Richard Osborne's greatest achievement shows what volleyball is all about.
Richard Osborne former coach for the Georgian Sitting Volleyball team and GB Invictus Coach
1. How were you first introduced to Volleyball?
I started playing volleyball at school in the early 1980s. It was a very popular sport then and formed part of the sport curriculum, so we got to play regularly and took part in inter-school competitions. I played at county level but after leaving school I pursued other activities and didn't come back to the game until 2010, when I started playing sitting volleyball. I had been to a taster session delivered by Portsmouth SVC (now South Hants SVC) and it reminded me of how much pleasure I had playing at school. This format was different though, it required speed of thought and movement and was totally inclusive as disabled and non-disabled players took part.
2. What was the most difficult skill to master on court?
It’s too many years to remember what it was when I played at school, but with sitting volleyball I would definitely say the most technically difficult skill is digging. First, there is a need to judge the ball’s falling point and, as I have said above, this version of the game is much faster so movement to the ball has to be dynamic. Then, having used your arms to scuttle across the floor, you need to form an effective platform to dig, remembering you don’t have the benefit of legs to drive up into the ball but need to shrug the shoulders to direct the ball with control to its target. It’s a lot of things to do in a very short period of time which makes it technically difficult.
3. What makes you most proud of our Volleyball Family?
This answer is twofold: most of my time is spent working with physically and mentally impaired athletes, and I am constantly in awe of their resilience, determination and unwillingness to let their disability define them.
Secondly, I have been very fortunate to meet lots of people within the volleyball community, either through junior or sitting volleyball that I coach, my (occasional) attempts to play indoor or beach volleyball, and my son’s participation at club/national level. Through all these interactions, plus my role as secretary for the Hampshire Volleyball Association, I have encountered innumerable volunteers who have dedicated their time and energy to help others. Week in week out parents are supporting their children, not only by taking them to training or matches, but watching and cheering as the either win or lose, and then being there on the trip home to celebrate/commiserate, advise and counsel and so on. Coaches give their hearts and souls in planning and delivering sessions, often taking on additional tasks along the way, and yet doing so with energy and a smile. Those who do all the work behind the scenes to ensure the club can keep operating, organising kit, rearranging schedules, keeping account of finances and so on. Without all these valuable assets the game would not survive, and I am ineffably proud and grateful to them all for what they do
4. What was your greatest Volleyball achievement?
This is tricky because there have been a number of achievements, not all of which are performance related. For example, I was once coaching at the Cooper Box in London and a lad turned up who had no arms or legs yet was still fully integrated into a sitting volleyball session - just seeing his beaming smile will live with me forever.
Being involved in a minority sport (sitting volleyball) and keeping a club afloat for 10 years is also an achievement, but I think leading the Georgian Armed Forces Sitting Volleyball team to the gold medal at the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto, is my greatest performance-related achievement.
5. What are you missing most during the lockdown?
On a volleyball level, right now it is supporting my son, Ben, who I travel with extensively as he pursues his volleyball activities. He had been selected to play for England Juniors in the Cornacchia Cup in Italy but that was cancelled for obvious reasons, while the start of the beach season will also be affected as had the conclusion of the NVL season. He is due to start university later this year and so this was the last chance for me to spend quality time with him on the road and at training/competitions before he flies the nest. That said, it means I have spent every day with him at home and so we have been filling our time playing volleyball. We set up a super small sitting volleyball court in our hallway and have been playing (far too competitively!) on that, then we went outdoors and used a garden table to play a version of teqvoly. When that table broke we used a smaller one which we thought would hone our spike technique, but that broke as well! Now we are using other garden furniture to improvise various challenges and it has been a lot of fun.
6. What are you looking forward to most once the lockdown is over?
The resumption of the old ‘normal’! I can’t wait to meet up again with my team at South Hants and the UK Invictus Games team that I am coaching for the (postponed) Games in The Hague. I have kept in touch with them both during lockdown via social media and posted a 10-day challenge for them to try at home, but I miss the banter and energy that comes with training, so that is what I am most looking forward to.