A little over 5 years ago there was a group of about 9 people playing volleyball on a regular basis in Spalding.

With support from Spalding Youth Centre a few youngsters attending the centre were encouraged to participate and transferred their skills to the adult group, which slightly increased the number of participants.

Links were established with the Lincolnshire Volleyball Association and the English Volleyball Association, which led to young people such as James McCleod and David Ball playing at regional level. David subsequently went on to play at England u19 level and National League division 1(the highest level outside international in this country).

In partnership with Lincolnshire Youth Service a new club was set up as Spalding Youth Volleyball with Head Coach Tim Barzycki using contacts at Spalding Youth Centre to encourage additional young people to take part. The sports hall at Spalding Grammar School was hired and Spalding Saracens were born.

Meanwhile the stronger junior players were actively encouraged to attend the adult sessions and along with other adults attending the numbers in this group grew. Back with the juniors numbers also grew slowly and it was decided to enter a team in the local league. Unfortunately as Saracens were the only junior team in the league this meant playing against adults. However they faired quite well. They also had the opportunity to play volleyball in establishments such as RAF camps and prisons including a womens prison.

Spalding Youth Volleyball continued to grow and Lincolnshire represented the East Midlands with an u17 girls team with 5 of the 6 girls all from Spalding Saracens. In the meantime more of the youngsters were playing for Spalding adults and the numbers were increasing.

Spalding Youth Volleyball went to win the prestigious Lincolnshire Sports Partnership ‘Community Club of the year' award in 2004 after becoming the first volleyball club in the country to achieve Sport England's Clubmark award. The following year the club were runners up in both the Community Coach and Young Volunteer categories at the awards.

All the young people within the club are on the management committee of the club.

Spalding Youth Volleyball also provided 4 members in this years regional tournament held at Norwich, two of whom captained their respective squads. From this Sam Cowlen (14) was chosen to represent his country in his age group.

During the summer the coaching team of Tim Barzycki, Bill Brockie and Simon Jackson offered their services as part of South Holland District Council's summer sport tour. From this it was clear that a new group for 10-12 year olds was required and following a successful funding bid to the Local Network Fund through Lincolnshire Community Foundation, they were able to set up a new session for this younger age group. The management committee of this group is made up of people who have supported and/or benefited from the youth volleyball group.

Within Spalding Youth Volleyball there is a also a girls team which for the first time this season will be playing competitive volleyball in their own right against female opposition.

Meanwhile with the influx of Eastern Europeans where volleyball is a major sport and Darius Uzlys assisting with any language difficulties, the adult squad has expanded to over 20 players on a regular basis. This has led to the decision to open an extra session in partnership with Castle Sports Complex for adult beginners led by John Chambers.

With support and encouragement the clubs have produced a number of coaches over the years to the extent that there at least 6 coaches qualified to EVA level 1 and one at Level 2.

With around 18 young people attending Spalding Youth Volleyball and a similar number in the new junior group as well as the adults Volleyball in Spalding is thriving as never experienced before. Consequently from age 10 through to adulthood there is a team for you to play with.

With the adults playing in both Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire leagues managed by former Saracens players Alan Davis and Brendan Taylor the season starts with fixtures against HMP and Stocken and Lincoln Cannons.

Spalding Saracens look to start their competitive season with a game against Barge and Bottle (Sleaford).

Coaching for each group has its own distinct schedule which is as follows
Spalding Junior Volleyball (age 10-12 years) at Spalding Grammar school Mondays 6-30-8 pm
Spalding Youth Volleyball (Age 12-18) at Spalding Grammar School on Thursday at 6.30-9.

With both the above groups all levels of experience are catered for.

For further information on either of the junior clubs contact Tim Barzycki on 07506 409 308 or tim.volleyball@tiscali.co.uk .

Spalding Volleyball club (adults) takes place at the Castle Sports Complex on
Sundays at 7.30 -9.

Adult beginner sessions are at Castle Sports Complex on Sundays at 6-7.15. For further information on the adult groups contact John Chambers on 07854 751 583 or jdchambers@tiscali.co.uk

There is a charge for all the above sessions.