My name is Sheana Abrahams and I am from Cape Town. I am a bea ch volleyball
player as well as a Biokineticist, I’m also a brand ambassador for General Nutrition
Corporation (GNC), a clot hing brand from the USA called Play with Honor, and
Crossfit District Six.
Istarted playing volleyball at the age of 12 and immediat ely fell in love with the
sport. Volleyball is very underrate d in South Africa, yet there issuch a rich
volleyball culture in the world considering there’s a many beach and indoor
volleyball tournaments where thousands upon thousands of people come to support.
There is a world beach volleyball tour that reachesfrom Brazil through the northern
hemisphere, all the way to Europe and Asia. At the Olympic game s beach volleyballis
the second most watched sport, which speaks volumesto how recognised it is
around the world.
In South Africa the percenta ge of the population that gets exposed to volleyball is
quite questionable. There’s a new National Beach Volleyball Tour and other
tournaments happening in different cities around South Africa, so hopefully the stats
and support willincrease.

Challenges I have experienced.

With any sport comes challenges however,with volleyball not being a mainstream
sport in South Africa the challenges are a little bit bigge r. There is very little funding
as well as corporat e sponsorship and this has brought about a lack of international
exposure and therefore growth in our game . As females we are also not given the
same opportunities as the guys, and we don’t get the support that the guys do.
With very little exposure on the internationa l beach volleyballtour it is very hard to
grow your game to the next necessary level which qualifies you to compete at the
high level of international competitions. There is lack and not enough backing of
sponsors to a point where the top SAbeach volleyball athletes all have to hold down
fulltime jobs. Holding down a full time job and trying to train as a serious athlete is
very challenging. Last year we were told that beach volleyball would not be sent to
the Olympic games, it was a very disappointing time for a few players who have
been working very hard to make the goal of the Olympic game s a reality.
My love and passion for the game definite ly keeps me going, and I always work hard
and do my best with the hope that things will change for beach volleyball and all the
athletes. I hope volleyball will get recognised for the great sport and game that it is.

Most memorable moment.

I definitely have a few but, I would have one In December 2014, when I won the first round of the Olympic qualification
tournaments in Mozambique, also representing South Africa at the World Student
Games in Thailand, and of course meeting my beach volleyball heroes Juliana
Felisberta da Silva and Larissa Franca but overall most importantly, getting my
degree in Biokinetics.

Words of encouragement for other enthusiastic players.

Stay dedicated, focused, and have a goal. Always look for ways to be better and
advance your skills, never stop learning. Always stay humble, and never try to be
bigge r than the game . At the end of the day, what you put in is what you are going to
get out of anything you do. So always give your all, make no excuses and don’t limit
yourself. We are our biggest barriers, all dreams sta rt with just believing in yourself.

Training schedule

I train some mornings at 5am at the gym where I do my cardio and any accessory
work. I also do Crossfit, which includes everything from weightlifting to different
gymnastic techniques, endurance work, explosive training, etc. Crossfit hastaken my
training and fitness to a whole other level, I absolutely love it. Some evenings and on
weekends I have beach volleyball training, and I also try to get a yoga session in
when I can. I also do lots ofspeed drills and explosive work and jumping drills in the
sand.

How do you pre pare for competition/ match

When I am at a tournament, before a match I firstly make sure I have a good meal 2
hours before the time so that I have enough sustained energy for the match. I love to
list en to music so I will always have my headphones in and I’ll be list ening to some
hip-hop,rnb, or rap, it really gets me motivated. I first start with my individual warm
-up, where I work a lot on my mobility to help me have a better range of movement
in my joints and muscles, which will in turn help me perform at my maximum
capacity and prevent injury.
After I do my own dynamic warm-up, I will then warm-up with my bea ch volleyball
partner. There is a series of warm-up drills we will do with the volleyball to get our
shoulder warm (for spiking and serving), and some digging and setting drills before
the match protocol will begin. The match protocol will involve anywhere between 5-
10minutes ofspiking, and then a minute or two of warming up your serve.