The Scottish women’s Senior National Team will head for England on the weekend of the 18th and 19th of December in the latest stage of their development programme. While the Scottish men compete at the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow, the senior women will be at the Kettering Development Centre in England, also competing against our oldest rivals.
The travel arrangements for the trip are horrible, but then national team success always comes at a price. New caps Emma Pell, and Caitlin McEwan will have the earliest of starts on the morning of Saturday 18th December when they join the squad for a 06.30 flight. The two players have shown up really well in practice and deserve their selection. They will be joined on this trip by recent caps Emma Clarkson, Kirsty McLean, Carly McKinlay and Caroline Clayton. The effort, commitment and quality of these players have been very evident in the practice gym and their continuation in the senior squad is worthy reward for their industry.
The ‘old heads ‘ in the group continue to demonstrate excellence in the volleyball arena and they are represented by Captain Linsey Bunten, Claire Penny, Laura McReady, Jenny Krawczyk and Laura Bolton. The final place in the squad has gone to Klaudia.Wieczorek whom we are very happy to welcome back. It is interesting to note that the women’s side which re-introduced international volleyball to Scotland in 2003 had an average age of 29, while the average age of the group travelling to Luxembourg in January 2011 will be 23.
The Scottish squad travelling to Kettering will face a more experienced English side that will be coached by Jefferson Williams. A long time friend to Scottish Volleyball Jefferson is vastly experienced and will ensure the test facing the Scottish team is a stern one. The matches will take place in the English Volleyball Development Centre, a new project for Volleyball England, which combines a multi-court facility with athlete accommodation on site – a similar centre in Scotland would be a tremendous boost to the development of our performance levels.
The main aim of the compact tour is to continue the development process for the squad, prior to the January trip to Luxembourg to play in the Novotel Cup. The focus will be on developing hitting and setting tactics, but also in continuing to develop an understanding of competing at the elite level.
On a final note, the senior women’s squad would like to congratulate Team Manager Gail Wilson on the birth of her daughter Emma – well done Mum!
John French
Coach – Scotland Women
The Scottish Squad
| Name | Position | Club |
| Laura Bolton | Setter | Jets |
| Emma Clarkston | Setter | Su Ragazzi |
| Lindsey Buntin (Captain) | Off Setter | Troon |
| Kirsty McLean | Off Setter | South Aryshire |
| Carly McKinlay | Middle Blocker | Su Ragazzi |
| Caitlin McEwan | Middle Blocker | North Lanarkshire |
| Caroline Clayton | Middle Blocker | Troon |
| Laura McReady | Swing Hitter | Su Ragazzi |
| Emma Pell | Swing Hitter | Troon |
| Claire Penny | Power Hitter | City of Edinburgh |
| Klaudia Wieczorek | Power Hitter | Leeds Carnagie |
| Jenny Krawczyk | Libero | Troon |