NVL newcomers part six – Tamworth Spartans (men)

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Year club was formed: 1982 (as Tamworth VC).   

Club chair: Simon Griffiths. 

Team coach: Bob Fordi.  

Social media handles: @TamworthVC (X), @tamworth_spartans (Instagram), TamworthSpartans (Facebook). 

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The decision to apply for a Tamworth Spartans men’s second team to enter the NVL for 2024-25 was made with two main factors in mind – continued growth and player development. 

The club was first formed in 1982 and at first played in the West Midlands, Birmingham and District and Leicester Leagues, rebranded as Tamworth Spartans in 2012 and entered the NVL for the first time four years, later with a women's team that now plays in Division 2. 

The men followed suit in 2018 and have since progressed to Division 1, but it has always been a sizeable step up from playing in the local leagues to the club’s National League first team. 

That’s where a second NVL team will significantly help the West Midlands club while, at the same time, also help the club maintain its development across the board. 

“We've always felt that West Midlands Division 1 is a comparable standard to NVL Division 3 – so players can move between those two competitions pretty seamlessly,” said Club Chair Simon Griffiths. 

“However, you cannot realistically expect a developing player to jump from the regional league to being able to help out our first teamers in NVL Division 1... it's just too big a jump. 

“Having a second NVL team can help bridge that gap, especially if they're competitive in Division 3, or could, hopefully, even push for promotion to Division 2. That really would be the perfect outcome.

“Alongside that, growth across all the clubs in the region seems particularly strong right now. If you want to keep growing, you've got to provide all the players coming into your club with competitive opportunities, otherwise they're going to go elsewhere.” 

Some of the players who are expected to form the backbone of the new second team have already gained NVL experience helping out with the firsts.  

Playing regularly at national level, however, can really aid development and benefit players looking to become regular first-teamers in the future. 

Simon added: “Our men's second team will feature some of the players who were involved around the fringes of our first team last season, but who still played their part in rather dramatically staving off relegation in the final few weeks. 

“They'll be joined by players from our three regional teams, two of which finished fourth and eighth in West Midlands Division 1 last season, with the third finishing sixth in Division 2. 

“In addition, we're currently in the middle of a summer recruitment drive that we hope will add plenty of new faces to the group.” 

Tamworth will compete in Division 3 North Central when the new season gets underway in the first weekend of October. 

They will come up against the likes of Leicester, Darkstar Debyshire, Black Country, Chester and Nottingham Rockets, among others. 

We want the team to be competitive, pushing for a top half finish but, in this division, you're never really sure quite what you're going to be up against until the fixtures start,” said Simon. 

“Remembering that the players are coming in from a few different places, we hope they can come together quickly and develop a real on-court understanding. More than anything though, we just hope that the team can enjoy themselves. 

“We all want to be competitive, but it's easy sometimes to get swept away by that and forget that we do this for fun. 

“One of our senior coaches has made a point this season of asking whether players, coaches, officials and volunteers are enjoying themselves because, ultimately, at this level of competition, that's what really matters.” 

Simon expects the make-up of the team to be a mixture of youth and experience. 

He added: “It will just be great to give playing opportunities to players who haven't experienced the NVL before. There are likely to be a few younger players involved. 

“They'll be doubling up; playing NVL and West Midlands so their development should accelerate as a result. 

“There are also likely to be a few others involved who – how can I put this nicely? – are a touch older, but are either returning to the NVL for the first time in years or are taking the chance to see what all the fuss is about! 

“I think that's likely to give the team a really nice blend.” 

Spartans have hosted a four-week summer bootcamp (pictured above) which has doubled up as NVL pre-season training and an extended trial session, which will help shape final decisions about which players go into which squads. 

It means it is hard to pinpoint as yet who the second team’s key players will be. 

“I really couldn't pick out named individuals at this stage,” said Simon. “What is pretty certain, though, is that this new second team will feature players who have come right through our junior development pathway, playing in local and national junior competitions, the Inter-Regionals and the West Midlands League - so that's pretty exciting.” 

Away from the NVL, plans continue to enhance the club’s standing, on and off the court. 

Simon said: “Alongside our three NVL teams, we're set to have five teams in the West Midlands league once again in 2024-25 (three men's and two women's). 

“We've got a thriving Junior Academy and will be fielding several teams in the Grand Prix Series this season. 

“We also host an incredibly popular social session on a Wednesday night that is typically booked out within five minutes of it going live on Spond every Sunday. 

“We'd love to be able to extend that session (and lay on more training for our competitive squads) but, like everyone else, venue availability remains a constant challenge. Therefore, if anyone fancies coming and building a new two-court venue in central Tamworth, we'd be all ears!”  

For more information on the club, check out socials and the website - tamworthspartans.com - or email information@tamworth-volleyball.com.