Jansen Van Doorn Retires From Team Canada

He wanted to be there more than anything. Seeing Team Canada on the court at the Tokyo Olympics while he watched from back home in British Columbia, was not how Daniel Jansen Van Doorn had hoped to close out his professional volleyball career. The 31 year old middle blocker was made an alternate for Team Canada when the Olympics roster was finally announced just weeks before the games. The Trinity Western University graduate was left off the final roster along with setter Brett Walsh and outside hitter Eric Loeppky. After eleven years with the national program, the disappointment of being made an alternate was a totally new experience for the veteran.

“Honestly, it was really tough. I’m still dealing with it, with the disappointment. Training with the team in Japan before the games there were mornings I woke up and just thought, ‘What’s the point? Why am I even here anymore?’ It was different for the other two alternates, because they will still be playing and around for another chance. But for me, I had to really push myself to get up and go help the guys get ready for Tokyo,” says Jansen Van Doorn.

The Langley, B.C. native officially announced his retirement after his last practice with Team Canada ahead of the Olympics. Making the final decisions, and leaving a veteran like Jansen Van Doorn off the roster, couldn’t have been easy for Glenn Hoag and the Team Canada coaching staff. The current Canadian squad has considerable depth and all of the players had shown their own moments of greatness in Volleyball Nations League earlier in the summer. While it was incredibly difficult to watch his team head off to the Olympics without him, Jansen Van Doorn is incredibly glad he pushed himself to return to the court and fight for his spot this summer. The 6 ft 9 middle blocker hadn’t seen competition in a year and a half prior to the start of Volleyball Nations League. Jansen Van Doorn played his last professional season in 2019-2020 in Belgium before needing to take a break due to a hernia. Over the pandemic he underwent back surgery, and then spent time recovering and working his way back to playing form at the National Team Training Centre in Gatineau. Just being able to join the team for Volleyball Nations League and be back with “the boys” one more time was a huge accomplishment.

“I considered retiring earlier, but I knew I would regret not trying. It would feel a lot worse to be watching from home having not tried to be there, than to be left off the roster after giving it my all.”

The disappointment of not making the 12 man roster didn’t take away from the pride Jansen Van Doorn felt watching Canada battle their way out of Pool A and into the Olympic quarterfinals.

“After a few heartbreaking losses it would have been all too easy to to fold up shop, but the team showed their character by getting stronger every game. Especially against Russia, who is always a tough match-up for us. I thought we battled hard. The future for this team is really strong. We have some great young players coming up and the entire country’s volleyball players benefited by watching this team play in the last two Olympic games.”

Jansen Van Doorn has to be proud of the legacy he leaves behind. After a wildly successful university career that included capturing two national titles, the middle blocker was a pivotal part of Canada qualifying for both the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Games, not to mention Canada’s fifth place finish at the 2016 Games. Both of the Olympic qualifying tournaments remain some of Jansen Van Doorn’s fondest memories of playing for Team Canada.

“Qualifying the first time, the way that happened was just so huge. It was such a big moment. And then qualifying in front of friends and family at the tournament in Vancouver was also such a highlight. Coming back to beat Cuba in 5 sets like we did. Cuba had been a weight on our shoulders, we just kept having trouble beating them, so getting that win was such a huge weight off.”

Even with all of those amazing memories made on the court, it’s the time spent off the court with his teammates that Jansen Van Doorn says he will miss the most. “The bus rides, folding laundry in the hallway, you spend so much time with each other. I’m really going to miss that.”

While he may be closing one chapter, Jansen Van Doorn is just beginning an exciting new chapter in his personal life. Last summer, at a chance meeting at a rope swing on a rural lake in B.C, he met Emily Franz and it was “love at first sight.” Fast forward to one year later and now the two are planning a wedding. Jansen Van Doorn proposed on a beach in Greece while the two vacationed during a well-deserved short break from volleyball after wrapping up Volleyball Nations League. He and Emily have settled down in Chilliwack, B.C and they are slowly getting used to what life after volleyball looks like.