Volleyball | Ever Higher

ANTHONY COX

Matthew Young and Boris Georgieff—two big names in Volleyball helping to shape the St Peters Volleyball Program. I sat down to ask a few questions about what our girls and boys can expect and the history behind St Peters Volleyball.

Q: Hi Matt. I want to start by asking about your background and your involvement in the Volleyball landscape.

A: I started playing Volleyball in Year 8 at BBC and soon after was selected in the Met West side. From there I went on to play for Junior Queensland sides and then with the Australian Junior Team. In 2001 I took up an AIS scholarship in Canberra and in the following year I was selected in the National Senior team and competed in the 2002 World Championships in Argentina. I was with the National team until 2010 and played approximately 260 matches. During my National team career, I played in four Asian Championships (1st place in 2007), three World Championships, a World Cup and an Olympic Games (Athens).

In 2002 I began my professional career completing 14 seasons with six different clubs overseas and from 2011 I began coaching and playing for clubs in Sweden. In 2016 I retired from playing due to recurring calf strains. I returned to Australia in 2017 and had a few years away from Volleyball before I began coaching with St Peters and the QAS in 2019.

Q: Now heading up the St Peters Volleyball program, what are your goals here?

A: My short term goal is to have the kids understanding/performing skill techniques well and using the system of play we want in our teams. Once they have a good understanding of these areas, I am confident the players will enjoy the game more.

My long term goal would be that we have large numbers playing all year round. It is clear that the most successful Volleyball schools simply have kids playing more. If we can have this situation then there will more competition to make teams and thus players will have to train harder and more often to be selected for a higher team. The goal is to be a top school in both the AIC and QGSSSA competitions.

Q: If a student was looking to get involved next season for the first time, what are some of the skills they could start working on?

A: It’s important to be able to do all skills but for the younger players you want to be able to consistently serve in. Overall, I would be practicing everything. As students progress, they will be playing specialised positions. For example, setters should be working more on their setting and passer/hitters should be working on reception and attack.

Welcome Boris. Can we first start with your background in the sport, and when you first came to coach at St Peters.

A: I started coaching Volleyball at St Peters in 1992 following a meeting with Cliff Mallett. That same year, I took a girls team to the Volleyball Queensland (VQ) Schools Cup and we won the Division 3 title (the trophy is still in the trophy cabinet in the St Peters gym).

I have been involved in coaching club Volleyball since that time as well as coaching representative teams from Queensland and the ACT at national championships and in the Australian Volleyball League. I have also been a coach in the Volleyball Australia Junior Development Program since 1997. I have had the honour of representing Australia as a coach at Asian and World Championships as well as a number of other tournaments all around the world. I have been the Head Coach of both Junior Women’s and Junior Men’s teams during this time and held the position of First Assistant Coach of the Australia Women's Volleyball Team (the Volleyroos).

Q): You have many years of experience in Volleyball and have coached at every level, so what is it you love about coaching at the high school level?

A: I enjoy working with the young athletes and helping them to develop their skills and work effectively in a team environment. I hope I am helping them develop life skills and resilience as well as learning to be the best Volleyball athletes that they can be. In a small way, I hope I am helping their development to become adults of good character who work hard and support each other to achieve their goals.

Q: How have you seen the Volleyball program at St Peters develop? Do you think it’s changed much over the years?

A: St Peters Volleyball program has certainly grown in numbers of students and in the quality of Volleyball being played. There have been a number of people who have lead the sport to new heights during the past 30 years including Mike Rickerby, Marty Collins and our current Program Head Coach, Matt Young (pictured top left).

Matt was the in key position as the number one setter for the National team. Mike has an extensive coaching background including coaching in the New Zealand Junior Volleyball program. Marty was a former teacher and Boarding House Master at St Peters who is now based at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra and is the Head Coach of the Volleyroos Women.

Q: What has been a highlight for you over your journey?

A: There are a few things. I hope I have passed on a love for the sport. It is pleasing when I come into the gym and see the young athletes playing Volleyball and working on their skills. When I first started at St Peters I would often walk into the gym and see the athletes shooting baskets while waiting for the Volleyball session to start. Now I have to chase them out of the gym at the end of the session because they just want to keep playing Volleyball!

We have been fortunate to have had some very good teams over the past 30 years. St Peters has produced some high quality athletes that have represented Australia with distinction in the sport of Volleyball, including Rob Hoey, Aleta Booth, Sabine Mills, Kimberley Vogel and Catherine Vogel (pictured top right, far left, in the 2020 Opens team).

Q: How do you stay so calm when the game is in the balance? What are your words of advice for students when dealing with these situations?

A: Focus on what you can control. Focus on your process and the outcome will look after itself.

Athletes often get caught watching the game and reacting to the actions of their opponent. We focus on knowing our job/role, making a good decision quickly and executing the skill. As a coach, it is my job to be clear and concise with my instructions so that the athlete is ready to perform the next required action. There is little value talking about the previous point when we cannot change it. We need to prepare to do our next job/role to the best of our ability including helping our teammates to perform to their best. We learn to 'better the ball' which means to control the ball and to play the ball with the intention of winning every point or making the opposition defend a difficult ball.

I try to remain calm and controlled but it doesn’t always happen when you are caught in the moment.

Q: Volleyball is one of three sports called the World Sports, Do you feel it gets the recognition it deserves?

A: Volleyball, Football (Soccer) and Basketball are played by more than 200 countries in international competitions and are also Olympic sports.

SportAUS conducted the AusPlay survey which confirmed that Volleyball is the most gender-equal sport in Australia. It is the third biggest Olympic team sport in Australia and one of the largest team sports by participation across all age groups, particularly school aged participants.

Volleyball participation is growing in Australia and this includes both disciplines - Beach and Indoor. Club Volleyball is typically focussed on Indoor Volleyball and underpins a very strong Queensland representative program. Historically, Queensland has provided the majority of athletes for the national program in both Beach and Indoor categories.

While we do not get the publicity and profile of the professional sports in Australia, our participants are passionate, we have world-class athletes, coaches and referees and the sport keeps growing.

Q: The possibility of Brisbane hosting the Olympics, is that something that may see a spike in popularity?

A: I was fortunate to be one of the team coaches for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. The energy and excitement it brought to our sport and the Australian community was truly amazing. I really hope that the Brisbane bid for the 2032 Olympics is successful. It will be wonderful for Australia’s Volleyball athletes to perform in a home Olympics in front of family and friends.

Who knows, but some of our current or former St Peters Volleyball athletes might be representing Australia in the sport of Volleyball at the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane.