Joanne Morgan did not even have a school volleyball team when she grew up in East Lothian - now she has a chance of playing at the Olympics in London in 2012.

As back-up setter to the Great Britain team, her horizons have been considerably broadened in the past ten years and she now believes anything is possible.

Morgan, 26, only took up the game at the age of 15 with junior side East Lothian Falcons as volleyball hardly registered at her former school Preston Lodge High.

It was the appointment of a full-time development officer in the area, Margaret Ann Fleming, now chief executive of the Scottish Volleyball Association, that laid the foundations for the sport in the area.

Morgan was one of the beneficiaries and, if it has meant uprooting to be part of the full-time Great Britain squad in Sheffield, it is a move she has been more than happy to make.

“All I had to give up was all my family and friends!" she laughs, "All I know now is everyone connected with the team but I love it and can’t imagine doing anything different.

“I find I’m tired at times but I’d never change what I’m doing. There is a lot of good banter down here between the Scottish and English players in the squad and there's more now with the World Cup starting."

Morgan also manages to hold down a part-time job with a civil engineering firm in Leeds as well as playing for Tameside in the English League.

She faces a hectic summer. Six matches in ten days - stretching between Ukraine and Sheffield - in the European Championships raised the expectation levels of the team.

Although the GB team, coached by Scot Audrey Cooper and captained by another Scot Lynne Beattie, did not manage a win, though they took a strong Slovakia to five sets and also stretched an experienced Israel to four sets.

Morgan believes the team is starting to show some of its potential with not much more than two years to go before the Olympics.
 
“It was a tough weekend [hosting the European Championship matches] but we are gelling together better," she underlines, "We’ve made a massive improvement on a year ago as we’re now starting to play our style of play.

“Having players at European clubs brings a different experience for us and the players based here have worked on the technical side as well so that also helps.

"Now the team just needs to keep on playing our own game and show composure and we can take it to the next level."

Morgan has travelled the world with the GB team including time spent in Japan, a style which GB team are modelling their game around.

They have been given the ultimate compliment this month with the Japan team spending a week training in Sheffield with the GB team as part of their preparation for the Volleymasaters tournament in Montreux, Switzerland, which features the best teams in the world.
 
“We’re excited about training with them as they can show us a thing or two as they are ranked number five in the world," Morgan enthuses.

"It will give us good preparation for our matches in the European League.

Teams in Europe are not unreachable any more, especially after the way we played in the European Championship games. We can start to target these teams as we know they’re not that far ahead of us now.

“It’s just a case of getting to that next level and winning sets when it gets to 22-22 and we need to show the mental toughness required."

Morgan admits it is a far cry from when she was first introduced to the game and is a late starter compared to players she is now playing against.

“There wasn’t a lot of volleyball in East Lothian when I first started playing in fourth year at school," she continues.

"It's hard to believe how things have moved on from there. I won three league and cup titles with Team Edinburgh in three years before the GB programme was established. 

“Now, I've just won my 50th cap which is difficult to take in as you just keep playing and playing without thinking too much about how many caps you're winning. But it’s nice to have something to show for all the hard work."

Morgan could be heading further afield later this year with plans to base the GB team full-time in Europe for a season but it is dependent on significant funds being raised. The GB budget has already been hacked in the build-up to the Olympics but Morgan feels it is the time to step up rather than cut back, if the money can be found.

“We need to play at this level all the time and to spend a year abroad would be good for the programme," she concludes, "I’ve noticed a difference in Lynne Beattie since she came back from a season in Slovenia - she hits the ball so much harder and is so much faster.”

RM
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