Alatecomer to the sport, Cheryl Daley takes to volleyball like a duck to water.

With a masters in accounting, she takes what she believes is a logical approach to the game.

She made her debut in volleyball at sixth form at Campion College in 1994, just after netball practice when the school team was a player a short.

“The coaches knew I could execute the basics of the game from what they observed in our physical education classes; so they asked me to fill in at the time and I did. I am not sure what happened after that, but I know I continued playing up to today,” she said.

Representing the national team since 1998, Daley sees volleyball as a “very technical and challenging sport. One would think that once you are physically fit or have the requisite skills then automatically you are a good player. Not so in volleyball.

“In this sport you also have to engage your brain most of the time. So you have to come complete with skills, body and mind. How can you not get hooked on something then that consumes you?” she added.

Yet, after all her years of playing for her country, Jamaica have never won the Caribbean Volleyball Championships, a competition which she describes as having the best and worst moments in her life as a player.

Daley contends that the talent of the national players have never been in question, it’s how to deploy that talent.

“We could have won the recently concluded CVC (Caribbean Volleyball Championships). So, for me, performance was not the issue. It has never been the issue. The final results may not have shown it, but the women’s performance was one of, if not the best, performing team that has represented Jamaica in recent times,” she pointed out.

“We have come close to winning many times, the male and especially the female team. We do, however, lack the necessary support such as funding, international exposure for players, coaches, administration (top teams in the world tour and/or invite other teams to play at least 26 times for the year), and a strong junior programme that injects new talent to eventually replace the current pool of players,” she emphasised.

Two years ago she and Cherine Richards began representing Jamaica in beach volleyball and she explains how it differs from indoor volleyball.

“Sun, sand, sea, wind, rain, sun block, sun glasses, bikini… just about sums it up. On the technical side the court is one metre smaller, there are two players instead of six, and the sand is harder to manoeuvre through.

“It demands a lot more skills, body and mind from both players than the regular indoor volleyball. There is no coaching from the sidelines and the games are shorter than indoor volleyball,” she explained.

Were it not for volleyball, Daley would likely have represented Jamaica in netball or long-distance running.

Though in her 30s, Daley will be representing Jamaica for many more years to come.

National captain in 2002, Daley is calling for more corporate sponsorship for volleyball.

“The volleyball fraternity has a host of talent waiting to be tapped into. It is a sport that is often overlooked and I would implore them to come in and get a firsthand look and see where they can best give their support,” she said.