Club Documents
30

Chair’s Report 2020

During 36-year life of our volleyball club, or the even longer life of your ancient club chairman, we have never before experienced a total shutdown of all social and volleyball activity.  In response to the Covid-19 pandemic our club acted responsibly to slow the spread of the disease, initially through reduced personal contact before stopping our club sessions altogether, though this difficult decision was soon overtaken by government’s enforced ‘lockdown’.

In some ways we were fortunate to lose only the last six weeks of the indoor season, with little financial consequence – though sadly we lost the big end-of-season tournaments (senior and junior; national, regional and local), the Dave Kinder Cup final (our first since 2009) and our summer outdoor programme.

Looking back across the season until mid-March, I am pleased to report that our club was healthy in 2019-20:

  • We had more people leading, coaching and helping to run sessions than in previous seasons.
  • Player numbers were stable (men), growing slightly (women) or exploding (juniors).
  • We welcomed players across a wide range of ages and abilities, and we provided enjoyable volleyball.
  • All our teams have maintained consistent performance (league positions) over the last three seasons.

We have learned to be effective and efficient in using limited time and space to cater for mixed ability groups, to keep most of our members happy most of the time, and to maintain a comfortable and consistent level of competitiveness. 

Looking forward as a club, perhaps the biggest challenges lie at either end of our comfort zone: without losing our happy majority in the middle, how can we develop beginners and young players into our adult teams, and at the same time raise performance levels for more ambitious players?  Our club committee and coaches are thinking about these challenges, and will offer suggestions for our members to consider.

 

Thank you to our coaches and team organisers

It takes a lot of planning and hard work to run our club training sessions and teams, so I’d like to say a ‘big thank you’ to all our volunteer coaches, team organisers and helpers:

  • Men:  Carl, Pablo, James, Dave, Laura.
  • Women:  Cliff, Kat, Helen, Laura, Carl.
  • Juniors:  Phil, Julie (welfare/admin), Pablo, Hayden, Kat, Hanka, Donna, Cliff, Anna G, Laura, James, Ed.

 

Congratulations to our star players

  • Laura Kulmala topped the SW League player of the match awards table (again!).
  • Hayden Daniell was selected for the SW U19 squad, and was a last-18 triallist for England U19.
  • Anna Bulman, Gabriela Lara Moreno and Hannah Davis were invited to SW U15 squad training, and Hannah was selected for the final squad.

 

Planning ahead

Due to Covid-19 we have postponed our annual club meeting until September.  Until then your current committee have kindly agreed to continue planning for the season ahead, including 2020-21 league entries.  We will consult with members if changes are likely, including any implications for player commitment and cost. 

  • We will let you know if it is possible to play some outdoor volleyball later in the summer.
  • We will plan to resume indoors as usual on the first Sunday in September (6th September).

 

Head Coach Report 2020

My job as Head Coach is to plan the whole-season schedule, including our Sunday evening programme, and to coordinate our team of coaches.  I also have the privilege of coaching the juniors (age 8-15).

2019-20 was our second season of providing separate 1.5 hour training sessions for women and men every week (except match days), plus a separate junior space at the end of the hall, and running two men/mixed league teams instead of one. 

This season player attendance has been maintained (men) or increased (women up 10%, juniors up 60%).

Provision – Sunday night club sessions at Lime Kiln LC

 

Dedicated hours

Men/Mixed

home matches

Men/Mixed training

Women

training

Junior

training

2019-20 season

12 (15)

31 (34)

24 (27)

42 (49)

2018-19 season

18

45

35

48

2017-18 season

14

28

30

23

2016-17 season

14

32

27

16

  • Bold shows actual hours when season ended early due to Covid-19; (Brackets) show planned hours for full season.
  • Women also completed 15 SWL games on 8 Sundays (home games at Lavington School) and more were scheduled.

 

Attendance

 

Average (low-high)

Men/Mixed

Women

Juniors U15

training

match A

match B

training

SWL match

training

2019-20 season

10 (5-14)

7 (6-8)

8 (6-11)

10 (6-13)

9 (6-11)

13 (5-24)

2018-19 season

10 (5-14)

8 (6-9)

8 (6-10)

9 (6-13)

8 (7-10)

8 (4-10)

2017-18 season

8 (73%)

9 (69%)

9 (60%)

5 (83%)

2016-17 season

9 (56%)

6 (66%)

 

 

 

Team Performance 2019-20

South West League (Women)

From Kat:  After a slightly slow start to the season we finished on a real high winning our last 3 matches.  If you look closely at the table (next page) you will see that we need to work on winning matches rather than points (especially the ones which go to five sets).  We were joined by a number of new players this season including Harriet Adams who made a great contribution to the team and will be sorely missed as she is off to university.  Thank you to Cliff for coaching us and Helen and Debbie for captaining.  Laura won 6 PoM awards (top of league again!) plus Vicky Cooper 4 and Harriet 3.  Sadly the Exeter Ladies Challenge and SW Championships were cancelled, but we are looking forward to next season.  

Wiltshire Mixed League

From Pablo:  Led by Carl, we took a step forward in terms of team play, positions on court, intensity and anticipation.  Our Team B started with a couple of defeats but by the end of this shortened season, we were playing good rallies and good matches, taking some victories against teams that are above us in the league.  The team in general (and a few players in particular) deserve commendation for their effort and consistency this year attending training sessions.  By chance, sadly, we played fewer matches than any other team!

Team A, just the opposite, played more matches than any other team in Prem Div.  Where last season we were lucky against strong teams, this year we have lost some very close matches against FS and Hurricanes. Maybe we have missed a key player from last year but on the other hand we have one of the players with the most potential in the SW, and next year we’ll be back even stronger.  Having qualified for the Dave Kinder Cup Final by beating Calne, we’re hoping the final will be rescheduled to September.

 

South West League Ladies

 

 

 

 

 

P

W

L

Pts
F

Pts
A

Sets
F

Sets
A

Pts

 

 

 

 

Torexe

18

16

2

1514

1119

51

13

50

 

 

 

 

Taunton Kidz

14

14

0

1220

910

42

9

42

 

 

 

 

Cheltenham & Glos

17

12

5

1391

1159

39

22

41

 

 

 

 

Polonia Plymouth

15

10

5

1106

949

33

16

35

 

 

 

 

Bedminster Volleyball

16

6

10

1160

1268

24

34

28

 

 

 

 

Royal Wootton Bassett

15

6

9

1169

1200

28

29

27

 

 

 

 

PMVC Ladies

13

5

8

914

1021

18

28

23

 

 

 

 

Bristol Ladies 3

14

4

10

968

1195

18

35

22

 

 

 

 

Cardiff Jets

16

2

14

1050

1273

11

43

20

 

 

 

 

Wessex 3

16

2

14

925

1323

10

45

20

 

 
                           

 

 

Wiltshire Mixed

Premier Div

Played

Won

Lost

Sets Won

Sets Lost

Points For

Points Against

Points Diff

League Points

Normalised

 

Devizes Spitfires

10

10

0

29

1

752

461

291

59

71

Swindon Reds A

9

6

3

19

8

658

576

82

40

53

Royal Wootton Bassett

A

11

4

7

14

19

724

670

54

33

36

(4th)

Devizes Hurricanes

8

5

3

12

12

491

551

-60

30

45

Fighter Squadron Swindon

9

3

6

9

18

561

633

-72

23

31

Swindon Reds B

8

4

4

9

15

395

560

-165

23

34

Calne Comets

9

0

9

4

23

538

668

-130

13

17

 

 

Wiltshire Mixed

Division 1

Played

Won

Lost

Sets Won

Sets Lost

Points For

Points Against

Points Diff

League Points

Normalised

Salisbury Pagans

10

10

0

30

0

750

335

415

60

84

Salisbury Warlocks

13

7

6

20

19

803

798

5

47

51

Calne Meteorites

13

6

7

18

21

816

840

-24

43

50

Erlestoke

10

6

4

17

13

645

644

1

39

55

Olympiad

13

5

8

15

24

787

866

-79

37

40

Devizes Lancasters

11

6

5

14

19

658

762

-104

37

47

Royal Wootton Bassett B

8

4

4

13

11

511

507

4

29

43

(6th)

Salisbury Celts

10

0

10

5

25

502

720

-218

15

21

 

 

South West JuVoTo (Junior Volleyball Tour)

5 of 6 monthly rounds completed, SW Mini-Volley Championships cancelled.

 

Very well played Ben (13), Nik (13), Alberto (11) who were strongly competitive in their first season together.  Always closely matched with Taunton Tigers, just one bad day left us marginally behind them. 

Text Box: Very well played Ben (13), Nik (13), Alberto (11) who were strongly competitive in their first season together.  Always closely matched with Taunton Tigers, just one bad day left us marginally behind them.

Place

U13 Boys

Points

Game Points

1

Taunton Tigers

44

56

2

Royal Wootton Bassett

42

51

3

Taunton Lions

15

29

4

Beach Academy Diggers

6

16

5

BS S.M.R.T.

6

12

6

BS Trinity Academy

5

6

 

Hannah (14), Millie (14) and Julia (12) were joined by debutants Gracie (14) and Lavinia (14).  We developed strongly as a team as the season progressed, and it was a pleasure to watch.

Text Box: Hannah (14), Millie (14) and Julia (12) were joined by debutants Gracie (14) and Lavinia (14).  We developed strongly as a team as the season progressed, and it was a pleasure to watch.

Place

U14 Girls

Points

Game Points

1

Taunton Spikers

40

55

2

Wessex Sharks

31

58

3

RWB U14 Girls

24

50

4

BS Firebolts

19

36

5

BS Lightning Bolts

15

33

6

BS Thunderbolts

14

28

7

BS Wildfire

10

20

 

Anna, Gabi and Hannah (all now 15) continued to play excellent team volleyball, though couldn’t quite match the experience and power of PMVC1.

Text Box: Anna, Gabi and Hannah (all now 15) continued to play excellent team volleyball, though couldn’t quite match the experience and power of PMVC1.

Place

U15 Girls

Points

Game Points

1

PMVC 1

50

49

2

Royal Wootton Bassett

40

31

3

Devizes

12

8

4

PMVC 2

6

6

 

 

Wiltshire Ladies & Junior League (5 of 6 monthly rounds completed, table not yet available)

Eight of our junior players (Anna B, Gabi, Hannah D, Lauren, Julia, Ben, Nik, Josh) gained their very first experience of 6-a-side volleyball, led by Anna G (16) and supported by one or two adult players at a time (variously: Debbie, Donna, Charlotte, Maisie).  WLJ provides a safe and friendly, but competitive opportunity to develop younger players and gain match experience.  By the fifth round we had expanded from one to two RWB teams, and improved so much we were beginning to win games against more experienced adult teams!

 

 

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