Cody Kessel '15 Lives Pro Volleyball Dream in Germany
1/14/2021
In 2015, Cody Kessel ’15 became the first Princeton University men’s volleyball student-athlete to earn an AVCA first or second team All-America honor. What followed since has been a now six-year professional volleyball career that shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.
Kessel is in his second season with Berlin Recycling Volleys and the team plays in two leagues; the Volleyball Bundesliga, the top professional league in Germany, and the CEV Champions League, the top competition for men’s volleyball clubs in Europe. Think Champions League for soccer, but for volleyball.
Unlike other leagues around the world, the Volleyball Bundesliga does not place a limit on how many import players can be on a team. A typical season runs from September until late April, with this season slightly shortened due to COVID-19.
Kessel credits being a Princeton men’s volleyball student-athlete as an integral part of his success in the professional ranks. Along with playing against the best teams in the country, the skills he learned on and off the court were invaluable.
I learned how to take care of myself from a nutrition standpoint, from a strength and conditioning standpoint and from a recovery standpoint. So much of what you see on the court comes from that and it's paid off in spades over here.Cody Kessel
Applying what he learned from head coach Sam Shweisky and the coaching staff has also been a key to his success.
“He gave me a lot of confidence,” said Kessel. “When I came in as a freshman, I was just too nice on the court. It was to the point where it was detrimental to being that beast on the court that you need to be. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with being nice to media and everyone off the court, there's nothing wrong with being nice and that's kind of my natural personality, but I needed that killer instinct, that pure competitiveness that I showed in flashes. He helped me master the mental side of things, he has a Masters in Sports Psychology. The way that he was able to build a relationship with me and then unlock that within me was huge.
Also, he emphasized the soft people skills and professionalism in how you talk to sponsors, how you talk to management, how you talk to administrators. The way that you communicate on a high level and as a professional. As a freshman, maybe you're not mature enough yet, you might not think you have to respond to every email that way."
We’ve had guys in the work world say that that level of professionalism was invaluable in getting them a raise or a job, those habits that he was able to build with us as young men have paid off.Cody Kessel
His current team in Berlin is a world-class organization and Kessel considers himself fortunate to be part of it.
“It’s one of the best in the world in terms of management and organization,” said Kessel. “The weightlifting coaches, the scouts, the video department, it's all just top-notch over here in Berlin.”
While he is currently playing in empty arenas, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kessel had gotten accustomed to playing in raucous atmospheres in front of large crowds.
“You're playing in front of the highest crowds in Europe, so four or five thousand fans every match,” proclaimed Kessel. “In playoffs crowds gets up to eight, nine and 10 thousand, they call it the ‘Volleyball Temple’ because of the atmosphere, it is just incredible. I was here last season with the fans, playing with no fans now is a unique challenge.”
In Berlin, Kessel is teaming up with the best of the best. Some of his teammates include Sergey Grankin, who won a gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics with the Russian national team and Éder Carbonera, who won a gold medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics with the Brazilian national team. The team is making an exciting push in the Champions League against the best teams in the world this season, and while they have been battling injuries, they are now rising from the ashes. In a recent match against Russian powerhouse Zenit Kazan, Kessel had and outstanding attacking percentage of 80 percent, a match-high, along with eight kills.
A typical week in the professional ranks for Kessel is not all that different to what he experienced at Princeton, with the main difference being that he now has more free time.
“Monday morning would be morning weights and then volleyball in the afternoon,” explained Kessel. “Tuesday would be one or two practices, probably a morning serve and pass, something lighter where we're not taking any jumps and then again in the afternoon or the evening. Another practice Wednesday, probably twice again with morning weights then practice Thursday, maybe there's just one session and then you're ramping towards usually a match on a Saturday.
If there's midweek matches and travel of course that changes but that's kind of your typical Monday through Thursday. In terms of the actual hours of the day in the gym, you can only do so much, your body can only handle so much training. Even a full day with the two-a-days is 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the morning, then you have a break for lunch. You're back in the gym from about 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. During the in-between time there's a lot of down time, I read a lot of books but we also watch a lot of video and make sure our recovery is top-notch, especially during these times. There's a lot of down time, there's a lot of players that are able to pull off continuing their studies.”
An avid reader, he spends much of his free time reading and in the pre-COVID days, exploring his new city. A huge fan of the amazing restaurant culture in Berlin, Kessel has loved every moment of meeting locals and immersing himself in the culture and lifestyle of his new home. That said, at least every other weekend he is on the road for an away match meaning ample time is spent on the road with his teammates.
Berlin is not the only place he has explored, and one of the best parts of his professional career has been seeing so many new places. Some are known to many, while others are off the beaten path and less well-known.
“Going to Novy Urengoy,” said Kessel. “You fly to Moscow and then you fly another four hours into the middle of nowhere, Russia. They found natural gas and oil there and they kind of plopped down a city in 1975. The gas company also decided to sponsor a volleyball team there so it’s one of the wealthiest, most skilled volleyball teams in the world there that you're playing on the court against. It’s in the middle of Siberia, we travelled there for Champions League. I think I was probably one of the first 50 Americans to ever go there.”
As well as Europe, Kessel’s career has also taken him to South Korea for the World University Games and to Japan for other USA Volleyball events.
On the court, Kessel has experienced many highlights. Prior to joining the team in Berlin he played for another German team, Lünenburg, for three seasons.
The culture we created was something pretty cool, that season we finished third in the league but then made it to the cup final we got to play in front of 10,000 fans in a big arena. We ended up losing the final to another strong team, but even just that experience alone was something that will stick with me forever.Cody Kessel
Another one of Kessel’s most treasured memories happened while representing Team USA on home soil, a rare occurrence.
“I grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and there's an Olympic Training Center there,” explained Kessel. “In summer 2019, I was able to compete at that Olympic Training Center for Team USA, got to be the captain and had an amazing tournament. I had old PE teachers coming to watch, babysitters, kind of whole community. The beach community, the volleyball community that had raised me was able to come and see me play for Team USA. Just to play in front of the home fans, that's something I hadn't gotten to do pretty much my whole career. I had a really good tournament and that’s something that will always stick with me.”
While Kessel often reflects on the past to deal with the present, he does not plan on slowing down any time in the near future. A mainstay on the Team USA ‘B’ Team, Kessel has been knocking on the door of ‘A’ team selection for years. In September 2019, Kessel along with George Huhmann '20 represented the national team at the North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA) Championships. Shweisky served as an assistant coach and the Tiger trio helped Team USA win a silver medal.
I’ve just turned 29 and I'll keep playing as long as my body can keep playing. From a heart thing and a body thing I’ll know when it's time to hang it up, so I’m taking it moment-by-moment, year-by-year. It's been an incredible journey.Cody Kessel
