Colin Eric Innes Pocock (born 11 June 1972) was a South African beach volleyball

Beach volleyball

Beach volleyball, or sand volleyball, is an Olympic team sport played by two teams of two players on a sand court divided by a net.Like volleyball, the object of the game is to send the ball over the net in order to ground it on the opponent’s court, and to prevent the same effort by the opponent....

 player. He is the current owner of Pococks Indoor Beach Volleyball.

Early and personal life

Pocock grew up in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

 and emigrated to South Africa in 1982. He started off his volleyball career following in his brother’s footsteps when he was schooling at the Port Rex Technical High School in East London, South Africa, first playing as setter and then moving to middle blocker. In 1990, he played for the Border Province Junior and Senior teams.

Indoor Volleyball career

Pocock started his volleyball career in 1990 by helping his older brother, Andrew Carbis Innes Pocock train. Pocock quickely found success in the sport due to his natural high jumping ability and his 6'5 tall frame. Pocock made the Border province school team and the Border Senior Mens team in 1990. In 1991, Pocock moved to Bloemfontein to serve his military duties. Pocock was selected to represent the South African National Defence Force team. Pocock was also selected into the South African National volleyball team in 1991. Following this, Pocock achieved the following achievements:

• 1990 - 2003 Men’s Provincial Teams
• SA National Team – Blocker
• Winner - Zone 6 All African Games Qualifier Botswana
• 1995 Winner - Zone 6 All African Games Qualifier Zimbabwe
• Awarded best blocker in Zone 6
• 1999 4th at the All African Games, South Africa
• 2000 Winner of the Belgium / SA Series, South Africa

Beach Volleyball career

Pocock started his beach volleyball career during the holidays after he had just finished his schooling in December 1990. Following his brother on the beach volleyball circuit, he played his first 8 tournaments getting knocked out in the qualifying stages in each one. After his military service and 2 years working in Bophuthatswana, Pocock returned to beach volleyball. By the end of 1995, Pocock had joined team player, Dave Hodge and was ranked Nr 1 in South Africa.

In 1996, Pocock sealed his claim as South Africa’s nr 1 player by winning the Tri Nations King of the Beach tournament in Durban.

In March 2004, Pocock teamed up with Gershon Rorich and entered the FIVB SWATCH World beach volleyball tour. By August 2004, Pocock and partner had made history by becoming the first beach volleyball team from the African continent to ever qualify for an Olympic Games.

Pocock played the opening beach volleyball match of the 2004 Olympic Games, held in Athens, Greece, against the host nation’s team of Pavlos Beligratis and Thanassis Michalopoulos. The South African’s, ranked 19th, played 3 matches in the round robin phase winning 2 and losing 1.
Won vs Pavlos Beligratis / Thanassis Michalopoulos (6) from Greece 21-16, 24-26, 15-10 (1:18)
Lost vs Mariano Baracetti / Martin Conde (7) from Argentina 13-21, 15-21 (0:36)
Won vs Joao Brenha / Miguel Maia (18) from Portugal 22-20, 22-20 (0:49)

By winning 2 matches, Pocock and partner progressed to the final 16 teams, knockout stage where they were knocked out, placing 9th for the tournament, the highest result ever achieved by any beach volleyball team from Africa.
Lost vs Julien Prosser / Mark Williams (17) from Australia 14-21, 10-21 (0:35)

Pocock currently resides in Johannesburg, South Africa and owns the largest indoor beach volleyball venue in Southern Africa.

External links

• http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/po/colin-pocock-1.html
• http://www.roadtolondon2012.co.za/2009/12/17/pocock-wentzel-take-beach-spoils/
• http://www.fivb.org/EN/BeachVolleyball/Competitions/olympics/math2004/MatchReportsPoolF.asp?sm=13
• http://www.suburbx.co.za/content/content.asp?ContentID=846
• http://www.southafrica.info/ess_info/sa_glance/sports/athens2004-update3.htm
• http://www.news24.com/xArchive/Olympics2004/SAOlympians/SA-beaten-in-volleyball-20040816
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics_2004/volleyball/3576972.stm
• http://www.bvbinfo.com/player.asp?ID=4318
• http://www.beachsports.co.za/about-us/owners-profile
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa_at_the_2004_Summer_Olympics
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_volleyball_at_the_2004_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Men%27s_tournament
• http://66.29.222.67/MatchRecap.aspx?matchid=17685
• http://www.bvbinfo.com/player.asp?ID=4318
• http://www.beachsports.co.za/about-us/company-profile
• http://www.beachsports.co.za/about-us/general-info