15 Mar 2024
Super League round 16 preview: Turner's volleyball passion reinvigorated at Riga
Moving to Switzerland from Jersey at the age of “eight or nine”, the now 20-year-old quickly developed a fascination for Volleyball she had not experienced with other sports.
And, as she honed her technique in a bid to win a place in her high school team, she found the best way was to play up against a wall.
The move has certainly paid dividends, not only helping Amelia achieve her initial goal, but also helping her to go on to play for VBC Cheseaux, the leading club in the Vaux region, before moving to England, where she has subsequently represented the University of Warwick and Coventry and Warwick Riga in NVL Division 1 and the Super League.
“I started playing when I was about 11 once I moved to Switzerland because no-one had really heard of Volleyball when I was growing up on Jersey,” she said. “I gave it a go because I thought that it looked like a fun team sport”.
“As well as going to training, I worked hard on my game in my own time and I played up against our garage wall. It was painted white but I pretty much destroyed it, all the paint came off, because the ball was bouncing against it so much!”
“But that’s what helped me break into my high school team and then eventually I was recommended for a trial at Cheseaux, who were the biggest team in the area.
“I have to say I hated it at first because I only spoke English at the time and everyone else was speaking French and had been “born and raised” at the club, while none of my family had ever played the game before.
“But I was pretty determined and took the attitude that I didn’t care if people didn’t speak to me, I was going to make a success of it.
“I completely loved it in the end – I did a lot of sports when I was younger, but I didn’t have the same connection like I felt with volleyball.
“With it being a team sport, I have always loved the fact that you get to enjoy moments together and you get to meet such lovely people.”
While with Cheseaux, Amelia had high hopes of forging a successful career as a professional in the Swiss Super League and was making good progress towards that target during her teens.
However, after playing for the U13, U15 and U17 sides, as well as featuring in Division 1 of the league, Covid-19 hit, putting her ambitions on hold.
It was then that her life took a different path as she opted to take a break from volleyball and made the choice to come to Warwick to study for a degree in Liberal Arts.
It has been while in the UK, with a slightly more relaxed approach to the game, that she has rediscovered her passion for volleyball.
Amelia said: “I think I was a little bit burnt out from playing so competitively for so long, so it has done me good coming here and reminding myself just how fun the game is.
“The intensity here is not quite as much as it was back home, but I have really enjoyed the volleyball I have been involved in. I have met so many people from different backgrounds and I have been able to pass on some of my volleyball knowledge too.
“I have been Team Manager as well as played for Warwick in the Student Cup, learning to deal with different players and coaches. It is something I have really enjoyed and it has helped me realise I want to pursue a career in the sports industry.”
During her time with Riga, Amelia has experienced the high of promotion from Division 1 of the NVL and then been part of the side that has battled gamely to avoid relegation from the MAAREE Women’s Super League.
Although it is not impossible to move out of the bottom two with two matches left to play – visiting the University of Nottingham on Sunday for the first of those – it is a highly unlikely scenario, given Coventry would have to win both games and rely on Darkstar Derbyshire losing both of theirs.
The most likely outcome is that they will now end up in the promotion-relegation play-off, with the likes of Wessex or Stockport, bidding to come up, as their probable opponents for that match.
While desperate to help the club stay in the top flight, in what is her third and final season at the club after which she will graduate, Ameila believes the club is in a strong position for the future, even if they were to go down.
“My first season with Riga I was just getting back into it after the break I’d had and the second season was probably the best of my life,” said Amelia, who has played in a variety of positions growing up, but now usually features as an outside hitter.
“Getting promoted to the Super League was amazing and had been a dream for so long, but it took a while for us to adjust to what was always going to be a difficult task as a new team against some very well-established teams.
“We expected we would lose games and have tough times, but that is when you have to stay committed, pull together and get through... and we have managed to do that.
“Of course we would have liked more wins, but we are staying positive and believe we can still stay in the league.
“Whatever happens, it has been a great experience, travelling around the country with my team-mates. We have made the most of the opportunity of playing at this level, and the club has shown it can adapt well.
“I’m very happy to have played at Riga and there are a lot of really good people at the club.”
Volleyball England is continuing to try to build the strength of the Super League and NVL in general and Amelia says the players can see progress being made.
She is hopeful that progress will continue in the coming years and continue to develop strong homegrown players around talented imports.
Amelia said: “A lot of Super League teams have several nationalities in their squads – like us at Riga – and that is awesome to see. I think it adds positively to the league, but you also see the British players coming through too.
“For sure, I think the standard of the league can continue to improve and little steps are being taken to improve, which is the right way to go, rather than comparing with other leagues across Europe.
“We have already seen the Opening Weekend, which is a good addition and sponsors coming in and hopefully, in the longer term, teams can also get good-level sponsors, which can help their development. I think the sport could definitely take off here.”
As for Amelia’s own future, she is, as yet, unsure.
But she hopes one day she can see to her unfinished business in Switzerland.
“From when I started playing it was always a goal of mine to play in the Swiss Super League and I really looked up to those players, particularly those who played for my club,” she said.
“At the moment, I am torn between chasing the dream as a player and continuing my studies with a Masters or moving into a career... I’m not sure which way I will go just yet.
“But I would love to go back to Switzerland to play pro at some point as it’s what I always wanted to do from when I first started playing.”
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