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By Farrah Philpot
For many newlyweds, going on a honeymoon trip is the first order of business. For Kerry and Chris MacLean, a top priority when they got married 40 years ago was starting a volleyball club. Now the founders of Ottawa’s Maverick Volleyball Club are set to retire from their leadership roles, and it’s finally their time to travel.
“It’s a difficult transition because we’ve only known volleyball together,” says Chris. “We got married 40 years ago, so there hasn’t been a year without Maverick in our relationship.”
From its roots as a single boys’ and girls’ team composed largely of Kerry’s high school players at Colonel By, the MacLeans never would have imagined 40 years ago that their little east-end volleyball club would create a community that occupies a whole pro baseball stadium.
But that’s what happened on Aug. 16 when their retirement coincided with a party big enough to encapsulate their time and legacy. Ottawa Stadium played host to MavsFest, an afternoon/evening celebration with live music, a drone show, a mechanical bull, lots of volleyball of course, and much more, including the highlight event: a dunk tank where athletes could dunk their coaches.
“You walk into any random gym where people are playing volleyball in Ottawa, and I guarantee you will be able to pick somebody that’s wearing something that says Maverick on it,” indicates Jelle Koolijman, the Mavs’ technical director. “In Ottawa, you can’t name [volleyball] without saying Maverick, and you can’t say Maverick without Kerry MacLean.”
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In the spring, Kerry was inducted into the Ontario Volleyball Hall of Fame as a builder for his contributions “on the court, in the classroom, and throughout the Ottawa region.”
Kerry stated that being inducted alongside six others in the Class of 2025 is an honour, but staying humble, he added, “I know that mine is mostly because of pure obstinance and sticking with something for a long period of time versus an incredible amount of talent or whatever, but I guess in some ways that’s a bit of a talent in itself to stay dedicated.”
Kerry coached nearly 200 teams over his career and mentored thousands of athletes, while also creating Maverick Youth Opportunities Fund to remove barriers preventing players from getting on the court.
The Mavs were at the forefront of implementing a long-term athlete development model at the club level.
Another Maverick trademark was successfully linking together different levels of volleyball. Its youth high-performance program was developed in consultation with Volleyball Canada’s national team head coach, and there are Maverick fingerprints on the sports-études programs at Franco-Cité and Louis-Riel high schools.
As a phys ed teacher at Colonel By Secondary School, Kerry helped inspire a culture of collaboration with the high school level, with many scholastic coaches involved with community clubs as well.
Those efforts bore fruit when Carleton University hosted the national championships in 2009 and the Mavericks’ 18U boys won the signature division. Ottawa is now a regular host of provincial and national championships, and full teams’ worth of local players now move on to play for university teams each year.
“The generations we’ve nurtured along are now bringing their kids here,” Kerry noted. “We’re getting them involved in coaching, and even if they’re not [directly involved], what they’re saying is, ‘I want my child to do it too.’”
Felix Potvin, a former Maverick athlete and now the club’s HR manager, thanks Kerry for not only making him a good athlete but also a good person.
Another athlete who credits him with more than just athletic ability is Jordan Canham, a Maverick alumnus and now NextGen men’s national team member who is expecting to compete at the Pan Am Cup in Mexico from Aug. 24-Sept. 1.
“Not just as a volleyball coach, but he cared so much about turning us into men who do all the basics of life in general. In volleyball, he was great too, but [he was] more like a life coach,” underlined Canham, who’s stayed close with Kerry and golfed with his coach before going to training camp.
Cultivating that next generation into leaders is in part what makes retirement possible for the MacLeans, who met while studying at the University of Ottawa, following Kerry’s career as a walk-on with McMaster University’s men’s volleyball team.
The MacLeans have three children, all of whom went on to play post-secondary volleyball and coach.
“Maverick people, Maverick coaches, Maverick kids,” they smiled.
The MacLeans won’t quite be quitting cold turkey. Chris is planning to stay on as a consultant for a few months as she hands over her portfolio in branding and communications to her replacement. Kerry, however, will be stepping back right away and deciding when he gets involved, and when he leaves it to the newbies.
“I want to get things done and stay in touch with people, but it really is time to let go of the reins and see if everything keeps moving along,” signalled Kerry.
His plans to stay involved at present: to drop into a gym every once in a while.
“In the times that we’re in town, if we’re hosting a tournament or one of the coaches I’ve worked with for years is running a practice, then I can sort of dip my toe in, knowing that I can pull it right back out if I want,” added Kerry.
But his first priority now is to dip his toes in the ocean on a sandy beach.
As a full-time teacher and coach, Kerry rarely had any lengthy leisure periods available, while Chris was also a business owner and club administrator, making their schedules quite difficult to plan a vacation around.
They’re currently deciding on where to spend a month this winter. Their options are between Mexico, B.C., and Honolulu.
“Travel is number one on my list, and I’m hoping hers too,” highlights Kerry, looking questioningly at his wife. “It’s been something we’ve always wanted to do.”