Laybourne lays it all on the line in bid to realise Olympic dream

A full-time job in London, a property in the nation’s capital and a boyfriend of nine years.

No-one will ever be able to question Rachel Laybourne’s passion for volleyball and determination to compete at London 2012.

“I gave up my entire life,” says the 29-year-old, 75-cap veteran.

“I like to think it wouldn’t have happened with my boyfriend anyway, but it really was a case of all or nothing. We’ve all made sacrifices.

“There are so many of us who have put our lives on hold.

“Some have had to switch a medical degree from Bristol to Sheffield, others have had to leave their jobs in the enginerring pathways.

“But I don’t question it. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I would do it all again.”

Laybourne left London and moved back in with her parents at Dronfield, Sheffield.

Her training base at the British Volleyball performance centre is a matter of minutes away at the English Institute of Sport in Attercliffe.

It was there last Tuesday night that Laybourne and her British team-mates claimed a surprise, morale-boosting win over Peru in a hastily-arranged friendly.

“That was a big scalp for us. They’re ranked 17th in the world,” said Laybourne.

“We were over in Peru this time last year and we lost to them every time. But it’s a big sport over there and the crowds they were getting were fantastic.

“We got a good crowd last week, which, for a Tuesday night at short notice, was really encouraging.

“The victory helped us show to the world that we’re not just at the Olympics because we’re the host nation; we are so much better than that.

“Even at my league club in Poland, people still quip that no-one plays volleyball in Britain.

“And that’s the importance of the Olympics for me, the legacy we can leave. I want young kids to watch us at London 2012 and think this is a desirable sport to play, that volleyball is a sport that they can get into just as easily as any other team sport.

“I was lucky to get into it because my PE teacher at Meadowhead School was a former international and he invited me along to the lunchtime game he had set up.

“I had a talent for it and started playing regularly. I even remember playing in the sports hall under a stand at Sheffield Wednesday Football Club.

“We’ll never get a better chance than the Olympics to get more young people involved.”

Like many of the 18 British Volleyball squad members whom she is battling against for a spot in the 12-woman Olympic squad, Laybourne has to go abroad to seek competitive, professional volleyball.

She first headed for the continent in 2003 when she played for a season in Sweden.

Then, after trying her hand at life off the court in London, she played in France in 2009 and in Poland during the recent season.

“Professional life wasn’t for me,” she says, reflecting on her first foray into Europe. “I didn’t enjoy it in Sweden so I moved to London and continued playing the sport as a hobby. Then we won the right to host the Games in 2005 and it changed things.

“The programme went full time in Sheffield from 2007 and that’s when it became very real for me.

“Volleyball England have come on leaps and bounds, despite the programme losing funding, which was a massive blow at the time. There’s now a league and a play-off system that equates to what they have on the continent.

“But because of the funding cut, the top players still have to go into Europe to play their club volleyball.”

The Olympic competition consists of two groups of six teams, with the top four in each progressing to the quarter-finals.

“We are capable of beating teams and a target of two wins from our group is the minimum we expect,” she said.

“That would get us into the quarter-finals. And from there, who knows?

“15,000 home fans cheering us on at Earls Court would be quite an advantage.”

Only three other teams have qualified so far alongside the hosts. Laybourne will find out at the British squad selection at the end of June if her enormous sacrifice has been worthwhile.