Hall of Fame...

Jenn Taylor - London 2012 Athlete

What is your greatest volleyball achievement?

"It has to be making the final squad for the 2012
Olympics. The OG come around every 4 years (usually!
bar covid years!) and we had all been training together
since 2007, to finally make that team, is now
something I am really proud of. 5 years of preparation,
in 2007, I was a full time PE teacher in Derby. Making
that shift to train full time, combined with teaching,
was, or it felt like a gamble at the time. The OG were
five years away, I was one of the oldest players in the
large pool of players at that time. It felt very uncertain
to reduce my teaching contract and go for this ‘dream’
that felt so far away, in both a athletic possibility ‘am I
good enough?!’ but also in time scale, five years felt
such a long time until the actual OG! Fast forward a
few years, we all took the decision to play professional,
2 years out from the OG, which meant leaving my full
time teaching job completely! (I wish I had done it
sooner to be honest)! However all these experiences
helped shape our team and myself and ultimately
contributed to me achieving a final squad place for
London 2012".

Do you have a moment in volleyball that you're most
proud of?

"Has to be lining up in the warm up courts at Earls
Court ready to take the court v Russia in front of 20,
000 in 2012. I was with my best mates In the world,
having all of us worked so hard since 2007, all for that
moment. I was bricking it! The tears were in my eyes
and I knew we were all feeling the same, proud, our
family and friends out there, somewhere in the crowd
all rooting for us! It was a moment in time that I won’t
ever forget".

What made you pick volleyball right at the beginning?

"I just fell in love with it. I was due to play Hockey in
the Greater Manchester Youth Games (early school
games type format) at age 14 (year 9). A local
volleyball coach (John Waith) came into our school to
look for players to play volleyball at the Youth Games. I
went along to the lunch time club just because I loved
sport and wanted to try. John was fantastic! He made it
so much fun, it was challenging and I just loved doing
such a totally different sport, especially blocking the
Year 11 boys who thought they were so tough!!"

What is your favourite thing about the sport?

"Has to be the Team, I’ve been so lucky to play with
incredible players but most of all incredible people,
many who are life long friends. We experienced a
journey to 2012 that many people won’t ever get to
experience. That shared journey, albeit not without
some blood, sweat and tears along the way. It’s the
laughs, the hard work and the individual/ team
successes and the connections we made along the way
that remain in my heart".

What advice would you give someone who is just
starting out in the volleyball world?

"Buy a good pair of knee pads! No only kidding, play
for the love of who you are playing with and the fun and
laughter along the way. Before you know it, the back,
knees and shoulders won’t do what they used to!".

Thank-you so much for your time! Another fantastic
interview.