By: Adam Williams (Posted with Permission of Kamloops This Week) Five years removed from his university volleyball career, Gord Perrin still thinks about the gold medal that got away. He was a member of the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack then and won a bronze medal at the CIS national championship. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="640"] Gord Perrin playing for Team Canada (volleyball canada photo)[/caption] National gold eluded Perrin throughout his three-year stint in Kamloops — and it is still bothers him. However, his energy today is focused on the Olympic gold medal he still has a shot at winning. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="422"] Former WolfPack star Gord Perrin (Volleyball Canada photo)[/caption] Perrin is now a fixture on Canada’s senior men’s volleyball team, which is vying for a berth in the 2016 Olympic Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro. The 25-year-old native of Creston is also in his fourth season of professional volleyball with Arkas Izmir, a team based in Izmir, Turkey. Perrin has come a long way since he first took to the volleyball court as a teenager at Prince Charles secondary. “Playing on the national team has more than made me well travelled, competing in several countries every summer,” Perrin told KTW in an email. “My goals are now focused on winning more trophies in Izmir and aiming for the Olympics in Rio.” [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="640"] Gord Perrin evaluating talent at TCC at Baden Cup 2012[/caption] Perrin’s volleyball career accelerated quickly after leaving the WolfPack. He spent a year training with Canada’s top recruits before landing a spot on the national team. His contract with Arkas followed shortly after. He won a league championship in Turkey in his second season with Izmir and was part of a fifth-place Canadian finish in World League play in 2013, which included a 3-2 defeat of the 2012 Olympic gold medallists from Russia. He also helped Canada to its seventh-place finish at last summer’s World Championships in Poland. Perrin said life in Turkey “can be interesting.” The language barrier still presents a challenge — though he is picking up more Turkish as time goes on — and the lifestyle is different from that in Canada. He said the city is beautiful, though, as is the weather. And, at the end of the day, Perrin is playing volleyball for a living. The sport has given him experiences about which most only dream — though playing in the professional ranks presents different challenges than he experienced in his university days. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="426"] Kevin Tillie and Perrin were teammates at TRU and are now playing professional volleyball together in Turkey (Andrew Snucins photo)[/caption] “Playing with friends in college was a fun atmosphere,” Perrin said. “We played because we loved the game and had a lot of fun. Any time I go on the court now, there is a lot of pressure. Being a paid athlete is much different.” [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="640"] Perrin (right) with WolfPack coach Pat Hennelly and former teammate Behlul Yavasgel[/caption] Perrin left Thompson Rivers University after three seasons with the club, playing his final university match in 2009-2010. He was second in the Canada West conference in kills (4.56 per game) and points (5.06 per game) that year. His best finish at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport national championship was third in 2007-2008. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="640"] Perrin poses with fan this summer while playing with Team Canada[/caption] Sadly, it’s that memory that stands out for the outside hitter when he thinks about his university volleyball career all these years later. “Looking back at my time at TRU, what stands out most is that we couldn’t win nationals,” Perrin said. “I stayed for three years and made the difficult choice to leave and play professionally, which I can’t regret now because it was the right choice for my volleyball career. But, I really wish we could have won a gold medal.” With the 2016 Olympic Summer Games on the horizon, Perrin is a part of a surging men’s program that hopes to return to the Games for the first time since 1992. The Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) — the international governing body for the sport — slotted Canada at 14th in the world in its most-recent ranking of 141 countries. Canada has never medalled at the Olympics, but Perrin and is Maple Leaf mates are hoping to change that. Maybe then he will finally be able to forget about the university medal that got away.