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City of Edinburgh Men have once again hit that stage in the season which comes around every year. Only this time it has arrived two months early! Although the Burgh boys are sitting pretty with an unblemished record for the season so far, the injuries are already racking up. Coach McGuigan has lost Italian signing Pietrelli, Hunter told to rest by the physio until after Xmas, Penny struggling with a back injury, Riddle struggling with last seasons injuries and Puggioni, Taylor and Szlendek all dealing with work commitments! "The fact that the players are switching roles in the team from week to week is a credit to the skill range of each individual. Im sure the run of games to Christmas will test our talents further if we are to get to the Top Teams Cup Final and stay top of of the Natinal League"
The City of Edinburgh Volleyball Club based at South Queensferry is building on the success of last year which saw the Under19 boys and girls teams winning their respective Junior National Leagues with the Under16 boys and girls both finishing 3rd in theirs. The two senior teams also enjoyed success with the women winning the Division 1 Championship and the men winning the John Seyer Cup and being runners up in the Scottish Cup.
After finishing an impressive third in the league last season. City of Edinburgh U16 Girls attracted the attention of Frankie and Bennys in Queensferry!
As the first match of the 2011/2012 season draws ever closer, City of Edinburgh have been in pre season training. Some more changes have been made in a bid to strengthen the Burgh side which failed to climb the final hurdle at the end of last season. Opposite hitter Niall Collins, Setter Graeme Spowart and Middle hitter Iain Taylor have all joined the ranks and are fitting in nicely. Outside hitter Luca Pietrelli will hopefully join us shortly. Four weeks into pre season training and things are progressing nicely, with the new additions gelling with the unit as if they have been here for years. Unfortunately not everything has been rosey. Ben Hunter and Graham Riddle sufferred long term injuries grinding through the last season and are still receiving treatment. Mateo Wroblewski is yet to attend training Three weeks of training it was time to play some pre season matches to get the guys up to match speed. With five players out for various reasons. The City journied to the John Kurtz Memorial Tournament in Kilmarnock. Bon Accord, Northumbria and hosts Kilmarnock created challenging matches for all to play in. Northumbria have attracted many good young players to their team, including Rob Flay (ex GB beach), Andy Sinclair ( ex GB indoor captain) and Attila Brendt (ex Leeds outside hitter). Edinburgh shifted their team around to fill in for the missing middle players and put together a great display of power volleyball. Niall Collins hammered the Northumbria passing unit from the service line and threw in four net touches for good measure, which took the wind from the opposition sails. Northumbria didn't seem to be firing on all cylinders and the Burgh took full advantage taking the first win of the tournament against the favourites 3-0 The match against Bon Accord was a slightly different match. McGuigan flipped the squad again moving Hammond into the setting slot, McHardy through the outside and Spowart into the middle. The two hour wait to play seemed to leave the side out of spirit and jaded. The passing and setting seemed to function but the hitting errors were too much for the unit to handle. Bon Accord nipped the first set and things needed to drastically change for Edinburgh. So with the unit moved again and a stern talking to a complete role reversal unfolded in the second set. The third and deciding set was again dominated by the Burgh but hindered by a string of passing errors. The operating height and consistency from Edinburgh saw them take their second win of the tournament. As Kilmarnock suffered at the hands of Northumbria. Edinburgh prepared for their final match. A narrow loss in the final match I can say went down to an untidy defence and a lack of mental application, spurred on by a lack of match fitness. All in all the tournament was a success for the new look Edinburgh. Still things to work on of course but lots of positives to take into the opening game of the season next week! Elsewhere City of Edinburgh women fed back some positives from their pre season matches. The second team girls from last season have made the leap into the first team and are making it known they are not just there to take a seat on the bench. Coutts and co..watch your back!
The World Youth Games is a real Olympic experience for athletes allowing them to match up against competitors from all around the globe. This provides a memory that will last forever. The good work being done in Queensferry HS and City of Edinburgh VC means our players have been selected for this fantastic event to represent Scotland! Good luck everyone!!
Its not often Scotland's minority sports sneak on to our television screens but thanks to Sport Monthly on BBC 2 things are finally looking up. City of Edinburgh and Glasgow Ragazzi put on a fantastic display of volleyball infront of a packed stadium at Wishaw Sports Centre. It was not quite the end to the season that the City were looking for but has been the most successful season to date in the first division! To see the interviews and some of the footage click here!
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The Club also had several players undertaking international duties from under 16 and under 17 level at the International Children’s Games and the U.K. School Games through to full internationals at senior level. 4 players from the boys under19 team have also recently been called into the Scotland Youth Squad. 
