31 Dec 2023

'Bright future' for England's eight Beach Volleyball Development Centres

Volleyball England’s Beach Performance Director Kirk Pitman hopes the establishment of eight Beach Volleyball Development Centres across the country can pave the way for a “bright future.”

The venues chosen – Yellowave, Wessex, Richmond, Sideout (Leyton), Deep Dish (Crystal Palace), Fireball (Kidbrooke), Newcastle Staffs and Leeds Gorse/Skyball – have been selected to help strengthen the sport’s Performance Pathway.

Development Programmes at each aim to get hundreds more players taking to the sand on a regular basis over the coming years, with the most talented nurtured to help them progress through the levels.

Alongside that, there is the ambition to establish an improved framework of competitions that helps to retain people in beach volleyball, encourage cooperation with local clubs and ensure clearly defined and aligned pathways for coaches, officials and volunteers, as well as players.

Beach Volleyball has gained popularity over recent years and was boosted by English pair Javier and Joaquin Bello winning a bronze medal at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, an achievement they followed up on this summer by claiming a quarter-final place at EuroBeach Volley in Vienna.

Pitman, who is managing the programme alongside B2022 Legacy Consultant Jake Sheaf, believes the centres can help build on this and help produce not only stars of the future, but also a stronger Beach Volleyball community.

“The idea is to create an environment and the opportunities for athletes to really develop their skills and ultimately help them to become better players,” said Pitman, who is a former player with his native New Zealand and coached for Australia at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

“These centres will give more young players more time on the sand on a regular basis, starting from an earlier age, without the need to travel as far to get it.

“We want to share knowledge and skills across the centres, not only for the benefit of athletes, but for the benefit of the coaches as well.

“We want to bring players through who can compete internationally at the top level and hopefully the combination of things we are planning can pay off with a bright future.

“We’d also like to have a higher profile for the sport and get players performing well in the junior competitions.”

Each centre will be led by a Head Coach who will work to their own plans that take into account their respective areas, while also remaining aligned to the overall strategy for the project.

In each case, a strong emphasis will be on collaboration with local clubs in an athlete-centred approach, with a talent ID programme put in place.

Pitman added: “Success, firstly, would be about these centres still operating in five to 10 years’ time and then beyond that having players regularly competing on the FIVB Pro tours and competing in major international championships.

“Geographically, England and GB is quite unique and we are trying to learn from the way that other sports have structured things to maximise their athletes’ potential.

“We want to see this sustainable in the long-term by driving a strong club base and building a strong group of stakeholders, so it’s not just relying on one source for funding.

Pitman believes that the success of the Bellos and the emergence of Freddie Bialokoz and Issa Batrane, as well as other women’s pairings such as Isabelle Tucker and Katie Keefe and Daisy Mumby and Anaya Evans, among others, means there has never been a better time to establish a stronger beach network.

He will personally visit all the centres on a regular basis to check progress and help and advise the respective Head Coaches.

“Some of the players coming through and competing in international competitions are a great inspiration and motivation to our young players... they now have role models to aspire to,” said Pitman.

“Young players need to see what they could achieve if they were to keep progressing to that top level and now they have some of their own who are doing that.”

Those people interested in getting involved at a Beach Volleyball Development Centre should contact the centre relevant to them.

The eight centres and their contacts

Yellowave - E: info@yellowave.co.uk. T: 01273 672222.