Make Every Day Your Masterpiece, an Interview with Tuomas Sammelvuo

The newest head coach of the Canadian Men’s National Team, Tuomas Sammelvuo, is one of the most successful and respected coaches in the world. He joins Canada after previously coaching the Finnish and Russian national teams, having also won a silver medal with Russia at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

This past season saw Tuomas winning the CEV Champions League with his Polish professional club ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle, becoming the first Finnish coach to do so and being awarded Coach of the Year honours in his native country of Finland.

Wes Chen and Momentum Volleyball recently sat down with Tuomas to get his thoughts on joining the Canadian Men’s National Team, the Canadian volleyball system, and a few of his coaching philosophies. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

You have been in Canada with the team for most of the summer now. How have you been adjusting to everything so far?

The first part of the summer was very intense. I came right after the Champions League final and our first competition was about 10 days later. I owe a big thanks to the coaching staff like Dan Lewis, Mike Hawkins, and all of the IST staff who were already here. They were running and preparing the team very well. It made it easier for me to not come into a completely new situation.

Of course there wasn’t a lot of time to start making many big changes right away. But I think the athletes understood what we wanted from them and what our game plan was. It’s also my job to adapt to the players and the systems we have in place while also bringing my own ideas and coaching style.

What attracted you to join Canada’s national team? Was there anything in particular that made you decide to come here to coach?

I think it was the right match. Personally, I really wanted to get back to coaching national teams. I’ve known Glenn Hoag, Julien Boucher, and some of the players here for a long time. Right now there is also a big generational change happening for Canada and that’s always an interesting time to come to a new team.

Canada is also something completely new for me. It’s far away from the many teams you have in Europe and it has a different culture, different people. For me, it’s not only about volleyball. I want to learn about new people, new cultures – to respect that, understand where I am, and use it in a positive way.

It’s a new challenge for me but I just love this daily work. I love being together in the gym with the team and coaches helping everyone improve. And not just this team but also the NextGen and U21 teams too. Qualifying for the Olympics is always a big motivation but the job of developing the whole Canadian volleyball system also really motivates me. It’s not always about winning medals. Of course, we play for results and winning does matter. But the steps we take to get there? That path, the process, and the daily life is what I love.

What would you say is the biggest difference here with our Canadian volleyball program compared to your previous experiences in Europe?

The players here are all very hard workers. You never have to be concerned about attitude in practice because they are giving everything they have and this is a very great thing. But the biggest difference is that the players get to the professional level very late. Not having a professional league in North America, they are still playing in university until a late age compared to European players. For example, take Alessandro Michieletto of Italy. Yes he is a very strong player but at 19 he was already a European Champion!

The players need that professional experience. It’s something important not only volleyball-wise, but just living a different lifestyle with different personal responsibilities and pressures. It really helps to develop a volleyball player. Our athletes can be getting to the pro levels earlier in their career.

Now some of our players are leaving for pro clubs and finishing their studies from abroad. I think that’s a great adaptation because school is important for a person too. And if you have this possibility, it’s also not like you have to go wherever. You won’t ‘absolutely get better’ just by going somewhere to any team. It’s also our job as coaches to help – and I hope I can also help in this – to bring more Canadian players into good professional teams. This will really develop the whole Canadian volleyball program.

How would you describe your coaching style and your team culture?

I think for every coach and every leader, the main thing is that you have to be you. It doesn’t work to pretend to be someone you are not. The players can see through that. As a coach, I get the most satisfaction from watching the team improve. A lot of our job is about teaching and developing people.

But you have to work a lot and you have to want to do the work, no excuses. I don’t know any successful team that got there without doing the work. The team leaders need to buy-in, be coachable, and accept feedback and criticism; then everybody else will follow.

Also know the people you’re working with. I really try to get to know the team, the coaches, and this is very important. Volleyball is the biggest team sport in the world. You touch the ball for less than half a second and it teaches you so much about teamwork and working together. As coaches, you can understand so much about the team just by observing and listening. I have this saying: “you get better when others get better”. We coaches grow together with them if we can. We will make mistakes and learn from those too. This is an important skill. So investing in people, being honest, and celebrating together – these are all very important to me.

Is there anything else you’d like to share about your coaching?

In Finland, there is a big sentence on the wall of my former training centre: “Today is the most important day”. That is my philosophy that I want to share. People say they will start practicing better or start working harder next time. Why not do it today? Give it your best shot in every practice, in everything that we do.

We have to build our consistency every day. The best athletes in the world are not just the best for one day but because they are consistent for every day. To hold that consistency from the start to the end of the big game, we must build it here from the start of practice until the end of the practice. And then do that again in the next practice. Basically, that’s my philosophy.

Make every day your masterpiece. You’ll see that the results will follow.