‘Castle News Numbers 79I March 2013

Contents: 3 – Let’s Play Volleyball Festival

4-12 – ‘Castle News updates

13– End of Season Celebration

14 – Satellite Academy

15 – Sportset

16 – North Staffs League

17 – Social Volleyball

18 – Coaching Edge

19 – Castle Shop Submit your own content (please!) to willroberts1981@hotmail.com by the end of each month.

Castle News, no.77-78 Jan-Feb 2013

Welcome from the Chair Welcome to yet another bumper edition of ‘Castle News. What this month shows is the breadth and depth of the local volleyball scene, not just our club but all of the activity that is happening as a result of our work. Let’s not forget, as recently as 15 years ago the local volleyball community was very simply a (highly successful) Men’s NVL team!

Colin Roberts Club Chair

VENUE: Madeley High School Newcastle Road Madeley Newcastle-under-Lyme CW3 9JJ

DETAILS: - Arrive 10am for 10.30am start - Courts will be outdoors, with limited indoor space if inclement weather - Refreshments on sale - Considerable parking available on site - Teams and coaches are expected to assist with refereeing

Let’s Play Volleyball Festival Saturday 15th June 2013

Madeley High School, hosted by Newcastle (Staffs) VC

COMPETITIONS: -Each category will have competitions for boys and for girls in the below events - All categories will be split based upon level/experience of play – please indicate whether players are novice or experienced on entry information - 3 v 3 (year 8 and below/under 13) - £5.00 per team - 4 v 4 (year 10 and below/under 15) - £7.00 per team - 6 v 6 (year 12 and below/under 17) - £9.00 per team

ENTRIES: -Please enter early to avoid disappointment. Organisers will confirm all entries a week prior to the event (hence entry deadline!) - Entries must be accompanied by payment (only refunded if event is cancelled) - Clearly indicate the number of entries per category and level of play - Cheques should be payable to “Newcastle (Staffs) Volleyball Club” - Deadline for entry is Friday 7th June 2013

SUBMIT ENTRIES TO: Rachel Viggars Let’s Play Volleyball Festival Entries 141 St George’s Avenue North Wolstanton Newcastle-under-Lyme ST5 8DH

www.nsvc.co.uk Twitter: @CastleVb @NorthStaffsVb

6th July – ‘Castle Presentation Night, BBQ and Sitting Volleyball Challenge Sam Allen 100 club

Committee near submission of Lottery Bid Members of the ‘Castle committee have been working hard on a National Lottery funding application, that, if successful will enable us to make significant improvements and growth to the opportunities available to our junior members. The application would provide funding to start a new junior league locally, along with a significant number of supporting activities. Supporting letters have been provided by Volleyball England, local schools and parents of players which will hopefully enable us to have a successful bid. We are applying for a significant sum of money, which with the level of paperwork involved has been a significant undertaking for our volunteer but we are hopeful of a successful outcome.

New Sponsor for ‘Castle! Club chair Colin Roberts is pleased to announce another new sponsor for NSVC – the asset management firm Trent River capital. The firm is investing an initial £400 which will provide a significant boost to our club’s ability to provide the highest possible quality of service to our members. The firm, based in Stoke-on-Trent draws from the extensive expertise of their wealth management team, to combine a proven, academically validated portfolio design process with a thorough understanding of customers’ values and goals to create a personal investment plan that helps them to achieve financial stability and peace of mind. Trent River Capital combine strategic investment management with a thorough understanding of your goals and capacity for risk.

Accreditation Progress Volleyball England has 3 levels of club accreditation under the title Volley 123. ‘Castle were amongst the very first clubs to achieve Volley1 status back in 2005, and since then we have achieved Volley2 but since then we have been too busy ‘doing’ to update the papers. Thankfully Ant and Rach Viggars, along with Libby Bellamy have been working hard at getting this done and we should be able to reflect on Volley 3 status later this year!

6th July – ‘Castle Presentation Night, BBQ and Sitting Volleyball Challenge Sam Allen 100 club

Staff Uni Volleyball on the up!

The volleyball set-up at Staffs Uni in Stoke is now actively recruiting for new players with a view to further developing their programme in the next few years. In the last 10-15 years or so some very notable players have come through the ranks and been key to ‘Castle Volleyball – including Home-grown talents Sam Allen and Sam Stevenson. Current captain Stefan Cowley is a key member of the men’s 2nd team, and both Neil Masters (who went on to be capped by the senior England team) and Si Ibbotson who played many seasons for ‘Castle. NSVC very much supports this programme and as a club we are keen to support the development of volleyball at the uni which would of course strengthen both our club and the local volleyball scene.

Dates for the diary • 4th April – year 9/10 tournament hosted by NuLC 10-1pm at sports centre

• 6th April – NVL – Div 1- Ladies v Reading Aces (3pm)

• 6th April – NVL – Div 2 North - Men2 @ Leicester

• 11th April – NuLC Satellite academy open day for year 10/11 students (10-1pm at sports centre)

• 13th April – NVL – Div 2 North - Men2 @ South Birmingham

• TBC April – NVL – Div 2 North – Men2 v Cambridge (rearranged from snowy January!)

• 11-19 May (2 weekends) – Level 1 coaching course at NuLC

•12th May– u15 girls and boys Divisional Round, Kettering (‘Castle A teams in both - rearranged)

• 18th May – u15 girls and boys National Finals, Kettering

• Summer Term Parents Night TBC

• 15th June - “Let’s Play Volleyball” Festival (Junior Teams u11 to u15s) – Madeley High School

• 29th June at the Cherry Tree in Newcastle – End of Season Celebration

Junior Tournament at NuLC On Thursday 4th April from 10am-1pm there is a junior tournament for year 9-10 students at Newcastle-under-Lyme College. This tournament will be run by Ant Viggars for NSVC, is for boys and girls, with teams being put together on the day. Players from all satellite clubs are invited to come along on the day.

Tom & Harry Fundraisers Tom Carter and Harry Dawson took part in the Christmas Fayre at Madeley high School and raised £30 for the club. Well done lads!

NSVC/NuLC Satellite Academy Open Day Thursday 11th April sees an open day for prospective members of the official Volleyball England Satellite Academy for both the 2013 and 2014 intake. We are keen for potential student athletes to get a taste of this fantastic environment so that they and their parents are able to make informed decisions about which college to go to when they turn 16. On the 11th April potential student athletes will get a taste of what it will mean to be a part of the Academy through sessions on the court led by elite FIVB qualified coach Ant Viggars, classroom sessions of vital athlete education as well as an opportunity to sample the superb sport science and sports therapy facilities and practitioners.

Potters ‘Arf Will Roberts has agreed to run the Potters ‘Arf to help raise funds for the club on Sunday 9th June. We are keen to make this a club event and with relay team entries possible (as the men’s teams did in 2011) with each person running 2-4 miles this is a great way to keep fit and healthy whilst raising vital funds for the club. To get involved email Will on willroberts1981@hotmail.com

Volleyball players show the way in terms of proving athlete intelligence!!

British Colleges Championships Success! The weekend of the 23rd-24th March saw the British Colleges Championships take place at the University of Bath. This event sees the champions of each regional tournament from across the UK compete in a large range of sports represent their region in a large multi-sport event. Last year the NuLC boys team represented the West Midlands (as did the girls) and won the Volleyball title – and they were back this year for more!

Going into the boys volleyball final the scores were incredibly tight but the lads knew that a win would not only give NuLC/West Midlands the title for a 2nd successive year but also secure the overall title for the region for the first time in many years. Newcastle-under-Lyme College currently holds the title of West Midlands Sports College of the Year, which was awarded by British Colleges Sport in October 2012. At the end the West Midlands won the Wilkinson Sword by one point from the South East who were keen to reclaim the prestige sword having won it 4 consecutive years before the South West won in 2012. Ross Cope, Men’s Volleyball Coach at NULC “I am extremely proud of all the students that competed representing NUL College and West Midlands. The standard was excellent and the student’s application was tremendous. Successfully defending our trophy in the men’s volleyball and ensuring that West Midlands won the whole tournament has put me on cloud 9. It is going to be a while before I get back down to Earth - NUL college men’s volleyball team has made the proudest coach alive.” Sports Development Officer at NULC, David Sutton “Everyone involved in sport at NULC should be extremely proud of all the students who attended the National Sports Championships in Bath at the weekend. To be National Champions in Boys Volleyball and Ladies Football is an unbelievable achievement for our college. The students showed immense talent and mental strength to beat teams from all over Great Britain and all the hard work they have put in throughout the year with their coaches has paid dividends. Well done to all concerned!”

NuLC Mixed Volleyball into British Colleges Final Newcastle-under- Lyme College’s mixed volleyball squad managed to reach the final of the British Colleges Sport National Cup for the 2nd year running. TEAM: NULC, who were crowned champions, last year faced stiff opposition in the form of Middlesbrough College who made the 4 and half hour journey despite the weather conditions.

After a tough beginning TEAM: NULC managed to win the game 2 sets to nil and showed their class throughout the game beating a very good Middlesbrough team, who are one of the other official Volleyball England Satellite Academies.

The final will now be played on the 2nd May at the National Volleyball Centre in Kettering against either PETROC or Leyton 6th Form College.

Staffs v Keele: Volleyball Varsity Okay so it might not be the boat race, or have the pomp and ceremony of the match-ups between Oxford and Cambridge but the Men’s Volleyball showdown has become a key element of the Varsity sporting contest between Staffs Uni and Keele Uni in recent years. This year the match was hosted at Staffs, and Keele captain Dann Williams described the atmosphere of the match as the most intense he has ever played in, such was the noise from the balcony!

Whilst the Keele team included Dann Williams, Aykut Nafioglu and Sam Moore, their remainder of their squad were relative novices and so the work load on these 3 became huge. Keele took the first set but under the coaching of Sam Stevenson and Sam Moore the Staffs team fought back in good style to take the match 3-1 and cue big celebrations on the court for the hosts who also took the overall varsity title.

Volunteering at BCS Championships The National Championships has grown from thirteen events in seven sports when it was first held in 1979 to this year's thirty-nine events in fourteen sports, with support from nearly thirty BCS volunteers comprising of members from the Student Council, Team 19 National SMT and from volunteers from nine of our regions. This included our very own Sophie Key (pictured 2nd right)

Whitefield ‘13 ‘Castle have entered a number of teams into this year’s Whitefield outdoor tournament on the 20-21 July in Bath. If you are interested in playing in either of the 2 ladies teams speak to Rachel Copestake, and for the men’s Will Roberts. Staffs Uni have also entered and there is another team featuring Dann Williams, Alex Jenkins and Paige Nelmes so plenty of ‘Castle players will be there!

Annual General Meeting 2013 The club’s annual general meeting will take place on Friday 17th May at 7,.45pm at the Madeley Centre. Please ensure attendance to have a say in the way that your club is run and to vote on changes to the committee membership.

Stafford and Stone Schools Volleyball Championships The first annual Stafford and Stone School Sport Partnership's Volleyball tournaments took place on Wednesday 20th March. In its first year, the tournament was aimed at pupils in Year 10 (aged 15) for both boys and girls. The tournament will this year feature in the Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent School Games event taking place at Keele University in June, with delivery managed by ‘Castle! Blessed William Howard Catholic School was the host venue. Both finals came down to matches between respective teams from Sir Graham Balfour High and Blessed William Howard High School. Winning the boys event were the team from Sir Graham Balfour whilst the girls from BWH were victorious in the girls and now represent the Stafford & Stone School Sport Partnership in the County School Games event in July at Keele University. Steve Glover, Partnership Development Manager said, "We were thrilled with the volleyball tournament. It is a new event in our calendar, but schools have really embraced it. Well done to both Blessed William Howard and Sir Graham Balfour High.”

Level 1 Coaching Course This coaching award is a vocationally related qualification that provides learners with an opportunity to study and be assessed on both the practical and theoretical aspects of coaching volleyball to groups of adults and children in an appropriate environment. The knowledge gained from this Award will enable learners to develop an understanding of safe, ethical and effective volleyball coaching, whether in an employed or voluntary capacity. http://www.nulc.ac.uk/courses/sport-exercise/214-level-1/2351-level-1-award-in-coaching-volleyball.html Apply for this course by completing an online application or by downloading a part-time application form and returning it by email to info@nulc.ac.uk. Alternatively you can post your application via freepost (no stamp required) to: The Admissions Team, Newcastle-under-Lyme College, FREEPOST RSGE-RHCT-XYUJ, Knutton Lane, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire ST5 2GB.

THE NSVC COMMITTEE WILL PROVIDE FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO COACHES WHO WILL COMMITT TO USE THIS AWARD TO COACH IN THE CLUB – CONTACT ANY COMMITTEE MEMBER TO DISCUSS THIS

Rich receives award In recognition of both his achievements this season, and the costs of playing at the level that he is, ‘Castle’s Rich James has received a significant award from the Newcastle-under-Lyme Sports Council.

Well done Rich, it is thoroughly deserved!

Beach Student Cup Entries are open now for the Beach Volleyball Student Cup which takes place on the 7-9 June in Bournemouth. With such a thriving Volleyball scene at Keele, Staffs and NuLC it is hoped that we might have some local entries – go for it!!

Competitions offered: Women’s Doubles (Fri-Sun) Men’s Double (Fri-Sun) Mixed 4s (Sun)

Cost: £30 per Doubles team £20 per Mixed 4s team Enter at www.volleyballengland.org

‘Castle boys in the BUCS final! Wednesday the 20th March saw the final of the British Universities Volleyball Championships and home grown ‘Castle lads featured on both teams as Sam Shenton’s Team Northumbria beat a Sheffield Hallam Side that featured James Goodwin and Stew Ross, along with former ‘Castle NVL players Alex Jenkins, Richard Yates and Ryan Heath. Shenton, ‘Castle’s MVP last season played in the Northumbria team that took the title with a 3-0 win despite the best efforts of a strong Hallam side featuring many of the Sheffield NVL players.

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic... Over in the US and Canada Iain McKellar (Hawaii), Meg Viggars (Southern Illinois) and Paige Nelmes (New Brunswick) are all pursuing their own volleyball dreams in high level volleyball programmes. Meg and Paige are currently out of season so involved in academic study and training but Iain’s Hawaii side are in the thick of the action as the attempt to make it into the NCAA post season. After a number of recent defeats, qualification of this (out of the toughest NCAA Division I conference in the entire USA) looks unlikely despite some great wins for Hawaii. As a freshman Iain’s on court match opportunities have been limited but he has been working incredibly hard in an elite volleyball environment and we look forward to the possibility of seeing him grace the training court of Madeley at some point this summer!

Sainsbury’s School Games: Staffordshire 2013 Friday 28th June This county final event will take place on 28th June 2013 at Keele University and at other local venues. School teams will qualify to compete in a variety of sports including dodgeball, girls’ football, golf, netball, rounders, tag rugby, tennis and trampolining. There will also be the opportunity for disabled pupils to take part in a number of sporting competitions including boccia, cricket, football, golf, and basketball. Additionally, other School Games county finals will take place on other dates, such as badminton and sportshall athletics and there will be demonstration sports taking place including for the first time... VOLLEYBALL!! There will be a total of 9 teams taking place in both girls and boys competitions representing each of the School Sports Partnerships across the county ‘Castle will be running the tournament on the day through Ant Viggars and our young leaders. The tournament itself will take place in the prestigious main sports hall at Keele Uni where our senior teams’ NVL matches take place and in addition there will be an outdoor court to help promote the sport to a wider audience. This event provide a great opportunity for us to promote our sport to a wider audience and crucially to show our worth and value to young people, teachers and parents, and encourage more people to join the club and our satellites, or even set-up further satellites in the area. If you can help on the day please let Ant know asap.

Newcastle (Staffs) Volleyball Club

END OF SEASON CELEBRATION NIGHT!

Venue: Cherry Tree, London Road, Newcastle, ST5 1NZ

Prices: £5 for individuals £15 family ticket for parents with children

All proceeds go towards the costs of the night and are invested back into the club

Saturday 29th June 7.30pm

Food, Awards, Raffle, DJ!!

Includes the presentation of the local league trophies

For tickets contact your coach Don’t

miss out!

The Awards: PLAYERS PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Ladies - Men 1 - Men 2

JUNIOR MEMBER OF THE YEAR - Girls - Boys

COACHES CHOICE – PLAYER OF THE YEAR -Ladies - Men 1 - Men 2 - Social - u18 girls - u18 boys - u16 girls - u16 boys - u15 girls - u15 boys

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER OF THE YEAR -Ladies - Men 1 - Men 2 - Social - u18 girls - u18 boys - u16 girls - u16 boys - u15 girls - u15 boys

Newcastle-under-Lyme College is one of 6 colleges that have been selected throughout the country to be a Satellite Academy of Volleyball England, in partnership with Newcastle (Staffs) Volleyball Club.

12 students have been selected to be part of the programme, with another 12 being chosen each year for the next 5 years. Volleyball England launched the Academy to ensure we can continue to compete with our European neighbours and increase success at junior international level.

The academies will provide an enhanced level of support to talented junior players. Volleyball England in partnership with the college and club has established a daily training environments for junior players with professional coaching, appropriate support and ancillary services and linking to AASE programmes. - Top level on court training - Top level physical conditioning - A great college environment - Athlete Education programme - Sports Therapy and injury care

To find out more information about the programme please contact Trevor Humphreys on 01782 254269 or trevor.humphreys@nulc.ac.uk

OPEN DAY FOR CURRENT YEAR 10 & 11 ATHLETES: THURSDAY 11TH APRIL 10am – 1pm AT THE NuLC SPORTS CENTRE

North Staffordshire Volleyball League Season Finale & Champions Confirmed

MEN Sets Points Pts

P F A F A D

1 Fenton 7 13 1 352 281 71 13

2 Team Gios 7 11 3 332 201 131 11

3 Castle Spitfires 7 11 3 332 288 44 11

4 NuLC 7 8 6 324 309 15 8

5 Keele Uni 7 6 8 275 304 -29 6

6 Staffs Uni 7 5 9 297 313 -16 5

7 Castle Go Spike! 7 2 12 243 319 -76 2

8 Castle Lions 7 0 14 219 350 -131 0

LADIES Sets Points Pts

P F A F A D

1 Castle Dynamo 4 7 1 198 124 74 7

2 Lady Gios 4 7 1 196 145 51 7

3 Castle u16s 4 3 5 168 145 23 3

4 Castle Go Spike 4 3 5 159 157 2 3

5 Keele Uni 4 0 8 50 200 -150 0

The first season of the rejuvenated North Staffs Volleyball League has come to a close with a very tight finish in both the men’s & ladies leagues.

In the ladies league it was Castle Dynamo who took the title despite a very close 1-1 draw versus Lady Gios who were just one side-out from a 2-0 win and from taking the win and the league. Despite the ladies league only being made up of 5 teams this season there are strong hopes that it will be able to expand by at least 1 team in the 13-14 season and provide a more meaningful season.

It was Fenton that scooped top honours in the men’s league by taking a 2-0 win over Staffs Uni who were in the final stages of preparation for their varsity match. Hot on their heels were both Team Gios and Castle Spitfires who both finished on 11 points but it was the experienced Team Gios who came runner-up with a superior points difference. LEAGUE PRESENTATIONS WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE NSVC END OF SEASON CELEBRATION IN JUNE ‘13

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