On 15th November, Beach Volleyball star Javier Bello visited Dunottar School and won a new legion of new fans!
Javier and Joaquin, The Bello Brothers, were born in Madrid in 2000 but have called London home since their family moved to the UK when they were 10 years old.
Javier Bello delivered a fascinating and inspirational assembly to pupils, discussing the brothers’ history, how they got into volleyball, their latest competitions and future plans. The international player explained how, despite challenges they have faced in their careers, they never gave up. Like Dunottar’s Warrior Learners, they kept fighting to achieve their goals.
Javier reflected on the difficulties of managing high performance training and studies and encouraged pupils to use their time wisely to balance both sport and studies. Javier graduated from Royal Holloway University with a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. Joaquin is currently a medical student at Imperial College, London.
Following the assembly, Javier delivered two masterclasses. The first one to a group of Year 7 pupils who have recently started learning volleyball as part of their PE curriculum. The second masterclass was aimed at players from the Dunottar Volleyball Academy, focusing on technique and tactics, the differences between beach and indoor volleyball and top tips and advice from an exceptionally talented and experienced player.
Mr Alvaro Fernandez, Head of Volleyball, said, “I believe that this has been a great experience for all pupils and will undoubtedly generate some extra momentum for the sport and our players. Currently, our U16 team is first in the Surrey Junior League rankings after winning their first two matches and the U15 team will start their league on 4th December. Good luck to both teams!”
The Bello Brothers have promised to return and we already have some plans in mind!