Latest News
February 2021
KickStart Return
Kick Starting the return to Volleyball
As COVID-19 restrictions ease we begin to welcome athletes back to indoor training with a series of camps specifically designed get players quickly up to speed to kickstart the return to volleyball.
We look forward to being able to welcome everyone back to our full range of camps when we will of course be following our well established COVID precautions.
December 2020
Who is eligible to attend VbDC activities?
There has been a lot of confusion about the covid 19 regulations concerning the age limits for attending indoor sports event since the summer, in part because Government guidelines have undergone several revisions since the pandemic began. We have occasionally been asked “to make an exception.” The answer to this request is always “no”. VbDC strictly follows the guidelines set by Government and our sports’ governing body, Volleyball England.
As of 2 December there has been a slight change and very welcome to the age rule regarding Under 18s as follows:
exemption to the rule of six … appl(ies) for U18s, disabled athletes and sport for educational purposes. Supervisors and coaches are allowed into junior sessions, but spectators are not. The definition of U18 includes young people who were 17 at the start of the academic year (1 September, 2020), even if they turn 18 during the remainder of that year.
Please help us to keep our training programmes and competitive events safe, and within the law, for all who take part by following this age guideline.
March 2020
VbDC miss out on semi finals
The Under 15 girls narrowly missed out on qualifying for the semi finals of the Volleyball England Under 15 National Championships. The team have visibly improved through each match, rapidly gaining in confidence as they progressed.
U15 Tournament Results
1st Boswells
2nd Newcastle Staffs
3rd VbDC
4th Ashcombe Dorking
August 2019
Launching our first camp for adults
It’s not about winning at volleyball… it’s about enjoying the game
You don’t have to be an elite athlete to enjoy volleyball, but you will get more pleasure from it at any level if you follow
EIGHT SIMPLE RULES
By popular demand, Volleyball Development Camps is offering a two-day workshop for adult recreational volleyball players who want to start the coming season with improved confidence in their skills, and a better understanding of the teamwork required to play a satisfying game. We call it Eight Simple Rules, or 8SR.
The new 8SR workshop takes place at the ACS Cobham International School Sports Arena on Saturday 21 September and Sunday, 22 September. The workshop begins at 10 am and concludes at 4 pm both days. Deadline for registration is 20 September.
Have you recently started playing volleyball? If so, ask yourself these three questions:
• Would you like to step your game up to the a higher level?
• Is being more satisfied with your on-court performance a personal goal?
• Would a better grasp of the fundamental tactics for an effective game help you improve?
8SR is not a team developmental camp, nor is it coaching individual ball-handling skills, although we’ll provide advice on those if you want it. 8SR is a 10-hour session of informal instruction geared toward adults. It follows eight points identified by VbDC Director of Curriculum John Biddiscombe which, if followed, can quickly help a recreational player find a greater degree of personal satisfaction from their game.
June 2019
Latest News
Time for a news update as there are so many exciting things happening for our former campers, mentors and coaches.
- Ben Lucas won his first England senior cap against Scotland at the beginning of June, successfully making the often difficult step up to the senior squad.
- Alice Brand and Carla Hulme paired up as one of the two England teams competing in the MEVZA (Middle European Volleyball Zonal Association) U20 Beach Volleyball Youth Cup along with another camper, Leah Blight in the other team for the competition in Slovenia.
- Coach Will McDonald had a busy weekend of coaching with Richmond at the National Finals in Kettering where they were represented in every age group and along with several campers, winning 2 out of the 3 girls finals.
- Another of our coaches, Rachel Hynes, managed the difficult role of Player/Coach to steer Dartford ladies to the South East Region championship.
- Hannah Carey, a great friend of VbDC who has now settled the USA, battled back from an injury to compete at the USA Volleyball Nationals Women’s A division in Columbus Ohio and come a very credible 31st place, considering there were 482 teams.
- One face that we sadly probably won’t be seeing this summer, but who’s voice we hopefully will be hearing a lot of is Clayton Lucas as he is busy providing, seemingly non-stop, english language commentary for the FIVB Volleyball Nations League (VNL).
- Finally Ailsa McDonald who started as a camper, progressed to become a mentor and then a coach, currently working towards her level 2 qualification and culminating her time at the University of East London (UEL) was recently awarded the Service to Sports Award, no doubt taking into consideration the work she does with GB Sitting volleyball. Incidentally Ailsa’s multi talents also stretch to filming and producing the videos on this site.
December 2018
Athlete is Showcase bound
A former VbDC camper and mentor will be travelling to Minneapolis in December to take part in a showcase of talent before scouts and coaches at the American Volleyball Coaches Association convention.
Ben Lucas, a member of the England U-19 squad, will participate in the showcase with other young men who are looking for scholarships to play at US universities. Lucas is the third male VbDC alumnus to have received offers to play on a sports scholarship in America, but he is the first to use the AVCA showcase to broaden awareness of his volleyball skills among university recruiters.
At the showcase, athletes are taken to a closed gym to participate in a variety of drills and activities that display their skills. Lucas plans to attend university in autumn 2019.