THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA

SHE RECENTLY FLEW FROM TAURANGA TO RIO DE JANEIRO FOR THREE MONTHS OF SPECIALISED TRAINING TO ENHANCE HER CAREER AS A PROFESSIONAL BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYER. SHE IS STAYING IN AN APARTMENT A BLOCK AWAY FROM THE FAMOUS IPANEMA BEACH.

Story: Charles Martin

“It’s a great tourist spot, a beautiful beach, an ideal training area - and dangerous”, according to 21-year-old Hayley Griffiths. She has been to Brazil before and is well aware that crime is rife in Rio - muggings, assaults, thefts and burglary. “I’ve taken all my jewellery off and left it with my other valuables at home in Tauranga”, she laughed.

Forewarned is forearmed and Hayley is relying on a bunch of good Brazilian friends and her own knowledge of the city for security, while concentrating on more important things - like the purpose of her three month visit, which is hard, concentrated training to improve her technique and skills in the sport. The full-time athlete and part-time student (she is currently studying extramurally a bachelor of business studies, doing a double major in property valuation and marketing) was introduced to volleyball when she began attending that nursery for many top New Zealand sportsmen and women, Otumoetai College.

“I started off as a small, awkward and rather shy third former and climbed my way up over the years to the senior A team in which we claimed another national title in my final year at college in 2004. We beat every other team in New Zealand to do this”, she says proudly. “I found myself wishing and dreaming for further and greater success and beach volleyball seemed like the next, most natural step for me to take. I begged my parents to build me a beach volleyball court on our property. It’s still up and running to this day”.

Success came quickly. In her second year Hayley was involved in international competition playing in the NZL beach volleyball pro tour and making the first of a number of trips to Thailand to compete in the Asian championship tour. She is currently a member of the New Zealand elite squad, ranking probably at five or six in the country.

Relaxed and Confident

I chatted with the young sportswoman only hours before her departure for Auckland and the long, long flight to Brazil. She was relaxed and confident but also excited about catching up with good friend and top coach Kioday Luciano. She will have his undivided attention for three months, plus a full-time trainer to attend to the specialised physical fitness requirements and three other helpers. This last bit of information got me blinking a bit - three helpers?

“They run all the drills, chase the balls, and keep everything flowing” she said brightly. Money? Hayley acknowledged that she was singularly lucky to have some sponsorship finance and the strong support of her family, especially Mum Deborah Morris, enabling her to maintain the life of a full-time professional beach volleyball player.

“But I am definitely in the market for some serious sponsorship assistance” she said “and if there is anyone out there, corporates or local business houses who could help, it would be very much appreciated. I certainly could do with more financial support right now, it’s the only way I can get to the Olympics. Just email me at hailz@mac.com or phone my manager, Debbie Morris on 021 543 554”. She was very keen to get all the details into this story!

Hayley is not tall - she measures 169cm - nor big, with a physique that seems better suited to gymnastics or running.

“That’s why I switched to the two-person outdoor game. Physically I’m more suited to it and there are advantages in not having to drag a big heavy weight around with all the jumping and stretching involved in beach volleyball” she laughed.

A Way of Life

Hayley has a good laugh, warm and spontaneous, which comes to the surface readily and advertises a ‘cruisy’ personality. She is one of those people who takes the mission at hand very seriously but relies on a coterie of good friends to help sustain her ambitions towards a successful professional career.

She comes from a region renowned for producing some of New Zealand’s top beach volleyball players (names like Kirk Pitman, Jason Lochead and the Sandstarz brothers come to mind) and is heading to a country, Brazil, which boasts the Salgado sisters, top players in the world, and where beach volleyball is almost a way of life.

Hayley Griffiths plans to make every minute count during her three-month sojourn on Ipanema Beach in Rio so that, when she returns to New Zealand and hooks up with her new playing partner, she is well prepared for the new pro season here in December.

She is prepared to work hard - 35 to 40 hours of intensive training each week, including two hours a day of ball and base training, two hours in the gym lifting and jumping, one hour each day on the sand in game-like situations, lots of movement, jumping and fitness work.

I got tired just listening! But there’s no doubting the commitment and dedication of Hayley Griffiths. She will head back to Brazil sometime next year in preparation for the world tour consisting of 17 countries, to compete on the world circuit, always testing herself and her ability against the best on offer.

“I want to be the best player I can and make a good living as a professional beach volleyball player - that’s my aim”, she said. “In the future? Well I hope London 2012 figures there somewhere. But meantime there’s a lot of work and preparation to prove I’m the right person for the job. That’s what these three months in Brazil are all about”.

I think Hayley Griffiths has the right stuff to prove her point!