The VBDC Under 15 girls team clinched the Golden Ticket to the Volleyball England National Finals at Kettering on Sunday 24th April where they will face local rivals Richmond.
The match, and all the other finals will be available to stream on the Volleyball England YouTube channel.
Boost your game this summer with Volleyball Development Camps. We have a range of week long camps this summer
Launching in January 2022 Volleyball England junior competitions have had a face lift. With the new tiered Grand Prix style series of events, quite a lot has changed since the competitions last ran.
The new-look U15, U16 and U18 series have created a level of play that is ideal for new or inexperienced teams while also creating competitive playing opportunities for the country’s most talented junior athletes.
The VBDC-Club are delighted to be among record 290 teams from volleyball clubs and schools have entered Volleyball England’s refreshed junior competitions and look forward to hosting the first round on 16th January
One of the unexpected side effects of the Covid pandemic has been a surge in interest for playing volleyball among youngsters, certainly fuelled in part by a certain Japanese cartoon series.
Credit must go to Volleyball England and in particular to their Competitions Commission for first of all recognising the need for a competitive outlet for both the new comers to the sport as well as catering for the existing players and secondly devising a structure that pretty much addressed the needs of both groups.
Over 300 junior teams have signed up for the Grand Prix series which is split into two tiers and played over 3 rounds in the Under 15, 16 and 18 girls and boys competitions. This structure should see teams playing at least a minimum of 9 matches, with Tier 2 events arranged to keep traveling distances down while also playing against a variety of different teams.
In Tier 1, after the first round of matches teams are split into Gold, Silver and Bronze pools, with movement between these pools also possible after the second round of matches depending on results.
We have been fortunate to have attended (and indeed hosted) several of these events and the feedback has been positive across the board
We have events scheduled throughout the year. – Here is a taster for what we have coming up, contact us for more details and keep checking this site and social media for updates.
Planning for our camps in 2022 is well underway with dates already provisionally set for the first few camps.
| Share the Passion Workshop: A Day of Parent and Child Volleyball | 21 January, 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. |
| Eight Simple Rules | 12 February, 10a.m. – 4 p.m. |
| First Stepz/Pathways Weekend | 13 and 20 March, 1pm – 3 p.m. |
In addition to these camps we are waiting to confirm the final details for our Easter and Summer programmes as well as some new events that we are working on.
Please contact us for further details and keep watching the website and our social media for when the bookings for these open.
One of the leading volleyball photographers in the country, Steve Smith, attended our week-long summer camps in August to shoot hundreds of photos of the athletes. As usual Steve captured some superb images of the athletes in action and maybe one of them is of your child that you would like to have for the family album.
Steve has posted these photos on his website, and Volleyball Development Camps is making a request: if the sport of volleyball has given something to your child, could you give something back to volleyball? Even though Steve offers the photos free to download, our request is that if you download one could you please make an on-line donation to the Volleyball England Foundation, the fundraising arm of Volleyball England, our sport’s national governing body.
Funds raised by the Volleyball England Foundation are used to assist new volleyball clubs, established clubs which are launching youth programs, or schools that are beginning to offer volleyball as one of their after-school activities. It is all a part of helping the sport of youth volleyball grow in this country and your donations will play a big part in supporting the effort.
Our suggestion is that a donation of £5 per photo is made to the Volleyball England Foundation.
First, go to Steve’s website: www.sandsphotos.co.uk
Once you have downloaded your photo files, you then go to this hyperlink DONATE and follow the on-screen instructions.
Thank you for helping the Volleyball England Foundation raise funds needed to expand the sport in this country.
This summer we welcome everyone back to our full range of camps where we will of course be following our well established COVID precautions.
| Emerging Elite Camp | CHANGED TO – 2nd to 6th August |
| Elite Camp | 2nd to 6th August |
| First Stepz / Next Stepz Camp | 16th to 17th August |
| Pre-Season Boot Camp | 16th to 20th August |
| Pathways Camp | 18th to 20th August |
Further details of each camp can be found under the Our Camps page and the links to our booking page are below.
Aimed at Intermediate level players who have some playing experience, RETURN – REFRESH – REVIEW will develop and fine tune basic individual ball-handling skills, then move on to applying those skills in game-like drills and matches, and finish with a review of the next steps each player needs to take to be match-ready for the start of the season. You will get the most out of this camp if you are able to serve and attack consistently.
The concept behind these camps is that volleyball matches are won and lost in a series key battles on the court such as attack versus defence and service against reception. Athletes attending the camps will be armed with the weapons necessary to gain the upper hand in these battles. Our coaches will be covering areas such as: –
Saturday we will look at the service against reception battle, while on Sunday we will concentrate on the attack versus defence battle.
Both days will follow a similar format starting with a warm-up of course, moving into individual technique and group drills then progressively applying what has been learnt into a series of wash drills and ending the day with a mini tournament.
Sunday will also provide setters with an opportunity to develop their skills in running their teams offence.
To get the most out of the camp we suggest that athletes are able to serve and attack with consistency and are not afraid of taking on the challenges of floor defence.
The camps can be booked individually or as a pair for a discounted price.
