We reveal the athletes to watch at the Australian Youth Volleyball Championships

With the Australian Youth Volleyball Championships kicking off on the Gold Coast, we reveal the athletes set to star this week.

New South Wales volleyball star Rohan Kumar. Picture: Contributed

Australia’s best young beach volleyballers are set to battle it out this week on the Gold Coast for the Australian Youth Beach Volleyball Championships.

Check out the young guns set to star.

Queensland

Ethan Grocott

Grocott enters his final youth championships with a target on his back, having starred for Queensland in previous years.

The young gun is eyeing off a third straight gold medal and has just been selected to represent Australia at the under-18 Oceania Beach Volleyball Championships.

Riley Akanoa

Akanoa is in her final year of under-18’s and is still hunting for a gold medal in pairs after she narrowly missed out with a silver medal last year.

She has also just been selected to represent Australia at the U18 Oceania Beach Volleyball Championships.

New South Wales

Rohan Kumar

He is the only athlete from NSW that has played every year at youth champs.

In 2021 he won gold, and has won three silver medals since.

Ethan Yu

New South Wales boasts two beach volleyball stars named Ethan Yu, with one playing in under-16s, the other under-17s.

Both won their New South Wales Championship event and enter the tournament as the top-seeded New South Wales teams.

The duo are both elite athletes and set to star this week.

Victoria

Ella MacDonnell

MacDonnell will be one to watch in the under-17 girls’ age group and will look to defend her gold medal after winning last year.

Arley Hinchley

Hinchley is looking to follow in his mother’s footsteps and craft out a legacy of his own.

He is the son of three-time beach volleyball Olympian Tamsin Hinchley and is set to make his mark in the under-17 boys’ competition.

Maddie and Jocelyn Kerr

The talented twins have shown impressive talent in the under-17 girls’ age group and are on Volleyball Australia’s radar.

ACT

Levi Beard

Competing in the U18s, Beard is a true homegrown talent, having climbed the ranks

through the ACT Youth cohorts and representing ACT at last year’s Junior Nationals.

He also carries a strong volleyball pedigree — his father, David Beard, had an illustrious career representing Australia.

Hayden Baker

Partnering with Levi Beard in the under-18s division, Baker is a part of the Australian Volleyball Academy in Canberra.

Grace Wilson

Wilson has risen through the Canberra club system alongside her partner Morgan Fowler and she has made waves at the state level.

Morgan Fowler

Partnering with Grace Wilson, Morgan has already earned selection for Australian representative duties.

With both athletes standing over six feet tall, their coach, Natasha Popple, made a bold yet brilliant move pairing them up.

The duo’s game is built around their ‘good vibes’ and pure power, making them a duo capable of pulling off serious upsets.

South Australia

Sam Huddleston and Ryder Cameron-Edwards

The duo are returning in the 17B division and will look to kickstart a dynasty as they eye a second gold medal after winning the tournament last year.

Western Australia

Caitlin Northmore

Northmore is set to compete in the under-18 girls’ competition and is chasing a third consecutive medal at the event.

In the 2024 under-17s tournament, she won the gold medal and picked up a bronze medal in the 2023 under-16 competition.

Oliver Thursby

Thursby is a regional based athlete competing as part of the under-18 metro Western Australia delegation.

He has travelled up from the south west of Western Australia every week to train and

compete in local competitions, so is eager to represent his state on the national stage.