in university, I had an idea. Of what it would be like, I wasn't like fully guessing blind, you know, of what it would be like. So I remember like reception is a big thing that I knew I would, I would have to work on going to the next level. And, and this is a thing that I feel like I realized now, but it's not like guys at university are unable to do the things that the pro players can do. They're just not able to execute it at the same consistency as the pro players. So going into Italy, I could hold those 125 Km/h serves. But could I hold five in a row? And could I hold them, like, on the ten foot line? Or, and could I do that for a five step match? And could I do that all season? You know what I mean? And only have a certain amount of error. So, I think it's just closing that gap. And that was the biggest thing I realized. It was like, okay, these guys aren't It's not like their physical abilities, some, okay, there's some freaks for sure, and there's maybe, but, I mean, in our, in our gym at Trinity, we had a bunch of 12 footers already. Like, it's not like, it's not like the physical aspect is so overwhelming. To me, it was the consistency and the skill gap that, that was being closed. And just different things, like maybe in university you have a couple teams with one or two guys who can actually hit a really good serve from the baseline. And now in Italy, like I remember playing Lube in my first year, and everyone was bombing, you know, like the whole game. There's maybe one guy hitting a float, but you can also hit a hybrid, and that float's also coming in at 70k. So it's like, to me it's just the consistency, not necessarily the ability, if that makes sense.

Mathias 48:01

Yeah, that's cool. So there wasn't like a, you didn't have to learn anything new to be able to score at that level. It was just to be able to do what you already knew how to do more often.

Eric 48:16

Yes and no. I think it depends what you're talking about. I think if we want to talk specifically attacking, like, um, I remember playing some games and we were actually playing Modena and Grebennikov was the libero of Modena. That year, and I was spiking high hard cross like I'm like in system like the middle is closing to and I'm like, okay, like gotta keep it high can't bring the ball down. So I'm spiking high hard. It's going over, but this guy just keeps digging me just keeps digging me. And I'm like, I remember being so frustrated like, I'm like, that would score like I know those this would score in University. And that's just like defense is so interesting because It's not like I was, I need to hit the ball harder. I just couldn't hit the same shot all the time. Like I had to expand my. My, uh, repertoire, so to say. Um, so yeah, like that, that'd be a big example.

Jesse 49:22

What do you hate more and how do you respond getting blocked or hitting out?

Eric 49:30

Ooh, uh, I think it depends. Uh, sorry, I'm not going to give you a clear answer on this. It depends if I'm like, if I hit it like 35 feet up the back. Or if I, if I hit like a really nice shot, like if I'm trying to go, like, let's say deep corn, I hit out by foot. Like I'm like, whatever, like, it doesn't matter. Or like, if I like, if I really go for this, like high ball off shoulder, like I'm going like shark and I'm like trying to attack this guy's left hand and he just gets me for a block and like, whatever, like I went for the shot. But if I'm, like, trying to hit the ball straight down and get, like, like, roofed really badly, then I think that's the worst feeling. Like, I, I don't like that. Like, just getting totally slammed. Yeah.

Jesse 50:28

And how do you respond?

Eric 50:31

Uh, how do I respond? For me, I, I just want to, I want the ball again and I, I just want to score. Like, I'm going to be telling the setter to give me the ball or Thankfully, I feel like it, it gets me into the game, like it, it, uh, it's like, all right, like, yeah, yeah, I'm, I'm here, like, come on, let's go again. Like, he won't get me again. Like, so, and I, and honestly, a lot of the times, like, This is my own personal belief about attacking. Like, I don't think I should ever get, like, hammer blocked that often, because I really want to spike discipline, you know? So, if I get, like, if I'm maybe trying to do, like, a crossbody, and he, like, reaches his right hand out, and, and gets me, like, okay, whatever. But, but I, I don't want to be So, I'd maybe be more mad at myself and that's why it would kind of get me into the game.

Jesse 51:33

We had a good listener question about how to communicate with your setter. When the connection isn't there. Can you walk us through, maybe not when the connection isn't there, but like when you join a new team, for instance, the Italian league just started preseason, you showed up whatever, end of August, middle of August, what's that, how do you build that connection? What are you guys saying to each other? What are you talking about? Cause you need to get, especially if you're. Like you went to the Olympics, you got some time off. You don't have that long before you got to perform.

Eric 52:09

Yeah. Yeah. I think, uh, I think the biggest thing is feedback, both positive and negative. Um, I think a lot of times hitters will forget to like tell setters, like that was a good set. Um, so I'm really make sure, like, when I have a few, like, when we're trying to figure out rhythm, those first couple of practices, I really want to make sure that I'm like, yeah, like that was, This is how I like it. Type of thing. Um, Or, Okay, in this situation, in transition, This is how I like it. Or, Like you did there, that was perfect. Or here, like, when you're Coming to position 4, and you're Closer, you don't have to zip it to me As fast, maybe just loop it up a little bit more For me so I can, leverage some like attack height, you know, it's just little stuff like that. I think just constantly staying, uh, in communication, like any good relationship communication. Um, but, uh, yeah, that's all I have to say for that.

Mathias 53:14

Okay. I got a really specific question that I'm curious about. Have you read Reed Priddy's book?

Eric 53:21

No, man, I haven't.

Mathias 53:23

Okay, well it's worth it. Yeah, it's worth to read. It's not very long. It's really interesting. Gives some cool insight into how his mind works and all that stuff. But one thing that is mentioned probably more than anything else in that book is hitting the ball on your way up. Especially in high ball. Has that ever crossed your mind?

Eric 53:45

Totally. Totally. I think about that a lot in, uh, serve as well, but, uh, definitely, definitely think about that a lot, like accelerating to the ball, getting on the ball quick. Um, firstly, I do also sometimes, So that would be another variation that I like to play around with is getting on the ball or waiting on the ball, sometimes purposely hitting it later on the way down to get some like block out or, or tool or something, or, or trying to, maybe I try to go up or maybe I just approached early and it's my bad on timing, but I know that that middle is going to be coming off like this. And I'm going to be able to push and it's going to flush down this way, you know, so I like to use both, but I think for getting your, that, yeah, your optimal, like spike height and speed, like that's super important.

Mathias 54:47

And specifically in a high ball context on our team right now, we're working on finding the hands and where that range actually is. And I think as soon as you're falling away, you're working against gravity to try to get that ball back up off of the hands. So I think that's massively important. Are you able to Yeah, are you You're You're one of the best. In the world at this point, at hitting high balls, high off of hands, off the middles, outside hand, or third guy, or first hand. Are you seeing the top of the block? Or are you focused on the ball and just have a feeling of where that is?

Eric 55:30

Yeah, I think it depends. I think, It's hard sometimes when that ball is, like, coming from way over your shoulder and you're, like, tracking like this. But, uh, like I said, one, I think it's trying to know your environment so you know who's up. You know if the setter is maybe a smaller block or the left side is a smaller block. And you're going to have like that zone. Um, but yeah, I, I do try to like see where I'm kind of going and like, like kind of aim for stuff, but I also, a lot of the times I try to make sure that my swings are still going to be in or close to any, unless I'm really going for something. Um, but I'm not a big fan of like. Just like blindly hitting fingers. And if you miss, like it's going way out, like, you know, guys like that, like one practice, they could hit 700 and the next day it hit like minus a hundred, you know, like just because of like, they're catching. So I think it's super important to like, I said, spike discipline, but I'm, I'm for sure, like, especially when you're trying to like square up and like take a guy on for sure, I'm, I'm, I'm looking.

Mathias 56:53

I got it. Just an all encompassing question to, to finish off here. So, okay. Um, if knowing what, you know, now, if you could go back and give yourself some advice. In, let's say you 16, 15 years old, what would you tell yourself about volleyball, about life, about the process?

Eric 57:25

A couple of things, volleyball, yeah, volleyball. I would just, just try to tell myself to just like study the game more. I, at that point in time, I wasn't super like into how things worked. I was just playing and enjoying. And, and I, I would have just told myself a lot of what I learned in university from Ben, I think. Um, just like how to play the game and, and those sorts of things. I think for myself, just advice with volleyball and life, it would just be, just be not to worry, um, that if you continue to show up and, and do the work and pursue this thing, like, like, I, I know I will, and I would, um, you're going to have an amazing time and, and make some amazing memories and meet some amazing people along the way and have a really cool experience. And. Just, just basically not to sweat the small stuff, you know, uh, the times getting worked up over maybe things that don't matter as much like having a bad practice or, or a bad game or, or whatever. Um, yeah,

Jesse 58:53

that's awesome. That was really, really nice. We, uh, we really appreciate you coming on sharing your, your personal beliefs and your personal, uh, trials and tribulations with your health. And then and we really appreciate your honesty and sharing with us and trying to help the next generation of ballers. Of

Eric 59:14

course, man. Um, uh, I love you guys. I love volleyball. So, I'm um, I'm just honored that there's people who are interested in stuff I do, you know, so. Uh, if I can share or help any, any young kids, um, I'm all for that. And I love when I get messages about random stuff. So to any of your listeners out there, please feel free to reach out. I'm always open to chat about random stuff.

Jesse 59:43

Thank you. Eric's an open door.

Mathias 59:46

Alrighty. I think that wraps up episode 19 of the Pit to Pro podcast. Thanks Eric for coming on. Thanks everyone for listening. Signing off.

59:57

Thanks everyone for listening to the Pit to Pro podcast. Give us a follow on Instagram and submit your questions to the link in our bio. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with someone you think will like it and subscribe to our show on Spotify and Apple podcasts.