Otten’s career ends in spotlight

Sam Otten has spent his entire volleyball career in the shadows of the spotlight.

All that changed last week when the 22-year-old Toronto native was named Niagara College’s male athlete of the year.

“It has been a long time coming for me,” the 6-foot-2 right side said. “In most cases, I am never one of the biggest guys on the court, I am frankly never the most skilled and the last four years I am usually on the back burner as a player.

“I guess for all the seventh players out there, just keep playing, fighting and proving yourself.”

The former club player with Forest City and the London Volleyball Club was totally shocked when he heard his name announced online during a Facebook Live broadcast of the awards ceremony.

“Our season didn’t turn out and we didn’t get the product we were looking for but overall, having all those pieces, it was amazing to see the group come together,” he said. “The only reason I got this was because of the boys and the coaching as well. There are so many athletes who are deserving of this award.”

Otten’s season suggests he was being modest in his assessment of his year. The fifth-year player led Niagara with 3.75 kills per set, 0.68 aces per set, and a .319 hitting percentage. Despite missing a few games, he was able to remain in the top five in a number of Ontario Colleges Athletic Association  statistical categories and was named an OCAA First Team All-Star. He finished his collegiate career with more than 400 kills and 100 aces.

Otten played one year at Guelph University and three years at Fanshawe before concluding his volleyball career at Niagara. In his final season at Fanshawe, he captured a Canadian Colleges Athletic Association championship. He also won a CCAA silver and placed fourth at nationals with Fanshawe.

Otten was attracted to Niagara College by the school’s excellent brewmaster program.

“I was home brewing a little bit, I talked to one of the profs and it was eye opening, to say the least,” he said.

He ended up starting the program last summer.

“I wasn’t even looking to play volleyball this year and it was something that was on the back burner,” he said.

While he was in school, he was asked to play beach volleyball by eventual Niagara teammate and setter Robbie Zalewski.

“After talking with him and meeting a few other people he told me that I should do fifth year,” he said. “I don’t regret it, to say the least. It is a sport that I love to play and I am glad I did it for more than 10 years.”

Otten had hoped to play beach volleyball again this summer with Zalewski but the COVID-19 pandemic has put things on hold.

“It may not start up as early as we had hoped but that is my plan, for sure,” he said. “Come September, I am considering helping out coaching with the Niagara team because I am around the area and would love to be a part of it.”

The last semester of his program has been delayed until September meaning he is back at Niagara for one more year.

He has been playing volleyball for more than a decade and is a huge fan of the sport.

“For me, it is the people and the competitive atmosphere you bring to it,” he said. “Playing volleyball, I can look across the net and shake someone’s hand. There’s no negative competitiveness. It is people fighting for the joy of the game and I fell in love with it.”