Newcastle (Staffs) Volleyball Club
Encyclopedia
Newcastle Volleyball Club is an English volleyball
club based in Newcastle-under-Lyme
, Staffordshire
, England, affiliated to Volleyball England
, with teams competing at national level for women, men, girls and boys. Formed in 1980, the club is perhaps best known for its tradition of junior development, producing a number of England's leading talents in the sport..
The club was originally formed following the amalgamation of two local school teams in Newcastle-under-Lyme: Marshlands High School (now Wolstanton) and Edward Orme High School ( now Newcastle Community). The two schools had developed a strong cohort of predominantly male volleyball players and as they grew older the players needed to play at a higher level. The club was formed and its teams rose quickly through local and regional leagues to National League status. Once in the lower reaches of the National League, promotion came season after season, until the top flight was reached in the mid-eighties (1985). The present ladies team was formed in the late 1990s, again from two teams - Cheadle High School and Stone Alleynes High School, both of which had success at local level, but until combined could not move to higher levels. Once combined, the team entered the West Midlands Regional League, and in the mid-2000s, progressed to play in the National League. From 2008-2010 the ladies team went under a further transformation with a new generation of young players coming to the fore, graduating from the club's junior ranks. In the 2010-11 season this translated into triple success on the ladies side of the club - winning the National under 18 Championship, NVL 2 North title and winning the National Shield.
Despite winning many National Junior Titles throughout its history, the club has not translated this into silverware at senior level on the same scale. In 2002 the club plunged headlong into a significant programme of growth, centred on Madeley
High School and which has now spread across all four School Sports Partnerships of North Staffordshire, a Talented Athlete Programme (TAP) at the City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College, links to all three higher education institutions (Keele University
, Staffordshire University
and Manchester Metropolitan University
- Cheshire
). September 2010 saw the opening of the Volleyball England
National Academy based in Loughborough
- of the academy's first intake a total of six boys and two girls play for the club and are now able to be part of a formal daily training programme linked to the national squads as part of the England performance pathway. The 2010-11 season saw three of the club's junior teams reaching National Finals, with the under 18 boys and girls both winning the title, and the under 16 boys losing in a pulsating final.
Twice winners of the Volleyball England "Club of the Year" Award since 2000, long-serving chair Colin Roberts has received a number of awards for his work with the club, as have other members. Roberts was presented with the National Leadership Award by the Institute of Sport, Parks and Leisure (ISPAL) in the summer of 2009 , and took second place in the "Service to Sport" award at the City of Stoke-on-Trent Sports Awards early in 2010 , after having won the Volleyball England "Volunteer of the Year" award in 2008, just 12 months after fellow club member Rod Stockwell had been presented the same accolade.
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
club based in Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town in Staffordshire, England, and is the principal town of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is part of The Potteries Urban Area and North Staffordshire. In the 2001 census the town had a population of 73,944...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, England, affiliated to Volleyball England
Volleyball England
Volleyball England, is the trading name for the English Volleyball Association Limited or EVA, and is the controlling body for volleyball in England. It picks the national team, runs the National Volleyball League, National Knock-Out Cup and Student Cup and organises the training and assessment of...
, with teams competing at national level for women, men, girls and boys. Formed in 1980, the club is perhaps best known for its tradition of junior development, producing a number of England's leading talents in the sport..
The club was originally formed following the amalgamation of two local school teams in Newcastle-under-Lyme: Marshlands High School (now Wolstanton) and Edward Orme High School ( now Newcastle Community). The two schools had developed a strong cohort of predominantly male volleyball players and as they grew older the players needed to play at a higher level. The club was formed and its teams rose quickly through local and regional leagues to National League status. Once in the lower reaches of the National League, promotion came season after season, until the top flight was reached in the mid-eighties (1985). The present ladies team was formed in the late 1990s, again from two teams - Cheadle High School and Stone Alleynes High School, both of which had success at local level, but until combined could not move to higher levels. Once combined, the team entered the West Midlands Regional League, and in the mid-2000s, progressed to play in the National League. From 2008-2010 the ladies team went under a further transformation with a new generation of young players coming to the fore, graduating from the club's junior ranks. In the 2010-11 season this translated into triple success on the ladies side of the club - winning the National under 18 Championship, NVL 2 North title and winning the National Shield.
Despite winning many National Junior Titles throughout its history, the club has not translated this into silverware at senior level on the same scale. In 2002 the club plunged headlong into a significant programme of growth, centred on Madeley
Madeley, Shropshire
Madeley is a town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, now part of the new town of Telford. The parish had a population of 17,935 at the 2001 census.Madeley is recorded in the Domesday Book, having been founded before the 8th century...
High School and which has now spread across all four School Sports Partnerships of North Staffordshire, a Talented Athlete Programme (TAP) at the City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College, links to all three higher education institutions (Keele University
Keele University
Keele University is a campus university near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as an experimental college dedicated to a broad curriculum and interdisciplinary study, Keele is most notable for pioneering the dual honours degree in Britain...
, Staffordshire University
Staffordshire University
Staffordshire University is a university with its main campus based in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and with other campuses in Stafford, Lichfield and Shrewsbury.- History :...
and Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University is a university in North West England. Its headquarters and central campus is in the city of Manchester, but there are outlying facilities in the county of Cheshire. It is the third largest university in the United Kingdom in terms of student numbers, behind the...
- Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
). September 2010 saw the opening of the Volleyball England
Volleyball England
Volleyball England, is the trading name for the English Volleyball Association Limited or EVA, and is the controlling body for volleyball in England. It picks the national team, runs the National Volleyball League, National Knock-Out Cup and Student Cup and organises the training and assessment of...
National Academy based in Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
- of the academy's first intake a total of six boys and two girls play for the club and are now able to be part of a formal daily training programme linked to the national squads as part of the England performance pathway. The 2010-11 season saw three of the club's junior teams reaching National Finals, with the under 18 boys and girls both winning the title, and the under 16 boys losing in a pulsating final.
Twice winners of the Volleyball England "Club of the Year" Award since 2000, long-serving chair Colin Roberts has received a number of awards for his work with the club, as have other members. Roberts was presented with the National Leadership Award by the Institute of Sport, Parks and Leisure (ISPAL) in the summer of 2009 , and took second place in the "Service to Sport" award at the City of Stoke-on-Trent Sports Awards early in 2010 , after having won the Volleyball England "Volunteer of the Year" award in 2008, just 12 months after fellow club member Rod Stockwell had been presented the same accolade.
Honours
Newcastle (Staffs) Volleyball Club has won a number of English National titles throughout its history, predominantly in Junior age groups and a large number of players have been recognised an international level. In 2010 as National under 18 Champions the club's boys team travelled to the southern Italian town of Castellana Grotte to compete in the inaugural EuroVolley Cup 2010 - a European Junior Boys Clubs competition supported by the CEV and Italian Federation. At this event the team won two of its nine matches to finish in a creditable 8th place.National competitions
| Title | Years Won | Years Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| NVL Men 1 | - | 1994/95, 1995/96, 1998/99 |
| National Cup Men | - | 1996/97, 2001/02 |
| National Shield Men | 2006/07 | 2003/04 |
| National Shield Women | 2010/11 | - |
| NVL Men 2 | 1984/85 | - |
| NVL Women 2 North | 2010/11 | - |
| National u20 Men | 1991/92, 1992/93, 1993/94 | - |
| National u19 Men | 1982/83, 1983/84, 1984/85, 1985/86 | 1979/80, 1980/81, 1981/82, 1982/83 |
| National u18 Men | 2009/10 , 2010/11 | 1990/91, 1995/96 |
| National u18 Women | 2010/11 | - |
| National u16 Boys | 1979/80, 1981/82, 2008/09 . | 1980/81, 1981/82, 1982/1983, 1989/90, 2005/06, 2010/11 |
| National u16 Girls | - | 2007/08, 2009/10 |
| National u15 Boys | 1978/79, 1980/81, 1982/83, 2004/05, 2007/08 | 1979/80, 1988/89 |
| National u15 Girls | 2007/08 | - |
| National u14 Boys | - | 2007/08, 2008/09 |
| National u14 Girls | 2007/08 | - |
Players at International level
Players highest honour only (i.e. if GB then England not recorded)| Great Britain | England | England Senior Development | England Juniors | England Cadets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Dobell | Anthony Viggars | Megan Viggars (GB Junior Beach) | James Bannister | Dave Lawton |
| Sam Bragg | Tim Hollis | Paige Nelmes (GB Junior Beach) | Sam Allen | Alex Liebeck |
| - | Steve Fee | Roman Neveykin | James Goodwin | Chris Ashton |
| - | Tom Stevens | Rashad Ali | Sam Shenton | - |
| - | Neil Masters | Rupert Scott | Luke Davenport | - |
| - | - | - | Patrik Cawthorn | - |
| - | - | - | Sam Shenton | - |
| - | - | - | Stewart Ross | - |
| - | - | - | Iain McKellar | - |
| - | - | - | Alex Jenkins | - |