17 Jun 2024
South Hants and GB Women's Sitting Volleyball Coach Richard Osborne Awarded MBE
The South Hants and GB Women's Sitting Volleyball Coach has been rewarded for his years of dedication to the sport.
“It came as a complete surprise,” said Richard. “I first thought it was another Dartford Tunnel charge my son had forgotten to pay! But once the letter had been opened, I found it was to announce that I had received the award from the King.”
As well as coaching at South Hants, Richard is also a regular participant on the court at Volleyball England’s Sitting Grand Prix Series.
His huge influence on the team helped take them all the way to the National Cup Finals, where they lost a close match to Sitting Bucks.
Since being recognised, Richard has been inundated with heartfelt messages from friends, players and coaches, saying it “reminds me of why I love coaching”.
In addition to coaching the Women’s Great Britain Sitting Volleyball team, he has been involved in the Invictus Games since its creation.
The Games lends itself to one of Osborne’s proudest moments when he “led the Georgian Armed Forces to Sitting Volleyball Gold in 2017 in Toronto”.
Another highlight came in the Copper Box in London as part of a disability sports programme.
He said: “One young lad called Issac who had no arms or legs wanted to have a go at sitting volleyball. I and my fellow coach Tom Middleton fashioned a session that enabled him to participate fully.”
“At the end of the session, he told us that sitting volleyball was the only sport he’d been able to take part in all day. I believe the fact that sitting volleyball is so inclusive is its unique selling point.”
A quote that sticks with Richard is “You rise by lifting others”.
“Helping others gives me a great sense of reward and satisfaction,” he added.
“With the Invictus Games beneficiaries in mind in particular when you receive feedback that you have helped with recovery or even played a part in saving their life, there is no comparison in terms of the feeling of achievement.”
Richard also wants to thank others in the sport who have made his opportunities broad and exciting.
“In particular I would like to thank Ian Legrand and Sean Poole for their help, support and advice in shaping my approach to coaching,” he said.
Volleyball England’s Sitting Volleyball Lead, John Worrall, said Richard’s influence on the scene has been immense.
“Richard is a huge asset to the sport and a credit to his club South Hants,” he said. “He is a dedicated individual who puts everyone before him and always wants the best out of people”.
“He works tirelessly to progress the sport and is very much deserving of the award and the sitting community looks forward to congratulating him in person at the start of the next Grand Prix season.”
Richard is always looking to grow the sport and is hoping that reading this article might “inspire people to get involved in the sport and elevate it to the next level”.
“If clubs would like to be introduced to the sport, please contact Volleyball England or myself and we will happily help,” he said.
You can contact John Worrall via email: J.worrall@volleyballengland.org
You can contact Richard via email: Digdeep4sv@gmail.com
