A little goes a long way in helping athletes to train as medal winners

I first got into volleyball when I was 15. My dad Iain played indoor volleyball for Scotland. I played beach volleyball and was selected for the British Olympic junior development squad which was based in Bath.

I moved down there when I was 16 to train full-time. Unfortunately men’s beach volleyball funding was removed in 2010 and we were all sent home. Because there’s no funding for the beach game I switched to indoor volleyball. I had scholarships in England for three years and have played professionally in Holland for the last two seasons.

Our team, Seesing Personeel Orion, finished second in the play-offs last season. It was a great experience playing in front of more than 4,000 people three times a week.

Beach volleyball is where I want to focus though. Robin and I want to play in the Commonwealth Games in 2018. We get a very small amount of funding from the Scottish Volleyball Association and we have a little bit from a private sponsor but apart from that we’re on our own.

My girlfriend’s Californian so I’m going there until the New Year to train and live with her family. Then we’re going to New Zealand to train there for a month.

A small amount of funding would make a huge difference to us. If we had an indoor beach court in Scotland we could train every day, all year round.

Germany didn’t have much of a record in beach volleyball but they invested in the sport. Berlin alone has around 100 artificial courts. Britain has one indoor beach facility, in Bournemouth.

Germany has won back-to-back gold medals at the Olympics. The men took gold at London 2012 and the women won gold at Rio 2016.

We’re not going to turn into world beaters overnight but with time and a bit of money it can be done. Seain Cook, 24, from Perth is a professional indoor volleyball player. He and Robin Miedzybrodzki of Edinburgh are aiming to compete at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

we’re not going to turn into world beaters overnight