During the first week of March, a contingent of 12 players from Valletta Volleyball Club will be attending a training camp in Milan.
The team currently holds the national league title and is also leading the standings this season while eight of these players are also part of the Malta national team.
The training camp materialised as a result of the excellent relations that exist between the club’s administration and their Italian counterparts. “It is an honour for Valletta to be invited for this training camp which will be a great learning experience for our players and also give them the much needed experience to improve their game,”said Jonathan Chetcuti, Valletta’s captain.
Besides the daily training sessions, during the team’s four-day camp, the Valletta players will also play three friendly matches against top teams in the Italian Serie C and Serie B2 national league. Valletta have also been invited to watch a live game of the Italian Serie A between Acqua Paradiso Monza and Lube Macerata, two of the top seven clubs in Italy.
The contingent will also be received by the mayor of Monza for a meeting to be held on 3 March.
“This training camp is also our way of thanking our players for the commitment and dedication towards the club, and our hosts have gone to great lengths to give us the best exposure to all aspects of volleyball during our stay,” added Owen Spiteri, Valletta’s setter and official delegate. “Besides being their guests at the Serie A game, we will also have the chance to be present at the training session of Serie A team Acqua Paradiso Monza. This will be an excellent opportunity for our coaches and players to learn from a team with world class players such as Gavotto, Travica and Exiga and Italy’s ex national team assistant coach Mauro Berruto” said Spiteri.
Central Spikers: Dalton Caruana, Jonathan Chetcuti, Keith Mifsud
Outside Spikers: Robert Balzan, Cedric Bondin, Anatoly Gatt, Stephen Riolo, Anatole Scerri Diacono, Paul Tonna
Libero: Vince Pace
The training camp is being made possible with the support of Airmalta, Sportika sports apparel, Powerade and the Valletta local council.