Zac Anthony. Photo: Damjan Janevski
Zac Anthony is thrilled to have played a key role for Victoria in its bronze medal effort at the Australian junior volleyball championships last month.
Anthony, who plays in the opposite/middle positions, and the “best of the best” under-17 trans-Tasman players converged on the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra for the intense five-day tournament.
“It was the best experience I’ve had in volleyball,” Anthony said.
“It was a really good competition because it wasn’t just Australian teams – there were two New Zealand teams there as well.”
Victoria came undone in the semi- finals, losing to a strong North Island outfit.
The Vics came back to beat the South Island in the bronze medal game, completing a successful tournament in which they notched wins against all the Australian teams.
“We beat every Australian side really easily, but it was just the New Zealand teams that were pretty hard,” Anthony said.
“It was a really high level of competition.”
Anthony trained up to 16 hours a week for the event. A strong preparation was crucial – the tournament workload had players feature in two matches a day.
“It was crazy,” Anthony said. “We had to do a lot of strength work based on our legs because it’s such a long tournament.”
But Anthony wouldn’t have had it any other way.
The up-and-comer from Tarneit wants to one day don the green and gold of Australia and follow in the footsteps of his friend Tom Hodges, who is at a California college on a volleyball scholarship. The more games against stronger opposition and in a professional environment the better for Anthony.
“I’m always looking to improve,” he says.
Anthony, who plays open age for Heidelberg in the Victorian Volleyball League, is blessed with a strong support network. On the home front, parents Darryl and Karen offer their time and attention, including clocking up the car kilometres.
Some of the best coaches in the state are on his side, too, with former German international Jesper Boyschau (Victorian Volleyball Academy), Tomas Santamaria (Heidelberg) and Scott Handley (Victorian team) teaching him the finer points of the game.
