Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Badminton, not volleyball seemed like Alexei Walisser's best chance at playing post-secondary sports when he graduated from tiny École Héritage high school in Fahler, Alta.
So, he accepted an offer to play competitive badminton at The King's University in Edmonton.
Amazingly, five years later, he's not only playing U SPORTS volleyball, he enters the weekend 14th in Canada West with 89 kills in 10 matches, a mark that leads the MacEwan Griffins.
"I played volleyball in high school, but I was never the best player on my team, so I never thought I'd play past high school," Walisser explained. "It was more so that I played to keep busy, but badminton was more a sport I excelled at and was something I aimed to pursue once I was done high school. I thought it was the only sport I'd be capable of playing."
In hindsight, he sold himself short – deep within was an elite volleyball player just needing the right path.
"It's been a pretty crazy ride," said Walisser, who is starting and excelling for the Griffins on the left side this season. "I never thought I'd play past high school, so to play U SPORTS is unreal to me. I never thought it was going to happen like this."
Walisser will lead the Griffins into action vs. Calgary on Friday (7:30 p.m.) and Saturday (6:30 p.m., both David Atkinson Gym, Canada West TV presented by Co-op).
His back story of how he got here is inspirational and a testament to how transformational hard work can be.
After finishing fourth at badminton provincials in his final year of high school – an amazing feat for someone living outside of Alberta's big metro centres without access to top club training – Walisser dove into his first (and only) season on the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference badminton circuit.
Alexei Walisser was a badminton student-athlete for The King's University Eagles in 2016-17 (Courtesy, King's University Athletics).
"I was able to push some of the Concordia people deep into three sets, but I was never able to get over that hump in my first year," he said. "I finished fourth in doubles that year. I think I finished seventh in singles, so I never got to compete nationally."
At the same time, volleyball began to call his name again. While playing in a rec league with friends at the Saville Centre, he began to get the bug.
That led to an opportunity at Lakeland College in the ACAC, where he rode the bench his first season (2017-18) and worked on improvement.
"My first year at Lakeland, I was goofy footed," he noted. "I didn't have the proper footwork. I was just a tall kid that was looking for something to do to keep busy and be in a team environment. I was more so looking to make new friends, really.
"I had a good group of guys at Lakeland who wanted to see me excel and help fix my footwork. Once I fixed that, I started to improve at a pretty rapid rate. I went from a bench player in my first year at Lakeland to being a starter there and leading the ACAC North in kills (287 in 24 matches) in my first year as a starter (in 2018-19). It was really shocking. I could have never predicted the growth that I had."
But there was another level for him to reach yet. The late bloomer transferred to MacEwan for the 2019-20 season and requested to redshirt in order to preserve his remaining two years of eligibility for when he could make a greater impact at the higher-levelled Canada West.
He spent the season getting stronger and learning behind starting outsides Max Vriend, Jordan Peters and Jefferson Morrow.
Alexei Walisser has worked on his passing since transferring from Lakeland College to MacEwan in 2019 (Robert Antoniuk photo).
"I wasn't at a point where I was going to be pushing for any court time, so I looked myself in the mirror and said 'It's probably best for you and your volleyball career if you pick a year to redshirt, soak in as much information (as you can), learn from guys like Jefferson and Max, and take in what it's going to take to be competitive at the next level,' " he explained. "I think it's paid dividends for me.
"It's played a large role in the success I'm having now because I was capable of watching the speed of the game, but also understanding the commitment it takes to play at this level on court and in the gym. All in all, it was huge in my growth as a player, so I'm glad I made that decision at the time that I did."
Griffins head coach Brad Poplawski said he'd often see Walisser alone in the gym that season getting in an extra lift on a game day. It's no surprise to him that the Peace River, Alta. native has broken out in a big way this season, excelling for the Griffins in Peters' old P1 position.
"Because he had that year of just training, we were really able to break down a lot of his skills and build them back up because it wasn't the normal timeline where you have to get a result on Friday and Saturday," he said. "We had that (time) to completely change the way that he passed, change his blocking and attack stuff that he does. It was kind of a unique year in that aspect where I had a really talented athlete that I could really get to the minutiae on. As a coach, it was kind of fun.
"But if an athlete doesn't put the work in, it won't really work at all. So, all the credit to him just on how hard he worked and how willing he was to accept feedback and want to make those changes.
"I think he's come in this year really ready to go. He cares so much about the program and being successful. It's been interesting and fun."
Alexei Walisser, seen going against Alberta in a game earlier this season, leads the Griffins with 89 kills in 10 matches (Eduardo Perez photo).
Because of how far he's come in such a short period of time in a sport he once was only playing for fun, it begs the question how much more improvement does the 6-foot-5 outside have in him?
"I think I'm still scratching the surface of what I'm capable of doing," he said. "I don't even think I'm near my ceiling, so that's motivated me to improve every day, continue to work harder and expand my knowledge of the sport.
"Even to see the growth in my passing game from September to now shows me that there's still another level I can reach," he added. "Continuing to be a student of the game, working hard in the gym and trying to jump higher and be more agile and physical on the court, I think there's still a lot yet to come so far for myself as far as volleyball goes."
