By Jordan Vishal Bickramsingh
When Kylie Ferguson stepped onto the volleyball court towards the end of what was supposed to be her final year with the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold in 2023-24, everything started to feel real. The outside hitter had been playing volleyball for more than a decade, and soon, her time in the game would come to an end. Life had to keep going and Ferguson needed to keep moving forward.
But something told Ferguson she needed to come back for one more year. She thought to herself, “I just wasn’t quite ready to be done. There’s still more of an impact I can make on the team.”
Through trials and tribulations, senior students on TMU Bold varsity teams have persevered and shown their dedication to their sports. For most of them, the decision to stay another year beyond the end of their undergraduate degree boils down to unfinished business. Having spent most of their lives giving their all to a sport, they know they have to see it through to the very end of their five years of Ontario University Athletics (OUA) eligibility.
As a child, Ferguson was surrounded by sports but it wasn’t volleyball—it was hockey. Everyone in her family played hockey but the ice just wasn’t right for her. At the age of 10, Ferguson discovered her true passion: volleyball. After her parents put her in house league volleyball and she fell in love with the sport, it seemed to love her back. She was a natural.
Ferguson said when her parents put her in volleyball, she knew “this is what I want to spend the rest of my life doing.”
“I just didn’t feel like I’d been here long enough”
Eventually, this led to her becoming a star player on the TMU Bold women’s volleyball team.
Becoming a Bold varsity athlete was not without its challenges. One of the larger obstacles was the COVID-19 pandemic, which halted all OUA sports during the 2020-21 season. Ferguson had dedicated the last eight years to volleyball and would be losing an entire year of playing to the pause.
The hardships did not stop there.
When the 2021-22 season began, Ferguson could not wait to get back on the court. However, in November 2021, she suffered an ACL injury, which kept her out of commission for the rest of the season. After giving up a full year of volleyball, Ferguson now had to give up another, having played only three matches that season in total.
“Really, last year was only my third year of being healthy and able to play,” she said. “I just didn’t feel like I’d been here long enough.”
Because of her injury, Ferguson had to move back home from Toronto to Grafton, Ont. Being away from her teammates made it difficult to build relationships with them but she made the most of the cards she was dealt, taking time to reevaluate herself as a person and as a player. Forced to find ways to connect with teammates while recovering from her injuries, she said she gained valuable social skills that helped her develop as a leader.
“Going through my first year being [the pandemic] and then sustaining an injury in my second year and now kind of being in a leadership position, I think I’ve just learned a lot about mental toughness and what it takes to perform at your best and to push through really tough moments,” said Ferguson.
A year-and-a-half later, she was set to graduate and thus leave the team.
At the end of last season, the Bold women’s volleyball coaches expressed their desire for Ferguson to return. There would be a lot of rookie players coming in and they wanted her help as a senior player to lead them. Being presented with the opportunity to return to the Bold for an extra year, making up for lost time, it was a no-brainer—Ferguson had to keep playing.
In her fifth year of study, Ferguson is pursuing a certificate in Mental Health and Addiction studies while she competes as an outside hitter for the Bold. Now a veteran on the team, Ferguson has stepped into the shoes of past players that inspired her like Alicia Lam, Katelyn Grasman and all of the players she once shared the court with.
“It’s a really special feeling when you’re in this position because for the first time people are looking to you for guidance and for support and for confidence,” said Ferguson.
“I’ve learned a lot about mental toughness and what it takes to perform at your best”
Going into the 2024-2025 season, Ferguson’s personal goal is to ensure she leaves her new teammates in a position to carry the Bold to new heights. After this season, Ferguson plans to keep the Bold in her life as she moves forward.
“I’m excited. I think I’m gonna stay in the city next year and support the team and go to games. I’m looking forward to being in the stands,” she said.
Ferguson is one in a collection of fifth-year athletes on Bold varsity teams this year. Kaillie Hall, a guard on the women’s basketball team, is in similar shoes.
For Hall, stepping back onto the court for one more year was a question of duty. Having played basketball her whole life, she knew if she could play for one more year, she was going to do it.
“I’ve given 18-plus years of my life to the sport,” said Hall. “I didn’t want to have any regrets in that space, especially with how much I just love being a part of this team.”
Hall grew up in Hamilton, Ont., a city with a thriving women’s basketball community. Inspired by her mother who also played basketball, Hall decided to try it out. From that moment, she knew she had found her calling. She played in the Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association in secondary school, joining the ranks of young players striving towards the university basketball scene.
Now a fifth-year student pursuing a business certificate at the Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education, Hall has a very tight schedule. While being a student and a regular starter on the basketball team, she is also establishing herself in the sports media industry as a social media specialist. A big concern for Hall when it came to returning for another year was balancing her commitments to the team with the desire to move forward with her career. She figured out that she didn’t have to choose between the two.
“It worked out logistically in terms of school, work, basketball and I really got to fill up all my buckets in terms of what matters most to me,” she said. “To grow professionally and still feel fulfilled in that space has been huge.”
“I didn’t want to have any regrets…with how much I just love being a part of this team”
Another factor in Hall’s return was the promise of playing for a team with extensive potential. Having won the U Sports national championship with the Bold in 2022 and making it deep into the OUA playoffs during the 2022-23 and the 2023-24 seasons, Hall knew that the Bold were capable of another gold title.
Reflecting on her time with the Bold, Hall believes that the biggest change she has seen in herself has been her confidence. She has been heavily influenced by her current and former teammates over the last four years.
“I was really fortunate to be around a lot of talented players and awesome people,” she said. “Just trying to take bits and pieces of the leadership of a Mikaela Dodig, the competition of a Jama Bin-Edward, the resilience of a Rachel Farwell and blend that into how you show up every single day has been something that I’ve really tried to do.”
Hall’s decision to stay one more year was influenced in part by the special relationship she shares with head coach Carly Clarke—who has been an great influence on Hall throughout her time with the Bold.
“She’s demonstrated what it means to be a strong woman leader,” said Hall. “What she does for our team has resonated with me and it’s something that I’ll carry with me and try to emulate.”
Hall said Clarke has helped her grow as a player and person, so returning to her squad was the right thing to do.
“She’s the best coach in Canada. It’s just a great opportunity to be in the gym with her every day,” Hall added.
“I’m just taking things day-by-day and really trying to enjoy what’s left of my time here”
Beyond winning, Hall knows she is in an important leadership position as a senior player and takes responsibility for the team’s success. She knows the significance of being connected on and off the basketball court, so it’s important to her that the next batch of Bold athletes know that too.
“It doesn’t just come with a blink of an eye, but just feeling like we’re so connected and being the most together we possibly can be will ultimately help me leave this year feeling fulfilled and like I did everything I could,” she said.
Hall hasn’t thought too hard about precisely what she wants to do once the season is over. Instead, she is focused on having a good year of basketball.
“I’m not sure exactly what’s next for me. If basketball is in the cards, if it’s work, if it’s content creation,” she said. “I’m just taking things day-by-day and really trying to enjoy what’s left of my time here at TMU and make the most of the people I’m around.”
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