Lausanne, Switzerland, June 25, 2015 - These are difficult times for the Volleyroos, as the Australian men’s volleyball team are affectionately known. Promoted to Intercontinental Group 1, Australia are chasing a second victory in FIVB Volleyball World League Pool A this weekend when they welcome Brazil, who are the most successful team in the history of the competition. Their top scorer and captain Tom Edgar is likely to play a significant role.
“The top teams like Brazil do all the little things well all game, where we have a few things we need to tidy up if we are going to compete for an entire match,” said Edgar: “We’ve got improvement we can make in a lot of areas, but there are good signs. We had some moments of excellence where we were able to compete, even with Brazil.” This is particularly true of the Volleyroos’ top hitter, who has made a name for himself on the global stage.
Volleyball only first started playing a big role in Tom’s life at the age of 15. He first started playing at Bundaberg State High School in 2004, making appearances in the Queensland Schools Cup and National Schools Cup competitions. He was offered a scholarship and so moved to Canberra to train full-time whilst completing high school. It was during this time that he acquired his amusing nickname. “The boys call me Boxy,” he once revealed in an interview. “In 2006, we were out for dinner and one of the older guys said I had hands the size of pizza boxes. It's evolved into Boxy and that's what I'm known as in volleyball circles.”
Tom Edgar opted not to take on one of the more popular sports “down under”. “People are always looking for big athletic guys, so a lot of our team would fit in sports such as basketball, football, rugby union, maybe even other sports such as rowing,” Edgar once said. “I'm interested in other sports as a spectator, but as an athlete volleyball is where my passion lies.”
This was undoubtedly the right decision. Whilst he is only known to those familiar with the volleyball scene in Australia, Edgar is well known in top European volleyball nations and around Asia. This is because the Australian has followed his dream across the world since he was a teenager, and has done well with his mighty hitting.
In 2008, Edgar joined Linkoping Volleyball Club in Sweden, where he played for two seasons, winning the championship in 2009/2010. He then signed with Trefl Gdansk in Poland, playing one season. In 2011 he moved to Italy, where he played for Caffe’ Aiello Corigliano in A2. After one season, he joined Sir Safety Bastia Umbra in A1. For the last few seasons he has played in Korea for the Gumi LIG Insurance Greaters Volleyball Team.
As well as his spectacular displays in the FIVB World League, Edgar also attracted the attention of the global volleyball scene through his performances at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and at the FIVB Volleyball World Championships in 2010 and 2014. This year, he has taken on an even more important role for the Volleyroos: not only is he almost always the top scorer, but he also now captains the team.
“It is a great honour,” Edgar said. “I guess not many people get to say they’ve captained their country. Coach [Roberto] Santilli said he liked the energy I brought to the team.”
Edgar was given the chance to captain the Australian team two years ago, but felt then that the timing wasn’t right. “Back in 2013, the prospect of me taking on the captaincy was raised, but I felt I already had a big enough role in the team, being the opposite, and I was happy to just lead with my actions,” he said. “Is it different now? It’s just going to be about maintaining my performance while trying to get the best out of the guys as well, which I was already doing anyway.”
Along the way, he has also made his family happy. Just by chance, the first game for a proud Edgar as captain was in front of his home crowd in Brisbane, Queensland. “It was something special for a lot of my aunties and uncles. Especially for my Grandma, she had never actually seen me play live.” It seems his heart is as big as the hands that earned volleyball giant Tom Edgar the nickname “Boxy”.