LOCAL Ashton Shaw qualified for two national beach volleyball competitions in less than a year of playing the sport competitively, scoring two top spots.
The Peachester boy and his partner Jai competed in the Australian Beach Schools Cup representing Glasshouse Christian College (GCC), claiming silver medals, alongside two GCC teams who placed 4th and 11th.
They also competed in the Australian Youth Beach Volleyball Championships from March 27-30, with the pair winning a gold medal in the under 14’s boys category.
Carrie Shaw, Ashton’s mum, said she was incredibly proud of both boys, and although the duo are new to the sport competitively, her son has played since he was a young child.
“They were the only year 7 team at the schools cup they were playing up against year 8 teams, so it’s a pretty big achievement,” she said.
“We are so proud of him, there’s a lot of pressure on them at that age and they put a lot of pressure on themselves too, but just the way they hold themselves is pretty cool.”
“We actually have a full-sized beach volleyball court in our backyard that we put in a few years ago, he’s just always out there hitting a ball around.”
Although Ashton is passionate about sticking to volleyball, Carrie said he has always been very sporty and has been playing another sport for a while now.
“He’s always loved sport, he’s played soccer since he was in under 6’s for the BeeGees, and then this year he said he wanted to just focus on volleyball at the moment,” she said.
“He would like to pursue beach volleyball as a career once he graduates high school.”
The indoor volleyball season will start soon for another year, with the next beach volleyball season not starting up until later this year in September.
Main image: Ashton and Jye in action. Picture: Rogue Gun Photography