Maidstone's volleyball stars make their under-19 international debuts
Two of England's latest under 19s Volleyball Squad originate right here in Kent and most recently have traveled all the way to Finland to play in the prestigious NEVSA tournament.
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00:00 [Music]
00:09 Training behind me now is a development group full of young volleyball players,
00:13 all of whom hope to go professional one day.
00:16 But some of them have already played for their country.
00:19 I visited the talented National League team in Victor Volleyball in Maidstone,
00:23 who boast an impressive roster of young setters, middles, liberos and hitters.
00:29 The North European Men's Volleyball Club Championship Under-19s tournament
00:33 was held in Rovaniemi, Finland in October this year,
00:36 with eight countries participating in both boys' and girls' events.
00:40 I spoke to two Kent players, who both appeared for the England national team.
00:45 I found out about the Kula in around early September.
00:48 I saw the name, saw my name on there, and just overjoyed.
00:51 Ahead of the tournament it was just adrenaline pumping, it was beautiful.
00:55 It's quite a good way to get there and play.
00:57 I think the atmosphere with the crowd really uplifted us all,
01:00 and it was just a great experience overall.
01:03 I was actually nervous. I was nervous when I got there, naturally,
01:06 but before the tournament I was just dedicated, I was just training hard,
01:10 I was going to the gym, eating well, so that was amazing.
01:13 We had a room with a sauna, I've never had that before.
01:18 Everything was just incredible.
01:20 The main hall had a TV that had everything streaked on at the games,
01:24 so it was incredible.
01:26 The Invicta team is no ordinary group, even with two national players.
01:31 The rest of the group are selected from a small three-team league
01:34 known as the Invicta League.
01:36 This invitational league aims to play a higher calibre of volleyball
01:39 compared to county league.
01:41 And for those that want to make it as a professional one day,
01:44 getting into this league and then being hand-picked by the coach
01:47 is a definite boost.
01:49 I think there's not a huge amount of exposure to the sport presently,
01:52 and that makes it difficult for organisations to get behind it.
01:55 It's changing. We're getting a lot more exposure.
01:57 I think things like Instagram and TikTok have really helped
01:59 with putting volleyball more into the public eye.
02:01 People are seeing the game a lot more.
02:03 But that's the main reason, I think, is exposure.
02:05 We don't have enough of that at the moment.
02:07 Coach Thomas has also exclaimed his wish for the Invictas
02:10 to make it out of the third division
02:12 and turn volleyball from an amateur sport into a professional one.
02:16 Finn McDermid for KMTV.
02:18 [BLANK_AUDIO]