Tendring players to represent England

8:57am Thursday 24th April 2008

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TENDRING'S top volleyball stars are set to fly the flag for England.

Budding players from Tendring Technology College have been picked to represent England at the World Schools Championships in Italy.

It will be the fifth time the school, which has campuses in Thorpe and Frinton, has been chosen for the under-17s event, having previously played in Portugal, Israel, Greece, Cyprus and Croatia.

Now the current crop of players - the majority of who finished as runners-up in last season's under-16s National Cup final - have another chance to show off their skills in Sardinia, from May 10 to 18.

Neil Masters, the team's coach and a PE teacher at the school, told the Gazette: "We're very proud and honoured to have been chosen again.

"It's a great opportunity for the players to prove themselves at such a high level.

"Hopefully some of them will go on to represent the senior national team but, if they don't, this is the chance of a lifetime.

"They might never get an opportunity like it again and it's very exciting."

England face Latvia, the Netherlands and Chile in their opening pool and Masters, himself an England international, said: "It's going to be tough.

"The Netherlands have a strong history, having won gold at the 1996 Olympics, while South American sides are very always strong, especially the likes of Brazil and Argentina.

"But our preparation is going well.

"As a nation, we're behind the times in terms of volleyball.

BIGGEST "It's one of the biggest sports in the world everywhere else, so from that point of view we're less advanced, but we're still confident we can hold our own."

The competition is run every two years by the International Schools Federation (ISF) and Tendring's team will comprise England cadets and juniors, plus members of their own Volleyball Academy.

Meanwhile, the school are looking for funding and sponsorship to help finance the trip.

Anyone interested, or for more details, should contact Neil Masters at neil_masters@ttc.uk.net