A GROUP of Capalaba College boys will return to school heroes after becoming national volleyball champions.
The under 15s teams were victorious at the the Australian Volleyball Schools Cup, which was held at at Melbourne from December 12 to December 14.
College teacher and coach Morgan Gibbons said the boys, who last year were a mix of year eight and nine students, had only trained together a few months before the national competition.
They were all high-performing sports students who would continue to play together this year, she said.
“This year they plan to keep following volleyball as they are so passionate about the sport,” she said.
“Both (year eight and nine) teams had been successful as bayside champions in their district and making metropolitan finals.
“Both teams had always finished top three in their state competitions.”
Ms Gibbons said the boys’ competition calendar this year included the Queensland Intermediate Volleyball Schools Cup at Toowoomba and the national championships.
“We will be entering the national competition again in December, which will be held at the Gold Coast instead of Melbourne this year, so we will have much more support,” she said.
A spokesperson for Volleyball Australia said the Australian Volleyball Schools Cup was the largest school-based sporting event in the Southern Hemisphere.
The event was being held at the Gold Coast for the first time more than two decades.
“This event has seen tremendous growth since its inception … ,” the spokesperson said.
“The (cup) is the marquee junior participation event in the national events portfolio, bringing together hundreds of secondary school teams annually in December, enjoying an introduction to volleyball, camaraderie and enthusiastic competition amongst the nation's school community for the Australian Volleyball Schools Cup.”
