In terms of how an athlete can impact a sport across a nation, you’d be hard-pressed to find an athlete as influential as Mark Heese has been with beach volleyball in Canada.

A three-time Olympian, an Olympic bronze medalist, and a member of the Volleyball Canada Hall of Fame, the Aurora, Ontario native had a lengthy career in beach volleyball that took him all over the world – and continues to do so.

In a time when there was no centralized Beach National Team program in Canada, Heese took in beach volleyball games at the Balmy Beach Canoe Club in the ‘80s where he found his inspiration and some athletes to look up to.

“There were some amazing players that played there, both male and female,” Heese reflected. “I loved watching players like John May, Andy Kohl, Ed Drakich, John Canjar, and Jim Cooke. They were so into it and crazy competitive. Some of the best trash talk and arguments took place on those beaches.

“The women were intense and gritty, too - Kristine Drakich and Monica Lueg, to name two of many. I could watch all those top players play all day long down there. And I did! Watching those players all summer long was everything. I couldn’t think of anything but beach volleyball all winter long as a result.”

One of these athletes in particular left a standing impression on the future Olympian though, another future Hall of Famer.

"One player who probably had the biggest impact on me, who came to town every now and then to play in the tournaments: the legend, Garth Pischke," Heese said. "I was really impressed with his obvious talent, but mainly his steady and calm demeanour and his incredible focus while competing. It was inspiring for me."

The Balmy Beach Canoe Club turned out to be a crucial location for Heese’s volleyball career, lifting him from a recreational player to the player that would soon be entering international competitions.

"There are two players that helped me transition from playing 'pickup’ beach volleyball with my paddling friends at the Balmy Beach Canoe Club to playing on the ‘big boy’ courts," Heese explained. “Andy Kohl, who needed a partner last second due to a no-show on consecutive days, let me jump in as a substitute. I guess he liked what he saw and he kept inviting me back to play with him for the last two weeks of the summer in 1988. That's when I really caught the bug and knew I wanted to play beach volleyball.

“That was my first chance to play with the top guys and I must have made an impression because the next summer I was asked by Fred Koops, founder of the Overkill clothing brand and an established player on the Ontario Pro Tour, to be his partner for the 1989 season. Those two guys taught me a lot about the sport and showed a real belief in me.”

It wasn’t long before Heese started making his own mark on the sport. In the 1991 Canadian Pro Beach season, he finished as the third-ranked male player and finished second with partner Paul Cox at the men’s National Championships.

At the time, representation at international events was determined by a point system from the athlete’s performance on the Canadian Tour. After his finish in 1991, Heese earned his first World Tour berth in ’92, heading to Almeria, Spain – which turned out to be a very important event for both Heese and the sport.

“There were some big names at the event to promote the sport and try to impress some International Olympic Committee members that were invited to watch the event,” Heese said. “The IOC was considering the sport for inclusion for the 1996 Olympics.”

He continued, “I was so excited. So was my then-partner Mike Chaloupka. Our first match was against none other than the legends Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos from the USA… We lost that first game pretty badly but rebounded to get some wins under our belt against Russia, Germany, and Denmark. We lost 15-13 to Brazil in our last match and finished ninth in the event.

"I will never forget it. I was already hooked on beach volleyball but playing against the world’s best sealed the deal for me. Sinjin and Randy won the event and pocketed $70,000 US dollars. I was amazed by the overall level and the atmosphere of those international events. I came home inspired to keep going and start training more seriously. The main takeaway for me was that I could compete at that level.”

In 1994, beach volleyball was officially named an Olympic sport. Heese, at that time settling into a high school physical education teaching career, put that career on hold to pursue the Olympic dream.

Heese partnered with John Child in 1994 and they began to chase their Olympic berth. The pair found chemistry immediately, winning three bronze medals on the FIVB World Tour and another at the FIVB Series Championships. They qualified as the sixth-ranked team and were considered a medal hopeful. Just two weeks prior to the Olympics, the duo won a gold medal at a World Tour event in Berlin, Germany, adding to that hope for a medal.

"We bombed out in our first match vs. Spain and lost 15-1," Heese recalled. "Back then it was one game to 15, side-out scoring, where you could only earn points if you served and won the rally. That was a huge blow to our confidence. But it was a double-elimination format, where you needed to lose twice to be eliminated, so we had another chance.

"We somehow rebounded to play some of our best volleyball and rattled off several consecutive wins in the loser’s bracket – including a 15-4 win against the same team from Spain that we lost in the first round to – to earn our way back to the final four and the medal rounds. Despite a 4-0 bad start in our Semifinal against the home team from the USA – American legends Karch Kiraly and Kent Steffes – we recovered to play quite competitively in the match but it wasn’t enough and lost 15-11.

The bronze medal win was the first Olympic medal in volleyball – indoor, para, or beach – in Canadian history. The first time beach volleyball was an Olympic event, Heese and Child put Canada on the map globally, even earning the nickname, “Crazy Defenders.”

“We were a short team with John at 6-foot-3 and me at 6-foot-0,” Heese said as he explained how the pair earned their nickname. “We were one of the shortest teams on the tour so we had to make up for our lack of height at the net with our defence and ball control. There were some reporters from France after an event in Marseille in 1995, who started using that term (defendeurs fou), after some 'crazy’ defensive efforts and saves on our side of the net in a centre-court matchup against the home team.

The nickname seemed to stick and before we knew it, journalists back in Canada started to use it. It was good to be known for something like that because other teams would come into our matches concerned about being able to score on us.”

Heese and Child returned to the Olympics in the next two events, at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2004 Athens Olympics. They didn’t repeat their medal performance but their three-time Olympian status remains an impressive feat.

“Each Olympic experience was different,” Heese reflected, “And each event had its own challenges and opportunities. In Sydney 2000, we lost in the quarterfinals to Brazil in a barnburner match (one hour and ten minutes) 15-13 to finish fifth. That was pretty disappointing.

“But not as disappointing as Athens 2004 when we lost again in the quarterfinals but this time after leading 13-10 in the third set – the format changed to rally score by that time – and then going on to lose 18-16 to Spain. This was our last Olympic appearance, so those last rallies at the end of that match will forever be etched in my memory.”

In 2005, Child retired, with Heese following in 2008. Heese’s career saw him win numerous medals at the national and international levels, including a remarkable 45 top-five FIVB World Tour finishes.

With his playing career over, Heese can now reflect on his career and look back at what he’s most proud of. “I think I can look back on my time representing Canada and feel proud about the fact that we took the professionalism of the sport to the next level,” he reflects.

“Our commitment to that, along with our work ethic, the support of past players, and a competitive series of pro events emerging in Canada was really what helped us establish ourselves as not only the best in Canada for a decade but also as real contenders to hit the podium on the international stage. The decision to ‘go pro,’ despite that not really being something that Canadian beach volleyballers did up to that point, was something that we can feel good about. I know a lot of it was luck with regards to timing; the development of the World Tour in the early '90s and the announcement of the sport becoming an Olympic sport right at the same time that I came on to the scene, but our decision to fully go for it definitely paid off and set the stage for other Canadian teams to do the same.”

While he can now look back and be proud of what he accomplished personally, with Child, and for the sport in Canada, it wasn’t always easy for Heese – and sometimes still isn’t. As with many athletes that dedicate their lives to their sport, it’s not easy to walk away.

“It was a difficult transition,” Heese started. “One that, at some level, I’m still struggling with. When you play a sport that you absolutely love for a living and get to travel the world competing on some of the most amazing beaches and at some of the biggest events your sport has to offer, it is impossible to easily accept the day when you have to walk away from that… Reminding myself how lucky I was to play on the World Tour for so long, until I was 39, helps me realize that I had my ‘day in the sun.’

“What also helped, were my family, friends, and the volleyball community. I relied on them for support during my playing days and then again after I stopped. They were there for me. I still make a living in volleyball, wearing a few different hats. I never returned to my profession as a high school PE teacher. So I am grateful to still be around the sport that has contributed so much to the person that I am.”

With his playing day behind him, beach volleyball is still very much a part of Heese’s life. He’s had experience coaching, including helping Canada to their first-ever gold medal at the 2010 FIVB Junior World Championships. He’s also served as a commentator and analyst for numerous events, including the 2012, 2016, and 2020 Olympics with CBC.

“It is always a great gig,” Heese said. “I get to watch my favourite sport non-stop for two straight weeks and work alongside some very talented CBC television veterans.”

The CBC has recently signed a four-year deal with the FIVB to have the rights to broadcast FIVB indoor and beach events.

This role, on top of his general love for the sport, gives Heese a front seat to the new generation of Canadian beach volleyball talent, on top of giving him the opportunity to provide his opinion on the current Canadian National Teams.

“I will always have the utmost respect for the many athletes that are looking to represent their country in beach volleyball,” Heese explains. “It isn't easy to make it on the FIVB World Tour. The path seems like an uphill battle without an abundance of overall support for the athletes (especially financial support).

“There aren’t very many high-level beach events in Canada anymore either which is also something I wish they could experience and benefit from. Plus, beach volleyball is a sport that takes time and experience to reach your potential. I remember feeling I was playing the best I had ever played at age 33! As a result, we end up losing many beach athletes to ‘real life’ in their early-to-mid 20s because they can’t afford to keep going.

“I will always have a ton of admiration for all the Canadian athletes, who decide to dedicate so much time, effort and money to chase the beach volleyball dream… but I wish we could collectively find a way to do it that supports the journey better.”

Heese is now at a time when his children are involved in the sport and after experiencing the sport as a player, coach, and commentator, he also gets to be a parent and a fan.

“They seem to enjoy the game – it is natural I guess, after being around it so much as kids,” Heese explains. “It is fun to be a parent/fan and watch some of their matches. I try to find a balance too, and keep my distance from it.

“I know what the game gave me and taught me and it was largely because it was my own experience and I carved out my own path. That is what made it so special. So I try to respect that part of the beach game and aspire to give that opportunity to my own kids, for independence within the sport.

“Of course, times are changing and there are more coaching, structure, programming, training, and competitions involved with the sport at a younger age. So of course, I will support when needed. But mostly, it warms my heart to see them enjoying the sport so much and learning so much about themselves through the training and competition, both indoor and beach. I have ended up coaching them more on the indoor side, than on the beach, where I try to take a step back for the most part.”

Heese has dedicated his life to the sport of beach volleyball, and his impact on the sport has continued to be felt for three decades. He helped Canada to become a consistent, international threat and a force in the sand. He’s inspired the next wave of beach volleyball athletes and continues to do so with his involvement in the sport and providing advice to the up-and-comers in the game he loves.

“I try not to give too much advice unsolicited because the situation was different today compared to when I was breaking into the sport,” he explains. “But if asked, I try to help young players understand that ‘they are their own best coach.’ Nothing beats personal leadership and taking personal responsibility to develop and improve. I constantly try to remind young athletes of that.

“One of my mentors and coaches, John May, often reminded us that ‘we have everything we need,’ which is a truth that was hard for us to really believe at first. Here we were from Canada, training in an indoor beach all winter, with very little history of winning, and we were supposed to believe we have what it takes to beat the world leaders, USA and Brazil, in their own sport? It seemed ridiculous. The more we worked at it, though, the more we uncovered about ourselves and our team.

“There was way more inside us than we thought. So this is what I encourage young athletes to do. Take much more responsibility for getting yourself to the next level. Ask yourself questions and do your best to answer them, but leave room for what seems like the impossible.

“'You are way more powerful than you think.'”

• Photo: Canadian Olympic Committee