You may not be aware of this fact, but volleyball is one of the highest participated sports in the world.
With that in mind, you probably don’t realise that Spalding boasts one of Lincolnshire’s most thriving clubs in the sport too.
Volleyball Spalding wants to change that – and there are plenty of opportunities for you to get involved this summer.
They are running “Volleyfun” summer sessions for anyone aged ten and above to try the sport.
The sessions run on Mondays (6.30pm-8.30pm) in the sports hall at Spalding Grammar School, starting on August 4.
The club has been around for about 15 years – and in that time has seen several highs. Three young people have trained with respective age related England squads, with two more due to attend this summer.
Also, a number of players have been represented in the regional squads, with five of the six team members – and the coach – all from the club.
Spalding also became the first volleyball club in the country to achieve Clubmark status, which means it has all the policies and procedures in place to meet national standards for working with children and young people.
In addition, the club and some of its coaches have won numerous awards including the prestigious Torch Trophy Trust award for lead coach Tim Barzycki.
Spalding was originally a youth team, but established its own junior section to accommodate ages ten and above.
Both sections operate on different nights to accommodate different strengths and abilities – but young people progress through to the squad training based on ability. And It’s fair to say that every young person currently training with the team squad has developed through the junior group.
For instance, a 14-year-old girl has recently progressed to the team squad after only a few weeks training. For others it can take a bit longer.
The team finished second in the league last season playing against adult teams.
In addition to this success, Spalding have won the under-13 boys’ and under-12 girls’ national championships.
There is also a volleyfit session for the women’s group that shares the junior session.
The group is run solely by volunteers, without which none of this could happen.
But new people are needed all the time. This can be to supply and drive a minibus to matches, keep the website and communications up to date, support on training nights or offer whatever skills you may have and the club will try to develop a role that suits you.
If your child wishes to join this very successful club then why not go along to the summer volleyfun sessions and let them give it a go.
Also, anyone interested in volunteering to support the club or becoming a sponsor can go along to one of the sessions to speak with the coaches or visit www.community.lincolnshire.gov.uk/volleyballspalding
