Just days after this past Christmas and just over a week before the Spartans second half of the 2022-23 season was set to commence with a battle royale against top-ranked Alberta, Brodie Hofer broke his ring finger on his right hand. 
 
Trinity Western's star outside was forced to the sidelines just as the Spartans push to the playoffs was set to begin. 
 
"At that point, I think I was having one of my better seasons I have ever played," says the 6-foot-6 Hofer who hails from Langley, B.C.
 
He's not wrong. 
 
Entering the Christmas break, Hofer was leading the Spartans with 4.0 kills per set and on four separate occasions he had tallied a hitting percentage above .500. He was averaging 0.73 aces per set. He was rolling and so to were the Spartans, who sat at 11-1 through the fall semester.
 
Yet, not once did the Hofer sulk. 
 
"If anything," says TWU coach Adam Schriemer. "Brodie was more engaged as a teammate and a leader when he was out. His mindset about what's best for the team did not change. He contributed by making sure the team was improving every day, so that we would be in a much better spot when he came back. That's what happened. When Brodie was gone, we found a way to get better as a team. Then, all of the sudden, when he returned, we added the best player in the country back to our lineup."
 
So, Brodie, what did you learn during those five weeks on the sidelines?
 
Sitting in a hotel lobby, he takes a moment to think about his answer. He's thoughtful. He's not in a rush to give an answer.
 
"For lack of a better phrase, volleyball doesn't really matter."
 
The words hung in the air for a second. Or two.
 
This is Brodie Hofer. His dad, Ryan Hofer, coaches TWU's women's volleyball team. His mom, Carol Hofer, previously coached the Spartans women's team and coached Brodie many times in club volleyball. His brother Tyson is currently on the team and his other brother Zach has already committed to joining the Spartans in 2024. 
 
Brodie was born with a volleyball in his hands. He's spent more time in a volleyball gym than almost anywhere else.
 
"I love volleyball and I plan on chasing the dream of playing volleyball as far as I possibly can and I'll work as hard as I can and sacrifice as much as possible to get there, but in the end it's not that important. 
 
"The time when I was injured really helped me to understand more of who I am off the court and how I can help the team. I'm just grateful that I get to be one of the players who has gotten the chance to be part of this program. 
 
"I'm part of something that's way bigger than just me."
 
For Hofer, it's not quite clearly not just about him nor just about this season. The picture he's painting is much larger.
 
"Brodie is the perfect example of making sure this place is in a better spot when he's gone," Schriemer says. "He invested in so many of our young guys because he cares so much about this program and he wants to make sure it's in a good spot moving forward."
 
 
Of anyone, Hofer gets what it means to be a Spartan. 
 
At eight years old, Brodie got to join his dad on a bus trip with the men's and women's teams to Kamloops, B.C. when the Spartans were playing Thompson Rivers University.  He got to hang out with the guys in the back of the bus.
 
"I just loved it."
 
He chatted with then Spartan Danny Grant about Pokémon and he recalls hanging out with former players like libero John Wiebe. 
 
But, while Grant was fun and Wiebe was engaging, Hofer's hero of the day was without question TWU legend turned Olympian Rudy Verhoeff.
 
"Every time I've had to write essays about role models or inspirations, it's always been about Rudy. I've probably done four or five of them and Rudy is always the first one I put on them. 
 
"With his Faith and how he conducts himself and how he plays – he's the Complete Champion and he inspired me."
 
At one point Verhoeff even gave Hofer his shoes. 
 
"I wore them so much," says Hofer, who was already wearing size 14s when he was 16 years old.
 
Naturally, Hofer is quick to admit that "it's always been the dream to go to Trinity." 
 
In the fall of 2018, Hofer officially joined the program as a player. 
 
Instead of messing around in the adjacent gym during games – as was his regular rhythm as a younger – Hofer was suddenly playing under the bright lights of centre court at the Langley Events Centre.
 
"I used to just play volleyball during Spartan games. I was playing – listening to it – imagining I'd be getting my own kills."
 
Stepping into the spotlight and putting on the TWU jersey marked a moment. Yet, realistically, he volleyball-playing journey was just beginning. 
 
In five short years, he went from high-profile rookie to national superstar and two-time All-Canadian to an up-and-coming international star. 
 
In the early days, Hofer and now fellow All-Canadian senior Jesse Elser competed for playing time while pushing each other to be better. 
 
"I'd see him make a sweet pass and I'd be like, okay I need to be passing well too," Hofer says. "We were always competing, but at the end of practice, we'd be best friends."
 
At this year's national championship tournament, they're rooming together, as the not-so-grizzled veterans of the Spartans. 
 
 
Hofer sits in the stands by himself at the end of the Spartans last serve and pass session before the start of the 2023 national championship tournament. His wingspan takes up nearly four seats. He watches the last few moments of practice in solitude. He's dialled in. 
 
To say he's worked hard for this moment is an understatement.
 
"There's no one who works harder than Brodie," Schriemer says, thinking about his star outside and his trajectory as a player. "He is relentless in his work ethic, especially in the areas where he needed to improve. He didn't come in as a good passer and now he's become a really good passer in our league. A lot of the skills that he wasn't as efficient in early on, he's worked extra hard to make sure that he doesn't have a weakness in his game."
 
During the 2020-21 year, when U SPORTS competition was cancelled due to COVID-19, Hofer went to work. 
 
"When I look back on the COVID year, I don't think there was a more important year in my development in my whole career," says Hofer, whose game has risen to such a high level that he was part of Canada's Volleyball Nations League team last summer. "I'm very grateful I can say this. I got leaner and stronger and I could handle my body much better. I came back feeling much more athletic. That whole eight months with [TWU strength and conditioning coach] Cole [Hergott] in the weight room was so beneficial. If I hadn't had that COVID year, I don't know that I would have been with Canada's senior team last summer."
 
Two years removed from that COVID season, he's grinding as hard as ever – building into the team to win this year and building into the program for years to come. 
 
"This year was about how I could be more of a leader and a presence on the court for your teammates. I want play at a high level, but I want to do it while helping to lead an incredible group of men." 
 
A year ago, Hofer and his teammates came one win shy of winning a national championship. It was a moment he'd love to forget, yet also a moment he'll never forget.
 
"I've never felt so much pain from a loss, but also I've never felt so much love for my brothers at the same time."
 
That's the program.
 
"We had incredible success with that team last year, but it still wasn't enough to achieve the goal of winning nationals," Hofer says. "So we've taken that and learned from it and taken every rep this year as serious as possible." 
 
Dialled in with a plan to write a new script this weekend in Hamilton – that's Hofer.