Kent's only pro volleyball player gets England call

A volleyball player from Kent has been called up to play for the England under-22 squad at the European Championship qualifiers.

Mickey Hawney, captain of Kent Invicta, will play in the qualifiers in Cisterna di Latina, Italy, from 11 to 13 July.

The 19-year-old said: "There's tens of thousands of people who'd like to be in my position, but I've worked hard for it."

Hawney only began playing volleyball when he was 16 and is the only player in the county to have a professional contract.

"It's my job, I get paid to train, play games," he said.

"In England, it's an underfunded sport so it's really rare to have professional players."

Luke Thomas, head coach of Kent Invicta, said while it was "normal" to see professional volleyball players abroad, in the UK there were only a handful of clubs.

"He's picked things up really quickly, he started very late, it's a really technical sport and difficult to learn, so the fact he's done it is unheard of," said Mr Thomas.

Hawney will be hoping to lead Kent Invicta to successive promotions as the team chase the Division 2 title next season in their quest to reach the Super League.

"My short term goal is to do well at this tournament, then I want to get into the England team," he added.