Mixing music and volleyball: Gorman following both passions at MacEwan

Jason Hills 
For MacEwan Athletics 
 
EDMONTON – The COVID-19 pandemic was hard on many people and for MacEwan Griffins outside hitter Mitch Gorman, it was no different. 

He was playing volleyball at Mount Royal and majoring in psychology, but something was missing. 

“I missed music. It’s one of my biggest passions and that’s where I wanted to take my life,” said Gorman. 

The product of Grande Prairie wasn’t going to just leave school and start busking on the streets to make money – but he had a plan. 

He came to MacEwan and enrolled in the Bachelor of Music program, but it wasn’t long before his passion for volleyball came calling. 

“When I first came here, I really had no intention of playing volleyball. My second year at Mount Royal I had suffered a concussion and a broken and sprained finger. It was a year full of injuries,” said Gorman. 

“I went full force into music, but then I started to realize that I was missing volleyball, and now I have the best of both worlds, being able to pursue both my passions.” 

Gorman joined the Griffins last year as a walk-on and started to carve out a role in the second half of the season, giving MacEwan another source of offence behind outside hitters Alexei Walliser and Jefferson Morrow. 

With both Walisser and Morrow graduating from the program, Gorman is expected to have an even bigger role this season as the Griffins get set to open their home portion of the 2023-24 Canada West season, this weekend against the Saskatchewan Huskies at the David Atkinson Gym (7:30 p.m. Friday, 4:30 p.m. Saturday, both Canada West TV). 

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“Last year was a lot of fun. Having not played for two years, I was just embracing the moment and opportunity, and as the second semester went on, I was carving out a role for myself, without even knowing I was doing it,” said Gorman. 

Gorman recorded 114 kills in 20 games last year – solid numbers for a guy who was away from the game for two years and hadn’t played the outside hitter position since his club volleyball days. 

In last weekend’s season opening series on the road against the Calgary Dinos, Gorman led MacEwan with 21 kills in their two losses. 

Griffins head coach Brad Poplawski has been impressed with the growth of Gorman, both on and off the court, and he was named as part of the Griffins leadership group this season. 

“We started to use him in that role in training and towards the end of the year, he became a staple for us out there,” said Poplawski. 

“Mitch is a great example of a guy who had to come in and earn his shot, and he just continued to do good things for us last year. Now, he’s got a chance to really expand his role.” 

Mitch Gorman came into the Griffins last season and carved out an important role (David Moll photo).

Pumping tunes in the locker-room before and after games is commonplace among sports teams, but despite being a music major, Gorman isn’t in charge of the music playlists that pump up the team before every game. 

“I think if I controlled the music, everybody would hate me. The stuff I listen to isn’t something that gets people hyped for games,” laughed Gorman, who sings, plays guitar and the piano in his program. 

So, what does he listen to before games? 

“I tend to listen to folk music before a game, because I believe that getting into more of a level-headed space is better for me, instead of a super amped space that people perform off. I listen to calm and steady music,” said Gorman. 

Many student-athletes must juggle their studies and their sport to stay on top of their game, and for Gorman, it’s no different – but it’s in ways you may not think. 

There certainly were some challenges he faced. 

“There is a physical side to music that people don’t always realize. I’ll be screaming and yelling on the court for two hours playing volleyball, and then I must sing the next day, and my voice isn’t quite there,” said Gorman. 

That was an adjustment for Gorman, but he’s adapted, and over the last year he’s performed strongly for the Griffins on the court. 

Off the court, he’s had some strong performances, too, but one last year stands out. 

He performed at his year-end recital, and he had quite the fanfare there supporting him. 

“It felt super weird performing in front of people from all aspects of my life,” said Gorman. 

“I had my friends on my left, my family in the middle and my teammates on the right. There were definitely some nerves. It’s different to perform for a crowd you know than a crowd you don’t know. It was an experience I’ll always remember, and it was special.” 

Gorman plans to write and perform music when he graduates with his music degree next year. Where it takes him, he’s not sure. But he is living in the moment right now being able to pursue his passions of music and volleyball. 

“With music, the biggest thing I get out of it is being able to connect with people. And with volleyball, I love the energy from the crowd, and I can connect with them that way,” said Gorman. 

“I’m super happy that I can do both right now. I know I’ll only have so many years to play volleyball, and I’ll have my whole life to pursue music.”