TJ Sanders

TJ Sanders
TJ Sanders in 2018
Personal information
Full nameTyler James Sanders
NicknameTJ
NationalityCanada Canadian
Born (1991-12-14) 14 December 1991 (age 32)
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
HometownLondon, Ontario, Canada
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight81 kg (179 lb)
Spike338 cm (133 in)
College / UniversityUniversity of Manitoba
McMaster University
Volleyball information
PositionSetter
Number1
Career
YearsTeams
2013–2014
2014–2015
2015–2016
2016–2017
2017–2018
2019
Netherlands Abiant Lycurgus
Switzerland PV Lugano
Poland MKS Będzin
Turkey Arkas Izmir
Poland Trefl Gdańsk
Poland MKS Będzin[1]
National team
2010–2011
2014–2021
Canada Canada U21
Canada Canada
Honours
Representing  Canada
Men's volleyball
FIVB World League
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Curitiba
NORCECA Championship
Gold medal – first place 2015 Mexico
Pan-American Games
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Toronto

Tyler James "TJ" Sanders (born 14 December 1991) is a former professional Canadian male volleyball player. He was a member of the Canada men's national volleyball team, representing Canada in the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. He also was a gold medallist at the 2015 NORCECA Championship, and a bronze medalist at the 2015 Pan American Games and a bronze medalist at the 2017 World League where he ranked statistically as the top setter.

Personal life

TJ Sanders was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba to Greg and Cindy Sanders. He began playing volleyball at the age of 12 after watching his older sister Sam play club volleyball. Growing up, he played club volleyball for the Forest City Volleyball Club in London, Ontario.[2] TJ Sanders’ Olympic dream began in 2007 when Volleyball Canada was the host of an FIVB World League event in his hometown.[3]

Playing career

Club

TJ was a member of the Full Time Training Center roster for the 2012/2013 season. He signed his first professional contract with Abiant Lycurgus in October 2013,[4] making his debut for the club in a 3-1 win over Driasma Dynamo.[5] After a successful first season with the club, in which they finished third in the league, TJ signed with the Swiss club PV Lugano. He spent the 2014/2015 season with the club, finishing the season as Swiss champions. TJ signed with MKS Będzin in the PlusLiga for the 2015/16 season. They finished last in the league, and did not make the playoffs.

For the 2016/17 season, TJ Sanders signed with the Turkish club Arkas Spor.

National Team

TJ Sanders was a member of the Canada men's junior national volleyball team from 2010 to 2011. He helped the team finish second at the 2010 Junior NORCECA Championship, and finish 11th at the 2011 U21 World Championship. As well, TJ helped them place 5th at the 2013 Universiade.

TJ joined the senior men's national team program in 2013 as a member of the men's "B" national team, and in 2014 joined the senior men's roster. He was a member of the squad that finished 7th at the 2014 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship, a national team best. In 2015, TJ helped the team win bronze at the Pan American Games, and gold at the 2015 Men's NORCECA Volleyball Championship.

TJ was a member of the squad that finished 5th at the 2016 Summer Olympics.[6] In June 2021, Sanders was named to Canada's 2020 Olympic team.[7]

Sporting achievements

References

  1. ^ Przegrał z kontuzją. TJ Sanders opuścił MKS - mksbedzin.pl - 25.11.2019
  2. ^ Team Canada, Olympic. "TJ Sanders". olympic.ca. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  3. ^ Team Canada, Olympic. "TJ Sanders". olympic.ca. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  4. ^ Voth, Chris. "New Playmaker TJ Sanders Arrived in Groningen". Lycurgus Volleyball. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  5. ^ Voth, Chris. "Abiant Lycurgus True Leader". Lycurgus Volleyball. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  6. ^ Hossain, Asif (22 July 2016). "Canada's men's volleyball team ready for Rio after long Olympic absence". Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  7. ^ Awad, Brandi (30 June 2021). "Team Canada's men's volleyball squad set for Tokyo 2020". Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 30 June 2021.