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Ben and Ollie – They are smashing it, literally

Our club’s mission is to provide our players with the best possible quality of beach volleyball experience throughout training and competitions we organise. Our dream is to have well established school for juniors with inland courts and weekly sessions, juniors that could take an example from Ben and Ollie.

Both Ben and Ollie started playing the sport not long ago, they train both indoor and beach volleyball. Due to their hard work and commitment they achieved a lot already. Last Summer they brought 2 sets of medals competing in various tournaments around the country and very recently they passed an exam of skills and determination and were selected to join the Team England Cadet squad.

See what they say about their journey with volleyball so far

Ben
Skyball Junior Player

I started playing volleyball when I was twelve but started properly a year and a half ago when the Yorkshire setup started. I got into volleyball at school by going to an after school club because it looked like a fun, high intensity sport. I started playing beach volleyball last summer and have started to play in competitions this year. My most enjoyable part of beach volleyball is being able to dive on the sand and being outdoors unlike indoor volleyball. I also like that you are in contact a lot more with the ball than indoor volleyball so is more enjoyable and means you can develop your skills more. My goals for the future is to play in more men’s competitions and go on to play matches for England juniors in beach volleyball and hopefully get to play abroad.

Ollie
Skyball Junior Player

I got into volleyball 2 years ago when I was 12. I wanted to start playing a new and interesting sport that I hadn’t done before. I like playing beach volleyball because it is more technical and you have to be clever to win points. Also when playing in pairs you get more touches of the ball and have to cover more ground meaning that you get to dive around more. I would like to keep improving and hopefully play more national tournaments and represent my country in Volleyball.

Skyball team comments

We couldn’t be prouder of the boys. Especially after what we have seen they are capable of on the sand. Being only 14 (Ollie) and 15 (Ben) years old they participated in the adult competition twice last Summer battling through each point, set and match. For some it could be another match to play or watch, but for them it was a real test of perseverance, confidence booster and character building.

Indoor volleyball achievements

It’s another even hotter indoor season for the boys. Not only they qualified to train with the national team, but they will also represent the region playing for the Yorkshire Junior squad with the team looking stronger than ever. Additionally, Ollie plays for all 3 York VC men teams including National Division 2 giving him countless opportunities to improve the skills and develop holistically as a player.

Thank you to parents

While we admire the talented play of our young generation we must not forget that they wouldn’t be able to participate if not their dedicated parents. Who wants to leave the house again in the evening after being to work and cooking tea or give up their precious weekend rest time and take their children to all the training sessions or competitions instead? Not many! Parents, your children are amazing, but you are wonderful too!

Comment from a Skyball Co-founder

“For us Ben and Ollie are aspiring young men who with some help and direction can achieve lots more. We believe in them and wish more young people like the boys joined us to train on the sand in the future. While we continuously expand the range of activities on the beach in Brid, we are hoping that one day we will find a place for the inland courts, so we can deliver more regular and cost-effective training.

Skyball and Yorkshire Series have been providing competition mainly for adults since 2015 and we know that we need to include more junior events in our schedule to attract more young players and build stronger future for the sport. Therefore, the newest addition to the annual program for the Summer 2019 is the UKBT Junior Championships in July.

We can see that Ben and Ollie are driven by passion and passion drives success! We would like to wish them further progress in their sporting achievements and their supportive families lots and lots of energy and persistence in helping their children to make their dreams come true.”

Marzena Makowska
Skyball Team Coach