At some points during his impressive volleyball career, Sudbury native Richard Faucher would meander off into the world of coaching, adding something a little different to his personal mix with the sport that he loves.
But fair is fair.
A few years into his role as Technical Director with the Northern Chill Volleyball Club and fresh off a season at the helm of the Chill 16U Ice Box boys team, the now 40 year-old recently gave in to the call of competitive adult court tournament play.
And not just any old tournament.
Reconnecting with acquaintances to join the Albertan volleyball dynasty that is FOG (Friends of George) Canada, Faucher and company attended the 2025 USA Volleyball Open National Championships in Denver (Colorado) in May.
Making things more interesting is that neither the Men’s 40 & Over or 45 & Over divisions attracted sufficient teams to run on their own, forcing the Canadian collection of talent to duke it out with the 18+ crowd in both the “BB” and “B” groupings – the latter providing the setting for a fourth place finish in a field of 85 teams.
Drawing on talent largely based in either Kamloops or Toronto, this particular edition of FOG Canada won seven of their first eight games before falling short of a bronze with a tough loss to a team from Wisconsin.
As much as he enjoys the transition he has made to help guide the next generation of local volleyball talent, the man who was inducted last year into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame (along with the remainder of the University of Saskatchewan men’s national championship team from 2003-2004) still enjoys pushing his physical limits – with a much different approach than when he was younger.
“When I know that something is coming up, I will put in my time,” said Faucher. “I started training in December of 2024, knowing we were going to Denver in May. I did a few sessions with the kids (16U Ice Box boys), scrimmaged against or with them, went through drills with them.”
“We also set up some scrimmages with local adult teams.”
Apparently, Tuesday nights at Lockerby Composite is the place to be if you want to check out a nice segment of the very best men’s talent to ever compete in these parts, gents who still get out for a healthy dose of reasonably intense volleyball.
“That’s how I ended up getting my touches in for training,” added Faucher, a man who played four years on the professional circuit with stops in Denmark, France, Portugal and Austria.
Though he remains quite active, the father of two has comfortably come to grips with the metamorphosis that a body will endure, over time – even the bodies of one-time professional athletes.
“I am still learning how to properly train at my age on what my body can do today,” said Faucher with a smile. “I’ve accepted that I am not the same person.”
That also holds true of Richard Faucher, the coach and administrator, a gentleman who continues to read regularly on all things involved with the guidance of elite athletes – and how that has changed over the years.
“I’m always educating myself – and I don’t know how updated we are with the changes based on what I’ve seen in my personal experiences,” said Faucher candidly. “I think we’ve improved – but we need to continue developing coaches – and I am in that boat.”
“You need to adapt and know separation and technical cues. You need to be very specific in your language. Telling a kid to focus, well, that’s a skill – and if we’re not teaching the skill, those are the losses that we have.”
“You’re going to have a disconnect with that athlete.”
Married to a fellow volleyball coach (Karina) who hails from Blumenau (Brazil – well worth a Google as the town hosts the second largest Oktoberfest in the world thanks to its rich German heritage), Faucher looks forward to maintaining this path of perpetual learning with sons Mateus and Samuel.
Thanks to his reconnection with FOG Canada, however, that path may feature a few pit-stops along the way as Richard Faucher the coach gives way to Richard Faucher the athlete – even if that entails a few more sessions of physio.
