Getting to know – England’s Bello brothers
News
(Beach) Volleyball is a family affair for the Bello brothers. Twins Javier and Joaquin, their father / coach Luis, their mom as well as their younger brother Enrique literally live and breathe (Beach) Volleyball. Right now, the anticipation and the excitement are mounting within the Bello family, as Javier and Joaquin will be competing at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games later this month.
This is only the second time Beach Volleyball has featured on the programme of the Commonwealth Games – and the Bello twins are looking forward to enjoying the experience before a partisan home crowd. Even though they were born in Spain, they moved to the UK at a young age – and since this is where they have grown and developed as people and as athletes as well, they will be representing Team England with much pride.
Javier and Joaquin Bello“There is no pressure resulting from the fact that we will be competing at home. We know that we have been working extremely hard, and we wish to show everyone how much we have progressed and improved. We are not worried or scared. We rather look forward to the challenge and to playing before family and friends. We rarely have this opportunity, since there have not been any international competitions in England lately and most of the time, due to budget constraints, we travel just by ourselves.”
Birmingham will not be their first major Games-experience, since Javier and Joaquin claimed gold for England at the Youth Commonwealth Games in 2017 – and a year later, they reached the quarterfinals at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires. “The Commonwealth Games are a massive opportunity to draw the attention of fans and media alike. I am sure that as soon as they realise how special and exciting Beach Volleyball is as a sport, with live music and much interaction with the athletes, the crowds will be getting behind us. We very much hope that the sport will gain more traction and funding after the Games,” they emphasise.
The Commonwealth Games will be their first major senior competition – which they contest at the age of 21. Despite their young age, the siblings have been playing together for many years already and they hope to capitalise on their chemistry. “We know each other very well and this is an advantage since we are very open with each other and communicate easily. Maybe we did fight a lot more when we were younger – but we know that we are in this together, and we have improved a lot to that extent. Our dad is our coach as well – but he has done a great job in making sure he is a good father first – and his coaching responsibilities come next,” they recall.
Their dad Luis did work for the Royal Spanish Volleyball Federation for some 10 years, he was a professional player and coach – so he has a truly comprehensive background in the sport and a deep understanding of it. “We can say that the whole family is obsessed with Volleyball and Beach Volleyball, since our mother is doing a lot behind the scenes as well. Actually, we do not think Beach Volleyball does ‘interfere’ too much with our family life – it is rather the other way around, since sometimes we take family stuff to the court, but overall, things do work pretty well both on and off the court,” Joaquin and Javier acknowledge.
While they wish to pursue a professional career in the sport, the Bello brothers do cultivate their education as well. Javier recently graduated in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the Royal Holloway University, while Joaquin is about to start his fifth year studying medicine at Imperial College.
Joaquin Bello“We obviously wish to get as far as we can with Beach Volleyball, but we know that studying is important as well. Any sports career is quite fragile, as you may suffer an injury – so our education is now laying the foundations for what we will be doing once we are done with the sport. Personally, with the time I spent in a hospital, I have already felt the privilege and sense of fulfilment that comes with helping other people out.”
Their busy schedule and the lack of an indoor facility where to train in England makes it necessary to adjust and adapt. “Last year my brother had many online classes, which allowed us to travel to Spain and train there during the winter – but this coming year it will be a lot more difficult as Joaquin has to work in a hospital. We will continue to train outdoors in London, sometimes even in almost freezing conditions – hoping for better times to come and maybe the Commonwealth Games can help us with this,” Javier adds.
With international powerhouses such as Australia and Canada, plus all of the ‘home countries’ and many island nations, the Commonwealth Games are almost as important as the Olympics for athletes from across the former British Empire. “The Games only happen every four years, and they are a gigantic event, with highly competitive athletes from across the world, and this makes Birmingham more special than any other competition we have attended this far. Australia are certainly the favourites of the men’s Beach Volleyball competition as they are among the Top 10 of the Beach Pro Tour. We have no specific expectations, we just want to go out and perform to the best of our ability right from the pool stage. We believe that we can cause a surprise and hope to win a medal on home sand,” they say.
Finally, Javier and Joaquin very much hope to ignite a Beach Volleyball fever that England has not experienced since London 2012.
Javier and Joaquin Bello“We do remember the Olympics very well – as we went to Horse Guards Parade, enjoyed the crowd and watched Phil Dalhausser. Moreover, we train in the borough of Wandsworth on the sand used for the London 2012 Olympics. However, right now, our focus is on Birmingham and we cannot wait for the competition to begin on July 30! We are 100% ready!”
Find out more about Birmingham 2022 on the Volleyball England website.