24 Jun 2024
NEVZA Youth Beach Championships 2024: Soczewka in fresh hunt for medals after rekindling Morgan partnership
Javier and Joaquin Bello have risen up to a current 24th place in the world rankings on the back on some fantastic performances on the Beach Pro Tour and at last year’s CEV EuroBeachVolley in Austria.
Soczewka has been able to learn from them first hand, regularly training with England pair over the last few years, having started his journey in the sport at Richmond, where he was coached by the brothers’ dad, Luis.
The 19-year-old, from Barnet, North London is eternally grateful for that guidance, and he hopes in the long-term to be able to carve out a successful career in the game, just as they have.
“I have been lucky to have always been around the Bellos, right from when they started their rise at the age of 16 or 17, because of the Richmond connection,” said Peter. “They allowed me to train with them and learn from them, which I have always really appreciated.
“To see what they have been able to do with the hard work they have put in has been really inspiring, especially as they have always done their best to encourage other athletes.
“When I played at the Commonwealth Youth Games, they sent messages, both publicly on social media and to me directly, wishing me all the best, which was a lovely thing for them to do.
“I followed my elder brother into the spot at Richmond and Luis was my first ever coach. I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been quite naturally talented when it comes to sports and picked it up quite quickly, but Luis helped me come on and practicing with Javier and Joaquin, who took me under their wing, was vital too.
“I had been playing indoor and then when Covid happened and you could only train outdoors, that’s when I took up beach and it’s all gone from there.”
Peter has spent this academic year out in the USA at Purdue University Fort Wayne starting his studies in Economics with a minor in Finance.
He has been part of the university team’s indoor roster, where he has been developing his game ahead of a return to the UK – and the sand – this summer.
Peter said: “I’m loving it over there. It’s pretty different but I’ve had a good first year and we have got to the quarter-finals of our conference, beating some really good teams like Ohio and Penn State.
“It is quite physical to play in and it has helped me build up my strength and I’ve also worked on things mentally too, both of which I think are transferrable and a good addition to when playing beach volleyball.”
In Bridlington, Peter will renew his partnership with Rob Morgan, with whom he won a Commonwealth Youth Games 2023 silver medal in Trinidad and Tobago.
And though they have been apart for some months, they have instantly reconnected during training sessions in the run-up to playing in East Yorkshire.
The two will also represent England in July’s CEV U20 Beach Championships 2024 in Myslowice, Poland.
“Playing at the Commonwealth Youth Games was an insane experience... it was the first time I had played on a different continent and amazing to play outside of Europe for the first time,” said Peter.
“Playing against all the different teams we did, it was amazing to secure a medal, especially with the amount of people watching and supporting us.
“Rob and I got so much closer because of that and it will be great to be together again as a pair, along with our coach for this NEVZA event and then the CEVs.
“We are pretty good friends outside of volleyball, I speak to him every week or two, so I know he has been developing at one of the best environments he could be at the University of Nottingham.
“Since I got back I have been up to Nottingham to practice with Rob for a couple of days and we were also at the VE training camp in Kettering, so we’ve had the chance to get back playing with each other, and it’s been nice to see that we haven’t lost that connection on the court.
“I’m looking forward to playing together and representing England again now we have that bond – it is going to be great fun.”
As an established partnership, Peter and Rob have high hopes of performing well at both the NEVZA and CEV tournaments.
The pair will be one of 35 pairs from seven different countries – Sweden, Norway, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Scotland and Ireland are the others – vying for glory on the East coast this coming week, with the tournament lasting from tomorrow (Tuesday) until Thursday.
Peter said: “Like me, Rob has grown as a player and I’m excited to see what we can do.
“I think we have a very high chance to take home some more medals, especially from this NEVZA tournament, where we will be aiming for the gold.
“CEV will be tough, the standard of the teams is going to be very high, but we still think we are capable of getting to the quarters or better if we play to our potential.”
To view the Beach Youth NEVZA pairings by nation, click here.
To view the competition’s home page, where you can find more details about the teams, the venue and more, click here.
To watch selected matches from the event on live streaming, click here.
You can also follow the event across Volleyball England’s social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
