STUDENT-ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT: TYNEILLE SWABY

Over the course of Black History Month, yorkulions.ca will profile prominent Lions student-athletes of colour through the return of our Student-Athlete Spotlight series. They will discuss the success they’ve achieved both on and off the field of play. 

A veteran of the York University women’s volleyball team, Tyneille Swaby has big aspirations once she finishes her time at York. She is aiming to focus her love of teaching and coaching into her career once she’s finished her concurrent education. On the court, Swaby left an impact during the last season prior to the pandemic. In 2019-20, she ranked third on the team with 2.26 digs per set and also recorded 18 assists, one service ace and one point.

Tell me about yourself.  What do you do outside of athletics?

I’m in psychology and concurrent education. That takes up a lot of my time along with volleyball.  I’ve also taught swimming, and those are things I’ve tried to keep up with. I also coach volleyball and have done that for a while. I don’t have time during the season because it’s too much. But when I go home to Scarborough during the offseason I help coach my sister’s team.

What makes you want to coach?

I love kids! That’s also why I want to teach. I like the little ones, around second grade and higher. In kindergarten they’re still babies so you have to be their mom. When you teach you have to play mom anyway, it’s part of the job. But anyway, I love kids. I’ve always wanted to see them grow and I enjoy that.

How long have you known that you want to teach?

Every job I’ve done has been around kids. My family is also involved in nursing and social work. So I was looking into those fields as well. My mother is a social worker and she told me that it’s not what people may think it is. Your heart is often broken. I’ve had foster brothers and sisters, so I’ve seen both sides of social work and it’s very sad. But I still love kids, and so teaching is where my heart is at.

When did you begin playing volleyball, and when did you have the realization that you could make an athletic career out of it?

I started when I was around 8 or 10, but I didn’t really play at a higher level. It was one of my elementary school teachers who really pushed me to go to the club level with it. I didn’t want to, it was scary for me at first, but I eventually relented and decided to go. I made the 13U team and knew from there on that it was something I want to pursue. When it came to university, I didn’t actually plan on playing. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I love volleyball; I could play it my entire life, but I wasn’t sure if my future would allow me to do it. My coach put me in touch with York, and that year Jen became the coach and I knew her previously because she coached against me in club volleyball.

As a racialized person in volleyball, have you had barriers in your way?

As a Black woman I’ve always been told that I’ll have to work harder to prove myself. My mom and my grandparents, especially my grandfather, told me I have to work 10 times harder as a racialized person. I guess it’s a good thing because it has made me a hard worker. I don’t want to say it’s a barrier, but it can be a pressure sometimes. Nobody on my team actually makes me feel that way at all. It sits in the back of my head and I’ve experienced things when I was younger that weren’t very nice. I also want to be a role model. If I’m being honest, there aren’t a lot of Black people playing volleyball. When I was in club sports, there were more. Now, there are even fewer. You even see it reflected in coaching staffs across different levels. I feel so privileged to have Shanice and Octavia on our staff for that reason – our staff is much more diverse than many other volleyball clubs and programs.

Why do you think volleyball has gotten progressively less diverse as you’ve progressed to higher levels?

It can be expensive. My club was always very fair with how they laid out finances for my family, but there are a lot of clubs who don’t do that. It can be a burden on families who are struggling financially, which are often people of colour. It also depends on how coaches recruit and what the demographics are in areas they recruit from. If you aren’t looking in diverse areas, you won’t find diverse student-athletes.

In your opinion, what is the significance of BIVSAA to the wider athletics community here at York?

It’s great that it was created! It gives people like me an opportunity to speak out on racism if they feel they are being marginalized. For me, when we travel to certain other locations to play, I feel the shift away from inclusivity. I’m the only Black woman on my team, and I typically feel very comfortable in my own skin so my skin colour doesn’t bother me at all. But when you go to certain places, the people around you can make you feel uncomfortable at times. BIVSAA gives us a platform, and it helps educates others. People can be oblivious to what’s going on.

Who inspires you?

My mom and my grandmother. The two most hard-working women I’ve ever met. My grandmother came from Jamaica, worked three or four jobs at a time, had five kids. My mom always works multiple jobs as well, every single day, barely giving herself a break. My mom also helps me and my little sister with school, which I’m very privileged to have. A lot of other people don’t have that opportunity, but I do. They always push me to be better.