Volleyball and Marvel sparked love story for former Grizzly athletes turned coaches

Feb. 13, 2025

Meet Katharyn and Darien Haynes, two alumni and former Grizzly volleyball players who met and fell in love at Georgian. Now, Katharyn is an assistant coach for the varsity women’s volleyball team, and outside of Georgian works in the emergency services field as a communicator. Darien is also an assistant coach for both the varsity women’s and men’s volleyball teams, and outside of Georgian works as a manager for PetSmart.

We asked them to share their Georgian love story for this Valentine’s Day.

Background and college experience

Can you share how you first met at Georgian?

K – I was in the Psychology program that was offered by Laurentian University, which was the association that was connected with Georgian before Lakehead University.

D – I was in the Police Studies degree program at the Orillia Campus. We first met in 2014, though the first meeting would just be by acknowledgement as I entered my first year in 2014 while Kat was entering her third year. It wasn’t until 2015, when some members of the team hosted a social for my 20th birthday that the two of us happened to be at where a conversation was struck up and continued due to the common ground of “nerdiness”. This conversation covered a number of topics (which can be found in the answers to the next question) but lasted a fair majority of the evening.

What drew you to each other initially? Was it shared interests, sports, or something else?

D – The first conversation left us with a lot of common interests and topics. Sports was an easy one. We both loved volleyball, but we also found out that we were both die hard Toronto Maple Leafs fans, so unfortunately, we’re still dealing with that one – together at least! We had read many of the same books growing up, and we were able to talk about some in great length as we had met few people before that had enjoyed the series the way we had.

A huge common interest we had was we both loved Marvel. Kat had been hooked by the movies and the tv shows. I was the same but also had grown up reading and collecting the comics. A large portion of the beginning of relationship was catching up on Marvel TV shows like Agents of Shield and discussing theories, connections, favourite characters and more.

K – It’s funny because we were kind of set up by a teammate of mine after we had started talking more in second semester. She and her boyfriend at the time wanted another couple to spend time with, and she and Darien had become friends in first semester. When she found out he and I had been talking she made it her mission for us to double date. After the first time the four of us hung out together, Darien and I started talking more and eventually started dating and spending time together just the two of us.

Darien was in a relationship first semester so it wasn’t really something I had considered as an option before my teammate brought it up after he became single (even though he’s pretty easy on the eyes and good at volleyball) … The more we talked the more it was like, “oh there’s something real here.” Little kind of weird coincidences like we were both brought up listening to Meatloaf and know all the words to Paradise by the Dashboard Light. We had both also read a specific trilogy when we were younger and loved it, which for me was the first time I had met another person who had read it. The first book of that trilogy ended up being used to make my wedding bouquet.

How did being on the men’s and women’s volleyball teams contribute to your relationship?

D – Being on the volleyball teams contributed to our relationship because we were able to be there for each other almost all the time in a sport we loved. We’re both very competitive people, and though we had different outlooks on the sports and played very different positions, we were able to talk about the game and teach/learn from different perspectives. We also had the ability to be there for each other after good games and bad games. For us it was always nice to have your other half in your corner for the bus ride home or waiting outside the change room to pick you up or congratulate you.

K – Yeah, it’s honestly huge to be with a partner who just, gets it. They understand the time, effort, pressure, highs and lows that go into being a student athlete. Working out smaller things like figuring out when the other person just needs to vent or needs solutions also comes with time, but that base understanding honestly if you’re not part of the same world makes it way more difficult.

Also, for me I feel super lucky to have been a part of the volleyball program because when I was in high school, I was dead set on going to the U.S. to play soccer – volleyball was my secondary sport until grade 12 when I got recruited. So, we probably never would have met if I had gone with my original plan. And to see how much that program has impacted and changed our lives is crazy.

D – The teams themselves also played a role, whether they know it or not. But we have had a lot of teammates, and now have had a lot of athletes play for us. They all supported us in our relationship. The classic “you two are cute together,” to the more recent comments that we are “relationship goals.” It’s always nice to hear that other people look at us and see our relationship as healthy and sets a good example for the athletes we have looking to us not just for volleyball but life lessons as well.

What inspired both of you to return to Georgian College as assistant coaches?

K – We BLEED BLUE! It wasn’t something I had thought about until the programs previous head coach asked me if I would be interested in participating in the CCAA Female Coaching Apprenticeship Program. He believed that I could step into that role without any conflict in becoming a coach to girls that had been my teammates, friends and confidants. It helped that my best friend ended up graduating and playing at a different college in my first year of being a coach.

Brad Graham (previous head coach who I played all five years under), had seen me interact with young athletes in a relaxed atmosphere at Olympia Sports Camp each summer during my playing years and believed I was ready to be with more experienced athletes and give back to athletes coming into our program, especially those coming in that played the same position I had just graduated from. As I learned more about the coaching side of sports I enjoyed it more and more, especially when you see your athletes succeed, or have a concept or technique click and the joy they find in that.

D – For me wanting to come back to coach was inspired by a few factors. The obvious one was I had got to watch Kat step into a coaching role and enjoy herself while doing something that she enjoyed. Another was my relationship with the coaching staff and us agreeing that I had more to offer after I finished my playing career. I have always enjoyed learning more about the sport, and giving back to the place that taught me so much felt like an easy fit.

Balancing personal and professional life

What’s the most rewarding part of working together as a couple in a professional setting?

(Joint answer) – We get to experience a number of highs, lows, new questions, old questions and so much more together. We get to discuss the sport in so many ways (and let me tell you, we talk about volleyball A LOT) and we get to do it together. Being proud of teaching a player a new skill and seeing the joy they get when it clicks, we get to support each other when we get all excited talking about it later.

Being able to watch our other half run a drill or a skill (because we know that they have been working on it for most of their lives and are really good at it) is really rewarding. Now we know we didn’t just list the most rewarding because honestly that would be very hard to pick. There have been many little and big things that we have been able to be a part of together because of our connection with Georgian Volleyball. Being here and having this opportunity to be here together may be the most rewarding part.

Impact on the community

Do you have advice for couples working in the same field or team environment?

D – It’s okay to disagree. In a lot of ways we may very similar, but we’re still our own people and some views are not shared. Volleyball is changing year to year, and we’ve been playing a long time so sometimes we have different opinions. Does that mean either of us is wrong, no. But we have to be willing to take the competitive side of us out of these conversations and talk about it. That doesn’t always mean we’re going to agree in the end but it does end with us seeing a different perspective.

K – We always keep in our minds that even when we disagree, we’re still on the same team and want the best outcome for whatever the situation is we’re talking about. We want the volleyball programs to be successful, and we want the athletes to enjoy their time here as much as possible and be successful both on the court and in the classroom. So even when we may not agree on things we know that we’re still working toward the same goal.

Fun and personal insights

Who’s the more competitive one between the two of you?

K – Well… it depends on the situation. I’m definitely more of a sore loser than Darien is. We’re both very competitive people, and it’s best when we’re on the same team because I hate losing to him especially, but I swear I’ve gotten better over the years at dealing with it when it happens! When we’re on the same team we push each other and hype each other up and are each other’s biggest cheerleaders when only one of us is involved. I think we’re equally competitive though, we both hate to lose and love to win.

D – Yeah, she covered it. I’m definitely more stubborn though.

Do you have any fun traditions or rituals you share during the volleyball season?

K – Darien roped me into his. I’m not overly superstitious or ritualistic as a player or coach, but I like having a routine to help get me focused in on my job. There’s nothing where if I don’t so something I feel like it will affect my performance or the team’s performance.

D – I do have a weird one that I have dragged Kat into in the last few years. It happened to start part way into my first semester at Georgian back in 2014. One day before a home game I picked up a pita from Pita Pit as it was easy to have as a pre-game meal. Simple enough I did it the next game, and so on. Well, here we are now 10 years later and to this day I’ve still had a pita before every single home game the rest of my playing career and as a coach! The pita may change (slightly) never had an issue with that, but making sure that I get one has become a tradition that myself and now Kat enjoy. It’s gotten to the point where the Pita Pit employees know our order and some even check in on how the season is going!

What’s your favourite memory together from your time as volleyball players?

(Joint answer) – Seeing as our time as volleyball players has lasted most our lives, we’ve had so many memories it feels impossible to pick just one, but this past year in June of 2024 the two of us got married. That definitely sits at the top of the list of memories! The day was one that was prepped for so long, and truly felt like it went by so fast. But we were able to celebrate with family and so many friends.

The two of us were able to have the Georgian connection in our wedding party, as Kat had two teammates in her bridal party while Darien had three. We’re definitely lucky to have our friends because for both of us, our best friends have been our teammates who are still a very close part of our lives and will be aunts and uncles to any kids we have. The colour theme we chose was blue, black and white. It happened to match both our love for the Maple Leafs and Georgian!