Walker taking giant strides forward on the sand
Eighteen months ago, Jed Walker’s aerial skills were the talk of the Super League, the then 19-yeat-old named MVP in Perth Steel’s victory in the final of the newly-structured national competition.
Two months later, he and Steel skipper Daniel Piggott took off the shoes and socks “for a bit of fun” at the Australian Beach Volleyball Tour season-opener in Geelong. After taking down the sixth seeds in their pool and the fourth seeds in the round of 12, the WA pair finished fifth and Walker it was no long before Walker was making the move to Adelaide to join the Developing Volleyroos.
Fast forward to earlier this month, Walker teamed with Oliver Merritt in Cobram where the duo won their maiden national Tour title. Their straight sets win in the final over second seeds Luke Ryan and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Paul Burnett was all class and for Walker, the culmination of his transition from the hard court to the sand.
“It’s been a massive whirlwind, it’s all gone by so quickly,” said the 20-year-old, who this week teams with South Australian young gun Finley Bennett at the Mahindra Australian Beach Volleyball Championships at Coolangatta. “It’s just felt like one thing after another.
“All you can do when you get presented with an opportunity is try and grab it and thankfully quite a few of them have gone my way in the last 18 months.
“It’s been a weird journey but I’m so happy to be where I am.”
Walker and Bennett played together for the first time today in Coolangatta, dropping just one set in their three victorious pool matches.
They now proceed to the round of 16 with Walker believing his move to Adelaide has played a major role in his ability to rise through the ranks.
“Since being in the full-time environment, playing every day you learn so much, so quickly, and I think I’ve learned just as much about myself off the court over the last 12 months than I’ve learned on the court,” he said. “It’s been really good.
“I feel like I’ve been developing a lot and it’s nice to get some results to show that I am learning bits and pieces and building towards where I want to go.”
Even while celebrating his Tour win on the banks of the Murray River, Walker knew he would be playing with Bennett on the Gold Coast and despite his success with Merritt, he remains well aware that playing with different partners at this early stage of his career can only be a good thing for his overall game.
“Mixing through partners, you just learn so much playing with different people so it’s super beneficial,” he said. “Everyone plays differently and has different things they need from you, so you can just really work on developing your game.”
Following the victory in Cobram, Walker had little time to let the win, driving back to Adelaide that night before jetting off to the Mount Maunganui Futures in New Zealand. It was then back to SA for another quick training block before arriving on the Gold Coast yesterday.
While the plan for the remainder of the year is not yet set in stone, it is likely to feature tournaments across Asia and Europe, with the major incentive of potentially earning a start at a home World Championships in Adelaide this November.
“Everything we’re doing is trying to put our best foot forward to be selected for that. We’ve been given a little sniff and we’re chasing it with everything we’ve got.”
