91快色

The usual path for an athlete is to go from amateur or school to pro, but for Dinos men鈥檚 volleyball player Louis Kunstmann, the opposite is true.

The native of Neuenhain, Germany was offered a pro contract right out of high school with the local team, United Volleys Frankfurt.

After playing pro for a couple of seasons, Kunstmann realized he wanted to do something academic and get a degree. However, he thought that door was closed to him as he couldn鈥檛 compete in the NCAA, having already signed a pro contract.

An unknown avenue to academics and competitive volleyball opened to Kunstmann in the 2019-2020 season, when Blain Cranston joined United Volleys Frankfurt. Cranston, BKin'19, MMgmt'22, an alum of the Dinos volleyball program, talked to Kunstmann about playing in 91快色 and encouraged him to reach out.

鈥淚 honestly didn鈥檛 know Canada had a university sports system,鈥� Kunstmann admits. 鈥淏ut then this opportunity came up and, from the perspective of Germany, Canada feels like the United States, except friendlier and more welcoming, so it felt like a good choice.鈥�

His time in Canada didn鈥檛 get off to the most ideal start, though, as what would have been his first season with the Dinos was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kunstmann, a Faculty of Science student, says the season cancellation gave him the opportunity to focus on his academics and learn how to manage his time so when volleyball resumed the following season, he wasn鈥檛 too overwhelmed.

Even though Germany is half a world away, Kunstmann found there weren鈥檛 too many differences between his home country and Canada, so the adjustment to living abroad wasn鈥檛 too difficult.

鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing too crazy to get used to, you can get the same kinds of items in grocery stores and places like that, so it didn鈥檛 take me too long to get used to life in Canada,鈥� he says.

When Kunstmann finally took the court, he found instant success, earning Canada West All-Rookie Team honours. He admits there might need to be a caveat to that.

鈥淚 felt a little bad about it, as I had two years of pro out of high school and I was a little bit older than the other rookies,鈥� he recalls. 鈥淚t was still nice to get the recognition.鈥�

The level of play was also a little different for Kunstmann. He notes that the players in U SPORTS tend to be between the ages of 17 and 24, while in the pro leagues there could be veterans with decades of volleyball experience.

鈥淭he efficiency and precision on the pro team was a little different,鈥� he explains. 鈥淚n Canada, the play is a little less solidified and more physical.鈥�

Kunstmann was challenged in his second season with a position change due to injuries and sickness incurred by the team in their first game of the winter semester. A middle blocker for his entire life, Kunstmann was moved to left-side hitter.

In this new position, he played serve and receive, passing, and hitting on the outside, which were all new experiences for him. Kunstmann took to these skills well, though, as he has now adapted the position full-time.

鈥淚t was a lot of new skills that I had to learn on the fly,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 liked the transition a lot, I was comfortable playing middle, but having a new challenge was a lot of fun.鈥�

Kunstmann will open his third season with the Dinos on Oct. 20. It鈥檚 a team with very little turnover from last year, having lost only two players to graduation, and with one recruit incoming.

鈥淚t feels like the team is solidifying together,鈥� he says. 鈥淓veryone is getting older and more experienced, so the level of practice is getting higher.鈥�

While he says it鈥檚 tough to set expectations because other teams will come back looking different as well, Kunstmann always has one goal in mind.

鈥淚 play volleyball to have fun. For me, fun comes through working hard, competing at the highest level, and performing well,鈥� he explains.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 always what I strive for, personally and with my team.鈥�