Sitting volleyball on the up as Telford Eagles fly high
Telford Eagles sitting volleyball team is alive and kicking as the sport goes from strength to strength.
The team was formed in 2018 when coach Paul Twitchell returned from watching the Invictus Games in Australia, a multi-sport event created by Prince Harry for wounded, injured or sick armed forces personnel.
He was inspired by the inclusive nature of the sport and brought it to the already existing Telford Volleyball Club where he trained and played.
In England, sitting volleyball is played between mixed sex teams of disabled and non disabled players, with the emphasis very much on its inclusive nature.
The highest competitive outlet for the sport at the moment is the Paralympics where the sport is played between same-sex teams of athletes with qualifying disabilities.
On the international scene, Great Britain has a men’s and women’s sitting volleyball team plus a team that goes to the Invictus Games.
The Eagles competed in their first national Grand Prix series in 2019 with Paul as their coach, manager, captain and player.
He has stepped down now but the club continues and trains every Wednesday with the support of coaches and players from Telford Volleyball Club's standing team and the commitment from a few of the original Eagles members
Richard Lewis from Telford Volleyball Club said the sport generally is growing all the time but with publicity generated by the Invictus Games, the sitting version is going from strength to strength.
He said: "Since lock down we have seen a massive interest from the younger generation wishing to participate in volleyball, including my own son who was committed to football at one point but joined the Telford club and now loves playing the sport.
"Over the last year in particular we have seen teenagers improve so much we have entered second teams in both the men's and ladies' senior league on top of our successful first teams
The Eagles train every Wednesday at Oak Tree Centre, Lightmoor Village from 6,15pm-7.15pm with the sessions offering volleyball accessible for all ages, abilities or disabilities.
They welcome newcomers or experienced players and to find out more, go to the Telford Volleyball Facebook page or www.telfordvolleyballclub.weebly.com
