Nicky Osborne: GP with interest in Sport and Exercise Medicine 

GB Indoor Volleyball Athlete 2006-2012, England 2000-2006

Clubs I played for : VC Kanti (Switzerland), UBC (Canada), Feldkirch (Austria), London Malory, Oxford Uni, Wessex and The Arnewood School (Thanks to the Maranhao boys and the PE department)!

Volleyball and Medicine 

Reflecting in this strange time of COVID, I realise I would not be doing what I do now were it not for the friendships found in volleyball and the ways these shaped me.  Many treasured friends are from sport, and for that I will be eternally grateful.  

I started volleyball at Wessex and then England Juniors back in 1998.  These girls definitely carried me, both on and off the court, and they still carry me through life today!  They taught me, a geeky and clumsily sporty teenager, that I could contribute, add value to a team and belong to something bigger than myself.  As the Loughborough guys used to say, when not making up new drinking games: “It’s not just volleyball, it’s an education!” 

I’m grateful for the likes of coaches VJ, Lynne and Geoff Allen who gave me a fighting chance.  I was never the most skilled, but always (perhaps overly)-keen to train hard and be enthusiastic - something Jeff Williams, and frequently Audrey Cooper, reiterated later in my GB playing days!  

It’s now hard to believe the moment London won the bid for its third Olympic Games, 6th July 2005, will be 15 years ago this Summer. (I recommend Martine Wright’s book about that day and beyond for anyone who hasn’t yet read it). I recall the dear, late, former-England Manager Angela Cowell enduring long discussions with a few of us, weighing-up whether to make the big move and centre-base at the EIS. Together with my parents, she encouraged me make one of the best decision of my life.   

The year leading-up to London 2012 saw some big roller coaster moments.  The highs were ecstatic, the lows were crushing. I passed medical finals. We had a GB tour to South America, funding had been cut and we were all gearing-up for a final season in European contracts before re-grouping, staying in a fire station in the final prep-phase for London.   Team mates went through extremes of family illness and bereavement.  All swamped in emotion and focused, with tunnel-vision, on making the Olympic squad.  

I didn’t make it, among others. But July and August 2012 made me a better-rounded human.  The squad was all that mattered for so long.  I thought it defined me.  I joined the club of thousands of other athletes who had once hoped to be Olympians: a quick, hard lesson in humility.  I watched proudly my own team compete boldly, a best friend on the beach stage and enjoyed with those also not competing the party atmosphere of London at its best!  The day after the closing ceremony, with my heart pounding, I started my first day as a Junior Doctor. 

Eight years on, and GP training completed in London, I now love my work as a GP in Oxfordshire with an interest in exercise medicine.  I get to work in the NHS, with the military, at multi-sport events, Henley rugby club and been lucky enough to travel internationally with Hockey.  Over the years, what I learnt playing has made me a better doctor:  communication, mental toughness, empathy, compassion, stoicism and, above all else, how to be a team player. 

What Impact Has COVID Had? 

COVID has been a surreal experience, as you well know!  General practice and community care has had its share of tough challenges, but we’re all in this together.  Remote working is a new normal and it will change the way medicine works forever. There’s been a bright spotlight on the amazing, and often undervalued, work that carers and social workers do.  

So many people in the volleyball network are in key worker roles or helping out in other ways.  Former England Captain, Nesse Lucas, re-deployed on the frontline. Ex beach player, Helen Brown, has set up a charity in Costa Rica to help deliver food to families who have none, and has humbly shared some of these experiences. There are many other examples.  

What’s Keeping Me Going?

Connecting with people and JD’s exceptional cooking!  He is the perfect antidote to my dubious baking skills.  We’ve enjoyed cycling in the sunshine and relaxing for once! We’ve been close to doing Tash Chedgy’s yoga sessions, but not yet gained the courage.

WhatsApp groups, sharing ideas with friends across the globe, Joe Wicks online with nieces, Zoom chats with old team mates have been key. Remember the England U18 trip to Barbados, where everyone got cornrows, and the tournaments in Espinho?  A few of you will no doubt enjoy those memories too! Whether Australia, Canada, USA, Europe, Costa Rica - we are better connected than ever. I’ve particularly enjoyed watching Steve Cousins celebrate his birthday, dancing on facebook with his family.  

What is the hardest part of the current pandemic?

The hardest part, professionally, is not being able to have that face-to-face and decent communication with patients when they are unwell, or to provide the same level of routine care - our relationship is not the same.  

Like many though, it is incredibly hard to not see my family.  My sister has breast cancer and has been on chemotherapy so is shielding.  Her tough days remain exceptionally difficult, COVID or not, and it has been very hard not to be able to have long hugs!  Her roller coaster, like for many others with cancer, towers above most of life’s other challenges.   We talk often though, which is a huge positive, as days have slowed down.  We may not be in charge of what happens in life, but we are in control of how we react to it. 

Thank you!

I want to selfishly use this opportunity to thank many of you who played such a crucial role for many volleyball athletes in our era, and continue to encourage and support bright young stars.   Amongst the 20-odd women who were part of the GB Squad in the run up to 2012, a few talented athletes still play on the world stage, there have been many great weddings and beautiful new children, but most have also faced their own battle of health challenges, family illness and family bereavement since that year.  These inevitably change your perspective and with hindsight, the rollercoaster of 2012 was just a small preparatory insight into the turbulence of life.  

As Janine Sandell said to me after the Olympics, “you realise, when it’s all over, that your family and friends are the team that is left.”  Sport prepares you for life, it rounds you, it teaches you to put your hand up, ask for help when you need it, and to identify the times when someone else might need your kindness and support.    

So let’s raise another glass to those no longer with us, and get in touch and catch up with those who are during these challenging times.  When sport finally gets going again, I look forward to taking a moment, breathing in the excitement, the raw emotions, the connections and the celebrations of life it affords us.  The next sporting season after all this will be epic.  

Thank you Nicky for taking the time, in this very difficult time, to tell your story.

As Nicky rightly said there are numerous members of our Volleyball Family out there working on the front line, fighting this virus and on behalf of the volleyball community I would like to thank Nicky and all the other NHS and care workers putting their lives on line for our safety. Thank you ALL.

STAY HOME, PROTECT THE NHS, SAVE LIVES