A perspective from one of McMaster’s most recognized student-athletes on being perceived by others in the athlete spotlight
The McMaster men’s volleyball team has been characterized by winning. They are the reigning Ontario University Athletics champions and have been for the past three years.
The team’s success has in part granted them an increase in popularity. The Marauders men’s team is no stranger to selling out their home gym, the Burridge Gym, with many students attending the team’s games.
Maxime Gratton, a fifth-year outside hitter for the team, spoke about the experience of seeing the amount of people who attend the team’s games.
“There was a massive boom, regular season games were selling out. So you can't deny that there's people watching. I was lucky because I was one of the leaders on the court and I was playing pretty well," said Gratton.
Gratton discussed how the consistently large turnout of fans has helped to fuel him and his team in the previous year.
"On the court, when I was playing it was fun, it was fueling me. It was like people care about this, it's awesome. From my perspective I spent so much time struggling with this sport, I've had a really tough time with this sport. It's an up and down relationship for me, but last year was a breath of fresh air,” said Gratton.
The team's success and resulting popularity have led to individual players becoming popular amongst McMaster students. Gratton is no exception to this.
Gratton has been a key player for the Marauders. He has racked up numerous accolades such as OUA Rookie of the Year, OUA First Team All Star and USport’s First Team All Star.
These distinctions have granted him popularity in other areas, specifically on social media. Gratton has one of the highest Instagram follower counts of all current McMaster athletes, sitting at about 4,000 followers. He is also often featured on the team’s social media pages, which receive many views and likes.
Despite his social media presence, Gratton actually sees himself as quite reserved. He reflected on how different his life was growing up, compared to the life that has come with university volleyball.
“Until I went into university, I was very reserved and I was very introverted and kind of in my own world. Then, coming here and last year having all these eyes because, we had that going for the first two years, but it wasn't as big as when it really hit last year. That was something I really struggled with," said Gratton.
Gratton told the Silhouette that he reflects on how with all of this attention, many students likely have preconceived ideas about him without even knowing him personally.
“I have this sense that there are a lot of predisposed ideas of who I am, before actually getting to know me. I mean I guess it's whatever, because you know people talk, it is what it is. But yeah, I would agree with you that there's a sense that some people have made up their minds on some aspects of who I am," said Gratton.
“I have this sense that there are a lot of predisposed ideas of who I am, before actually getting to know me. I mean I guess it's whatever, because you know people talk, it is what it is."
Maxime Gratton, Fifth-Year Outside Hitter
McMaster Men's Volleyball Team
Many viral videos on social media feature Gratton's explosive playing style and high-energy celebrations. However, Gratton feels the player on the screen is not an indication of who he is day-to-day.
"When I play for example, I'm very, I call it, passionate. But it comes across as sometimes I'm very angry or some people can say that I'm a hothead or stuff like that. There's all these things, where when I'm outside of the court, I'm actually quite calm and I'm much more chill. I promise, it's just that the sport kind of brings that out of me and so that's an example of people maybe saying “oh really, you're not angry all the time.” I'm like, no, I'm not angry all the time." It's not who I am outside of the court. So yeah, there are some predisposed kinds of biases, I guess. But again, I just view it as normal and there's nothing you can really do about it,” said Gratton.
Gratton also reflected on how the thoughts of students who don't even know him have affected him. While this used to bother him, he feels as though he can better navigate these situations now.
"Some things that I was hearing were very nice, but there were also some things that I was hearing that messed with me, because they were taken out of context or sometimes just straight-up lies that are being told by people and in a harmful way . . . it was becoming kind of a problem, for me, just because I didn't know how to navigate this,” said Gratton.
Gratton shared that he feels his popularity with the student body has led people to view him as a persona, rather than a whole person.
“Like I said already, like this objective I think since some people view me as a superficial persona, then they're gonna treat me as such, then it's gonna be a little difficult for me to open up to them, or for them to open up to me,” said Gratton.
However, his rise as a popular student-athlete has not been entirely negative. Gratton described how people knowing him from sport has also helped him outside of his athletic career.
“It's facilitated me connecting with people because like let's say people do know that I'm on the volleyball team then I feel like they already know a pretty big part of my life. I've made some friends who the only thing they knew about me before was me playing volleyball and then coming from a background where I was a bit more isolated. It is like there's something to build from. It can be used as something a bit more superficial about me that we can build from. But then from there, we can branch out and actually I can get to know you, they can get to know me, on a different level,” said Gratton.
As Gratton continues his career at McMaster, he has gained a unique perspective from his time as a student-athlete.
Marauders men’s volleyball continues to deal with wavering health as they head into the first round of the OUA playoffs
With the playoffs set to begin, the Marauders playoff rotation remains unclear. Maxime Gratton will be sidelined for the first-round matchup due to a lower body injury, while Sam Cooper will be a game time decision as a result of a foot fracture that kept him sidelined through the second half of the season.
Cooper, a 2021-2022 OUA first team all-star, as well as a 2021-2022 U Sport second team all-Canadian, is an integral part of the team, and the lack of his presence has been felt heavily of late. Losing another star player in Gratton has just made things that much harder for the team.
“[Cooper's] on his return to train, but we won’t put him in a position where he’s not ready. If he is ready then we kind of have to ease him into game mode because he hasn’t played since early January. Even if he was ready [physically] I’m not sure if he would be ready to play. . . He’s chomping at the bit to get at the floor, but we have to do what’s best for their health and wellbeing,” said Dave Preston, the head coach.
"[Cooper’s] on his return to train, but we won’t put him in a position where he’s not ready. If he is ready then we kind of have to ease him into game mode because he hasn’t played since early January. Even if he was ready [physically] I’m not sure if he would be ready to play."
Dave Preston, Men's Volleyball Coach
Between injuries to Cooper and Gratton, as well as load management for regulars Mateusz Wlodarski and Tyler Pavelic due to the growing urgency for health bodies, the Marauders have struggled of late.
McMaster dropped their final two games of the regular season, snapping their perfect record on the year while also suffering their first regular season loss since 2020, and their first back-to-back loss since the 2016 season.
Despite having lost Cooper in January, the Marauders maintained their position atop the standings, finishing in the first seed. Their first-round playoff matchup is none other than the Toronto Metropolitan University Bold – the team who ended the Marauders hopes of perfection in the second last game of the season.
“A 20-0 regular season was never something we talked about, it was never one of our goals. Our first goal was to secure as much home court advantage through the playoffs as we could, and we did that. . . There’s two ways you look at it; sometimes you win, sometimes you learn,” explained Preston.
The upcoming game is an opportunity for revenge against the bold, and there is a sense of growing anticipation amongst the team. They are confident, and ready for their shot at redemption.
“Yes, there is a lot of excitement to play them again. . . They played great when we played them down there, they earned every point of that victory, but it’s a new match Saturday,” said Preston
“Yes, there is a lot of excitement to play them again. . . They played great when we played them down there, they earned every point of that victory, but it’s a new match Saturday."
Dave Preston, Men's Volleyball Coach
Heading into the playoffs, the team has spent their reading week preparing. As for what has changed in the past week, the answer is nothing. There is a reason the team has had so much success in recent years, and why they were able to put together such a strong season again this year. Now they’re ready to trust the process when it comes to playoff prep.
“Absolutely nothing [changed], the guys know what it takes. We’ve done it day in and day out for the last seven months. This isn’t something to change anything, this is the time to trust your training. . . It was really good to see two days prior to how locked in they were. The communication was impressive, the focus was impressive. These guys know what they’re doing. This isn’t a time for change, this is a time for trust,” said Preston.
The highly anticipated game will take place on Feb. 25 at 8:00 PM in Burridge Gym, as a result of the team having secured home court advantage throughout. It will immediately follow the women’s playoff game at 6:00 PM.
Following their Feb. 17 loss to TMU, the Marauders suffer their second loss of the weekend at the hands of the Toronto Varsity Blues
A poor finish to the regular season isn’t what many expected to see for the Marauders men’s volleyball team after starting their season with 18 consecutive wins, yet, it happened. It marks the first time since February 2016 that the team has lost back-to-back regular season games. Ironically, the Toronto Varsity Blues were also a part of that losing streak.
Though the Varsity Blues are a stronger opponent then the Toronto Metropolitan Bold, sitting fourth in the standings coming in, the 2021-2022 provincial championship rematch was still largely a game McMaster was expected to take. At least this time out, unlike against the Bold, the Marauders provided some resistance. They took one set by a score of 25 to 23, while losing another by a slim 27 to 25. The remaining two sets were lost by a score of 25 to 20.
The team remained short handed with Sam Cooper remaining out, and Tyler Pavelic having not played per his absence on the box score. However, Mateusz Wlodarski made his return to the court, and Maxime Gratton, whose availability remained in question, also played, making this loss more concerning than the last.
The two losses come as the final two games of the regular season. The Marauders currently hold the second longest losing streak, just to the 20 loss Royal Military College Paladins. On a positive note, the team still finishes as the sole victor of all 10 home games, while also holding the best record on the road.
The Marauders won’t play again until the Ontario University Athletics playoffs, where the quarterfinals begin on Feb. 25. McMaster will hold home court advantage throughout as the number one seed after finishing three wins above the second place Windsor Lancers.
After starting the season on an 18-game win streak, the team has officially lost their perfect record in the second last game of the year
Defeat – something the men’s volleyball team is not used to. The powerhouse Marauders took a shocking loss, their first of the season, on Feb. 17. The Toronto Metropolitan University Bold pulled off arguably the biggest upset of the season. They came into the matchup with a losing record of nine wins and 10 losses while sitting in the bottom half of the standings.
The Marauders struggled to keep up all game, having lost in three straight sets, but was it truly an upset? The team didn’t look like themselves, and this was likely because this wasn’t the team most were used to seeing.
“Still should have got it done, but it’s probably the most injured and sick game we’ve been in,” said Mateusz Wlodarski, a member of the team.
“Still should have got it done, but it’s probably the most injured and sick game we’ve been in.”
Mateusz Wlodarski, Men's Volleyball Team
Sam Cooper, a 2021-2022 first team all-star, and Wlodarski, a 2021-2022 second team all-star, didn’t see any time on the court. Cooper has been out since January with a foot fracture, while Wlodarski was out due to load management.
Maxime Gratton, the 2021-2022 Ontario University Athletics rookie of the year award recipient, didn’t enter the game until the second set. Gratton was sidelined from practices due to illness through the week, and his availability was uncertain heading in.
Despite the loss ending the possibility of a second consecutive season of perfection, there is still much to look forward to. The OUA playoffs begin on Feb. 25, where the Marauders will hold home court advantage throughout as the number one seed. The national U Sports championship, also hosted by McMaster, providing the Marauders with automatic entry, will begin on Mar. 17.
