Mark McGivern admits it is difficult to take in. A few years ago, a Dutch Pro “A” team with a Scottish professional in its ranks would have seemed an impossible dream.

Yet this season McGivern has been playing with Omniworld and his former City of Glasgow team-mate Chris Lamont has been starring for DOC Stap Orion.

It is the pair’s second season in Holland as last year both were part of the Great Britain team that played together as Club Martinus in the league.

Yet McGivern, through no fault of his own, is having to move on to pastures new. His club has lost its principal sponsor and as such will have to shed its four foreign players - a Scot, an Australian, a Brazilian and a Slovakian.

It has come at the wrong time for the 25 year-old, who also faces an uncertain future with the Great Britain national team.

In spite of the team gaining some remarkable results in recent months, including taking the scalps of established European nations such as Greece, Portugal, Denmark and Norway, there is doubt about the level of future funding as it builds towards London 2012.

UK Sport has deferred a decision on what level of future support they will provide and will make an announcement at the end of the month. These are uncertain times for McGivern and the sport in general in this country.

“The transfer window in Holland is open until the end of January, so hopefully I’ll be able to get another club,” he says.

“My agent is on the case and he seems to have it all in hand so hopefully things will work out sooner rather than later.

“I’ve enjoyed playing in Holland. It’s a totally different set-up to what there is in Scotland and the game’s on a whole different level.

“The Dutch League is very strong and you are tested every week. The pressure is on you every week to perform and that can be difficult.

“But the team prepares you well and you are ready to play every Saturday and it is great being involved at this level.

“Last year, being a national team playing in the Dutch League meant that every team was out to beat you. Even the teams further down the league wanted to take your scalp as they were playing against Great Britain.

“I think every team raised their game against us which made it tough but we were fortunate in that we had Harry Brokking coaching us.

“He knows the game as well as anyone in Holland and is respected throughout the country and throughout the world.”

McGivern is aware he is living the dream - one he would love to take all the way to an Olympic Games - and is just grateful for the opportunities that have come his way.

The opportunities have come from an innate desire to be as good as he can be and he has worked his way through the ranks after his potential was spotted at an early age playing for Team Fife as a schoolboy.

“I never thought when I first started out playing the game that I would be a professional volleyball player,” he admits.

“I knew from an early age how much I loved the game and wanted to be as good at it as I could. I was training once a week at Team Fife, moved to City of Edinburgh where I was training three times a week and then on to City of Glasgow Ragazzi, where I was training four times a week.

“The Great Britain team came along at the right time for me and I’m hoping to take it as far as I can.

“It is unfortunate that an announcement on the funding has been delayed. The team has hit all the targets that was set out for it and even gone higher than the targets set.

“The team has come a long way in a short space of time and it would be a great shame if the rug was pulled from under us.”

RM
© Copyright In The Winning Zone, MMIX, All Rights Reserved