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In beach volleyball, breaking up is easy to do

TORONTO — Before Mark Heese formed his long-time partnership with John Child he went through five different partners.

“I switched every year,” the former Canadian professional beach volleyball player said. “Five different partners to finally find John and find the right chemistry, so if you’re not winning it’s a simple thing.”

Except a break-up is never totally simple, not in life, nor in beach volleyball, where they are common, sure, but nonetheless can still be awkward, painful, dramatic, amicable or all of the above.

After those five failed partnerships, Heese truly did find his perfect match in Child. The pair went on to play for 11 years and won an Olympic bronze medal in 1996, still Canada’s only podium finish at the Games in volleyball. While Heese and Child enjoyed a long and successful career together, some pairings don’t last as long.

“It’s a common strategy,” he said, to end a partnership that’s not working.

Most recently, Canada’s top pairing of Sarah Pavan and Heather Bansley split, making the announcement a few weeks after placing fifth at the Rio Olympics. The main reason, Pavan has said in interviews, was because they weren't winning events together. But the topic of their break-up was at the forefront on Tuesday at the FIVB World Tour Finals in Toronto, where the former partners faced off to earn the final wildcard spot — initially awarded to them as a team — into the main draw of the event. (Bansley, with her new partner Brandie Wilkerson, beat Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes in straight sets 23-21, 21-13).

While the timing of Pavan and Bansley’s split was surprising — the Tour Finals is the last event of the year — a break-up between two beach volleyball players is hardly unique. In some cases, players part because they don’t gel on (or off) the court. In other cases, a once-great pairing may simply run its natural course. When that happens, it’s often time for a change.

“Maybe that person is amazing, but they might not mesh with your style,” Canadian Josh Binstock said of a reason to separate. “It’s not like they’re not good, it’s just like in terms of chemistry.”

2016 Rio Olympics - Beach Volleyball - Men's Preliminary - Beach Volleyball Arena - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 10/08/2016. Josh Binstock (CAN) of Canada and Sam Schachter (CAN) of Canada react during their match against Austria. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS.
2016 Rio Olympics - Beach Volleyball - Men's Preliminary - Beach Volleyball Arena - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 10/08/2016. Josh Binstock (CAN) of Canada and Sam Schachter (CAN) of Canada react during their match against Austria. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS.

If this all is beginning to sound a lot like a romantic pairing that’s because, well, it is. Heese, along with several other players Yahoo Canada Sports spoke to, compared the dynamic between beach volleyball teams to that of a marriage or long-term relationship.

“You sort of make an agreement with someone and you sort of have a commitment,” said Canada’s Kristina Valjas, who has experienced three break-ups in her career. “Sometimes people do it for a certain amount of time whether it’s an Olympic quad or whatever, or some people just do indefinitely until one of them kind of wants to get a divorce.”

While there is far less paperwork involved in a volleyball divorce, whether you’re on the delivering or receiving end, it’s still never easy to call it quits, said Canadian Sam Schachter, 26, who has an obvious on-and-off-the-court chemistry with partner Binstock.

“We all are professionals, so I mean as much as there is that relationship dynamic and reasons why you’d break up, I think we all understand it’s a job,” he said, before Binstock chimed in to add, “It’s business.”

Still, emotions can understandably run high and separating the professional from the personal can be difficult for some players, especially at first.

“I’ve had a couple partners who like won’t talk to me initially 'cause of just the emotional part — they’re upset. But then after like a month or two, they realize it’s nothing personal, it’s just business and now I’m actually really good friends with all my exes,” Binstock said, chuckling then adding, “actually, that’s what I call them: ex-partners.”

The comparisons don’t end there, either. Just like in the real world, there are certain protocols surrounding break-ups that a player should follow, said Binstock, who at 35 is a veteran of the sport and has seen his share of splits.

“You can’t break up over text or phone, you got to do it in person,” he explained. “And can’t start training with someone else behind their back until you officially break up.”

And, yes, playing against your ex-partner can be bizarre at first, as Pavan and Bansley experienced on Tuesday.

“Heather’s the only person I’ve ever shared the court with so it was a little strange having her on the other side, but you know this is a part of our sport and it’s the decision that we made and I do not regret it at all,” said Pavan.

But just as in life, when one partnership ends, there's an opportunity for another to begin, which is the case for Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes, who will team up in 2017. Humana-Paredes previously played with Taylor Pischke, but they decided it was time to try something new after “we hadn’t been getting the results that we both wanted,” Humana-Paredes said.

As for the new team of Pavan and Humana-Paredes, who have only practised together for a few days so far, they understand it takes time for two players to get comfortable with each other on -- and off -- the court.

“There are definitely adjustments that all new partnerships have to make. Heather and Brandie played really well – I can’t take anything away from them. We weren’t expecting miracles today,” Pavan said.

2016 Rio Olympics - Beach Volleyball - Women's Preliminary - Beach Volleyball Arena - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 07/08/2016. Jamie Lynn Broder (CAN) of Canada and Kristina Valjas (CAN) of Canada celebrate.   REUTERS/Ruben Sprich  FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS.
2016 Rio Olympics - Beach Volleyball - Women's Preliminary - Beach Volleyball Arena - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 07/08/2016. Jamie Lynn Broder (CAN) of Canada and Kristina Valjas (CAN) of Canada celebrate. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS.