JEDDAH, 16 February 2007 — Esmail Al-Khaibary is a walking ambassador, promoter and pitchman of volleyball in the Kingdom.

One of the best Saudi blockers who also placed 5th among Asian blockers at the 15th Asian Games, Al-Khaibary, 33, has no qualms about going the extra mile to help make volleyball a popular sport.

He has asked the youth coach at his club Al-Ahli to join him in a school-to-school campaign to promote volleyball. “This game is good and they would love it but we need to introduce it more to the public and children in schools,” said Al-Khaibary.

Al-Khaibary said he never imagined himself taking up volleyball and him on the national team stretches the mind further. Looking back Al-Khaibary said his love affair with volleyball all started when he casually asked the coach if he could join the boys at play and he did. Al-Ahli club was his club and he has been playing now for 14 years. In less than two years he made the national team. Under Serbian coach Radoslav Svircev Al-Khaibary developed himself into a skillful defender who also packs no mean short spikes

At the Arab Championship for clubs in 2006 Ahli won the title with Al-Khaibary. He played against a Qatari club at the Crown Prince Cup and won too. He captained Al-Ahli to a silver medal finish at the Arab Championship in Bahrain and the national team as well to a bronze medal in the Doha Asian Games, which came two weeks of each other late last year.

“I wanted to drop out of the training camp in Czech Republic due to my mother’s sudden illness but my team convinced me she would be OK and that they want us to be together as a team,” he said. And he was glad he changed his mind. “I can not describe the happiness that overwhelmed with this victory.”

Volleyball has opened doors of opportunities for the 187cm Al-Khaibary, among them, a job that allows him to also do his favorite sport. After joining the national team he landed a job at the Air Force Sport Affairs. He works and plays with the team whenever there is a championship. The perks include travel when his team represents the Kingdom in competitions abroad.

“The fun part of it is that we play with and against the same players who played at the national team and we have been together for eight years now,” he said. Most of these players have similar job position while some work at the air force, others at the marines, military and armed forces. They compete against each other during the local championship and against other countries’ forces.

“It has been always Qatar we really enjoy playing against and we give and play our best ever,” said Al-Khaibary. Brazil is the best, but he said joking, “I do not want to meet them yet. They would beat us badly.”

Of his international experiences, captain Al-Khaibary said Asiad was the top of the tops. Meeting China and Japan and such rivals was an experience on its own. He thought the Chinese knew how to get them out of control, “yet we won and this is what matters,” he said.

“We have strict rules not to bully or make eye contact with our opponents when our team secures a point; this is something all teams must follow.”

Volleyball for Al-Khaibary is a game of multiple games because he said during training they get to be basketballers and handballers, which adds more enthusiasm to the game sometimes. “But it is even beautiful.”

Of the people who played big roles in Al-Khaibary and his team’s achievements he cites Prince Nawaf ibn Mohammed as the man chiefly responsible for helping them get to where they are now.

Since the team won the title at the Arab Championship two years ago, the prince believed in them. He took good care of them and kept encouraging them and attending most of their matches. “This meant a lot to us,” he said.

The prince endeared himself to the players all the more during the Asiad. Some of the team players were injured, and when the prince knew about it, Al-Khaibary said, “he sent us the athletics German doctor Gunter from the Eastern Province to Doha. That doctor made more than just heals our injuries.”

The doctor, according to Al-Khaibary, gave a psychological boost that no one was aware of. With his mere presence he took out all the tension and their fears during the day of their match against Japan. “We were very tense but as we entered our rooms we saw the flag of Saudi Arabia placed on the wall and comments in English and Arabic posted including words like: “play for your country”, “play for our team players Majid And Yahya who were sick.”

It might be a simple food for thought from him, “but it totally changed our mood and we started laughing and won the game against one of Asia’s best!”

There are also people like former coach Mr. Dai as the team used to call him who is a Chinese expert now in China, Algerian Abdullah Sultan and coach of Ittihad Abdullah Al-Sulaimani. “Them and Svircev I owe them they made me what I am now,” he said.

There are people and personalities you get used to and sometimes cannot continue without, he said, like Saleh Al-Qasem, the team manager of the national volleyball team. “He thought of retiring, but we told him if you did we will do too, and thank God he changed his mind.”

According to him, Al-Qasem was not only an administrator but also a brother, friend and coach all rolled into one. “The welfare of the player is his top priority, and this what any team needs,” he said.

Al-Khaibary laments the fact that some parents see sports particularly football as some sort of a business investment. He recalls an old man who came to their club with his 12-year old boy. When Al-Khaibary noticed the boy’s unusually tall height he suggested to the father to register him in volleyball. The father shot back, “football does pay but volleyball doesn’t!”

Three big international tournaments are lined up for the national team — the Asian Volleyball Championship and the Gulf Championship, to be held later this year, and the Arabian Championship in July in Tunisia.

Al-Khaibary thanked his wife for all the support during this tough life and for taking care of his two children Sultan, 4, and Juri, 2.

“It has been always Ahli and Hilal who play in the final.” Thus he concluded, “now is the time for more clubs to dedicate their attention to volleyball so we can have stronger and tougher competitors, and matches filled with enthusiasm.”