Toronto, ON- Can you see the calmness in Lauren Veltman? Can you see how level-headed she is when adversity hits during a game? When the moments get bigger and bigger? Can you see what she sees? Feel what she feels? Understand what she understands? 

Perhaps you can see her skill and her competitiveness. Perhaps you can see how her demeanor affects everyone around her. 

The fifth-year outside hitter from the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s volleyball team is her final year of university volleyball. Eight years after her first one. 

Veltman has a calmness and perspective now. One she didn’t always have. She’s a former OUA All-Star. A former OUA and national champion as well. 

That was before she took a three-year hiatus from university volleyball. Can you see her growth since then? She’s a different athlete and person than before. 

Veltman didn’t start out in volleyball. She grew up in a lacrosse family. Her uncle and dad both played professionally. She loves being active and playing sports, playing lacrosse with her older sister Kelsey and younger sister Britney growing up. Then one day, they went to a volleyball clinic near their house. Then, her relationship with the sport took off from there.

She played both sports for a while until she reached a point where she had to decide. Lauren found she made better, longer-lasting friendships in volleyball than lacrosse. Plus, she saw more of a future there so she went with it. 

Fast forward to her first year at TMU in 2016. Lauren felt she had something to prove. She wanted to show her older teammates she could keep up with them. She earned a spot on the OUA All-Rookie team and was named her school’s Female Rookie of the Year. But there was still something else on her mind…

When she would make a mistake, she would get down on herself. What if I make another error, she thought? What if I get subbed out? What if I don’t start the next game? What if I don’t even play? She felt the franticness and hesitation entering her mind.

Then, with time and maturity, she figured out that everyone’s going to screw up. 

There’s no point being upset, she tells herself. You just work yourself to the next point and make yourself look stronger the next time. 

When she does so, she finds herself level-headed. When she makes an error or something doesn’t go her way, Lauren keeps part of what happened in her mind so she can fix it for the next play. I’m going to do better, she thinks. I’m going to work even harder.

When she gets blocked, she’ll first tell herself: Dang. I totally missed that. Whatever. Then as the next play is about to happen, she’ll think: Okay. I’m going to make a good pass and I’m going to transition faster. I’m going get outside faster. I’m getting the next point.

When Lauren finds that mindset, she’s able to stay stress-free. When games get down to crucial points or sets, stress levels can rise. Hers goes down. She’s less frantic because of that, leading to fewer errors. 

By Lauren’s third season at TMU, she started to find that calmness. Her teammates and coaches noticed that and mentioned that to her. That was the year after they won an OUA and national title – the first in program history.

To understand the source behind her calmness, you have to go further back in time. 

One person who’s helped Lauren gain that calmness is her dad. Like his daughters, John Veltman played sports from a young age. One day, he broke his neck in an accident – leaving him in a neck to hip cast for three months. He was told he would never play another contact sport again. 

John proved them wrong. He got out of the cast in a couple of years. Then, years later, he decided he couldn’t sit around anymore. John started playing lacrosse again, forging a career that led him to the National Lacrosse League. 

Lauren didn’t know the whole story of her dad until she got older. She read Kelsey’s Facebook post about him one day early in her university career. She reflected on it deeper and deeper. 

John didn’t let the injury hold him back. He came back with gratitude, passion and hope. Lauren realized if she didn’t have that same gratitude and hope inside her when she played, it would be really upsetting for her. “If anything were to happen, I don’t want it to end up being at a time where I was upset or angry with myself,” she said. 

Lauren realized how she couldn’t take those moments for granted. What’s the point of going crazy over an error? The good points outweigh the bad ones anyways. 

Plus, think about all those who’ve seen their careers end due to injuries or accidents. If that happened to me, Lauren thought. I’d be devastated.

As she started to understood more and more about her dad’s journey, she started to feel more composed and calm on the court. 

Over the years, John shared plenty of sporting advice with Lauren. Go as hard as you can until you can’t no more, Lauren remembers him saying to her. John lived by that in his career. It became a family motto as well. 

Push the limit. That’s what comes to mind for Lauren when she hears that. She finds herself pushing as hard as she can in every game or practice. Even on days when she only has 70 per cent energy, she compels herself to give 100 per cent of that 70 per cent. When she does so, she feels accomplished, knowing she gave all she could. 

Lauren will push through those rough Monday practices – where she still feels tired – and all the jumping and hitting. Even though she can’t move as fast or jump as high, she’ll still hit the ball hard. She’ll still be giving her all. 

With perspective comes gratitude – to do what she can do. Lauren finds it gives her more patience and understanding of others. 

“In everyday life, there could be somebody that can’t be giving their 100 per cent,” Lauren said. “But they’re giving their 100 per cent of their 70…maybe they’re only at 70 per cent right now and they’re doing the best they can with that 70.” 

After Lauren finished her four seasons at TMU, she decided it was time for her next chapter. The 2020-21 season was cancelled and the following season, Lauren headed to Sweden to play for Engelholm VS. 

She came as a left side knowing she had a lot of developing to do after not playing competitively for a year-and-a half. When she came in though, her coach switched her to the right side. 

After the season was over, she talked with her agent about going somewhere new. Her agent suggested she go back to playing as a left side. Lauren knew that meant another year of developing. 

It was difficult for her to hear that. Lauren knew she didn’t want to play professionally long-term. She had a job as a Parks Landscaper with the City of Brampton – one she’s had since after her first year of university. She enjoys being able to work outside and be active. She wanted to move up in her job. Playing professionally again would have made that difficult. 

So, Lauren made the decision to go home. However, she still wanted to be involved in volleyball…

As it just so happens, around the same time, the Milton Edge U15 Girls volleyball team was having a tryout without over 50 players. Those involved felt bad having to cut so many players. So, the parents talked and decided to form a developmental team. Lauren’s aunt happened to be one of those involved who let her know about it. 

Soon, Lauren was on the phone with the coaches. Soon, they had to decide whether or not to form the team. They decided as tryouts were ending to go ahead with it. 

Soon, Lauren found herself coaching for the first time. She was trying to figure out what type of coach she wanted to be. She found having a balance was the best way. Yes, she could be nice and fun but also loud and serious to get the players’ attention.

She was trying to figure out what drills to run and ended up drawing on those that have helped her and modifying it for her players. 

Now in the shoes of a coach, she understood how her university coaches feel. She knows how they feel about a bad practice. She understands why they do certain drills – even the ones she doesn’t like. 

One of her least favourite as a player are tipping drills. She now understood why her coaches want her to do so. She finds herself working harder at those because of that. 

Another thing coaching taught her was how to keep a level head and remain calm. She realized how important it is. “A lot of people can feel your energy and can see your energy,” she noted. “I’ve learned to keep a level head and I feel like that helps others around me.” 

Dustin Reid’s known Lauren for a long time. The long-time TMU women’s volleyball head coach has known her since she was 15 years old.  

He’s seen her grow over time. He sees the calmness and confidence she carries with her now. He’s seen her take on big challenges and give it her all – not backing down. “You want to see her in those close moments because you know she’s going to not cheat herself,” Reid said. “She’s not going to leave anything on the table.” 

The moments rarely get any bigger or closer than their road game against the then-undefeated McMaster Marauders on Nov. 25. The Bold battled back time and again to force a fifth set. They trailed then as well but kept clawing back for the victory.

Even after all those years, Lauren continued to surprise Reid with what she’s capable of. Yes, she had a game-high 20 kills but what she truly did went beyond that. Reid can feel the confidence and calmness she’s brought to her teammates as the game got tighter. 

Reid can see how she responds to mistakes and adversity. “Those aren’t moments she’s letting define her,” he said. 

He sees how Lauren enjoys the biggest moments the most – something not everyone is gifted with. “It’s great for players to see that,” Reid noted. “They can see that too. It doesn’t have to be scary.” 

The head coach saw his team’s demeanor down the stretch and attributed some of that to how Lauren carried herself. 

How did Lauren see the game? A test for her calmness. There was a time during the match where she felt herself getting upset and angry. However, in the back of her head, her calmness prevailed. She believed that they could win the game – keeping her calm. 

When the fifth set came about, she remembered all the other times they’ve rallied. What makes this set any different than the others? What makes it any more stressful? She kept her composure. 

When she did make a mistake, Lauren would laugh at herself a bit – showing her teammates she’s not upset about it – and keep it light. She hopes that rubs off on them. 

She knows how tough people can be on themselves. How tough she was on herself back in the day. She wants to show them that you can mess up and move on.

The Bold held their composure to win the fifth set 16-14 as they ran on the court in celebration. 

Lauren saw Reid’s calmness and composure from almost a decade ago. She first met him at a volleyball clinic. She saw how he carried himself and heard the way he talked to the players. That attracted her to TMU. He became one of her favourite coaches. “Probably the most calm guy in the room,” Lauren calls him. 

Look how calm Reid is on the bench during a game. How he’ll often be sitting there during the biggest, tensest moments with his arms crossed, just watching and embracing it. Lauren learned from his calmness in those times. 

Look how balanced he is as a coach. Reid knows when to have a have a good time, goof off and be chill. He knows when to be serious. That’s the coach I want to be, Lauren thought. 

Look how much he’s helped her already. Reid always knew and saw the potential inside of her. He knew she could play outside hitter when she came into TMU as a middle – something Lauren didn’t see in herself back then. 

He trusted her and confided in her, making her feel confident enough to switch to being a left side. She learned how to pass, dig, block and change her arm swing. She did all that with Reid’s confidence in her abilities. 

Lauren finds herself taking that same trust and confidence she felt and sharing it with the players she coaches. “Trust your abilities,” she tells them. “I know you’re willing to learn.” 

Lauren continues to learn this season. She felt she wasn’t a good enough passer. She thought about changing up the way she plays because of that.

“No. You’re going to pass. I want you to pass,” Reid told her. “You’re going to fight through it and you can fight through it.” 

Since hearing that, Lauren felt more and more confident about her passing. She’s passing better as well.

The seeds for Lauren’s return to TMU were planted while she was coaching. She knew she had one year of eligibility left. She was in a good spot with her job. She knew it was Britney’s last season as well. 

There is still some fight in me left, she thought. I don’t want it to go to waste.

She would see Bold assistant coach Brett Hagarty, who talked about the idea of returning more and more. Lauren talked with her about her concerns and Hagarty made her feel better about it. They talked about how she could balance school, volleyball and her job and how the team could accommodate her. 

You can hear Lauren more than ever this season. She took a while to find her voice over the years. Having been a coach, she found it easier to speak up and point things out. 

Early in the season, they were running a drill where they had to have 10 perfect passes. She noticed her teammates calling some as perfect passes when Lauren didn’t consider it such. “We’re giving ourselves way too much credit,” she told them. “Let’s give an ideal perfect pass.” 

She then told them what a perfect pass looks like. 

Lauren felt a bit nervous. It was her first time really speaking out. What if they didn’t think that?  However, she knew they all wanted to succeed and thrive for their best. 

Her teammates listened and agreed. “They responded really well and that made me feel really good speaking up,” she said. 

She helped her players develop and reach their potential as a coach. She saw their excitement when they did so – when they reached the main team. She felt that excitement within herself.

She saw the same with her Bold teammates. One who stands out is first-year middle Elise Pridmore. 

She’ll talk to Lauren a lot and ask her tons of questions. “Is this okay,” she’ll ask. “Am I doing this right?” 

Lauren will give her instructions and advice on how to improve. She’ll feel the excitement of seeing those words come to fruition as Pridmore learns and does so. 

“Watching it actually happen, it feels really good,” Lauren said. “Because I know she trusts me and she can rely on me to give her good information to help her excel.” 

Lauren noticed her being a little bit late on the block against McMaster’s middles. “Have your hands up just one second earlier,” she told Pridmore. “Make sure you wrap your hands around the ball.” 

Pridmore did so and blocked the next ball. 

Lauren’s not the only sister in the family who’s grown since 2020. Kelsey is playing professionally in Europe after her Western Mustangs career. Britney’s now the Bold team captain. 

Being three years apart, the two sisters didn’t play together in high school before coming to TMU. When Lauren was in her fourth year, Britney was in her first. However, she didn’t see the court much. 

Lauren loves seeing her grow as an athlete and find her voice. Britney had a bigger and bigger role every year. 

The two of them are now together on the court during games. Lauren was excited to play with her for the first few games of this season before Britney went out with an injury. “Something that made me feel really good because I never had that chance with her,” she said. 

She can hear Britney talking to the team. She’s always the first one to speak up in their pre-game meetings. “This is what we’ve got to remember,” she’ll tell them. “This is what we’re focusing on. This is what Dustin said.” 

She sees how good Britney is at remembering those little but important details. How she puts herself out there to help others. She’ll lead by example, showing the first-years how to warmup for instance. 

She sees all that difference in those three years. “It’s crazy to see,” Lauren said. 

Their time together in university volleyball is fleeting. The two of them are in their final semester. Their senior’s night is quickly approaching. 

It’s bittersweet for Lauren. She’ll miss the competitiveness of volleyball and being to play on a team. “It’s disheartening knowing that I can’t go back,” she noted. 

She’s wondering what to do next. She has her park landscaping job. She doesn’t think she’ll go back to playing professionally. Do I want to coach again, she asks herself? If so, where? She knows Milton Edge volleyball club has a special place in her heart so maybe there? She said she’s leaning towards doing it again…

In the meantime, Lauren finds herself trying to live in the present and cherish every moment she has. She cherishes those days when she can be on campus all day and be around her teammates outside of volleyball. She knows she doesn’t get to spend a lot of time with them outside the court so when she does, she tries to hold onto it. They’ll make Loblaws runs, hang out and go for walks together.

She knows how lucky she’s been with her parents supporting her and putting her in volleyball. How lucky she is to be on all those teams over the years and to play professionally. How lucky she is to make all those friendships. 

All those games, practices and time spent with teammates. She knows to not take any of it for granted. She knows it can be taken away. 

Deep down, Lauren knows to approach those moments with the hope, passion and gratitude her dad has. To go as hard as she can until she can’t anymore. 

Featured Image: Kevin Lassel/McMaster Athletics