Nouse.co.uk » Bright future for volleyballers punching above their weight in the big leagues

Bright future for volleyballers punching above their weight in the big leagues

January 21, 2009
Leigh Clarke

Not many of York’s sports teams have enjoyed the same amount of success in recent years as the men’s volleyball team.

Following cup success and promotion into Northern Conference 1A in 2006 – the pinnacle of competitive university sport – they qualified for the national BUSA Championship playoffs in the following season, finishing eighth overall. Their former president, Ben Brown, played for England under-eighteens, current player Janis Koknevics is attending the English student tryouts, and the team has continued to play at the highest level.

The women’s team won’t be outshone, however. Their captain Lisa Breitschuh is also heading to the tryouts, they’re sitting comfortably in Northern Conference 2B and you wouldn’t bet against them racking up points for York in this year’s Varsity and Roses.

So where has the club’s success come from? President Jon Stammers doesn’t pretend to know the secret. He tells me how other universities have “better training and more funding”. The ‘big two’ of their current league – Sheffield Hallam and Leeds Met – are well coached, well funded teams full of strong and athletic players.

“They’re a joy to watch,” says Stammers, on the back of playing both teams consecutively and losing each time. That said, York have managed to survive and compete with these teams in the top division since 2006, and currently are joint third. This is a team without a professional coach and as such have only two training sessions a week.

The men’s success shows that sometimes winning is not down to coaching or funding, but instead good, hardworking players and high team spirit.

Everyone I talk to at their Thursday practice talks of the enthusiasm, spirit and ambition of the club. Breitschuh tells me how the women’s team is “full of lots of improving beginners” and has an “enjoyable” atmosphere. She hesitates to use the word “relaxed” – possibly because she fears presenting the team as non-competitive – but there is clearly an emphasis on camaraderie. They are able to play their volleyball in a friendly atmosphere and it has served them well in competition.

This season, the women’s team’s results have been mixed but they seem to be in transition, with many of the players first and second years who will stay and continue to improve.

Men’s captain Jack Butcher says how his team have also suffered from inconsistency this season, with the typical sluggishness from the late York start and a high turnover of players from last year proving problematic.

Despite this he says, “we’ve held our own in the league and beaten the teams we should have beaten”. The team’s only major disappointment was their failure to qualify for the Student Cup, where they were drawn in a “tricky pool”.

Last term, they were helped by Luca Accorsi, who had experience of playing semi-professional volleyball in his native Italy. He had a positive impact on the team, and many people are keen to tell me about the admired “Italian stallion”. He is indicative of the cosmopolitan vibe within the club.

Coming from countries where volleyball is emphasised in school, the Europeans add immeasurable strength and experience to the team. Unfortunately, being international students means they are often only at the university for a short time – and at the end of last term, the “Italian stallion” left for home.

The club is keen to attract members of all abilities, though. Stammers tells me that the club offers sessions on a Thursday evening to those with little or no experience of competitive volleyball. These are taken by club coach and men’s player Pietro Galli, and have recently seen up to 15 members attending weekly. Butcher adds that the club’s growth should see a successful next few years.

Stammers has big ambitions for the club himself, with sponsorship high on the agenda to facilitate trips to international tournaments in the summer. His passion is something that is more than evident throughout the club and is refreshing to see in university level sport.

The men’s team’s next fixture is a tough tie away at Leeds Met on 28 January. Meanwhile, the women will play away at Northumbria in the BUCS Cup first round on the same day. Should they win, they will play in the quarter finals two weeks later.