Lucas' World Championships Volleyball Success

Volleyball success at the u15 World Schools Beach Volleyball Championships, Israel, May 2023 

Bournemouth Collegiate School pupil Lucas, who is part of the first England Boys beach volleyball team to compete at the under 15 age group, achieved success at the 2023 ISF World Schools Beach Volleyball Championships. 

Recognised by the International Olympic committee, the Championships had a total of 17 countries competing in various genders and age groups – and Lucas and his volleyball partner came 9^th in the world, an incredible position against very strong and established international beach volleyball schools.  

We caught up with Lucas, and chatted to him about his budding volleyball career, and where his passion came from.  

Q: Could you tell us a little about how you got into volleyball? 

A: My dad is an ex-England volleyball player and coach so I have always known volleyball from a young age. I started playing when I was very young as my dad used to take me to the summer camps. 

Q: How has BCS supported you in following your dreams in volleyball? 

A: BCS have supported me so much. In addition to the sports department I receive great support from the Learning Plus department, in particular Miss Sprigs and Mrs Slatford.  

Q: Where and how often do you train? 

A: I train three times a week either at Boscombe Pier or Sandbanks. Training starts at about 6:30am in all weathers. 

Q: So tell us about the tournament ! How did it all go.  

A: It was amazing. Unfortunately my Dad couldn’t come in the end due to problems at work at home, but my mum came. The first day we settled in, the next was training and then we went into the heats. There were different pools, and only the top two got to go through to the finals, but we did come third. And overall being 9^th in the world is just amazing! My family are really proud of me.  

Q: Absolutely fantastic, well done Lucas! So what’s next? What are your ambitions with volleyball?  

A: There are some competitions coming up including a multi-sport one in Doha next year. Also the Olympics when I am older - I am hoping to join in both junior and over 18 Olympics as well as other competitions 

Q: Do you want to follow In your Dad’s footsteps? 

A: I actually want to play a lot better, I kind of want to be number 1!