It was Year 9, and Riley Donovan needed to pick a sport. As a tennis player, he chose volleyball, thinking it would help his tennis swing. The logic seemed sound—the motion of serving a tennis ball couldn't be that different from serving a volleyball. But things didn't go as planned. Donovan tossed the ball into the air, swung his arm like he was holding a tennis racquet and sliced straight through it.

In tennis, that slice is what makes a good serve. In volleyball, it's the opposite. You have to hit through the ball. Still, Donovan wasn't about to change his arm swing just for volleyball. He wasn't expecting volleyball to go anywhere and was simply using it as a tool to support his tennis game. That changed when his coach, Monica Jones-Mcfee, started pushing him to adjust his technique—to swing the volleyball way. Bit by bit, Donovan began making the changes he needed to improve. 

That moment, learning how to serve properly, was where it all began. A small adjustment might have been a simple skill, but it laid the foundation for everything that came next.

Fast forward to the end of secondary school and Donovan had a decision to make. With few post-secondary volleyball opportunities in Australia, he started looking abroad. He had two options: go pro or go to college. Wanting to get a degree, he started researching and reaching out to universities on the other side of the world. Among the North American universities, Donovan landed on Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU).

TMU checked every box—strong volleyball program, a business program and a coach that made him feel welcome.

"Niko was the biggest factor of me coming here and everything else ticked the boxes," said Donovan. "It was just great."

Donovan had never been to Canada before, but had heard that Toronto was a great city which further reinforced TMU as the right choice for him. Having only been to a few places in the United States, he came to Canada somewhat blind, but motivated by opportunity. 

While reminiscing about his experience coming to  Canada for the first time  he mentioned that things were the same, but different. Adjusting to life in Canada brought some surprises. Walking and driving on the right side was an adjustment and small differences added up. Coming from sun-soaked beaches and year-round warmth, the biggest shock was the winter.

"I hadn't seen snow before," said Donovan. "Seeing snow here for the first time was awesome."

Winter in Australia isn't the kind of winter that most Canadians are familiar with. There aren't many places in Australia where snow falls, so winter activities like tobogganing were completely new to him.
Despite some ups and downs , Donovan committed to building a home away from home in Toronto. The TMU Bold volleyball community became a key part of that, providing a team that looked out for each other.

"You've got 16 or 17 built-in best friends that you can lean on and rely on and that are there for you," said Donovan.

The clearest demonstration of a built-in best friend came when Thanksgiving rolled around. Thanksgiving is a holiday where many people return back home to spend time with their families, but one Donovan had never celebrated back home in Australia as it isn't a holiday there. Despite the unfamiliarity, Donovan's teammate Evan Moua made sure that he didn't miss out on the Thanksgiving experience. Moua invited him to celebrate with his family, where Donovan was greeted with trays upon trays of food—from traditional Thanksgiving favourites to buffalo chicken dip—and more importantly the warmth of being surrounded by family.

"It's been awesome to be welcomed into a family environment away from home where I'm already missing my family," said Donovan.

Donovan was no stranger to  being away from family. In Australia he'd lived at the Australian Institute of Sport for eight months, which gave him a taste of life away from home and what was to come living abroad in Canada.

The reason for moving abroad was clear for Donovan, he came here for volleyball.

When he first arrived, playing time wasn't guaranteed. Surrounded by upper-year players, he had to navigate patience and persistence. He aspired to play and compete, but he wasn't at that level yet.

This meant extra hours of training. He spent time during the winter break of his third year working to improve, hoping to return after the break with a spot in the starting lineup. A large part of his improvement came from being surrounded by the right people.

"A large part of my volleyball improvement has been Niko and the opportunity that I got here," said Donovan. "I've really tried to take advantage of the coaches, hear from them, talk to the players that are older than me. When I was younger, talking to them and watching what they do, I took bits and pieces."

Then came a proud moment: he cracked the starting lineup during an exhibition game against a Canada West team. Playing well in that game gave him a sense of belonging and from that point he didn't look back, finding his confidence.

"I definitely was proud of myself because that was a long time coming in terms of work, feeling comfortable and feeling like I belong," said Donovan.

Before earning that opportunity, Donovan had been chasing the measurable side of improvement. TMU's strength and conditioning program outlined benchmarks players needed to meet to compete at the OUA level and Donovan had been determined to hit them all. For a while progress for him was defined by data points and checkmarks, the reassurance that he was getting closer to being game-ready. When he finally stepped onto the court and began competing against other teams, he realized that no metric could match the confidence that came from experience itself, from proving to himself that he could score, perform and hold his own under pressure.

That confidence didn't come from nowhere. Behind every step of his growth has been the steady support of his parents. Even from thousands of kilometers away, they have remained involved in his journey—celebrating his progress, listening to updates after every meeting or game and reminding him of how far he has come.

"I know they are proud of me," said Donovan. "They support me which means a lot. They believe in me and what I'm doing and where I'm going."

Having his brother, Killian Donovan, nearby has been a real treat and a big help. Killian, currently at Guelph as part of their volleyball program, is sharing a similar journey with his older brother. 

"It was a great connection to just have him, someone from home, so close. It was a big deal for me because I am so close with my family," said Donovan. "He fully understands what I am going through and I fully understand what he is going through."

That connection wasn't only limited to his family. Donovan's teammates in Toronto had become a second family. That was reflected when two of them—Declan Dunn and Tony Tanouchev—visited him in his home country for three and a half weeks last summer.

The pair spent their time living with Riley and his family, joining him in training sessions, having beach days and making long drives up the coast. Tanouchev was able to catch a glimpse of Riley's pace of life in Australia. 

"It was really cool to be a part of Riley's life for those three weeks because we went there for vacation, but realistically what we did is we followed him along in his day-to-day life," said Tanouchev. "Just staying with them, hanging out with the guys and  his parents, everyone was so lovely and it was a lot of fun."

Donovan acted as their tour guide around Sydney and beyond. They swam, played golf and spent an evening at a beachside pub. They even took a road trip north to Byron Bay and the Gold Coast, staying at a place across from the beach. They also caught an Australian Football League match, watching 80,000 fans pack the stadium for what Tanouchev could only describe as an unreal experience.  

Even on vacation, volleyball was never far from mind. The three played volleyball, trained with the New South Wales State U23 team, practiced with Donovan's old high school program at The Scots College and spent time playing beach volleyball in Coolangatta. There was still a fair share of lifting, workouts and team programming, but it was ultimately the perfect blend of training and having fun.

However many nights were spent laughing and playing games, the kind of moments that reminded Donovan how close he had become to his teammates and that it was surreal to see two parts of his life come together. They had so much fun and it was awesome 

"They could be lying to me, but they rave about it," said Donavan with a joking  smile. "They loved it."

When asked what it feels like going back home to Australia, Donovan said it feels like he wants to move back. Now don't get him wrong—he loves Canada. Five years ago he didn't think he would be in this position: playing volleyball in a major city, pursuing his business degree and making so many amazing friends along the way. However, there is a part of Australia that Canada just can't match—the weather, the beaches and the lifestyle. With the Canadian winters, Donovan sees that time as four months of pause, a period with limitations due to the freezing weather. In Australia there isn't that.

"I was home during the first day of winter and it was sunny and 20 degrees," said Donovan. "It was beautiful."

The opportunities in Canada have brought Donovan many amazing experiences, but his desire to go back to Australia is an ode to the place he grew up. His family lives there and he has so many happy memories tied to places and people he loves.

"I needed a fresh experience somewhere to make me truly appreciate Australia and what it has to offer," he said.

Donovan wants to continue having new and fresh experiences, even as he ultimately plans to return to Australia. He thrives on being open-minded and would like to try for a professional contract. Playing professional volleyball in another country is a once in a lifetime experience he would love to have. In addition, he's fallen in love with seeing new places and wants to travel. Countries on his list to visit are Greece, Spain and Italy. Coming to Canada was his first big new experience and it has left him wanting more.

Looking back on his journey, Donovan says his advice to his first-year self would be simple: slow down. He admits he came into the program determined to chase results, a mindset he now sees in younger players too.

"Don't want it all now," said Donovan. "It's okay to be patient and let things come and trust what you are doing."

Donovan knows his journey isn't over yet and sees each new challenge as part of the path ahead.