17/09/2026
Hello, my name is Gary Millerd, and I have just had the privilege of being elected as caretaker President of Volleyball Albury Wodonga. I would like to personally thank Matt Titimanu for standing as Vice President of the Association, and together with the existing committee we look forward to a great new era in local volleyball.
I have been told I need to get my photo out there so people know who I am, (really), and I have compiled my short history of volleyball so people know where I’ve been. Don’t worry – keep reading - the real one is after the bogus one. Sometimes I do feel this old.
Cheers.
My Short history of Volleyball
By Gary Millerd.
I first started playing in the early Neolithic period, but resources were scarce and indoor venues were virtually unknown. The cave ceilings were too low for conventional play so we adapted to a new version of the quick attack. We didn’t communicate very well in those days so a clenched fist meant we were going to hit the ball hard through the centre. There were no doors on the cave so every time the ball went out someone had to go and retrieve it. The forest was teeming with a strange array of very nasty beasts, and this fact gave way to the injury and substitution rules we have in force today. Also if a fierce creature got the ball when it went outside the cave, it was deemed a spike. After the ice-age, when play was suspended for a short while, we started using the new Molten ball. This was so much better than the early pterodactyl bladder that we used to use. The Molten ball created some very hot play and the only way to get it in the air was with a digging motion.
After a lack of good venues to play in over the years, we focused on a new form of the game, and started playing outside on the soft, sandy surfaces, that abounded at the time. Again we were destined for failure. At the inaugural Red Sea tournament, we had employed a contractor to part the water for us, and thus create enough space for the many courts we needed for the tournament. The sand was slightly wet but very firm. After play had commenced the contractor raced through the new tournament venue, muttering something about being free, and just passing through. The work must have been real dodgy because the sea walls collapsed as he went through and ruined any further play for the day. We tried to chase him to get our money back but no-one saw him, or his construction company, for at least forty years. The chariot tracks carved up the courts but created the new three metre lines.
Through the ensuing years we tried many different structures to play in but the game was only a secondary sport and not many people were interested in it. We could only get the pyramids on Thursday nights but the roof shape wasn’t helpful for our play. Stonehenge would have been excellent, but again the contractor got it wrong, and laid the walls in a circle, instead of the rectangle, that we ordered. Those blocks were heavy too. We didn’t use it much for game play but it was a good design for pre-match warm-ups. We still adopt the Stonehenge circle before the match.
We formed an association in the early years and actually had rules and office bearers and governing bodies and such. As a tribute to our life members we carved a small statue of them and placed them on Easter Island. They looked real good for a while but we couldn’t afford the upkeep. We even branched into different governing bodies and each adapted their own rules. No one had as many problems as the Spanish, but their volleyball inquisition ironed out a lot of problems.
We let the Vikings play in our competition when they sailed in, but they wouldn’t remove their helmets, and every time they headed the ball it was spiked. (Damn Vikings). The Jericho team had the best blocks but after Joshua started playing for us we quickly found a way to knock it down. The Trojans also played well. If only they could stop horsing around.
I have had the privilege of teaming with some great players. Paul Bunyon and Thor were great centre blockers, Paul especially could chop an opposition down and Thor could really hammer a well set ball, Samson and Hercules were exceptionally strong defenders. William Wallace played Libero for us. Someone had told him he was too short for the game, but he rose to the challenge and adapted his play to keep everything free on the backcourt. His on court leadership was great, but his choice of underwear and his pre-match taunting of the opposition got our team into a lot of trouble. Zeus was our setter and seemed capable of positioning the ball for any attack. Napoleon coached us from the sideline and proved to be a great little General. Alexander the Great worked out our strategies and Joan of Arc was our team motivational speaker. She was on fire, and a real visionary.
It has been a great journey for me playing volleyball through the years and I sometimes consider retirement. It is always a sad fact that it is time to give up, especially when my memories far exceed my abilities, but it will happen soon.
Me and Volleyball – September 2026.
Gary Millerd (Born 08 Nov 59).
I have been competing for 54 years and held secretary, treasurer, VP, Presidential and general committee appointments on volleyball and other sporting committees since 1983.
First started playing in 1972 at school. (Bendigo Junior Schools Competition).
1973-1975, Played in both the Eaglehawk and Bendigo senior competitions.
1979 played midweek for ACT Defence competition and weekly in the local ACT Comp.
1980-1983, competed in both the Seymour and Bendigo Competitions.
1983-1985, competed in the Toowoomba Volleyball Competition.
1984 and 1985. Coached the Toowoomba representative teams (Men and Women) and gained selection for Queensland Country. (We got to tour Northern NSW). I was asked to train and play for the Queensland State Team (Pirates) and was a reserve for a match held at the QEII centre. During those years I was also carrying out the VP, Presidential and secretarial duties for the Toowoomba Volleyball Association.
1986-1988, competed in the Seymour and Bendigo competitions
1986, competed in the Gladstone, Queensland competition for one season.
1987, competed in one season of the Wagga Wagga competition.
1987, played for one season in the Vanuatu Beach volleyball competition.
1988-1992, Only played a handful of matches in the Kew, Melbourne competition.
1993-current, have played 2,609 matches in the Albury Wodonga Volleyball Association. Have coached the AWVA Women’s Representative team and have been a committee representative in both senior and general positions. I have also played in representative matches for the association.
As a Military Member from 1976 to 1999 I competed in local base competitions, Area representations, Service (army) representations, Combined Service for Victoria both Junior (as an Army Apprentice) and Senior combined service. 1984 I represented Queensland in the combined service competition held in the ACT. I also represented the Australian Defence Force in the United Nations Olympics of 1992 in Cambodia, as both a player and coach.
