Meet Graham Bell from Northern Island and he is just a day away from making history as the FIRST snow volleyball player from his country.
The 28 year old who first played volleyball at age 18 was a soccer player but made the best decision when he switched to volleyball.
“I was facing the decision – do I want to play volleyball and perhaps coach and play for my country or stay as the locally known football player and make a little bit of money. Ten years later I don’t regret my decision. I traveled the world. I was with a professional team in the UAE for seven months. I have been in Italy, Spain, the United States (California and Florida), coaching and doing volleyball, so for sure I have not made the wrong decision. And for sure, I will always treasure the fact that I have my national caps with Northern Ireland.”
Graham feels “privileged” being the first Northern Irish to compete on the snow and he is very excited to compete in Wagrain this weekend.
Aside from competing this weekend, Graham is also one of the coaches at the Volleyball Your Way Festival powered by the FIVB inviting kids to discover and get introduced to the sport.
“I started playing volleyball indoors. My first summer tournament was on the grass, followed very quickly by the beach,” Graham Bell starts summarizing. “In England I was helping the Great Britain team in sitting volleyball. And now I am here playing and coaching snow volleyball at the Volleyball Your Way Snow Festival. So I guess volleyball my way is… every way!”
See you this weekend Graham and congrats on making history!
