Over the summer Gillespie took every available opportunity to compete.
"I pretty much played every men's tournament and every age group tournament I was pretty much there playing with someone."
He doesn't have his own coach but attends national camps and last school holidays spent nine days training in Taranaki with Joe. He has known Joe since Gillespie started playing beach volleyball five years ago.
"I've been to camps and partnered him in a few tournaments so we know each other quite well and I'm looking forward to playing with him."
The Youth Commonwealth Games are being held in the Bahamas and start on July 18.
"I can't wait. I'm stoked and excited and can't wait to get over there and start playing."
Gillespie is no stranger to long flights having also played for a New Zealand team in the US in 2015.
That experience helped him decide to apply for a sports scholarship in the US. He recently received an offer from the University of Mount Olive in North Carolina.
Western Heights' head of volleyball Eugene Bogun said Gillespie was the second student from the school to be selected to represent New Zealand at an international festival of sport, with Kahurangi Robinson a volleyball rep at the 2014 Youth Olympics.
"We are very proud of Tyran - obviously he won the New Zealand beach title and everyone knows his ability and what he's all about and we are all supporting him to get there."
It will cost Gillespie $8500 to make the trip and a givealittle page has been set up, https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/tyran2commonwealthgamesinbahamas.
"Hopefully that will help his family out because it's not easy to raise that in three months," said Bogun.
Following the secondary school championships, there were training camps with the two male and two female players chosen for the New Zealand Youth Commonwealth Games team.
"I think Tyran was always in there and it was just a case of finding him a partner."
While the school has a strong indoor volleyball programme, beach is not coached at the school.
"Tyran does a lot of that stuff himself and gets himself to the trainings. A lot of it comes down to himself and him wanting to put in the extra time."
Bogun said the various selections can only help maintain the school's level of success.
"There is a lot of depth and there are a lot of kids who are wanting to play volleyball and we are giving them an opportunity."
The selections were the result of a lot of hard work by the coaches and also from the students, said Bogun.
"It's only going to encourage more to play the game. With the five who have made the
New Zealand teams travelling to the US as well, there are lots of really good role models
and our younger players, they really look up to them. They are really good kids, not just good on the volleyball court, they are good in school as well and that's what we preach at the school."
The Bahamas Youth Commonwealth Games will host 1300 athletes from around the Commonwealth with the New Zealand team featuring 34 athletes.
