Daniel Dearing – Double “D”

August 26, 2015

It’s been a wild ride for Daniel Dearing. From prized National Team recruit to being plagued with injury, Dearing has experienced it all. 2 years removed from a Patella Tendon injury, Dearing is back on the beach. And he’s back now stronger than ever.

The 24-year-old Team Canada athlete is fresh off of a NORCECA Tournament Victory in San Diego. Dearing, and partner Garrett May dominated at the last official event of the year. Not only did they dismantle the number one seeded American team in the Semi-Finals, but also they went on to beat the number one ranked Canadian team in a tight battle in the finals en route to Gold.

Proving to the doubters that they are in fact Canada’s best up and coming team.

With the win, Dearing and May become just the second Canadian team to win a NORCECA event in the men’s side. The victory is a stepping-stone for Dearing and May to accumulate enough points to participate in the Pan-American games in 2015.

Although being the highlight of Dearing and May’s summer, the NORCECA victory wasn’t the only thing the team accomplished during the season. The duo placed first in Canadian National’s and third at the Halfiax Sandjam event – regularly beating out higher ranked top Canadian teams.

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Dearing’s volleyball success was kick started back in 2007, spurred with a move to Pakmen. After winning an Indoor National Championship in 2008, Dearing decided to switch things up and play his hand on the beach with Pakmen teammate Kristian Kuld. From the Mississauga Pakmen, Dearing took his talents to the beach and was quickly selected to the Men’s Provincial Team in June of 2008. Later that year, he would go on to make the the Canadian National Team.

“I was really in to beach volleyball because you have more control over the game,”says Dearing. “I love being apart of every game, every rally. And knowing that you have more of an impact when it comes to winning and success.”

As a young athlete slowly starting inching towards his prime, Dearing would go on to make a few costly, but avoidable, mistakes leading to injury.

“I was young and naive,”says Dearing. “In the summer of 2009 I went to play in a few international tournaments and tore my Patella Tendon. I basically injured myself by over training, not stretching, and not icing. These silly mistakes cost me.”

The injury struck a cord with Dearing and he realized he had to go back to school. Through Pakmen and his relationship with York University Men’s Head Coach Wally Dyba, Dearing applied to York and made the varsity team. He played two years with the Lions, using that time to educate himself on the perils of his body.

His short tenure at York helped him understand that he would have to treat his body like a temple if he wanted to continue playing for the foreseeable future. During this time Dearing would remain on the National Team, but trained full time with the York Lions. His time at York not only helped him become a better player, but it gave him the time to rehabilitate for his true volleyball passion – playing on the beach.

Dearing would go on to join Team Canada again in 2013. Dearing and partner Garret May, came off strong right off the bat and came first at Provincial’s in the Men’s Tier 1 Division. A few weeks later the duo would go on to place fifth at nationals.

The following winter, Dearing trained with former German National Team coach Lennard Krapp. Through Lennard, Dearing was trained technically to get better and stronger. Dearing personally hired Krapp to train him, as Krapp was no longer with the Canadian National Team.

After a more than spectacular summer on the beach, Dearing is beginning to see that being a great volleyball player is simply not enough. Volleyball Canada funding only allows Dearing and May to travel to a few international tournaments each year. In a sport where points and ranking are correlated with how many tournaments have been played, this is a problem. Other teams with different sponsors are able to attend a plethora of tournaments, thus gaining the experience and accumulating the points needed to be ranked highly on Volleyball Canada’s radar. Without the money, travelling isn’t possible, and without travelling, the team can’t get points.

Like anything else, it all comes down to money. Dearing’s two year plan is to first play in the 2015 Pan-American games. Then Rio in 2016.

However the problem isn’t qualifying for the tournaments, it’s being able to afford the tournaments. With 8 tournaments to attend next year, and each costing roughly $12,000 Dearing and May are all aboard the fundraising train. In order to realize there dreams, they realize that first, they need support from their country.

Dearing and May are looking for sponsors. If you or your company are interested in sponsoring them please contact us at [email protected]