With apologies to Volleyball Manitoba, Darian Picklyk had some bigger dreams to chase.
Shortly after he graduated from the University of Winnipeg as one of the best liberos in Wesmen program history, Picklyk — who also has a skill set in graphic design and social media — was hired to take on a communications role with the provincial sport organization. It would be a chance for him to apply his off-the-court skills in an organization that represents the sport to which he gave so much of his life.
That lasted two days.
"On my second day, I got a contract in Finland. So, I quit on my second day at Volleyball Manitoba," Picklyk recalled this week in a call from Mexico, where he's currently suiting up for the Canadian Extended A team at the NORCECA Pan-American Cup.
"Thankfully, it was a volleyball organization, so they understood it."
That fork-in-the-road moment set Picklyk off on a path he didn't fully expect to take.
"Playing pro really wasn't on my radar. I just kind of wanted to see how far I could go," he said.
So Picklyk packed up for Kyyjärvi, Finland, a diminutive town in the northcentral part of the Nordic nation and began the professional journey he wasn't sure was going to happen.
Despite being named the Canada West libero of the year in 2022-23 and leading the nation in digs, the reality that faced Picklyk was that getting pro deals at his position is often a tall task.
"The first year I graduated, I didn't have a contract, so I trained with the national team (National Excellence Program) through the year because that's where guys usually go if they don't have a contract.
"I got Libero of the Year (in 2023), and I felt like, OK, maybe I had a good chance of getting a contract, but it's just so, so hard as a libero."
When the contracts didn't arrive, Picklyk recalculated his plan and set his mind to training in the national program and taking on the job in Winnipeg.
But plans changed quickly.
"I really had no idea what I was getting into," he said. "Like, I just remember getting off the plane and then driving eight hours to this small northern town in Finland with no one speaking a lick of English."
Now Picklyk has had a full slate of experience in the international and professional game. After a year in Finland, he moved on to The Nethlerlands, where he was named libero of the year and where he will once again play next season.
"I got there, and the fit was honestly just perfect. Like, it feels like home now going back, and I can't wait to get back out to Europe again," he said. "They offered me another contract, and I re-signed. I thought I do have some other opportunities in other countries, but I was comfortable there."
In the last month he has hopped around the globe as a member of a national team with which he still aspires to make a bigger impression. He made his Senior A team debut at the Volleyball Nations League in Japan in July, dipped home to Winnipeg for a quick spell and then joined the Extended A team in Mexico, where he's the starting libero and, at a young 26 years old, in a leadership role.
He credits his time with the Wesmen for forming the values that allow him to be a professional: the attention to detail, the culture building and the on-the-court leadership.
"I think with this team I'm on right now, I'm one of the older guys, so yeah, for sure a leader and role model for these guys," he said. "I understand how the traveling and getting your rhythm works and getting a flow in these tournaments, so I'm pretty comfortable with it now."
As far as he's concerned, Picklyk isn't close to the finished product. He is still on the fringe of the Senior A team, but he nevertheless aspires to make the leap with a focus on the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
"In Europe and playing overseas, my goal is to just continue to keep improving as a player, because I still think there's lots for me to learn and get better at," he said. "There are so many good players, so it opens your eyes that in Europe there's endless amounts of guys that can be playing.
"Then on the national-team side, my goal is still the Olympics. Even though I'm on the extended roster now, it's a couple years away, so lots of things can happen."
Picklyk has had his fair share of moments of gratitude when he thinks about how a sport he picked up as a youth has taken him so many places he never could have dreamed he'd see.
"Basically, every game before I step onto the court, I just have a feeling of gratitude for what the national team has done for me in bringing me here and giving me these opportunities. And it all started with U of W so I thank Larry (McKay) and Chris (Voth) for that.
"This summer in Japan … we played (an exhibition game) and I think there was like 8 or 9,000 fans just for an exhibition game against Japan. And I was like, 'Okay, this is the biggest stage.
"And I'm here.'"
