Madeleine McCrum is spiking her way to the top of the volleyball world. The Berwick Secondary College student has overcome Juvenile Arthritis and is now making up for lost time.
By David Nagel
Victorian State representative 15-year-old Madeleine McCrum, appreciates every single minute on the volleyball court and when you delve into her past you can understand why.
Aged 12, as a Grade 6 student, McCrum was diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis and spent an agonising 12 weeks on crutches… and an even more agonising 12 months away from physical activity.
She couldn’t walk for a long time through that period but as serious as that sounds, what tormented her most inside was the fact that nobody could guarantee her return to the sporting arena.
McCrum remembers those days clearly.
“Yeah, it was a bit sad, I just wasn’t sure what was happening,” McCrum said.
It was a desperation visit to a dietician that brought a smile back to McCrum and the bounce back in her step.
“We did all these tests and they found out it was food with MSG that was causing the arthritis,” she said.
“It took a while to clear up but I gradually got better, it took nearly a year I think before everything was alright.”
The 181cm year-nine Berwick Secondary College student is now making up for lost time, bounding around volleyball courts like there’s no tomorrow but it wasn’t her decision that started her involvement in the sport.
“We all had to put our names down for different sports and one of the teachers, Mr Barr, thought I might be alright at volleyball,” McCrum said.
“He put my name on the list.”
Mr Barr certainly has an eye for talent. McCrum has made a rapid progression through the volleyball ranks and earlier this year represented Victoria at the Under 17 National Indoor Championships in Adelaide. She’s also been selected in the Under 17 Victorian Beach Volleyball Team that travels to Queensland in January.
On top of all that, McCrum has just been selected to attend the Australian Youth Volleyball training camp in December, where she will spend a week training with the top Australian women’s coaches with a view to future national selection.
Last weekend McCrum and her training partner, Tess Swift, entered their first ranking tournament at South Melbourne beach and won the grand final for A women, they now start what looks like being a fast and natural progression through the ranks.
McCrum trains at least five days a week and says spiking is her favourite part of the sport.
She enjoys both forms of volleyball but says the beach version is a bit more fun but “a bit harder on the legs”.
Her hero in the sport is Tamsin Barnett Hinchley, who represented Australia at the Olympics and has encouraged McCrum to take things all the way to the top.
McCrum said her family play a big part in her success.
“I get my height from dad (Matthew), he’s 6ft 6in and I’ve got two older brothers (Tristan 17 and Alex 16) and a younger brother (Jarrod 13) who are proud of me, but we still fight sometimes,” she said.
McCrum knows it will take a lot of dedication and adherence to a strict diet if she were to reach her ambition of representing Australia.
“I’ve just got to watch what I eat, I’m used to it now, but if I eat something wrong it could all flare up again.”
