On this Friday episode, our host Bartholomew Hall is joined by Invicta Volleyball as two of their members return from representing England's under 19 squad.
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00:00 Hello and welcome along to Invicta Sport, the only show on your TV dedicated to wrapping
00:18 up all of Kent's sporting action. I'm Bartholomew Hall and here's what to expect on this Friday,
00:23 the 17th of November.
00:28 Football Heights, lights, camera, kick off, we meet the Tunbridge Wells Football Academy
00:34 documenting their cup run, England's calling, Maidstone's volleyball stars make their under-19s
00:40 international debut and action replay. We look once again at videos and pictures of
00:45 you, the Kent audience, getting active in the county.
00:50 Good evening. We start with a round-up of the headlines and Dartford hammer thrower
00:54 Kai Bahram from Dartford is setting his sights on the 2028 Olympics after landing a top scholarship
01:03 in America. The 18-year-old is set to move to the States next summer, where he'll start
01:08 a four-year course at the University of California in Berkeley, as well as training under leading
01:13 hammer coach Mo Sattara. He'll also study an English and science degree. The Dartford
01:18 Harriers athlete says it was a pretty straightforward choice.
01:24 Next and the Invicta Dynamo's head coach Carl Lennon says his side have fallen off the pace
01:29 after last weekend's losses against the Solent Devils and the Chelmsford Chieftains. The
01:34 Mo's were hoping to make up some ground in the beaten double-header with games in hand
01:38 as they sit fourth in the National Ice Hockey League Division 1 South. However, the opponents
01:43 don't get much tougher this weekend as another double-header will see them face league leaders
01:48 Slough Jets and third-place side Streatham. Lennon says his team have more talent than
01:53 they know and that application and attitude is affecting them the most at the moment.
02:00 Next and finally ticking off the last of his firsts as head coach this weekend, Stephen
02:04 Clements will be in the dugout at Priestfield for his first home league fixture. Gillingham
02:10 will host Salford City this Saturday. It comes a week after losing 2-0 away to Wrexham last
02:16 time out. Clements says the task of getting the Gilles scoring more remains the focus.
02:20 "Of course you want to get off and running and I'm really looking forward to my first
02:25 home game in front of the fans. I've heard so many people say to me about what a difficult
02:31 place it is to play for an away opponent. I just want to make sure we carry that on."
02:37 And Gillingham is going into that game 10th in League 2, whilst their opponents are five
02:41 places lower in 15th. Both teams looking to jump back into contention after not having
02:46 won a league game this side of Halloween.
02:49 Moving on to the rest of the fixtures, I'll quickly read through you now. In the National
02:54 League, the two National South promotees are coming face to face in the top division for
02:59 the first time this season. Oxford currently sit 22nd, just one place below the fleet,
03:04 and have picked up four wins and five draws so far. The Hoops come to Kent with a win
03:08 over Woking behind them.
03:11 Down in the National South, well there's no National South games this weekend because
03:14 we've got the FA Trophy first round, where we have a Kent derby in the form of Dartford
03:19 versus Maidstone. The Stones looking to improve, and last season's run to the last eight, while
03:24 the Darts are yet to clear the first hurdle of the cup since Alan Dowson took charge.
03:29 And down in the Isthmian Premier, as you can see on the screen, both Folkestone and Margate
03:33 are heading away this weekend. Margate to Wingate and Finchley, and Folkestone and Victor
03:38 to Dulwich Hamlet.
03:41 Now moving on this evening, sticking with football, it's time to meet our first guests
03:46 this evening. The EMC Academy in Tunbridge Wells has decided to be a little bit more
03:53 open about what goes on behind the scenes throughout their scholarship season by following
03:57 along their players with a camera crew. The Fly on the Wall documentary will take an in-depth
04:02 look to the ongoing scholars, and in their season seek to become national champions.
04:07 Let's take a look at the trailer to that documentary.
04:15 Every game we go into, every other team should fear us, because I believe we've got the best
04:20 squad in the league by a million miles.
04:21 Play more intensive, play our tempo and we'll build the difference we've got.
04:28 I love watching it. It's my life, to be honest with you. I just love it. Nothing makes me
04:35 more happy.
04:36 Once I put my boots on and touch the ball, everything kind of just goes away.
04:40 Jack just benefits from the way they work, the way they play, the way they teach.
04:47 The last couple of weeks have been very positive. Lots of training, getting match fit and ready
05:03 for the season.
05:04 Great win, scored three goals and we'll just keep going.
05:11 I'm so proud of you. Exactly what we've asked for. The intensity, the quality has been spot
05:29 on.
05:31 Other than football, what other passions do you have?
05:37 I haven't really got none, it's just football to be fair.
05:46 Well the documentary is called The Journey and it's still in filming now, so to tell
05:52 me about how it's all going, I'm now joined by Academy Manager Johnny Elwood and Callum
05:57 Wright, who is one of the team's central midfielders. Thank you very much for both of you coming
06:02 today. Welcome to the show.
06:03 Now, first of all, a documentary for a local football academy, very Hollywood-esque for
06:09 a local academy. Where did it all come from?
06:12 So, obviously for us the idea was the journey that the boys are making from grassroots football
06:23 into the non-league game and then the semi-professional game and hopefully for some of them, the professional
06:29 game is probably one of the most challenging journeys through football. So, we just wanted
06:35 to use it to hopefully inspire other lads who are in the same position looking to make
06:41 that next step. We feel like we've got a really, really good group and we feel like there could
06:47 be some fantastic success stories coming off the back of them. So, we just wanted to share
06:52 a little bit about a group that are inspiring to us as coaches to work with every single
06:58 day and hopefully they'll be able to inspire some other people looking to do the same sort
07:03 of thing.
07:04 Absolutely. And Callum, what's it been like having the cameras not just in your face but
07:07 watching you as you're going around on the pitch?
07:10 I think it's been different but with our group of boys we didn't let it change. Our focus
07:17 was on how we wanted to play, how we trained. I think we've been training hard and I think
07:23 we've been deserving this opportunity.
07:25 Absolutely. It sounds really interesting as well. I suppose, Jonny, part of the move from
07:30 non-league into professional football is that change of suddenly, 'Oh, the press is currently
07:35 in my face, there are cameras all over the place'. That's going to prepare them for their
07:38 future careers as well?
07:39 Yeah, absolutely. I mean, look, we're not so naive that we think they're all going to
07:43 go into full-time football but for them to have the opportunity to improve their communication
07:48 skills and those that maybe do get the opportunity to go on and hopefully get interviewed by
07:54 someone like yourself in the future, it's only going to help them.
07:58 Absolutely. Now, the documentary's not come out yet, you're still on the route, so tell
08:02 me, how is the season going at the moment on your journey to becoming champions?
08:06 Yeah, without giving too much away, we've had a very, very good start. Callum's group
08:13 of first years coming in as 16-year-olds, which is the majority of our group, are playing
08:19 against 19-year-olds, so we've got a three-year plan to become national champions. That doesn't
08:24 mean to say we're not trying to do it before, but we've made a very, very good step towards
08:29 that. As well as that, success doesn't just look like winning games. We've got a goalkeeper,
08:35 Jack, who's on trial at Cambridge United. We've had another boy in our under-18s, Stan,
08:41 who's been signed for Gillingham. So, yeah, it's been a real positive start.
08:45 Absolutely. Callum, I'll come to you now. I suppose both of you, I can't interview about
08:50 a football documentary without bringing up one of the most popular ones over the last
08:53 couple of years. 'Welcome to Wrexham' has obviously made headlines across the world,
08:57 it's brought in a new audience. Was that slightly somewhat of an inspiration into making the
09:03 documentary this time? Maybe not bringing in a global audience, but having something
09:07 to promote the academy as well? Is that for Callum or for me?
09:11 For you, and then we'll come to Callum. As I say, for us, we've just got such an inspiring
09:19 group of lads that we've known the majority of them since they were eight years old. So,
09:24 for me, as a member of staff, as I say, to come into work every single day, they really
09:29 inspire me. We just wanted to share some of their stories and their dedication, their
09:36 sacrifices that they're making, because we really feel like it will inspire other people.
09:41 I've watched the Wrexham one, but I feel this one will be slightly different.
09:45 Less about a takeover and more about the individual stories. So, Callum, tell me, what is it then?
09:50 Give me a bit of an insight into your football story. How did you first get involved in it?
09:55 I was playing against Johnny in a football tournament. Johnny asked me to come and train
10:02 with him. Since then, I've been playing with him. I wasn't really getting a starting line-up,
10:07 but then I worked hard, got into it. Ever since, I've been playing with him. We've just
10:13 been step by step by step. With these cameras coming in, I think it will inspire younger
10:18 children to try and do what we're doing at the minute.
10:20 I suppose that's a big part of it as well, because you do have people of all ages, a
10:25 wide range of ages at the academy. It's got to be really good for some of the younger
10:29 ones to have people they can look up to. That's the kind of progress that I want to make and
10:33 I want to be part of that in the future.
10:35 Yes, definitely. The boys had a really, really good run in the FA Youth Cup. We had a lot
10:40 of our younger age groups come and watch them, come and support them. Now, when the older
10:46 ones train next to the younger ones, they're almost a little bit like celebrities on a
10:51 Friday night. They say, "Oh, there's Callum Wright. He's a good player, isn't he?"
10:55 So, yes, massively. I think that for our younger ones to be able to see them play and see them
11:01 in a different light, see maybe as you get older the emotional side, how you've got to
11:07 look after yourself. Hopefully, we'll be able to give them all a little bit of that information
11:13 as something that will be quite easy for them to see on our YouTube channel.
11:17 Absolutely. I know you don't want to give too many spoilers away, but can you go to
11:21 you both really quickly. Is there a favourite part of filming so far that you can share
11:24 with us? Since the season began, is there one memory that stands out?
11:29 Go on, mate. Anything for you?
11:31 I think the way we just started the league and the way the boys are just stuck together.
11:40 There's no... We're just as a team, we're like family. It's been a hard year for me,
11:45 but this is what EMC is about. It's just a family.
11:48 Thank you both very much for joining us. We've got to go to a break now, but we'll be following
11:51 the journey as it progresses. See you in just a few minutes.
11:53 Thanks very much.
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15:03 Hello and welcome back to Invicta Sport live on KMTV Next.
15:08 Two of England's latest under-19s volleyball squad have originated right here in Kent,
15:13 and most recently have travelled all the way to Finland to play in October's prestigious
15:17 Nevsa tournament. Back in Maidstone, however, they take part in Invicta Volleyball,
15:22 a national league club in the third tier who are eager to make the next step.
15:26 Not only that, the team that with more success, the sport will grow on the national stage.
15:31 Our reporter Finn McDermott went along to find out more.
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15:38 Training behind me now is a development group full of young volleyball players,
15:47 all of whom hope to go professional one day. But some of them have already played for their country.
15:53 I visited the talented national league team, Invicta Volleyball, in Maidstone,
15:58 who boast an impressive roster of young setters, middles, liberos and hitters.
16:03 The North European Men's Volleyball Club Championship under-19s tournament
16:08 was held in Rovaniemi, Finland in October this year,
16:11 with eight countries participating in both boys' and girls' events.
16:15 I spoke to two Kent players who both appeared for the England national team.
16:20 I found out about the cool-out thing around early September.
16:23 Saw the name, saw my name on there, spoke joy.
16:26 Ahead of the tournament it was just adrenaline pumping, it was beautiful.
16:30 Just put your weight together and play.
16:32 Seeing the atmosphere with the crowds, it's really uplifting and it was just a great experience.
16:37 I was actually nervous. I was nervous when I got there, naturally.
16:41 But before the tournament I was just dedicated, I was just training hard,
16:45 I was going to the gym, eating well, so that was amazing.
16:48 We had the room with a sauna. I've never had that before.
16:52 Everything was just incredible.
16:55 The main hall had a TV that had everything streaked on it, the games.
16:59 So it was incredible.
17:01 The Invicta team is no ordinary group, even with two national players.
17:05 The rest of the group are selected from a small three-team league, known as the Invicta League.
17:10 This invitational league aims to play a higher calibre of volleyball compared to county league.
17:16 And for those that want to make it as a professional one day,
17:18 getting into this league and then being hand-picked by the coach is a definite boost.
17:23 I think there's not a huge amount of exposure to the sport presently
17:26 and that makes it difficult for organisations to get behind it.
17:29 That's changing. We're getting a lot more exposure.
17:31 I think things like Instagram and TikTok have really helped with putting volleyball more into the public eye.
17:36 People are seeing the game a lot more.
17:38 But that's the main reason I think is exposure. We don't have enough of that at the moment.
17:41 Coach Thomas has also exclaimed his wish for the Invictas to make it out of the third division
17:47 and turn volleyball from an amateur sport into a professional one.
17:50 Finn McDermott for KMTV.
17:53 Joining me here in the studio now is one of Kent's England representatives,
17:58 Mickey Horney and the head coach of Invicta Volleyball, Luke Thomas.
18:01 Thank you both very much for joining us. Welcome to Invicta Sport.
18:04 Really, really good to have you here.
18:06 Now it looks like a lot of fun, what you get up to.
18:08 But it's not just a bit of fun for you, is it Mickey?
18:10 I mean you've now represented England in the Under-19 squad.
18:14 It was a few weeks ago, but are you still kind of feeling the buzz?
18:16 I can't get over it still.
18:18 I keep looking back at all the photos, all the videos.
18:21 It's such a good experience.
18:23 Playing internationally, it was once in a lifetime for me.
18:27 So what happens now then?
18:28 Because for now the rest of your life you can say that you represented England,
18:31 but do you try and get back into the same squad?
18:33 Do you look for the older age group?
18:35 I'm at the very end of Under-19s for England,
18:38 so I'm now going to aim for the higher age categories.
18:40 We've got Under-22s and then the proper senior squad.
18:43 That's what I want to aim for.
18:45 Fantastic. And of course Luke, you must be so proud of members of your club
18:49 who have managed to represent England.
18:50 Absolutely, yes. We're a relatively new club.
18:52 We've only started recently, so to be able to have this success so early on is fantastic.
18:56 And Mickey's been working really hard.
18:57 We're really proud of the work he's done and keeps doing.
18:59 And before the break we were talking with Football Academy
19:02 about their senior players making a documentary.
19:06 For you it must be brilliant for some of the younger players
19:09 having someone to maybe look up to,
19:11 maybe a goal to even work towards themselves.
19:13 Yes, that certainly is the case.
19:14 We're getting younger and younger players in our club now
19:16 and we're hoping that we're providing the role models for them to aspire to.
19:20 And then back to Finland, Mickey.
19:22 We heard from you a bit in the piece there.
19:24 You said that you had, I'm right in saying, I wrote it down.
19:27 Was it a sauna in your room?
19:29 Yes, we had a sauna.
19:30 I mean, I've never had that before,
19:32 but that's got to be quite different than playing at county level.
19:34 I mean, going and playing internationally, what was the experience like?
19:37 We were quite lucky to have a sauna.
19:38 We were the only people in the squad that had a sauna.
19:40 The whole centre is amazing.
19:43 It's really good quality flooring.
19:45 It's Teraflax and you've got a massive screen on the wall
19:48 that delays footage and it's really cool.
19:50 I loved it.
19:51 Fantastic.
19:52 And, I mean, Luke, you mentioned in the piece there as well
19:56 about the sort of rise of volleyball.
19:58 I mean, in the UK it's not currently a professional sport.
20:01 So there are pockets of organisations trying to make sport professional.
20:06 We're one of them.
20:07 There are a few clubs now that are employing professional players
20:10 or semi-professional players,
20:11 but as a league we don't have a professional league yet.
20:13 And when we go to Europe, we're up against countries
20:15 that have very well-established professional leagues,
20:18 several tiers of professional leagues.
20:20 But volleyball has increased in popularity.
20:22 We've had a huge boom of junior players recently
20:25 and those junior players like Mickey are getting to the point now
20:27 where they're pushing into the senior ranks.
20:29 So we're starting to see the benefit of that junior wave coming through
20:33 and there is growing interest.
20:35 I think it's easier now to see volleyball through social media
20:39 and through the better production of the Super League
20:42 that Volleyball England are performing now.
20:44 It's easier to see volleyball.
20:45 We're getting that exposure and that's piquing people's interest
20:47 and people are getting in touch with local clubs and trying to get involved.
20:51 And, of course, with the Olympics next year,
20:53 all the buzz is going to be coming back again.
20:55 In terms of your future, Mickey, can we see you on screen one day
20:59 representing Team GB?
21:00 Is that maybe a goal for you, one of the many?
21:03 I hope so.
21:04 Yeah, that's what I aim for.
21:06 It's not going to be immediate,
21:08 but it's something I want in the long term for myself.
21:11 There's got to be so much pride in being able to represent your country,
21:15 but does it put a bit of pressure on the shoulders as well?
21:18 When I first started I was so nervous.
21:20 It's a massive honour, but it's also very scary when you start it out.
21:24 When we went to Finland I was nervous there,
21:26 but I mellowed out when I got into it.
21:29 It's an honour, but it's also kind of scary sometimes.
21:32 I suppose the only way the sport is going to grow
21:34 is by more people taking it up.
21:36 What was it for you that first got you into volleyball?
21:38 It was the show Haikyuu.
21:40 That's what I got into.
21:41 It's an anime.
21:44 It's just about volleyball.
21:45 I watched it and thought, "Ooh, that's kind of cool."
21:47 I tried it out and I was like, "I love this sport."
21:49 That's what started my journey.
21:51 We've seen a lot of players come to the sport through that.
21:53 That's presented the stimulus for people to get involved.
21:56 They watch that programme and think, "Is this a real sport?
21:58 Can I find out more about it?"
22:00 As that became very popular in the UK,
22:04 that's when the interest in junior volleyball
22:06 really started to kick off.
22:07 Absolutely.
22:08 You mentioned social media there as well.
22:10 You guys even just being out and speaking publicly,
22:14 coming onto our show and talking about it,
22:17 it's all going to help raise the profile of the sport.
22:20 What's it like in the local area?
22:22 Can you tell me about the leagues that you participate in?
22:25 We play in the Division 3 of the National League
22:28 for our men's team, which is at that level, it's regionalised.
22:32 The furthest we'll go to is Leicester.
22:34 We won't go any further north than that.
22:36 We won't go any further west than Northampton.
22:39 Beyond that, we're hoping to win that league
22:42 or to get into a position where we can get promoted
22:44 into Division 2, which is a slightly larger division,
22:47 a wider geographic spread.
22:49 Our women's team play in the Kent League.
22:51 They have been quite successful there.
22:53 In their first year, they won the league and the cup.
22:55 Last year, they came second in both those events.
22:57 This year has been a bit of a rebuilding year for the programme.
23:00 Again, we've got a number of junior players in that women's team
23:03 that are very promising.
23:04 We've got two players on the England squad for under-17 girls
23:07 that are playing on our women's team in the Kent League.
23:10 In terms of needing that, wanting to strive for that growth
23:13 and the next progression of the club, does funding come into it?
23:16 I know you're a relatively new club.
23:18 Is that an issue?
23:19 Funding is very difficult for volleyball.
23:21 We're an indoor sport, so it's quite an expensive sport to play.
23:24 We have lots of costs in relation to hall hire.
23:27 Fortunately, we don't have a lot of expensive equipment,
23:29 which does make it a little bit more manageable.
23:31 We're very grateful we've got a few sponsors that have come on board
23:33 and said, "We recognise the value in what you're doing
23:35 "and we'd like to support you."
23:37 But finances are difficult in a minority sport
23:39 because you're competing for space in a hall.
23:42 The hall hire rent is quite high in places, so it is a challenge,
23:46 but one that we're overcoming because we've engaged local community
23:49 and we've engaged local businesses that are keen to help us on that journey.
23:53 It was the anime for you, and I've got to take a look at it now.
23:56 Maybe it'll even inspire me, but maybe even just you coming on today
24:00 might have inspired some people thinking about it.
24:02 What's your message to people that are thinking about taking it on?
24:07 Any advice?
24:09 You should just give it a go.
24:11 It's a sport where you can enjoy it at a really low level
24:13 and a really high level and everywhere in between.
24:16 As soon as you start it, it doesn't have to be good.
24:18 You haven't got to be the best facility.
24:20 You can just have fun with your friends out in the park,
24:23 peppering with a ball, just having fun.
24:25 Absolutely. I think from what we saw there,
24:27 you all seem to have a lot of fun with it, so there's no doubt about that.
24:30 Thank you both very much for joining us today,
24:32 and I'm sure we'll be following on the story as the season progresses
24:35 and as the story of Invicta progresses as well.
24:37 Thank you for having us.
24:39 Now, we've reached full time on today's episode,
24:41 but there's just a few minutes of extra time to take a look
24:43 at this week's Action Replay.
24:45 It's the segment where we take a look at clips and pictures
24:47 that you, the KMTV audience, have sent in of you taking part in sports.
24:51 Let's see what we've got in store on this week's Action Replay.
24:55 First up this week on Action Replay, two heads are better than one.
24:59 Meet Chris Ruswell and Megan Little and their fitness-driven charity efforts,
25:02 including two half marathons and a skydive.
25:05 They have raised £1,300 for the Free Wishes project,
25:08 which aims to fulfil end-of-life desires for patients,
25:11 supported by donations to East Kent Hospital's charity.
25:14 The couple were inspired by the project's impact and aim to continue
25:17 fundraising for it next year.
25:19 Next up, a thrilling showdown.
25:21 The University of Kent men's basketball team, UKC1s,
25:24 have emerged victorious in a cup game,
25:26 defeating LSE with a final score of 86-75.
25:30 Dan and Marquise both scored the most points with 18.
25:33 This was a massive win as they are now through to the second round.
25:36 A huge congratulations to them and we wish them the best in the next round.
25:40 And finally, right at the summit, introducing Bobby Cossall,
25:43 who climbed right to the top of Scotland's highest mountain, Ben Nevis.
25:47 In the process, he has raised £1,500 for Danecourt School in Gillingham
25:51 to help them build a new classroom,
25:53 with the whole expedition taking just over three and a half hours,
25:56 where he was able to take in breathtaking views and amazing scenery.
26:00 And that's that for Action Replay this week.
26:02 Don't forget that you could be featured in next week's edition.
26:05 Just send in your best pictures and videos of you in action
26:08 on social media or to our email, sport@kmtv.co.uk.
26:12 It's that simple.
26:14 And as we said there, don't forget, if you want to appear in next week's Action Replay,
26:18 then you can just tag us on social media @kmtvkent
26:21 or send us an email, sport@kmtv.co.uk.
26:24 Just make sure you tell us what part of Kent you come from and what it is you do.
26:28 Well, that really is full time on today's episode of Invicta Sport.
26:31 If you want more from KMTV, you can watch all our other special programmes,
26:35 The Kent Politics Show, Made in Kent, Kent on Climate and the Kent Film Club
26:39 by heading to kmtv.co.uk.
26:41 I'll be back on Monday with another episode, but for now, goodbye.
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