Volleyball New Zealand is proud to announce the selection of Liam Smith from Waikato and Thomas Vesty from Canterbury for the FIVB Beach Volleyball U-19 World Championships.

The World Championships will take place in Shangluo, China, from August 27 to September 1, 2024.

Smith and Vesty were chosen after a recent selection process and will be coached by the experienced Luis Paulo Santana, who brings international coaching experience from his previous coaching stint at the World Championships in 2022.

“It wasn't an easy decision to select two players from the pool of talent available,” said Santana.

“However, I am confident in Liam and Thomas' game and look forward to working with them as we prepare for the World Championships.”

Santos reflects on his past experience coaching at the World Championships and how it will benefit the team’s preparation.

“My previous experience at the World Championships provides me with invaluable insights. My goal is to guide Liam and Tom effectively, ensuring they are well-prepared and confident to compete.”

New Zealand Volleyball extends its best wishes to Liam Smith, Thomas Vesty, and coach Luis Paulo Santana as they embark on their journey to China. 

World U-19 Beach Championships 2024
Shangluo, China
August 27-Sept 1

Thomas Vesty - Canterbury
Liam Smith - Waikato

Coach: Luis Paulo Santana

Volleyball New Zealand has qualified for the Men’s U-19 World Beach Championships after Sunday’s final day at the Asian Championships in Roi et, Thailand.

In the Men’s event, Poirewa Aotearoa have earned a place in the main draw of the World Championships in China later this year via the 21-7, 21-18 playoff victory of Thomas Vesty and Davi Pacheco over Adam/Low of Malaysia.

The pair finish the Asian Championships in fifth place having been seeded 23^rd for the beginning of the competition, topping their pool before reaching the quarter-final stage. The result is tied for the best-ever Aotearoa finish at the event, equalling the 2016 effort of Greg Vukets and Daniel Kilpatrick.

Pacheco says he and Vesty are thrilled with what was accomplished in Thailand and the support from the team and coaches was pivotal in challenging conditions.

“[We are] very proud of our work here and cannot wait to see what the future has in store for us,” Pachecho said.

“I’m glad we came a week early to prepare and get used to the heat, food and environment. Most of us got sick in the first week so it was good to get it out of the way before the tournament.

“I want to thank all the other athletes on this trip for making it such an incredible experience. I’m extremely proud of all of us and what we have achieved here.

“Also, a huge thank you to Luis for helping us achieve the things we have and for having our backs the whole time, even when things were toughest. Massive thanks to the women’s coach, Liz, for helping us out too. Both Luis and the boys are really thankful for her support.”

Men’s U-19 Coach Luis Paulo Santana noted the preparation of the group was critical in setting a platform for the performance of the team.

“I could not be more proud of how hard all four boys worked prior the trip and through the event,” Santana said.

“We had the best environment training in Bangkok to get used to the heat and they adapted to the food and the different time schedules.

“Davi and Tom in particular put in an exceptional performance being seeded 23rd in the tournament and finishing fifth. As we head home, we will start to focus on the World Championships in China.

On the women’s side, Emma Mason and Kaia Buckley finished in a tie for 9^th place, earning a place for New Zealand in the qualification event for the World Championships while Morgan Lee and Devyn Golaboski finished in a tie for 17^th position.

U-19 Asian Beach Championships 2024
Roi et, Thailand

Men’s:

• 5^th place – Davi Pacheco/Thomas Vesty
• 9^th equal – Nathan Davies/Liam Smith

Women’s

• 9^th equal – Emma Mason/Kaia Buckley
• 17^th equal – Morgan Lee/Devyn Golaboski

The 10-strong contingent of athletes and coaches leave on Wednesday for the fifth U-19 Asian Beach Championships in Thailand.

Emma Mason and Kaia Buckley pair up as team one in the women’s event with the team two slot filled by Morgan Lee and Devyn Golaboski. The women’s teams are co-coached by Liz Hanna and Claire Stewart. Hanna will be travelling with the team for the competition.

On the men’s side, Nathan Davies and Liam Smith join forces as team one while Thomas Vesty and Davi Pacheco are team two. The group is coached by Luis Paulo Santana.

The group finalised their preparation with a camp in Auckland over the weekend of April 20-21.

The event runs in Roi et May 1-5 and the Kiwis will be following in the footsteps of several talented New Zealand players to compete at the event in the recent past.

Alice Zeimann partnered with Emily Johnstone in 2016 for New Zealand’s best finish of second place while Greg Vukets and Daniel Kilpatrick were fifth in the same year.

Last year, Charlie Dalton and Juraj Krajci were ninth while Taylah Holdem and Rosa Vesty were fifth.

The teams travel initially to Bangkok for training before moving to Roi et for the competition.

Volleyball New Zealand - U-19 Asian Beach Volleyball Championships 2024
May 1-5
Roi et, Thailand

Men's Team 1 
Nathan Davies - Volleyball Tasman
Liam Smith - Volleyball Waikato 

Men's Team 2 
Thomas Vesty – Canterbury Volleyball
Davi Pacheco – Harbour Volleyball

Men's Coach 
Luis Paulo Santana

Women’s Team 1    
Emma Mason – Canterbury Volleyball
Kaia Buckley – Harbour Volleyball

Women’s Team 2     
Morgan Lee - Canterbury Volleyball
Devyn Golaboski – Harbour Volleyball

Women’s Co-Coaches
Liz Hanna (travelling) 
Claire Stewart 

Volleyball New Zealand’s newly appointed NZ U-19 Beach coach Liz Hanna has been awarded a position in High Performance Sport New Zealand’s Te Hāpaitanga scholarship programme. 

One of 10 candidates chosen from 29 applications, Hanna is part of the 18-month Women in High-Performance coach development programme. It is the first time volleyball has been represented in the programme.

Designed to grow the talent pool of emerging and future women High-Performance coaches, Te Hāpaitanga targets aspiring coaches who are currently coaching at a pre-Performance level with aims to coach High Performance.

This opportunity gives Hanna access to Individual needs analysis coaching 360, access to the WHIPS network, professional practice residentials, guided observations and feedback by HPSNZ mentors.

Hanna says the scholarship allows her to observe High-Performance environments such as the Beach Pro Tour Futures event which will provide insight into tactics, player relationships, team dynamics and review.

“Observing HP coaching specific to beach in real time is priceless. Having the ability to follow up with the coaches afterwards will add a lot of value,” Hanna said. 

“Initially I plan to use the funds to relieve financial pressures and time around planning and coaching the upcoming Asian Championship campaign. Then I will be looking long term to continue opportunities to work alongside a variety of High-Performance coaches.”

Led by Jody Cameron, the process which selected the candidates for the programme is interested in the make-up of the support network from the National Sports Organisation for the applicant.

“Applications clearly reflect strong team support from within NSO’s and a real belief in the importance of women coach development to create sustainable progress in this critical area,” Cameron said.

Hanna is also a member of the new C.O.D-E F women’s coach development programme led by Kim Smith. She has sought mentorship from Mark Temeer, both of whom recently accepted the opportunity to shadow Jason Lochhead at the recent G.J. Gardner Homse NZ Beach Tour presented by Tip Top.

Smith reflects on Hanna’s journey in coaching, particularly her approach.

“Liz is currently interested in lifting performance through developing the ‘want to compete’. She is looking to design training in a way that supports the build of competitive gritty athletes all whilst developing a strong squad culture - this being extremely important when everyone is spread across Aotearoa.

“Liz demonstrates a growth mindset and is open to feedback from athletes and coaches around her. With this mindset, Liz will make the absolute most out of this next 18 months.”

Colleen Campbell Volleyball New Zealand’s Performance Manager said:

“The opportunity that Liz will have to learn alongside Jason Lochhead and Craig Seuseu, who are both experienced Olympic coaches, is exciting and one that she recognises is an important part of her coach development.”

For the HPSNZ announcement for Te Hāpaitanga – click here.

Bio - Liz Hanna

Born: California
Resides: Christchurch
Job: Senior Maritime Officer
College: University North Carolina Wilmington and California State University Monterey Bay

Liz draws on her experience as a college athlete and coach (UMB) and in being part of the coaching team to build the Canterbury Beach programme over the last four years. Liz plays and captains the Pioneer women's side while also coaching the women's B team.

Liz has played in the National Volleyball League, is a regular feature in the G.J. Gardner Homes NZ Beach Tour presented by Tip Top and was recently appointed as NZ U-19 Women’s Beach co-coach with Claire Stewart.