From chasing championships as a player to shaping athletes as a coach and academy founder, this is the story of how one athlete’s love of volleyball became a lifelong legacy.
Where it all started
Erik Mattson’s journey started like many Canadian kids, playing every sport he could get his hands on. Hockey, baseball, soccer. Volleyball was just something he picked up in junior high, a school sport he figured he’d play and then move on from. But in grade 10, sitting in the stands watching the CIS national championships, something shifted. For the first time, he saw volleyball as more than just a game.
That spark carried him to club volleyball with the Scarborough Falcons and later across the country to the University of Alberta, where he found both community and calling.
“Early on my 17u and 18u club coach Mike Chumbley is someone who comes to mind right away. Without him I honestly don’t see myself ever having any kind of volleyball career. Dustin Reid and Shayne White… made me believe that the possibility to play at a high level was something I could achieve. Terry Danyluk and Dale Johns, my coaches at the University of Alberta, were instrumental in shaping who I was not just as an athlete but also an individual. Lastly and most importantly my parents gave everything they had… The sacrifices they made are the reason I am who I am today.”
It’s that foundation, family, opportunity, and resilience that set the tone for the culture Erik would later carry into every part of his volleyball life.
The Grind
As a libero for the University of Alberta Golden Bears, Erik learned quickly that championships weren’t given; they were earned through long seasons, tough practices, and the grind of showing up every day. He went on to compete professionally in Europe, playing in Germany, Slovakia, and the Netherlands, gaining not just medals and experiences, but an education in high-performance culture.
The highs were unforgettable, like winning a national championship on home court in his first year with the Bears. The lows were humbling, like dealing with injuries that kept him sidelined in his final pro season. Both left lasting marks.
“The skills and experiences you have playing any sport at a high level teaches you so much about yourself. How you handle the ups and downs of a season, the pressures you face to perform well, to show up everyday trying to get better, dealing with success and failure. All of it gives athletes tools to use when their athletic careers end the next chapter begins.”
For Erik, the grind wasn’t just about medals. It was about learning how to turn setbacks into fuel and about building resilience that would last long after the scoreboard faded.
The Shift
By 2017, Erik’s playing career was winding down. Injuries, new priorities, and life outside the game were pulling him in a different direction. But instead of walking away, he leaned in: to coaching, to teaching, to building something new.
He became a phys ed teacher at Jasper Place High School, where he realized the power of working with athletes for more than a season at a time. Guiding them through years of growth on and off the court became a new kind of challenge, one that felt every bit as meaningful as chasing championships.
“When you play a sport at a high level for such a long time you get used to winning as being the most important parts of why you play. All I ever wanted to do was win. But as I’ve gotten into coaching and working with athletes at a wide range of stages in their athletic careers, you come to realize that as a coach you work with a person first and foremost and an athlete second.”
In the spring of 2025, while on parental leave after the birth of his twins, Erik’s wife encouraged him to take the leap. That’s when MVP, Mattson Volleyball Programs, was born. With camps, clinics, and one-on-one sessions, Erik began pouring his experiences back into the next generation.
The Payoff
Coaching brought Erik a new kind of victory. It wasn’t about trophies anymore; it was about watching athletes discover their own potential, sometimes surprising themselves along the way.
“Seeing kids do something that they previously weren’t able to is huge for me. Witnessing improvements happening and watching the athlete’s reaction when they do something new is amazing.”
MVP quickly became more than just a training company. It became a culture, one where growth mattered as much as performance, where pushing limits was encouraged, and where being uncomfortable meant you were in the right place.
For Erik, success is no longer measured in medals or stat sheets. It’s in moments: an athlete gaining confidence, a team finding unity, a young player realizing they belong.
The Legacy
Looking back, Erik sees his career, the wins, the losses, the sacrifices, the relationships, as a full-circle journey. Volleyball gave him community, purpose, and opportunity. Now, his mission is to give that back tenfold.
“If I could hand my younger self a championship ring, it would symbolize enjoying the process of improving, learning to embrace failure and how to turn it into something positive, and enjoying being around others who are also on that same journey. Good things happen when you’re around likeminded people working toward the same goals.”
That’s what legacy means to him. It’s not just about championships. It’s about building culture, fostering resilience, and leaving something that lasts beyond the final whistle.
Through MVP, Erik is doing exactly that, carrying forward the values of leadership, culture, and impact that Legend Rings stands for, and proving that the truest victories are the ones you share.
To learn more about Erik Mattson and MVP, Mattson Volleyball Programs, visit MVP Volleyball and follow along as he continues building a championship culture for the next generation.
