Final 4 - The big preview - men's matches

But a sliding doors moment, now more than a decade ago – when he was offered the opportunity to come in and head up the university’s volleyball programme just as he was part-way through the interview process at Goldman Sachs – brought about a significant switch in career paths. 

It is one Porter has not regretted for a second – even if his original choice of profession would have likely made him a few quid richer. 

The wealth he has instead accrued has been in terms of player talent, as well as satisfaction from seeing youngsters develop through the programme he has shaped and developed from the university’s Colchester campus. 

Now he hopes the men's side he has coached to top spot in the 2024-25 DYNAMIK Men’s Super League with a 15-3 record can cash in... by turning their superb regular season form into clinching the trophy as overall national champions. 

“It wasn't my intention to start coaching, but then I got injured and also I needed a job,” said Porter. “There was a community coach job that came up, so I went for that and got it and I taught in primary schools and secondary schools. 

“I did another coaching job in the local area, but then I got a job working on the stock market, which paid significantly more. 

“I was then in the process of interviews with Goldman Sachs and then this job at the University of Essex came up... and I live seven minutes from the university. 

“I could have gone to Goldman but it would have been 6.30am on the train every morning and getting home at 10pm at night. So, it was a trade off. 

“It was a Sliding Doors moment because I could still be working in the city now. Instead, I have been with Essex for 11-and-a-half years now. 

“The good thing was I already knew The Head of Performance Sport and the Performance Manager because in the run up to that job coming out, the university reached out to Tendring Technology College, Tendring Volleyball Club, Team Essex and Boswells to say they were looking to do this new programme and would those organisations support it. 

“So when I walked into the interview, I already knew what the questions were likely to be, because I've been in all these meetings before, so they ended up offering me the job. 

“I thought I might be there for three or fours years and then be back working in the city, but I’m still here more than a decade later. 

“We’ve come a long way since those early days and if we could go all the way, it would be another one of the proud dad moments. 

“When we look to recruit, it’s not just about whether they are good athletes or tall, but are they good human beings? 

“And when they graduate, you look back and reflect on seeing these young men grow into to adults in front of you. That’s why I’ve been in the job so long. 

“It continues to build a legacy and a brotherhood, such that when we won BUCS for the first time a few weeks ago, my phone blew up with messages from former students, congratulating us, plus the Vice-Chancellor who has now retired, but initiated the programme. 

“If we would win Final 4, I imagine it would be a similar reaction. It would be absolutely amazing and show we are doing the right things in terms of investing in the programme and the sport.” 

One of the more leftfield entrance songs to be aired this weekend is likely to be the Rebels’ chosen track. 

In an age where hip-hop, R n’ B and rap are frequently the download sounds of choice, it’s an 80s classic more readily associated with Walkmans that has become something of an anthem in the changing rooms. 

Porter said: “I don't know where it has come from, but a few weeks before the end of the season we were on a bus back from somewhere and we had Ben Osborne's playlist on and it's so varied. 

“He's got some stuff from the 70s, he's got some trance music, he's got some like jazz music. You just never know what you're going to get. 

“Then Careless Whispers came on the bus and, out of nowhere, everyone started joining in and singing. The bus driver turned around to me and was like “What's going on here?” 

“I'd never heard them play this song before, and then after each of the following games again it comes on, as well as after the BUCS final win when I also got soaked with the water bottles. 

“Mark Perkins also put it on during the women’s final and asked the Essex crowd to get involved, and they did, so now it’s a bit of a thing.” 

Semi-final opponents Newcastle Knights will be hoping the Wham favourite only gets the one airing as they bid to do what they have done so well all season... compete hard against all comers. 

Having taken over the running of the club that operated as Team Sunderland last season, the programme that pulls in students from both the University of Newcastle and Northumbria University is still very much in its infancy. 

But that has not stopped Head Coach Sam Shenton from moulding a side that has gone from one fighting relegation to one dining at the top table that includes the country’s best teams. 

Finishing the season with a 10-8 record, the North East side have relished the challenge, beating Malory Eagles 3-2 at Opening Weekend and never looking back from there. 

Now, as the only side representing the north of the country, Shenton hopes his side can further impress and throw a spanner in the works of the favourites. 

“I wasn't involved in the coaching team last year, but a lot of my players were playing for Sunderland under Jack McKelvey (the team’s libero), who did a really good job in keeping us up. 

“There has been a real shift this year. People are starting to realise that it's a great city, great for academic study, and then there is the volleyball as well where we now have two Super League teams (with the women having just been promoted). 

“We have a foundation to build on and now with undergraduates and postgraduates coming in we will be able to create a culture of high performance volleyball. 

“Some of the players we have bought in this year have adapted really well to English leagues and then there’s also some English guys coming in that have loads of experience... so it has worked really well. 

“We are actually capping our postgraduates for each team. We want it to be at least half undergraduates, whether that's European, American, English or whatever so there’s that ongoing culture and continuation. You’re looking for the perfect blend.

“We didn’t even have our own full kit for the first game against Malory, we just kind of rocked up, but Kelechi had a great game and the Outsides had great games. It was probably the best match of that Opening Weekend and got us off to a great start. 

“On stats and data, we probably are we are the underdogs of the whole thing, but I think it might suit us quite well and it's about us upsetting the first seed and then battling against second and third if we make it through. 

“For us, we're more than happy to be the underdogs because we know that volleyball is a game of trends and if you can have the trends on your side, you're going to push for the win. 

“Hopefully we’re going to win over some fans with the way that we play and the energy that we bring. We are the only Northern team at Final 4, both men and women and it's cool we're representing the north.” 

Shenton has watched with interest as London Giants have stormed up the league and into the Final 4 on the back of heavy mid-season recruitment. 

Other teams such as IBB Polonia and Richmond Docklands also sought to strengthen their ranks in the end-of-season run-in to boost their chances at the opposite end of the table and, while that has rankled with some, he feels it is fair enough. 

Shenton said: “I've been walking around gloating for the past month because I said to the team at our first meeting that with the league going down to eight teams with this new structure, that if there were London teams in the bottom three or four, they were absolutely going to bring in players in January. 

“We knew teams would try everything they possibly could to get themselves out of trouble, which is why we were still looking down the table for long parts of the season. 

“Resources, the player pool, the lights of London... all that stuff plays into it, but we were prepared for it from day one. 

“In reality, this is the top league in a sport in England and the January transfer market happens all over, in just about every sport. It's not something that everyone needs to be upset about, it's just the reality of playing at the top level.” 

The LA Lakers had Magic Johnson. Liverpool had Jamie Carragher. Malory Eagles has Jefferson Williams. 

Devoted and diligent one club people are hard to find, but those who excel as a player and coach for the same team are even rarer. 

Jamaica-born and later raised in Canada, Williams first joined Malory in the 1986-87 season and, almost 40 years later, is still going strong, enthusiasm undimmed. 

First as a coach, then as player-coach and now as a coach, the seasons have come and gone and the original Malory merged with White Eagles in 2009, but his calm and considered influence has remained a constant. 

He has seen his fair share of success, helping the club to the old Division 1 title five times in seven seasons, the last of them in 2009-10. 

But a national title in the Super League era has proven to be elusive, with three second places and three third places as close as the Eagles have come during that time. 

It is something Williams would love to change at Crystal Palace this weekend, where his charges will go in having finished the regular season in second spot with a 14-4 record. 

“We haven’t won the title for a long time – the last time was (England international) Richard Dobell’s last at the club,” he said. 

“That probably is too long, but it is how the cycle has turned and there has been a lot of changes since then. We lost the core of our team and other teams emerged, such as Northumbria and Sheffield, where there was a development centre. 

Leeds Met and Durham brought in the scholars and that made that made their pool of players that much stronger than we could entertain. 

“But we have started to move back up the chain a little bit more in the last few years since we joined up with UEL and have the opportunity to bring in scholars ourselves. 

“Having access to those players has pulled us back on an even keel with some of the other university-based teams. 

“This season we have done pretty well considering the way we started out (losing to Newcastle Knights at Opening Weekend). We have a strong squad and I think our depth goes quite a long way down. 

“I think if you're looking at our team, the main weakness is a bit of size on the outside. We have two small Setters and a small Outside Hitter, but equally they’re integral to what we do. 

“We’re playing London Giants (in the semi-final) who are strong, strong opposition with the players they have brought in, and they have built up momentum in the second half of the season. 

“But these games are why we play and train hard. The competition is a lot better when you go into a match not knowing who's going win, and knowing that the team that plays the best, grabs the moments and makes the least errors will win. 

“I would like to think being that close and missing out in Cup Finals and Final 4 last season will give us added motivation, but other teams are probably thinking the same way. 

“Individuals may or may not perform, and, if that happens, then the team suffers for that, but at the top level, where you know skills and physicalities across the teams are fairly even, then the game becomes 90% mental. 

“It's all about how you perform in given situations and how you manage the ups and downs - and get the momentum flowing again. 

“If somebody makes a mistake, quickly analyse it, flush it out and come back. We try to tell the guys that it's always about what you do next. You can’t change what has happened, but you can learn from it.” 

As a former winner at Crystal Palace, Williams is a big fan of bringing a major occasion back to South London. 

He was part of the Malory team that beat Redwood Lodge to win the National Cup at the venue, and he also enjoyed bringing his team – taking on IBB Polonia – as part of the inaugural Super League Live in November, which also saw London Giants play Richmond Docklands. 

“My very first Cup Finals that we won was at Crystal Palace and it was a little bit unexpected back in those days because the strong teams were the likes of Speedwell and Capital City, Liverpool and Polonia. 

“But we managed to upset the favorites along the way and then played Redwood. We had split matches during the season, but we were fairly confident that we would win. 

“We made the day an occasion. We dressed up and arrived as a as a unit and were very much together. It was a quick match, 3-0, and we had more fans than they did, so it was a great atmosphere and a successful day. 

“It brought back a lot of memories when we were back there in November. We didn’t have the Taraflex flooring, but it was still a nice place to play. 

“It's one of the best venues where we play volleyball in the UK and, hopefully the population of London will back it. I'm hoping the fact that we have this event on people's doorsteps will bring them out, as opposed to people saying I'm not travelling up to Kettering.” 

Going up against one of his former teams in the semis will be Mihail Stoev, now coach of the regalvanised and in-form London Giants. 

The Bulgarian took charge midway through the season with the team struggling at the wrong end of the table following promotion via the play-offs at the end of the 2023-24 campaign. 

Since then, the team have not only pulled away from relegation trouble but put together a run of eight wins in nine matches that has propelled them into the Final 4 places, where they are now genuine contenders to be overall champions. 

The game-changer has been a raft of new signings that have transformed the Giants from a good side into an excellent one, whose overall 11-7 season record belies what they are now capable of producing. 

Bulgarian Stoev – who played for IBB Polonia last season and has also donned the colours of Malory and Essex Blaze – is pleased with the impact he has made on London’s season, believing introducing a stronger mindset and clearer focus has been key. 

“I'm a Head Coach now, but I have a lot of experience playing as well,” he said. “Something I have brought to the table is showing the right direction and helping improve the culture of the team so we are approaching it more professionally. 

“Everyone is prepared, everyone is doing their homework and ready for practice. The guys are putting in the work and looking at extra stuff I’ve given them. They are reflecting on the previous training sessions and setting goals for the next one.  

"We have managed to sign some new players and there are others who stayed have managed to change their nature, what they've been doing and their habits, so that’s been important too. 

“We have players from different countries, but the European style is probably the most effective I would say.  

“The Brazilians are slightly different, the Americans are slightly different, but if you think of the biggest competitions in the world like Nations League and Olympics, you always have three European teams in the final four. 

“I’ve been fortunate to play and be involved in an environment where I know what high-level European teams do – and I've been trying to implement that system of play. 

“The work is still in progress and we're still making some amendments, but obviously the guys have the physical abilities and desire to work with what I'm giving them.” 

The Giants, no doubt, will be boosted by a 3-0 victory over the Eagles in the early stages of Stoev’s tenure, which served to underline their intentions to re-define their season. 

With so much at stake, a closer match may be on the cards this weekend, but he remains confident in his team’s ability to deliver, no matter who they come up against. 

Stoev said: “It’s the Final 4...if you want to win, you have to beat everyone. 

“We're not too concerned who is against us. We feel we're just trying to build our team and prepare for a game of volleyball. 

“Obviously, we will watch the videos or whatever is available, but the most important thing is to sort our house. 

“We're trying to play in our system, build on our strengths and minimise the errors. Volleyball is a game of errors and whoever makes less is probably going to win."

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