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e-newsletter of Newcastle (Staffs) Volleyball Club
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‘Castle News
Number 54 February 2011
Fantastic February!...under 15 boys qualify for Last 8s...
...under 16 boys qualify for National Final......under 18 girls qualify for National Final......under 18 boys qualify for National Final......ladies qualify for National Shield Final...
...men 2 get promoted!
Welcome from the Chair
Contents
3-5 – ‘Castle News Updates
6– Sportset advert
7 – Midlands under 15s
8 – ‘Castle Shop
9 – Ladies in Shield final
11-14- u16/u18 last 8s
15- LPV Festival
16- NVL Big Match Day
17 – Castle online
Main sponsor www.marangoni.com
Main school-club link and training HQ:
Madeley High School
Official Equipment Supplier: www.sportset.com
Sponsors
CBL Welding Supplies Cornovii Investment Management www.cblsupplies.co.uk
www.cornovii.com
MATRIX
AGGREGATES
February 2011 has been one of the most successful months in the history of our club – a big statement after 31 years. The satisfaction that can be drawn from these big six achievements should be based in the hard work that goes into preparing players and teams to take part.
The club still has plenty of work to do before the end of the season to build upon this and take some national titles, but for a brief moment there is the time to smile and reflect with satisfaction on what has been achieved so far!
Colin RobertsNSVC Chair
News Updates from ‘Castle!
2012 Olympic ticketsdue to go on sale 15th
March
Ticket applications for the 2012 Olympic Games open on the 15th March – if you want to go to watch the greatest sporting show on earth there is no time to waste. Get yourself online and get registered!
The women’s volleyball event starts on the 28th July, and then men on the 29th with matches going right through to the men’s final on the afternoon of the 12th August. It is not yet possible to know when GB teams will feature in matches so when ordering your tickets it will be pot luck to a certain degree. For matches in the preliminary rounds you can purchase groups of 20 tickets which lends itself well to a club sized group, so talk to your friends to sort this out. Whatever you do, don’t leave it too late and be a disappointed – tickets are expected to fly off the shelf so spend some time working out what you want to see and apply for your tickets.
Full volleyball ticket details can be found at: http://media.ticketmaster.com/en-gb/img/sys/tournament/london2012/oly-volleyball.pdf
Club of the Year‘Castle entered Volleyball England’s Club of the Year competition again this year, but sadly did not finish in the top 5 and are therefore not in contention for the prize. Whilst this is a disappointing outcome we have won this prize twice in the past 6 years and the committee remains happy with the progress that the club is making, particularly on the court where this season could be the most successful in our 31 year history. If you want to get involved with the club in any volunteer capacity please email club chair Colin Roberts on colinroberts1@hotmail.com
Social membershipAt the February committee meeting it was agreed that the club would be launching a social membership this year with sessions targeted specifically at over 16s who want to play some volleyball in a recreational environment and enjoy getting to be part of the club, It is hoped that through this route we can increase our membership base an provide opportunities for a new audience to enjoy the sport. Keep your eyes peeled for more information online at www.nsvc.co.uk
News Updates from ‘Castle!
‘Castle players are 3Touch cover stars!The cover of the most recent edition of Volleyball England's magazine features a great photo from the England Junior Men’strip to Latvia for the European Youth Championships, showingIain McKellar poised to spike after a set from Roo Scott! As a club we received a number of copies of the magazine bi-monthly and bring them to matches and training nights for members to read –but why not subscribe yourself by signing up at the Volleyball England website?
Men 2 secure promotionWith their win over Loughborough Lions on Sunday the 27th
February the men’s 2nd team won promotion to NVL2 North next season! The lads have only lost to the unbeaten Nottingham Rockets side that have secured the league title – but were docked points and awarded defeats for two matches when the whole squad and their coach were away in Italy representing England at the Euro Volley Cup in September! Rough justice most would say, but despite the handicap this gave them in their season they embarked on a superb run and the young team and coach Rod Stockwell can look forward to a new challenge next season!
This promotion could also mean that ‘Castle’s big match days might feature triple headers as all three teams could be at home in single fixtures on the same day!
Well done lads on a great season – let’s wrap it up with a couple of wins on the 20th March at Northampton!
Jenks celebrates18th birthday in style at last 8s!Alex Jenkinshad the perfect 18th
birthday playing a key part in the u18 boys qualification for the final, & wearing this stylish hat!
News Updates from ‘Castle!
City of Stoke-on-Trent 6th Form College: Volleyball Academy
For the past 4 years NSVC has developed a fantastic relationship with City of Stoke-on-Trent College in Fenton, seeing the growth of the Talented Athlete Programme (TAP) at the college to provide three training session per week for players. In 2010-11 we will continue to work closely with the college to further develop this programme which is unique in North Staffordshire, to provide daily opportunities to train through a partnership between club and college. Whilst many ‘Castle Juniors will always opt to attend other colleges, the 6th Form College in Fenton is the only one with this formal link to the club, and is the only place where players will get the chance to train on a daily basis locally.
Junior Boys Head Coach Will Roberts said, “The link with Fenton is fantastic for our young players. I did my ‘A’ Levels there back in 1998-2000 and only wish I’d had the chance to train for volleyball at college as often as they now offer through TAP. It wasn’t until I started my degree at Loughborough that I got anywhere near the quantity of training needed to play at a decent level so I hope that by strengthening the link to Fenton we are ableto help our young players progress and keep up to speed with their studies.”
Potters ‘Arf: Get InvolvedSunday 12th June is not only the day after ‘Castle hosts the West Midlands “Let’s Play Volleyball Festival at Madeley (sunshine please!!) – it is also the day of the Potter ‘Arf – the ½ marathon around the streets of Stoke-on-Trent.
The players of the men’s 1st and 2nd teams have decided to enter teams in the relay races that go on as part of the ½ marathon – at the moment it looks like three
teams – each of which will campaign to raise the most money for club funds – and of course be the winning team. Entries are being centrally coordinated so if you fancy signing up or getting a team together to add to the fundraising effort please let Will Roberts know on willroberts1981@hotmail.com
Relay Distances• Stage 1 3.3 Miles (Probably the easiest stage)• Stage 2 3.4 Miles (Involves climb up Anchor Rd)• Stage 3 4.7 Miles (Mainly flat, hilly finish)• Stage 4 1.7 Miles (Includes Milton Road)
In addition the men are planning to run a car/minibus wash at the LPV festival on the 11th June so why not get your car cleaned and raise some £’s for the club that day too?!
Midlands u15 Championships
Photos courtesy of Libby Bellamy are her facebook page – thanks Libby!
For the 8th successive year the ‘Castle under 15 boys won the Midlands Championships to qualify for the Last 8s which this year will take place in May. Unfortunately the girls did not quite make it through but finished in a highly creditable 3rd place to only just miss out in a strong competition hosted by Tettenhall Tigers in Wolverhampton. The girls team features a number of emerging talented players and will hope to do well in both the under 15 and under 16 championships next season.
The boys event was hosted by ‘Castle at Madeley, with 11 teams playing in three groups in the first stage of the competition. The winners of the groups then went into a triangular as did the second place teams etc. All three ‘Castle teams performed well, and even the ‘C’ team, featuring a number of year 8 boys almost managed to win a set, finishing in 11th
place and getting some great on court experience in a ‘Castle shirt. The ‘B’ team came third in a really tough first round pool but then comfortably won the rest of their matches to finish in 7th – they weredisappointed not to feature in the 4th-6th place pool. The ‘A’ qualified for the finals by beating Nottingham Rockets by a large margin and then drawing 1-1 with Redhill in a match that they won more points in than their opponents.
Well done everyone involved and good luck lads in the finals!
‘Castle Shop
Training T-shirt: £15.00
High quality performance material NSVC club t-shirt, Navy Blue and now in White!
Classic Grey ‘Castle T-shirt ‘Castle Hoodie ‘Castle Polo Shirt ‘Castle Drawstring Bag
£10.00 £20.00 £10.00 £5.00
To purchase any club kit please contact your coach or a club official on match-day or at
training
Ladies through to National Shield Final
Photos courtesy of Libby Bellamy are her facebook page – thanks Libby!
Last season the ‘Castle ladies fell at the final hurdle in trying to qualify for our club’s first ever women’s senior final, but on Sunday 27th February at 10am they were not going to be denied again. The ladies swept to an emphatic 3-0 win over Nottingham Rockets and will now face non-league side Surrey Orcas in the final on Saturday 16th April at Kettering.
The Shield campaign has been a strange one for ‘Castle – entering the competition after disappointingly losing in the cup against Loughborough Dolphins and were then given a bye in the first round. Each of their opponents in round 2 and the quarter-final (Brentwood and Tendring respectively gave ‘Castle the match sothe semi-final was actually the girls first match in this competition this season!!
For the ladies though, that’s irrelevant and after another dominant display in the semi-final match they can now look forward to the playing in the National Final!
‘Castle Juniors at the
Last 8sThe weekend of the 26th and 27th February will
be remembered as an historic one for
Newcastle (Staffs) Volleyball Club for five
famous reasons:
• The ladies reaching the National Shield Final
• Men 2 getting promoted
• under 16 boys through to the National Final
• under 18 girls through to the National Final
• under 18 boys through to the National Final
This triple junior success is a first for ‘Castle
and the squads will now go into full swing to
prepare for the finals on Sunday 17th April
,back at the National Volleyball Centre in
Kettering.
Over the course of the weekend ‘Castle teams
played a total of 12 matches at the last 8s,
winning all 12, and securing an amazing set
for and against record of 24-2!
Head coaches Ant Viggars and Will Roberts
reflected upon the achievement with some
pride at the end of the weekend, but both are
hungry for titles and will be looking to take
their teams up a notch as they prepare for the
finals.
Well done to all ‘Castle players, coaches and
supporters on being part of an incredibly
successful weekend.
Junior National Finals – 17th April
-u16 girls: 10am
Tameside v Wiltshire Mavericks
- u16 boys: 12noon
‘CASTLE v Boswells
- u18 girls: 2pm
‘CASTLE v Redhill Stourbridge
- u18 boys: 4pm
‘CASTLE v Boswells
Under 18 girls‘Castle’s only ever girls national titles have been the under
14 girls (2008) and under 15 girls (2009), but they have
never won an under 16s (despite reaching the final in both
2008 and 2010) or under 18s, so this year’s under 18s squad
was determined to make it through to the final. But, after a
disappointing 2nd round performance where they qualified
in 2nd place they found themselves a really tough group with
the two teams that made the final last season, Wessex and
Ashcombe.
First up for ‘Castle were the reigning champions Ashcombe.
This was a tight match but ‘Castle came through the
challenge well to win 25-22, 27-25 before going straight into
the match against Wessex. This was a more comfortable
game for ‘Castle who had now got into their stride and won it
25-19, 25-18. Things were looking good and the unit was
playing some great volleyball at times, leaving coaches Ant
Viggars and Martin Mierwza delighted to have confirmed a
semi-final place so early in the day.
The last group match was against Nunthorpe from the north-
east and ‘Castle played around with their line-up, allowing
Lucy Preston to swing through four rather than libero, but
sadly Lucy suffered a bad ankle injury that saw her rushed
to hospital and out of action for at least a month. The girls
performed well despite this loss and won the game
comfortably 25-16, 25-17.
The girls’ reward for getting through such a tough group as
winners was a semi-final against Tameside, the Manchester
club who have dominated junior girls volleyball with Wessex
and Ashcombe in recent years. Tameside has also inflicted
the painful 3-0 under 16 girls final defeat on ‘Castle last
season so the stage was set for a big match. ‘Castle opened
up well with star players Meg Viggars and Paige Nelmes
leading the way as we took the opener 25-16. Tameside are
a never say die team and it was no surprise that they fought
back well in the second set. But their best efforts were not
quite enough and ‘Castle held on to win 27-25 and take an
impressive 2-0 win, dropping no sets on the day.
In the final ‘Castle will come up against Redhill Stourbridge,
the team that beat them in the second round. Redhill beat
Wessex 2-0 in their semi-final 31-29, 25-20 so this will be an
all West Midlands final that will live long in the memory.
After the disappointment of losing the under 18 semis and
under 16 final this was a sweet victory for coach Viggars and
his players, and they will all be looking forward to preparing
for the final – a match where their mid-season tour to the
Apeldoorn tournament in Holland will serve them well.
Under 18 boysAs the reigning champions in this age group and a side that has never lost a match in the national
championships through from under 15, under 16 and under 18 the ‘Castle boys were favourites to
make it through to the final again this year, but they made heavy weather of it in a really tough
group where they faced the teams they beat in the semi-final (Team Northumbria) and final
(Wessex) last season.
‘Castle opened up against Ashcombe and made really light work of the match racing to an
emphatic 25-6 win in the first set, where the only points of note were how well Sam Shenton had
stepped into the passer-hitter role and that Michal ‘the beast’ Hawiar turned his ankle when
blocking – an injury that was to limit his role all day. ‘Castle won the 2nd set 25-14 to wrap up a
really impressive win and get the day started well.
Next up were Team Northumbria and against ‘Castle raced off to a great start by dominating the
match in the first set 25-12, before totally stepping off the gas and allowing the battling north east
side off the hook in the second set. This resulted in ‘Castle dropping the set 26-24 and the match
entered a deciding third set. ‘Castle upped their game again and swept home to a great win 15-7 to
effectively book their place in the semi-final – just the result against Wessex would decide whetherthis would be as group
winners or runner-up.
Wessex have been
consistent opponents for
this ‘Castle team over the
past 4 seasons and so the
lads knew this would be a
real battle. ‘Castle won the
first set 25-21 with Shenton
again on great form,
impressing with his back
court hitting, but Wessex
fought back to take the
second set 25-22. The match
was quickly developing into
a classic and in the decider
it was Wessex who seized
the initiative by developing
a lead early. This was
extended to 13-10 when
coach Will Roberts called a
time-out to rally the troops
and identify some
weaknesses on the other
side of the net. In a 3 minute
blitz ‘Castle turned it round
to win 16-14 and win the
group.
In the semi final ‘Castle
faced West Midlands rivals
Redhill and swept home to a
comfortable 25-18, 25-19 to
make it through to the final
where they will face Boswells.
Under 16 boysOn Sunday the 27th February the under 16 boys returned to Kettering hopeful of making it through to
the final. In this case it was definitely hope rather than expectation because although the boys had
prepared well and performed at a high level in all eight matches they had played earlier in the
season, they had underperformed badly at the under 15s last 8s this time last year.
The ‘Castle boys opened up against Nottingham Rockets (meaning that there were 3 ‘Castle v Rockets
clashes that day as men2 and the ladies were playing in Nottingham!) and in the first set played
superbly to win comfortably 25-14. In the second set Rockets has adjusted to the pace and made it
tough for ‘Castle, whose bench came into action to score crucial points, particularly Bart Wozniak and
Al Donaldson. Next up for ‘Castle were Croydon, a side that featured a star of the future Jermaine
Miles. In the first set ‘Castle played stunning volleyball to win 25-8 (!!!) before Croydon upped their
game slightly for a more respectable second set score.
The final group match was against Wessex and yet again the ‘Castle lads did a great job, winning a
tough match where in both sets they ground down their opponents resistance to then race away with
the set in the second half. Setter Jordan Adelburgh was making great decisions and made the most of
the excellent form of year 9 Richard James. ‘Castle won the game 2-0 to line up a semi-final with
Londoners Ernet Bevin who are linked to senior club London Malory Eagles.
‘Castle were at the top of their game in the semi and did not let their opponents anywhere near them
– right from the start of both sets ‘Castle served aggressively to seize the initiative . The whole side
had upped their game and were playing a superb mental and physical performance that their
opponents could not deal with. After winning the first set 25-16, ‘Castle were 23-16 up in the second
when James Chadwick secured a big block to bring up match point and he then his a smart quick
reverse set to take the match and set up another final against Boswells.
Back (L-R): Ross Thompson, Will Richardson, James Chadwick, Alastair Donaldson, Chris Ashton, Alastair Cope
Front (L-R): Dan Arme, Jordan Adelburgh, Elliott Francis, Bart Wozniak, Richard James, Cameron Rhodes
BIG MATCH NIGHT
Saturday March 26th
Keele University
3pm – ‘Castle ladies v Brentwood
6pm – ‘Castle men 1 v Cambridge
Come and support both teams
battle it out in search of
promotion in two vital clashes of
high quality volleyball
Go ‘Castle!
www.nsvc.co.uk The club website gives regular updates of information on both the home and news pages,, team and player profiles, plus carries all club match reports and an up to date club calendar
‘Castle: onlineThe club’s communications strategy (part of the four-year club development plan) is now very well advanced following the launch of our You Tube channel and Wikipedia page in the first few months of 2010, plus a Twitter feed. These additions to the existing ‘Castle News, www.nsvc.co.uk and Facebookgroup give us what is hopefully excellent connectivity to our members through whatever medium they prefer.
You TubeMatch videos can be posted online at our very own You Tube Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/NSVC1Recent viewer numbers:- Men 1 vs Richmond (NVL1) highlights – 92 views- Men 1 vs Wessex (NVL1) highlights – 92 views- Ladies vs Northampton (NVL2N) highlights – 81 views- Men 1 vs Leicester (NVL1) highlights – 92 views
‘Castle News The club’s unique monthly e-newsletter is now available only as a download through the club website’s news pages at www.nsvc.co.uk/latest-newsReader numbers from recent editions:- January 2011 – 803- December 2010 – 701- November 2010 – 601- October 2010 - 364
FacebookSign up to ‘Castle at www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=12327566316
TwitterWe have an active Twitter account for those of you who want up to the minute information on the club. Go to Twitter and search for us
WikipediaThe NSVC Wikipedia page was launched in March 2010 and will provide a great historical record of the club and its’ achievements over the past 30 years and the years to comehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newcastle_(Staffs)_Volleyball_Club
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