Manchester volleyball ace Kelechi Bell hopes he can turn his passion into a profession just two years after first playing the sport.
Bell, 18, only took to the court in his final year of secondary school, but soon realised he had a knack for the game thanks to his large leap.
The teenager, who plays for Manchester Marvels, quickly found his way onto the England junior squad and is now targeting playing professionally, as well as being an outside hope for Olympic qualification with Great Britain.
“It has been really fast from when I first started playing – I never thought I would be playing for England but as the journey has gone on I can see myself doing this as a profession,” said Bell, who has been selected to be part of Aldi’s Rising Stars programme, an initiative with SportsAid that provides talented young athletes with financial support, recognition and personal development opportunities.
“The first time I actually saw volleyball being played was at school towards the end of Year 11. My PE teacher would set up a volleyball net every Friday, but no one there really took it seriously.
“At the time I was looking for a new sport, I had played football and basketball but I am not a fan of hard contact sports. I saw volleyball and it involves a lot of jumping.
“I like jumping, so I thought this could be the one for me.
“I gave it a go, went to my local club Manchester Marvels, started to learn all the rules and it’s really fun.
“I was only just eligible to go to the England juniors try outs because my birthday is 1st January 2005, and you had to be born in 2005 or younger. I went, performed, tried my best and I got an email saying congratulations. I called my mum straight away, I was so excited.
“It has opened up a lot of doors. It’s mainly training based, and we are being trained by ex-professionals who I have been able to learn so much from.”
Each athlete on the Rising Stars programme, which was launched with SportsAid last year, receives funding to help towards costs such as travel, accommodation, equipment and nutrition, with Aldi also delivering workshop sessions on a range of topics to help nurture athletes for their sporting endeavours and beyond.
This includes top tips on healthy eating and performance nutrition, restful sleep, managing mental wellbeing, social media training and working with the media.
In addition, the talented young athletes, who have been nominated to SportsAid by the governing bodies of their respective sports, play a key role in the promotion of the supermarket’s ‘Get Set to Eat Fresh’ programme, which aims to educate children on the importance of a healthy diet.
To date this partnership has reached over 2.2 million young people, with a target to educate an extra one million children by the end of 2024.
Bell is hoping to continue his volleyball journey at university, with the University of Nottingham his top choice to study electrical engineering thanks to its impressive volleyball programme and opportunity to play in the Super League, the UK’s top competition.
And a student’s budget means Bell is hugely grateful for the extra funding he receives from Aldi and SportsAid.
He added: “The funding is going to be so useful – I already eat quite healthily but with the help I receive, I can now go into the shop and get whatever food I need.
“The funding will also help while I am living at university – it is going to make my life a lot easier.
“My mum has been preparing me for ages. All my family think I can’t cook because they never see me do it in the house but I can cook, I just choose not to!
“I have also been able to pay for my driving lessons, I have my first one coming up in June. I want to learn to drive anyway, but it will help get me to training in future.”
Aldi is the Official Supermarket Partner of Team GB and ParalympicsGB and have partnered with Team GB since 2015, ParalympicsGB since 2022 and will be supporting them through to Paris 2024