News

16/03/2016

Saxton/Schalk Chula Vista confidence builder

Vitoria, Brazil, March 16, 2016 - It’s probably safe to say that Chula Vista, California, just a couple of miles from the Mexican border in San Diego County, has rarely, if ever, been a jumping off point for Canadian athletes trying to qualify for the Olympic Games.

Ben Saxton and Chaim Schalk appear to be finding a way to make it happen in beach volleyball.

Quick links
•    Vitória Open website
•    Qualification - Men
•    Qualification - Women
•    Main draw - Men
•    Main draw - Women

Following the disappointment of coming within a match of reaching the London 2012 Olympic Games, Saxton looked westward from Toronto and Schalk was ready to go along for the ride.

“We decided to try one event together,” Schalk recalled. “It was a NORCECA event in Chula Vista. We went to Huntington Beach to train for a week and just feel each other out and play one tournament and we won the tournament. I don’t think we lost a set and we both felt pretty confident and this could be something special.”

All that Saxton, 27, and Schalk, 29, have done since that 2012 victory is climb steadily in the FIVB World Tour rankings, and at the moment they stand to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Saxton thought he was right there in 2012, but with partner Christian Redmann, lost a match in Toronto that sent Josh Binstock and Martin Reader to the London 2012 Summer Games instead.

“It’s obviously something I didn’t want to do again,” Saxton said. “We were the top-ranked Canadian team and to not get to go to the Olympics in a spot that we helped qualify for, it’s pretty heartbreaking. I don’t want to play in that game again, to put myself in that situation again. We’ve done our best to put ourselves in the top 15 (in the provisional Olympic rankings) this time around and it’s looking good.

“I try not to think about the failures too much. I try to focus on the positive most of the time but it’s always there, something to shoot for to get out of those situations, put myself solidly where I want to be.”

Both of Saxton’s parents, former Canadian volleyball stars in their own right, had moved to Huntington Beach, so the duo headed west to California where they could hook up with some of the top American teams. They had Casey Patterson and Jake Gibb, among others, in Huntington and up in Hermosa Beach and in Manhattan Beach, the likes of Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena awaited.

“Right away it was a mental shift, training with these top-level guys, and we started winning some drills,” Saxton said. “We said, ‘Ah we can compete with these guys and they win tournaments.’ We started playing some tournaments and the first few we didn’t qualify, then we started making the jump and we were pretty quickly a main draw team after our first time we qualified.

“A lot of it was refining the basics. It’s always good to be a strong passing and setting team. If you can pass and set, it usually sets up the rest of the game and you’ll be able to do everything else.”

Saxton and Schalk have all but done what they need to do, even in the infancy of the 2016 FIVB World Tour. They can’t wait to officially qualify for Rio, but there will be no huge celebration.

Chaim Schalk (right) and Ben Saxton of Canada pose after winning silver at the Yokohama Grand Slam in 2015

“The official thing will be a nice pat on the back, good job, but we’ve proven we can win medals on the World Tour and Grand Slams and we want to think, ‘Yeah it’s awesome we’ve qualified,’ but we want a chance to medal,” Schalk said. “There’s no easing off or being super pumped about it.

“Looking years down the road it’s going to be awesome, but when we’re thinking about it now, you feel satisfied and pumped -but you want to go work even harder.”

Print this Page

News

All the News