SPARTAN SPOTLIGHT | DEREK EPP

On September 8, 2020, a doctor told Derek Epp he might never play volleyball again. 

Trinity Western’s Epp has colitis and an unexpected flair-up during the summer of 2020 had him hospitalized and looking for answers. 

“It got to the point where I couldn’t lay down without excruciating stomach pain, so I couldn’t sleep,” Epp says. “I was living in the washroom.”

Treatments weren’t working. His doctors were flummoxed. 

“It’s almost like the lower section of my small intestine was eating away at itself.”

With his parents by his side, the doctor told him that the next option might be to remove his small intestine, which would effectively end any dreams of playing high-performance volleyball. 

Tears. 

“That was a train that just came out of nowhere and hit me,” says Epp, who, at the time was just six months removed from leading TWU to a Canada West title. “I didn’t know how to process it or comprehend it.”

Five hundred and sixty-three days later, Epp is named the U SPORTS Player of the Year. 

A day after that, the 6-foot-7 setter from Saskatoon sits in the fifth row of the bleachers inside the Investors Group Athletic Centre on the campus of the University of Manitoba, leafing through a well-travelled black leather notebook preparing to lead the No. 1-seeded Trinity Western Spartans into the U SPORTS championship tournament. 

Instead of surgery, Epp, who had remained in Saskatoon with his parents that fall, tried a variety of medications to stem the symptoms. He wasn’t improving. He was unable to workout. He did school online and joined his team for video sessions via Zoom. That was largely the extent of his social life. 

“It was really tough mentally.” 

While his teammates would discuss the challenges of training without the carrot of competition – due to COVID-19 restrictions, the 2020-21 season was ultimately kiboshed entirely – Epp couldn’t even do that. 

“I remember tearing up afterwards,” says Epp, recalling a particular Zoom meeting with his teammates. “I would have given everything just to train for another day.”

From September to December of 2020, Epp says, “There was no roller coaster. It was all a low point.” It took until early December before one medication finally seemed to be working. With Epp appearing to be rounding a corner, he returned to TWU in January 2021, only to find his symptoms arise again within a week.  

He thought about quitting volleyball altogether. 

Spartans coach Ben Josepshon wouldn’t let him. 

“He basically said, ‘No, that’s not an option. You have more to give to this sport.’ Ben having that belief in me, even when I was pretty down on myself, was a complete game-changer for me.”

When Epp ties up his laces before a game or a practice, he looks down and sees perspective. 

On the toe of one shoe, he’s written Sept. 8, 2020. On the toe of the other shoe, it reads ‘Be Grateful.’

It’s Epp’s daily reminder to appreciate the moments and to appreciate playing the game. 

In the spring of 2021, doctors finally found a medication that worked to subside Epp’s symptoms. Every three months, he gets an IV infusion and it’s been the ticket to his return. 

“It’s been awesome,” Epp says. “I’ve had no issues.” 

With it, the volleyball life he once knew, returned. 

Epp’s black leather notebook looks like a Bible. It’s thick. It’s taped together. It has little bookmarks to highlight key notes. He is fastidiously dedicated to detailing every important technique, note and game plan. 

His first-ever entry was Jan. 19, 2015. 

“It’s mostly technique stuff,” he says, flipping back to see what he wrote on that first day. “It’s about back setting, left side setting and dumps.” 

The book is a hard copy of everything he has learned in the last seven years. It’s a symbol of his dedication to the sport and his determination to realize his dreams. 

On July 18, 2015, he has written down notes he learned from his first-ever training session with Josephson, when the TWU coach was leading Canada’s national youth team.  

Witness the detail inside and you’ll start to understand Epp. 

“It’s as thick as an encyclopedia,” Josephson says. “He is meticulous on details, but somehow he is still able to play in a creative free-flowing way. That balance is super rare and I think that’s one of the things that makes him a truly special setter. He’s so focused and he knows exactly what he’s trying to do, but he’s very adaptable in creating on the fly.”

Epp’s creativity has been made him famous on social media. His most special sets have gone viral.  

Yet, it’s Epp’s focus on the fundamentals that drives his success. In short, that’s the Warden – a detail-oriented mindset that constantly strives for consistency and efficiency. 

For Epp, guiding the Spartans to a nation-leading .330 hitting percentage is a badge of honour.

“The cool plays come when you do the basic and fundamentals really well,” Epp says. “Instead of going out and looking for the cool plays, they just sort of happen if you’ve done x, y and z good enough throughout the game. 

“The crazy sets might, at times, be the end product, but that’s not the goal. The goal should be to be able to do your technique consistent every time, so when the random plays happen, you have the freedom and creativity and confidence to make the ‘go be an athlete’ plays. The goal of the offence is to be as crisp and clean as we can be.”

It’s also that attention to detail that built the nickname, and eventually the legend, that is the Warden. 

Here’s the story. In short, it was the summer of 2018 and TWU was preparing to represent Canada in the FISU America Games in Brazil. Between training sessions, they had some downtime. In the basement of former teammate Kaden Gamache’s parents place, Epp and then teammate and now TWU assistant coach Adam Schriemer watched episode after episode of Breakout – a dramatization of real-life prison breakouts. 

After that, with time on their side, Epp and Schriemer built a prison out of LEGO. Naturally, it was detailed.

“We went way to deep in the weeds with it,” Epp admits.

In the end, their prison needed a Warden. And when Schriemer mentioned it to Josephson that Epp should be nicknamed the Warden and Josephson proceeded to put it out as a hashtag on Instagram – well, that was it. Epp became the Warden. 

Four years on, the volleyball world has learned not to mess with the Warden. 

Since transferring to TWU from the University of Saskatchewan prior to the 2017-18 season, Epp has been part of three Canada West championship teams and guided TWU to a national title in 2018-19. 

In 2019-20, he led Canada West with 11.0 assists per set and was a U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian while helping the Spartans to a conference title.

This year, he’s been even crazier. 

Exactly a year to the day that Epp was told he may never play volleyball again, the TWU setter was preparing to take the Spartans, who were representing Canada, into a semifinal match against the host Dominican Republic at the 2021 Pan American Cup. 

Prior to the tournament, Epp hadn’t played a volleyball game in 18 months. So, in mid-August, when Josephson asked Epp if he thought he could play seven matches in seven days, which would be required at the Pan American Cup, Epp’s response was simple. “Yup.”

Josephson took his word for it. But Spartans coach knew he was likely trusting Epp’s mind as much as his body.

“There’s no way he could have known he could do that, but that’s basically who Derek is,” Josephson says. “It’s like, ‘I’m going to say ‘yes’ and speak it into existence and make it happen.'”

Epp led TWU to a three-set win over the Dominican Republic that night, helping the Spartans into the Pan American Cup final. The following day, TWU settled for silver after a 3-0 loss to Mexico. However, for Epp, the tournament was a statement. He was back. 

“That was super reassuring for me,” Epp says. “If I can get through the Dominican in these circumstances, I must be in a pretty good spot health wise.

“The setting kind of came back like riding bike. There were a lot of rough patches. It wasn’t very smooth, but it made it easier coming back to this team with a bunch of guys I’d played with before.”

Upon return to Langley and putting the Spartans jersey back on, Epp was asked to lead a unique 6-2 offence this year. It was a system set up to best utilize a talented Spartans lineup, with setting duties shared with teammate Mathias Elser, with Epp also hitting out of the middle position. 

“Essentially, everyone else is going to be better, but you’re going to be worse,” Josephson says, describing the role Epp was being asked to play. “We asked Derek to basically limit his success, which goes against every fibre of his being. Everything he does, from the time he wakes up to when he goes to be is about maximizing his success.

“Yet, he just went about his business and was the player of the year, while being completely limited.”

While it diminished Epp’s setting numbers – he averaged 7.92 assists per – he influenced the game in other areas, with 1.1 points per set and a .500 hitting percentage. More specifically, the set-up created a system that capitalized on TWU’s vast talent. 

“It has allowed our team to put playmakers on the floor and have a really solid group of guys in less traditional volleyball positions, but in ways they can make plays and change the game,” Epp says. “It’s been strange running middle and trying to spike middle, but it allows other guys to affect the game in different ways, which is beneficial for our team. 

“This roster is so unique, so it makes a ton of sense that we want to find a way to capitalize on all these crazy athletes that we have. It’s all about the team and how good we can be.”

Indeed, they’ve been good. In games that Derek featured in, the Spartans are a perfect 21-0 against U SPORTS competition, including regular season and playoff games.  

Not only did he embrace his role, the Warden flourished within the details of a truly rare and ever-malleable system. 

Epp took the Spartans and brought them to a national final. He was the best player in the country while playing a hybrid role he’s never played before and likely will never play again. He made cool play after cool play and built himself into legend within a legendary program. 

“Oh yea,” Josephson says. “And he wasn’t supposed be playing volleyball anymore. 

“It’s crazy.”