A team of Rovers youngsters are jumping for joy after winning the inaugural Premier League 4 Sport National Volleyball Tournament.

The St Bede’s schoolboys, who are coached by the club’s Community Trust and only took up the sport just three weeks earlier, defeated Fulham in a hard-fought final to lift the coveted trophy.

The successful event, which was staged in Sandwell, West Bromwich, brought together more than 150 young sters from across the Premier League clubs and gave them the opportunity to showcase their volleyball skills.

Volleyball is the first of the four sports involved in the scheme to stage a national tournament, which was supported by Sportsmatch (Sport England) and the Premier League 4 Sport project.

Eleven girls’ teams and 16 boys’ teams took part, with the strongest quartets progressing through the pool stages to the play-off matches.

The Rovers ‘A’ team - included Eroa Odunn, Jordan Scott, Liam Farnington and Josh Reidy – were crowned overall champions in the boys section, with the boys’ ‘B’ team finishing ninth and the Rovers girls’ team a respectable seventh.

Siobhan Atkinson, Community Development Executive for the Premier League, who presented the medals, said: “It was fantastic for Blackburn Rovers Community Trust to win the boys event, particularly when they have only been training for a short time. It shows what can be achieved with some quality coaching.

“The staff from Volleyball England were amazed to hear their story and the standard of play they were able to demonstrate.

“The young people who represented Blackburn were a credit to their school, the PL4S programme and the club overall.

“It was fantastic to see the two teams supporting each other and providing encouragement throughout the day – and I’m looking forward to seeing Blackburn defend their title at the event next year.”