Koop brothers celebrate end of lengthy collegiate careers

Tyson and Paxton Koop have certainly played a lot of volleyball over the years.

The Steinbach twins graduated from SRSS in 2020. With the COVID-19 pandemic wrecking havoc on sports across the province, they were eligible to play volleyball for extra years as so-called ‘super seniors.’

“It was actually a blessing in disguise for me to get a year of training with the guys at this level before going into any actual competition,” Paxton, who plays at the University of Winnipeg, said.

“Although it did kind of suck taking off a whole year, I think that was really, really helpful for me to adapt and adjust to the new level of volleyball that I was entering into.”

The two took very different paths to the USports ranks, with Paxton one of the province’s top prospects for his age group, while Tyson played at Douglas College in B.C. After four star-studded years, he joined Thompson Rivers University to continue his schooling and volleyball dreams.

“If you would have told me I’d be doing six years split between Vancouver and Kamloops, I’d would have told you you were lying,” Tyson said.

“It definitely wasn’t the way I expected it to go, but that’s the beauty of it. You just roll with the punches and ended up in two great schools and two great communities.”

Tyson was the valedictorian at SRSS and a four-time Canadian Colleges Athletic Association national scholar. He’s currently pursuing a masters of science and data science.

“I always tell people it’s about as nerdy as you can get, but I love it, it kind of tickles my brain,” Tyson said.

Tyson said he turned down USports offers from Ontario schools, preferring to stay in Western Canada.

If there was any question the duo would both play at the USports level, you just had to look at their parents, Olympian Michelle Sawatzky-Koop and former University of Winnipeg player Chris Koop.

Paxton joined his dad’s alma mater right out of high school, which still had long-time head coach Larry McKay leading the program at the time.

“It feels like I’ve been here forever,” Paxton said.

“I feel like in your first year, everything is new. New level, new teammates, new city for me as well… It was a lot of getting used to, even living on my own… Going into year six, I feel I’m a completely different person now. In a life standpoint and a (volleyball) level standpoint.”

The U of W will have an Eastman connection for a long time, with Easton Dick playing as a middle alongside Paxton last year and this year.

“The guys on my team call me ‘unc,’ now, that’s what the kids say,” Paxton said, laughing.

“I’m just an old man on the team now… I think it’s really important to have guys you can look up to, role models on your own team.”

The twins faced off in memorable fashion last season, when the U of W, on their way to a CanadaWest championship and holders of an undefeated record, visited Thompson Rivers University. The Wolfpack handed the Wesmen their first loss of the season as the brothers split their only USports match-ups.

“That’s definitely the top volleyball memory for me,” Tyson said.

“We upset them night one, and got that first loss on their transcript, and then they came back and beat the brakes off us night two. The sibling series will forever be tied 1-1, which I think is probably good for us.”

The brothers were named their respective team captains for the games, meeting up for the pre-game coin toss.

“That was one of the best moments in my volleyball career,” Paxton said.

“It was something talked about but never thought was going to happen. It was amazing how the stars aligned throughout our career to be able to play each other… I think (1-1) is the way it should be. A nice brotherly tie.”

The sibling rivalry between the two was a common theme during their U18 years, as Paxton, who hit his growth spurt earlier, and was recruited to play at a different club team than Tyson.

“(Paxton) was the big dog on campus in Steinbach, winning all-star awards,” Tyson said, laughing.

“I was just a short little kid who hadn’t hit his growth spurt yet. I was looking at my mom’s height and being like ‘I hope I didn’t get your genes.’ Eventually the summer before grade 12 it all hit. A late growth spurt mixed with a season cut short due to the pandemic (USports) just wasn’t in the cards.”

While Tyson’s collegiate career is over, Paxton’s final run is still ongoing, as the defending CanadaWest champions U of W look to host an upcoming play-off match-up. After this season, he’s aiming to turn pro and join his girlfriend in Europe, even if it isn’t in a top tier league.

“I can see the light at the end of the tunnel for my volleyball career, but I think it would be an amazing opportunity to experience Europe and travel while doing something I still love,” Paxton said.

Tyson is hoping to bring his data science background to the Wolfpack next season, in an analysis role with the team.