‘Castle News

Number 45 May2010

Happy 30th Birthday ‘Castle!

Welcome from the Chair

Contents

3-6- ‘Castle News updates

7-“Let’s Play Volleyball” festival

8-9 – 30th Anniversary Dinner

10 – 100 club

11- 2009-10 club awards

12-13- Castle at the Inter Regionals

14-15 – My Perfect Team – Dave Lovell

16-17 – 2010-11 NVL preview

18 – ‘Castle online

19- Club Shop

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

May 7th saw the 30th Anniversary Dinner of our club and what a fantastic night it was. It was fantastic to see so many familiar faces from the past and present of Newcastle (Staffs), and of course of the future with so many young players there. Whilst it is always important that we recognise the past – and we rightly do so – it is vital that we always look forward and as always we are looking to push the boundaries of what we can achieve.

We hope you enjoy this, the 45th edition of ‘Castle News.

Colin Roberts, NSVC Chair

Year of Stunning Success for Sixth Form College TeamsStoke-on-Trent 6th Form College, Talented Athlete Programme, completed a successful year when winning the British Colleges Mixed Cup. With the squad made up entirely of either current or past NSVC juniors, they proved to strong in the finals defeating Middlesbrough, Salford and Chichester.

The trophy, along with the Women’s Championship and Cup victories, leaves the college with 3 out of the five available titles to their name this season.

Hopefully more NSVC juniors will take the opportunity to further their studies at the college, where they will be able to train 3 times a week within the Talented Athlete Programme, the leading such programme in the country and the only one in the West Midlands. For further information please contact Anthony Viggars.

News Updates from ‘Castle!

Outdoor Family 4s – Monday 28th June from 6.30pm at Madeley (weather permitting!)

New coaches needed!With the continued growth of our club, particularly in the junior ranks (!) Newcastle (Staffs) Volleyball Club is seeking new coaches for the following squads:• Senior ladies – playing in NVL2 North in 2010-11 season• Junior girls – leading/ supporting specific squads following discussion with girls head coach Ant Viggars

U14 boys shine in Manchester sun

The boys played really well in the sweltering heat today (23rd May) to come out and win the Let’s Play Volleyball U14’s in Manchester – and in actual fact against some great big 15 year olds in the final! They didn’t have enough entries in u15s boys so put them in with u14’s – so our three u13’s did really well! With Charlotte James (CJ) coaching, the boys really excelled themselves!

Dan Arme, Rich James, Rob Bellamy and Connor Grimes made up the team , they only dropped one set at pool stage to Harper Green from Bolton, won semi 2-1 and then final against Harper Green again 2 -1 (although won first two sets they still played three sets to 15 following the same pattern as rest of the day).

...and now...

Check out ‘Castle online in all of these ways... For full details check page 18 of ‘Castle News

30th Anniversary Celebration videoThe video clip specially put together for the club’s 30th

Anniversary Dinner is now available online at both the club’sYou Tube channel and the club website home page – justscroll down the page, click on the image of the clip and thereit is for you to watch at your leisure!Just go to www.nsvc.co.uk

News Updates from ‘Castle!

Newcastle Schools Outdoor FestivalOn May 19th Newcastle Sports Partnership held it's under 15 4v4 Outdoor Festival at Madeley. With perfect playing conditions and many NSVC juniors competing for various schools competition was always expected to be close.

The girls section provided many tight matches with Chesterton in particular showing great improvement. Madeley 'A' went unbeaten in the group stages only to be overcome by a strong St John Fisher in the final, who added the title to their indoor crown won in January. well done to ‘Castle's Kirsty Hicks, who featured prominently for SJF.

The boys competition was seeded for a Clayton 'A' vsMadeley 'A'final. This turned out to be the case, but only after a extremely close game for Clayton against a Rob Bellamy inspired Madeley 'B'. Clayton though were to up the tempo in the final with the power of Dan Arme being the deciding factor despite a valiant display from Ross Thompson.

Congratulations to all 5 competing Newcastle schools for making this years SSP Volleyball Festivals a resounding success.

New Club t-shirt on the way... On sale at the LPV!

As per the April edition of ‘Castle News the brand new ‘Castle training t-shirt will be available very soon, with the launch date confirmed as the LPV Festival on the 12th June at Madeley.Stocks have been low on the very popular navy blue club t-shirts, and a new order will arrive in mid-May. For a bit of variety and choice, we have added a white version of the t-shirt which will also be available in a ladies cut for a better fit for the girls! The t-shirts will be on sale for £15

...and now...

Check out ‘Castle online in all of these ways... For full details check page 18 of ‘Castle News

Outdoor Family 4s – Monday 28th June from 6.30pm at Madeley (weather permitting!)

Newcastle (Staffs) VC scoops National PrizeEach year, Central Council for Physical Recreation (CCPR) awards the prestigious Sports Club of the Year prizes to clubs which demonstrate exemplary commitment to their members, to their local communities and to their sports. Made possible by a generous grant from the Foundation for Sport and the Arts, and also supported by RunningSports, the awards recognise the hard work involved in running a sports club at grassroots level. The awards were presented on May 4th by CCPR’s president, HRH Prince Edward the Earl of Wessex, at a ceremony held at the Grange St Paul’s Hotel.

This is the second time in just five years that NSVC has made it through to the final 6 clubs (surely some kind of record?!) , and yet again we finished in a creditable 3rd place to be awarded a fantastic £1000 in prize money. The deposition by the CCPR on NSVC is below, and makes great reading for all of us in the club:

“Newcastle (Staffs) Volleyball Club, StaffordshireNSVC is a club going places. Ambitious, despite ongoing difficulties like finding places to play, the club has entered 21 teams into national competitions in the last 12 months. They have also found time to host the West Midlands ‘Let’s Play Volleyball’ festival, to provide holiday camps for 10 to 15-year-olds, to give coaching to 500 players in schools and to push eight players into international recognition. With a well-conceived club structure which rewards service, success and skill in volunteers and players, NSVC is clearly all about quality volleyball.”

Club Chair Colin Roberts is pictured (right) with HRH the Earl of Wessex

News Updates from ‘Castle!

Happy News for Ladies! It is the pleasure of ‘Castle News to be able to announce some fantastic news about two of the longest serving players on the ladies squad... Both Ruth Beard and Laura Pritchard are expecting their first children later this year! On behalf of the whole club we’d like to offer them both massive congratulations and we look forward to meeting the next generation of ‘Castle players!

...and now...

Check out ‘Castle online in all of these ways... For full details check page 18 of ‘Castle News

Outdoor Family 4s – Monday 28th June from 6.30pm at Madeley (weather permitting!)

‘Castle Beach Volleyball Summer 2010Every Monday night throughout May and June 2010 the Monday 6.30pm-8pm sessions at Madeley are Beach Volleyball!Although we obviously have no beach , you can learn much of what is needed in this discipline of the sport on any surface and the sessions so far have shown those attending what a different challenge Beach Volleyball is. The aim of the sessions will be to learn about how to play in pairs and also some of the specific techniques that are required in Beach Volleyball. These sessions are open to all club members, so please feel free to come down and learn a few new tricks.

With a large NSVC contingent expected to travel to the Sandbanks Beach Volleyball event in Dorset from the 17th-18th July this is a great opportunity for prospective teams to practice playing together, and on Monday 28th June there will be an open competition to help further with preparation and bring our beach season to a close

News Updates from ‘Castle!

LET’S PLAY VOLLEYBALL FESTIVAL – SATURDAY 12TH JUNEBoys and Girls events at u11, u13, u15 and u17

GB Volleyball Clip online at BBC Sport

If you fancy checking out the jumping abilities of GB’s Pete Bakare and brief highlights of the GB men playing against Azebaijanin the first round of the EuropeanChampionships then go to the BBC Sport website and follow the links to the volleyball pages. Here, PeteBakare shows off his phenomenaljump by clearing a man who is 5 foot 9 inches tall!

...and now...

Check out ‘Castle online in all of these ways... For full details check page 18 of ‘Castle News

30th Anniversary Dinner

The much anticipated NSVC 30th Anniversary Dinner took place at Keele Hall on Friday the 7th May with a fantastic event which saw all seats sold out. A number of famous names in the club’s playing history were in attendance including Mark Arme who captained the men’s first team for a number of seasons, Paul Conlon who was one of the top setters in the country for 20 years , Richard Dobell – perhaps England’s most celebrated ever player, Neil Masters who had to leave the club to attain international honours after a decade at ‘Castle, plus Dave

Knight – one of the most consistent middle blockers in NVL1 for many years, and Julian Kobylarz who progressed from school teams at one of the original NSVC schools (Marshlands) all the way through to the NVL1 team along with many of the other players from his generation of juniors.

One of the strongest features of NSVC over the years has been the consistency of our management, with only two club chairs and a number of original committee members still on the scene. The first NSVC Chair David Cawthornwas in attendance and was invited by his successor Colin Roberts to say a few words before making special presentations to the loyal long serving committee members Margaret Dobell (left) and Dorothy Knight (right) to recognise their contribution to the club, and it was great see fellow founding member Barrie Jenkins there too.

The packed dance floor! Guest speaker Steve Lee entertains

The library bar was meticulously decorated with 30 years worth of club memorabilia including books of newspaper clippings, photographs from some of our most famous matches, and every previous edition of ‘Castle News! Guest speaker, sports journalist Steve Lee kept the crowd entertained prior to dinner with a range of sporting anecdotes and jokes as well as the popular reference

to both the under 16 girls and under 18 boys appearances at the National Finals.

The room was a buzz with members past and present re-living stories of seasons, training sessions, cup finals and tournaments gone by, and the club’s specially put together video clip captured a broad range of these memories and captivated the audience for the period it was shown, and was later followed by a DVD of the 2002 National Cup Final which saw ‘Castle take on Dobell’s Malory and win the first set only to lose the match 3-1.

For more photos of the night, go to the ‘Castle Facebook pages at http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=12327566316

30th Anniversary additions to the NSVC 100 club!

Falko Drijfhout receive his shirt from club chair Colin Roberts

The first ever members of the ladies 100 club: Laura Pritchard, Steph ‘Frenchie’ Desolle, Sophie Cawdell, Ruth Beard, Rachel Viggars

In recent seasons it has become traditional to honour players who reach a milestone number of appearances for ‘Castle – it’s not quite a prestigious a the ‘retirement’ of the number 3 shirt for our men’s teams in honour of Ant Viggars who wore that shirt for 25 years, but it is certainly gaining momentum as a feature of NSVC life. First up was the flying Dutchman Falko Drijfhout who joined NSVC back in 2003 and has been a consistent member of the men’s team for the last seven seasons. Then, and for the first time, a group of NSVC ladies players were honoured. Effectively ‘the originals’ Laura Pritchard, Steph Desolle, Sophie Cawdell, Ruth Beard, Rachel Viggars, have been part of the ladies set-up since it was part of the West Midlands League and then entered the NVL back in the early ‘00’s. Although all are now semi-retired players their presence in the club will remain for years to come.

2009-10 Season Award WinnersThe 30th Anniversary Dinner also saw the presentation of the 2009-10 season player of the year awards for our three National Volleyball League teams, and the junior squads players of the year awards. For the second successive year the awards were dominated by young players, indeed all five of the winners were junior members of the club!

Charlotte James won the ladies prize this year and deservedly so having been one of the most potent attacking threats in NVL3North last season winning the division’s player of the year prize. Next season CJ will be hoping to impress in the new NVL2North where her ‘Castle team will be taking on a higher calibre of opposition than in previous years. The men’sprize went to Roman Neveykin who only turned 18 in April. Roman moved to Sheffield last summer to be part of the GB development programme and spent his seasontraining full time whilst retaining a fantastic commitmentto ‘Castle, making it to nearly all Monday night u18 andMen 1 sessions. For men 2, the winner was James Goodwin, who would potentially have won the NVL3Northplayer of the year award had he not been ruled out of the last 4-5 matches due to having ‘played up’ in NVL1.The junior girls prize went to Jenny Bellamy who emerged from being last season’s u15 girls setter to the ladies’ firstchoice! For boys it was Will Roberts who has now won 3National Titles in a row and is a high quality libero. Charlotte James receives the Ladies Award from coach Sophie Cawdell

Roman Neveykin receives the Men 1 Award from coach Craig Handford

James Goodwin receives the Men 2 Award from coach Rod StockwellWill Roberts receives the Junior Boys Award from coach Will Roberts

Jenny Bellamy receives the Junior Girls Award from coach Ant Viggars

‘Castle Juniors at the Inter Regionals

The 2010 Inter Regional Championships took place at the Kettering National Volleyball Training Centre on the traditional May Bank Holiday weekend. A large number of ‘Castle juniors were selected for both the West Midlands and North West teams, 22 in total:

•WM u14 girls: Hannah Kettle•WM u15 boys: Chris Ashton, James Chadwick, Jordan Adelburgh, Cameron Rhodes, Richard James•WM u16 girls: Harriet Roberts, Sophie Plant, Liz Stuart, Ruth Gurgul, Jess Roberts, Jenny Bellamy, Emma Shelley-Hitchen•NW u17 boys: Stewart Ross, Iain McKellar•WM u17 boys: Roo Scott, James Goodwin, Sam Shenton, Will Roberts, Michal Hawiar, Alex Liebeck, Kacper Stefanowicz

This year Wales also competed in the Inter Regionals, taking the total up to 10 teams, with groups of 5 teams. Unfortunately the way that the draw was put together did not lead to the best competitive format with no cross-over semi finals and some clearly mis-matched groups...

Photos this page:-Left – Hannah Kettle passes for WM u14s-Below left – Lizzie Stuart spikes for WM u16s-Below centre–Ruth Gurgul spikes for WM u16s-Below right – Jess Roberts spikes whilst Jen Bellamy and Lizzie Stuart cover

... for example in the under 15 boys West Midlands were in the same group as London and East – in the boys National u15 Championships the top 3 teams had been ‘Castle (West Midlands), Ernest Bevin (London) and Boswells (East)! This meant the lads came third in their group so 5th was the best they could finish, and it was a similar story for the u17 boys who came third overall and the under 16 girls who came 7th overall. A serious look is needed at the format and seeding for 2011 to create a more balanced event.Results:• WM Under 17 boys finished in 3rd place, NW 10th

• WM Under 15 boys finished in 5th place• WM Under 16 girls finished in 7th place• WM Under 14 girls finished in 1st and 5th places

Photos this page:-Above left – Roo Scott swings for WM u17s with Will Roberts, James Goodwin, Sam Shentonand Alex Liebeck covering-Above right – Michal Hawiar swings for WM u17s-Right – Roo Scott sets for WM u17s with Will Roberts and Kacper Stefanowicz looking on-Below left–Jordan Adelburgh sets for WM u15s-Below right – Chris Ashton, Richard James, James Chadwick and Jordan Adelburgh all in action for WM u15s

My Perfect TeamThis month its’ the turn of Dave Lovell to select his ‘Castle dream team. Dave has been with the club since 2003 and is now looking forward to his eighth season with the club in 2010-11.When Will asked me to write my own ‘Castle Dream Team I had to think long and hard what criteria I was going to use having enjoyed reading other club members selections over the past few months. I was very wary that not setting any boundaries on my selection may “upset” team mates past and present if they were omitted! I considered a Gio’soutdoor’s team, but anyone who has played alongside me for Gio’s will know that my game is far more suited to the indoor game (which was my polite way of saying I am not the best outdoor player in the world!). I then thought long and hard about the selection of my ‘Castle all star team and ended up deciding that the criteria for my first team would be players who I never had the pleasure of playing alongside in the ‘Castle shirt. This ruled out many a ‘Castle all time legend including the likes of Paul Conlon, Phil Smith and of course Noodle!

I then decided that having worked with many of the junior players within the club through my role with the England Junior Men’s Squad over the past 8 years, I would put together a team of Castle England Juniors that I have worked with. To qualify these players have had to play in an international tournament for the juniors so rules out the likes of Goody, Shents, Alex Liebeck and Chris “The Castle” Ashton for now. No doubt there time will come soon.

Those I never had the pleasure of playing alongside in a ‘Castle Shirt

SettersRichard Dobell – How can any dream team be complete without the greatest British setter of all time? Have unfortunately had the pleasure of admiring his ability from the other side of the net on too many occasions throughout my career!Tom Stevens – A nice guy of the game who moved to Sheffield and then played professionally in Belgium before returning to England. More than adequate back up to keep Richard on his toes!

OutsideTim Hollis – When I was learning the game as a youngster at Wessex this was the gut I wanted to play like (sadly I fell a long way short!). I had the pleasure of playing alongside Tim at Wessex for a year before I went to University and learnt so much from him.Steven Fee – Another ‘Castle graduate to fly the nest to Malory. Badger has proven to be one of the best passers and most intelligent hitters in the league for a number of years. Also a really nice guy!

MiddleMark Brown – Sherman has proven to be one of the most consistent middle players in the NVL. The number of league and cup titles he has racked up at Malory speaks volumes of his ability.Alex Burt – Burtie and I starting playing together at Wessex back in 1995 (when Alex was a mere 13 year old!) and then played through University at Loughborough together but ironically never played at ‘Castle at the same time!

OppositeAnt Viggars – Seeing as it is my team I am allowed to break my rules. Having played alongside Ant for my first 5 years at the club he really was Mr Reliable. When the pressure was on, Ant was the man. No Castle dream team would be complete without this all-time Castle legend donning the number 3 shirt!

My Perfect Team, continued...

Castle England Juniors in the past 8 years

SettersSam Allen – The only ‘Castle player to Captain England in my 8 years with the National team to date and rightly so. Outstanding leader who demands excellence at all times. Has ‘Castle in his blood and has his sights set on breaking Ant’s all time appearance record for the club. It may take him a while!Rupert Scott – The up and coming challenger to Sam’s crown and based on his development over the past 12-18 months, Screwfix could go on and become a real star of the game.Sam Bragg – A real athlete who throughout his time at ‘Castle picked up injuries meaning he never fulfilled his potential in a ‘Castle shirt. Has played for GB and spent last year playing pro in Bulgaria.

OppositeRoman Neveykin – England’s token Russian! Roman’s outstanding work rate, attitude and commitment to volleyball has led to him spending this year on the GB programme in Sheffield whilst still turning out for both the first team and Under 18’s every week.

MiddleRashad Ali – High jumping, fast, dynamic player who after a successful first year with ‘Castle should go on to achieve greater things in the ‘Castle shirt next year.Luke Davenport – Davo made the trip to NEVZA in 2006 and as a result takes his place in this team.Ben Beardsmore – At 6’9” Beardo could have been a GB superstar in 2012 but sadly stopped playing after a couple of years at ‘Castle. I will never forget him rearranging Will’s eye after hitting an “A” into it during training at Sneyd. Will couldn’t see for the next 2 days!Luke Boxall – Anyone remember him? A high jumping talent who was lost to the game at far too young an age.Adam Brewer – Adam spent 4 years in the Juniors after being advance early and ended up playing as setter and opposite before settling on the middle position where he plays now for Sheffield 2.

LiberoJames Mousley – Although he couldn’t pass to save his life when at Castle, “Kenyan” developed into probably the best Libero in Div 1 during his time at Sheffield. National league and Cup winner’s medals would suggest so.

OutsideAndy Saward – Although injury meant “Robert Green” had an interrupted end to his Juniors cycle and first year at ‘Castle he will prove to be a valuable player for the club in the future. Unfortunately is from Boswells but he can’t help that!James Cooper – Coops will thank me for playing him through 4 and not 2 as he always enjoyed passing. A real power hitter who could be relied upon to put the ball away on a consistent basis.

NVL 2010-2011 PreviewLadies: NVL

Super 8Tameside

London PoloniaSwiss Cottage

Univ BirminghamMalory Eagles

Ashcombe DorkingWessexLeeds

NVL1Portsmouth

Dulwich TuskersDevonSalford

Loughborough DolphinsMiddlesbrough College

Ealing EnergySouth Hants

ChesterLeeds CarnegieNVL2 North

Brentwood Cambridge

Loughborough StudentsLeicester

NSVCNorthampton

SheffieldTelford

UEA NorwichUniv Birmingham 2

NVL2 SouthBristol

Guildford InternationalNew Forest

OxfordPlymouth

Reading AcesSussex Dolphins

Team SouthamptonTeam BathTendring

NVL3 CentralCov/Warwick Riga

Herts NomadsLeeds 2

London KnightsNorth Riding Eagles

RAF HawksWirral

NVL3 WestBristol 2

Cardiff TigersCardiff LadiesCity of Bristol

Team South WalesWiltshire Mavericks

NVL3 SouthAshcombe 2

Portsmouth 2Dartford

SGTV SolentSouthampton University

Team Southampton 2Tonbridge

NVL 2010-2011 PreviewMen: NVL

Super 8Malory Eagles

SheffieldLondon Docklands

London PoloniaCov/Warwick Riga

Middlesbrough CollegeLondon Lynx

Leeds Carnegie

NVL1Cambridge

ManchesterNSVC

London KnightsWessex

LeicesterRichmond

London Lynx 2SGTV Solent

Univ BirminghamNVL2 NorthBrentwood

Boathouse DewsburyChesterLeeds

Loughborough StudentsMiddlesbrough College 2

OxfordRAF HarriersSheffield 2

York

NVL2 SouthBridgend

Bristol SpeedwellCity of Bristol

Danes WatfordGuildford International

New ForestNewbury

PortsmouthSussex Dolphins

Tendring

NVL3 NorthBarnsleyPrestonNSVC 2

East Midlands LionsHaughton – Darlington

Nottingham RocketsMilton Keynes

NVL3 SouthBrentwood Boswells

DartfordUEA NorwichSGTV SolentStowmarket

Team SouthamptonWessex Junior

Stay in touch with ‘Castle: online

The 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. These additions to the existing ‘Castle News, www.nsvc.co.uk and Facebook group give us what is hopefully excellent connectivity to our members through whatever medium they prefer. Soon to come on board is the final piece in the jigsaw for now! Happy browsing!

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 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-news

FacebookSign up to ‘Castle at www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=12327566316

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

You TubeMatch videos can be posted online at our very own You Tube Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/NSVC1

TwitterCOMING SOON – NSVC TWITTER FEEDS

‘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

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