In Focus | Tammy Thomas of T2 Volleyball

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What is your name?
Tammy Thomas

What do you always find yourself saying?
Life is a journey, not a destination. If you can’t dream it, it’s not going to happen. Stay positive, breathe deeply, and live in the moment. Patience is a virtue. And, it’s all good!

If you could spend one whole day with anyone in the world who is currently alive, who would you select and why?
I would spend a whole day with Kerri Walsh-Jennings. She is the most winning beach volleyball player in the world and I would want to pick her brain on every topic about playing at the Olympics, winning the Olympics, and playing volleyball in general. I met her once and she was truly a great person to chat with and I love her energy. She is such an amazing player and she would be a good resource to pull some awesome info from to pass on to my kids that I coach. I would in that day bring her in to inspire kids who play volleyball and have her work with them so they could remember the moment forever.

If you were to receive any existing public award, what award would you like to win?
I’d like to win a Grammy. I know this has nothing to do with volleyball but one of my other passions is writing music and sharing my songs through writing and performing my songs with my band. I think it would be pretty awesome to win a “Song of the Year” award or “Album of the Year”.

If you could spend a day with any historical figure, who would you choose and why?
I would spend the day with William Shakespeare. I always enjoyed his plays and writing so much that I would love to get to just be a part of the process or just to see the process happen. I do everything to learn something to apply to my life or business and anyone with as much passion that William Shakespeare had would be able to teach and inspire anyone to be better and have more passion in their life. I would love to get more inspiration from Mr. Shakespeare to use in some creative way in the similar way I apply relating all things to volleyball and thus, my life.

Who inspires you?
There are so many people that inspire me. I get inspiration from Dr. Lorne Sawula, a coach that has been coaching for over 30 years, from Edmonton who runs Aspire Volleyball. They are a volleyball training club that I used to work for when living in Edmonton. I decided to do something similar in Kelowna, with T2 Volleyball so they inspire me to be able to offer the best training for volleyball in Kelowna and the Okanagan. And Dr. Lorne Sawula is inspiring that he is as old as he is and still focusing on development and growth of the game in Canada.
Jim also inspires me. Jim, my dad who passed away in 2010 from a sudden stroke, inspires me still every day. He was a great hard working guy who had a zest for life that was infectious and fun to be around. It was easy to just hang out with him with saying nothing at all, or talking wildly about any topic on your mind. He was active in the volleyball community and helped build a better beach volleyball facility in Penticton, so this inspires me to have one day a better training facility for Kelowna that is designated for volleyball and training. He was the best, so he inspires me to be my best every day. I get so much inspiration from so many different places and people that I am not even sure that certain people inspire me, but rather “people with passion who do not let anything get in the way of this passion and make things happen” inspire me the most. I have a ton of passion for life and going out and reaching your goals so it is awesome to see that there are so many people doing this in our community. Being able to get inspired every day is something I never take for granted and I try and pull inspiration from everyone I meet.

What are three things on your bucket list?
Have my own volleyball/fitness facility to keep coaching, developing and inspiring athletes in my community;
Own my own dog rescue/sanctuary;
Write a “One Hit Wonder” and win a Grammy.

If you had an enormous yacht, what would you name it?
“The Jim” or “Fluffy Bunny”

If you could foresee a single day of your future in its entirety, what date would you select?
I would foresee next Christmas. Dec 25^th, 2015. We wake up in Mexico with my entire family and I find out that we have won the lotto and it is just enough money to open a new Volleyball & All Encompassing Fitness & Recovery Facility in Kelowna…so we enjoy the day by sitting at the beach drinking “pipa Frias” (cold coconuts) drawing out the entire blueprint of the facility in the sand.

What are you passionate about?
Coaching, playing volleyball, fitness, learning new things, writing, playing and enjoying music, helping people, rescuing dogs, being with friends and family, traveling, and the journey of life.

What has been your favourite day of your life, up to this point?
My favourite day is when I got married last summer. We had 300 of our closest friends and family smiling and having fun for almost 12 hours. Before you asked, “if you could spend one day with anyone” and I was slightly struggling to answer this because I would spend one day with those 300 people again over just with one person, any day. The energy was so amazing that I would love to relive that day all the time! Some of the most inspiring people in my life so far were there and all in one space, and to add to this, they were there supporting me. This felt amazing and was a great moment for me in realizing how important friends and family are. This has changed me in a great way, so I would say this day is definitely my favourite day of my life. I have had some other pretty amazing days, like when I got to compete in huge events, win big ones, and get to create and start my T2VB club, but having your friends, family, and athletes you have coached all in one place supporting you, still tops all the other great moments I've been lucky to have.

What has been your proudest accomplishment?
My proudest accomplishment is creating T2 Volleyball. It has always been a passion of mine to coach at a high level, but I have recently become more inspired to coach athletes that need inspiring and mentoring. I get a special feeling in my heart when one of my athletes realize their potential, even if it is just for a short moment, but that smile they show on their face, really hits me hard. I have recently been reminded of how much I truly love my players and how they are not just my athletes but also my family. I am lucky to have some of the best kids in my club that are hardworking, caring, inspiring, creative, and just overall awesome! They inspire me and I never get old of their goofiness and fun attitudes. The energy is infectious and I am proud to have been able to create this comfortable family environment for the kids to let loose and entrust in.

Where is your favourite place to dine in Kelowna? What do you like about it?
Right now I really love Fandango. I like it because I love the owners and the food is very good. The environment is comfortable and reminds me of one of our favourite date night restaurants in Edmonton. The food reminds me of the food that is made on the food network on shows like “Top Chef” or those shows you’re always learning to be more creative on. They have a different menu often and serve fresh foods found in the Okanagan. Prices are reasonable and it is definitely a good value for your dollar. You get more than what you expect in taste and size of meal.

What is your favourite activity or event in Kelowna? Why?
I'd say I really love just going down town and finding a local band playing at either Docs or Fernando’s and enjoying the atmosphere and friends that come along or show up. Usually Devon Coyote is playing somewhere and his music is so fun to dance and sing to, so checking out one of his shows is something I love to do. Yoga at Moksha Yoga Kelowna is our favourite activity to do as a team and so we book private classes, but YIN on Thursdays or Sundays is something that all couples or singles should go and try, and eventually, LOVE!! I also teach fitness at Oranj Fitness Kelowna, so it is fun to take the kids there and do some low impact spin, or some high intensity boot camp/jump training. I spend a ton of time at Oranj whether it is just hanging with the instructors and clients, teaching a class, or bringing my team there for a fun workout. Between live music and fitness in the Okanagan I love what Kelowna has to offer for activities and small events!! All we really need is 40 degree weather all year round, surfing and bigger beaches to put 10 more volleyball courts on to run some big world class events!

What is the name of your business/organization?
T2 Volleyball

What does your business/organization do?
We teach volleyball to all levels of play but our main focus is youth aged eight to 17. We specialize in beach volleyball but offer indoor training from October to May. We have launched two club teams this past year for the January to May 2015 club volleyball season. We have U15 and U16 Girls Club Teams but next year we hope to have U14, U15, U16 and U17 teams. We have boys and girls participating as well as moms, dads, and pro players who take advantage of our coaching and events.

Where can people find you or your business online?
www.t2volleyball.com

Where can people find your business on Facebook?
T2 Volleyball

What is your Twitter account?
@t2volleyball

What is your mission?
My mission is to be the best volleyball club in town for development and youth mentorship. My mission is to create a positive environment where kids feel comfortable to develop their skills, build confidence, learn hard work and have fun. Our motto “volleyball life” is symbolic that we don't just teach volleyball but also life skills through mentorship, hard work, and fitness. If we teach volleyball and mental strength correctly we should be able to help kids become better players and also, better people.

If you could achieve one thing within your field, what would it be?
Be able to help players have “that moment” where they realize their passion and who they want to be through teaching volleyball to kids every year that we offer club and training programs.

Where do you want your business/organization to be in five years?
We want to have the best teams in the Okanagan for all age groups we offer and be in the top five of our age categories for Volleyball BC Leagues and Competitions but also be the most recommended club through players and parents as development will always be our focus over ranking and placing in B.C. We would like to have our own training facility that is all encompassing of training, fitness, and recovery.

Who do you consider to be a forerunner within your field?
Other top teams we are competing with right now are mainly down in the lower mainland. The Fraser Valley is developing athletes very well as well as the Thunder teams for indoor volleyball and club programs like SideOUT in Vancouver are also in the forefront of the beach volleyball world.

What three qualities do you feel that your business/organization exemplifies?
Development, fun, and hard work.

What would you like to say to your employees/volunteers?
We have the best. We hire the best and they are the best. We have parent volunteers that I could not be happier with every day. They are always supporting our programs and I am so thankful to have their support. We have fun as well as work hard so I am lucky to have these people in my organization. My coaches are always looking to learn and be better for the kids, so I cannot ask for more. I wish we could clone them to have more of them, so we can continue to offer more programs and club teams for kids! Thank you for all the help, support and hard work! You’re amazing and I would not be as successful as I am without your help.

How does your business/organization impact the community?
We impact the community since we help our youth grow and become stronger mentally and physically to be able to overcome the difficulties that life throws at them, at younger and younger ages. Social media and other influences that can make life difficult so helping kids gain confidence and are the best at their sport is something we help kids with. We help create leaders and people who can learn and keep up with changing environments. We connect kids and develop strong friendships that can last for many years to come. These bonds can help the kids deal with school issues such as bullying and low self-confidence issues, as well as helps kids thrive in the competitive environments that sport offers our youth. We also offer yoga and fitness to kids to help them become more grounded and help reduce stress that can cause many negative physical and mental issues for people later on in life. By helping kids at a younger age, we hope they will bring this positive energy forward in their lives and into the community and be strong positive leaders for the future.

If you were trapped in an elevator with several wealthy investors from any field, which field would you want them to be experts in? What would say to them/talk about?
Property development, yoga, and fitness. I would want to start a conversation on developing some land in Kelowna to build more sports/activity complexes (directed towards sports not as common…not just hockey, soccer and basketball) to continue to inspire kids to become invested in sport and maybe even more importantly fitness and yoga since this can really help kids to have a positive healthy mind and body to help carry through in their busy lives. Conversations on how to help sports groups that are focused on a more holistic approach to developing athletes and how to be better supporting these groups would be started. Who knows where the conversation could go from there. Maybe the development of something in Kelowna could be brewed up with the help of such individuals!

If I could change one thing about Kelowna, it would be:
More beach volleyball courts that have better sand.

What do you think makes Kelowna great?
The energy! There are many people living healthier lives and creating new ways to be active in the community and this energy is amazing.

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