West of Scotland Boys
On Saturday 24th of July, the well used sports centre in Wishaw saw the return of the UKSG in the form of the selected players for this year’s West of Scotland U-17 boys. The Team came together for the first practice session as a complete unit and spent the day building on their already promising competitive Team spirit which was shown by all of the players who went through the selection process.
The Team maintained this discipline towards training, asking lots of questions and getting their heads around what was being asked and then doing it which was great to see. The work rate was excellent and this reflected in the high standard of the sessions both morning and afternoon.
Saturday also saw the announcement of Andy McGregor as Captain and Ali Green as Vice Captain.
With just over five weeks till the actual event the Team are working hard and competing at a very high level which I am sure they will maintain all the way through.
Iain Parker
Head Coach
West of Scotland Boys
West of Scotland Girls
The first squad session for the South and West of Scotland UK School Games Team started with smiles, enthusiasm and an eagerness to work hard on Saturday 24th July at Wishaw Sports Centre. 14 players from 13 to 16 years of age committed themselves to a full day’s training and every player showed a desire to improve throughout the whole day.
The focus of the morning session was to work on ball control then leading on to speed routes in hitting. After lunch the squad returned for an afternoon of game play situations while working hard at bedding down the new rotation system which they all did with ease.
My thanks to all the players for their hard work on Saturday and I am very much looking forward to continuing the excellent progress made on Saturday at the camp this weekend. Also a big thank you to Jen Krawczyk, Jess Reid and Iain Grubb for their continued coaching support and Linda Anderson (Team Manager) for her excellent organisational skills for both the boys and girls group on Saturday. Last but by no means least, Gillian Hair, for her excellent demonstration skills and support to the team.
Sandra Grubb
Head Coach
Scotland West Girls
East of Scotland Boys
24 July saw the first session for the selected squad of 12 plus 3 reserves for the Scotland East & North boys.
It is an exciting year for Scotland East & North Boys, as for 10 players in the squad Newcastle 2010 will be their first UK School Games and here the players will get their first taste of international volleyball. It is also especially positive for the North of Scotland as five players from Aberdeenshire are in the 2010 UKSG squad, the first players from that region to be selected since the UKSG began.
On 24 July the players worked on attack play, serving and the block-defence system. It was a lot to cram into one day, and the players worked harder than could have been expected. Coach Ian Brownlee commented “We are not the most experienced team but we do have many talented players with a great attitude and we are making good progress towards the tournament.”
Next up for the players is a two day training camp at Inverclyde on 31 July / 1 August.
Ian Brownlee
Coach
East of Scotland Boys
East of Scotland Girls
“Only 6 weeks or so to the next UKSG, so players ended their summer break on Saturday at Linlithgow to restart preparation for the Games which will be held in Newcastle this season.
The games involve the best young athletes in the UK, so training has to be intense to ensure that Scotland can retain its very good record in volleyball.
So despite the fact that the players were returning from ostensibly a rest period, they were encouraged to work extremely hard across the course of the day. They were asked to run, jump and dive. They were asked to control their bodies and the ball, they were asked to plan, organise, support and communicate. They were encouraged to learn and improve. They did all this with a vim and vigour and an intelligence which was great to see and experience. As a result with further training to come including two camps everything looks very promising and we can genuinely expect the east coast girl’s squad to make a real challenge against their UK peers in September.
At the end of the session Coach Heather Darling provided the players with a physical training programme that the players are expected to follow and build on so that they arrive in extremely good condition for the challenge of playing six matches in three days against the best in Britain.
Vince Krawczyk
Head Coach
Scotland East Girls
