International Athlete Spotlight
Scottish Volleyball recently caught with up with one of Scotland’s professional volleyball athletes and international player, Shona Fraser. In this article, we look at what inspired her to start playing volleyball, and what motivates her to keep playing and her goals for the future, as well as learning a bit about herself and her interests.
Shona was born in Aberdeen, growing up with her mum, dad, Brother and sister. She now resides in Luxembourg to facilitate her professional volleyball career. She was encouraged into volleyball by her PE teacher, Ross Allan, who then went onto become her volleyball coach.
“My advice to anyone wishing to try or just starting out in volleyball would be to be patient and stick with it, it can be a hard sport to try for the first time but most importantly have fun!”
She attended school volleyball tournaments, meaning Shona got specified time in school to compete in the sport. The first tournament she remembers playing was the Sainsbury’s School Games back in 2014 when she was 14 years of age.
Fast forward 11 years later, Shona was now competing for Scotland in tournaments on the international stage. She describes this as her favourite moment of her volleyball career so far:
“My favourite volleyball moment so far was winning back-to-back SCA European Championship titles in Ireland in 2025. “
Not only did she help Scotland achieve gold in Dublin, but she also made Super 7 being recognised as the one of the tournament’s most outstanding players. Shona cites commitment to the sport as a main successor for achieving with the national team:
“My advice would be to really commit to the sport, training sessions and your team. It will not go unnoticed.”
This taste for success is not a short-term plan for Shona, who aims to achieve more with the national team, and at club level:
“My goals for this season are to win the MIXVOIP League and the Cup with my team, CS Gym. For later this year I also have the goal of defending our SCA Champion title with the Scotland National Team.”
Shona sees her love for the sport as her biggest motivation in her volleyball career. In addition, the value and qualities of good teammate as a driver for continued success:
“A good teammate for me is someone who can communicate really well. Not only being able to talk to each other, but also able to listen to teammates.”
Success does not come without challenges and Shona has recognised and dealt with this in her career, balancing studies, work and social activity. For any setback, she reminds herself of how much she loves volleyball:
“Every setback that I have faced has made me assess my ‘why’ I play this sport and the long and short if it is that I love this sport. Every time I walk into training I know I am going to be surrounded by my friends and teammates who also love this sport, and we work together through the bad patches. I find the most challenging part of sport is being able to balance it along with everything else in life. Throughout my career I have had to find solutions to balance training and playing with school, university, work and my social life. (Oh, and blocking!).”
For sporting heroics, Shona does not only look to volleyball. She cites female rugby player, Ilona Maher, as a major positive influence:
“My sporting hero is Ilona Maher. She is an amazing role model for all female athletes, showing us that powerful, strong and talented athletes come in all body types.”
This is not the only person or activity that Shona enjoys outside of volleyball. She enjoys doing multiple other sports, such as hockey, running and attending the gym, often followed by a sweet treat with friends. Although she lives abroad, home comforts are still her favourite:
“My favourite meal is a toss-up between my mum’s spaghetti bolognese or my Grandma’s chocolate mousse!”
Despite being a professional athlete, Shona has been fortunate enough never to break a bone in her body. Her sporting background also shows in her film taste, with her all-time favourite film being “Coach Carter”. She also enjoys listening to Chappell Roan, with her favourite song being “Femininomenon”.