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 over 150 young people from across the Premier League clubs and gave them the opportunity to showcase their volleyball skills in friendly competition.

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 - consisting of Eroa Odunn, Jordan Scott, Liam Farnington and Josh Reidy - were crowned overall champions in the boys section, with the 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: "The young people had a great experience at the tournament. The feel and vibe of the event was excellent and pitched at exactly the right level for all involved.

"It was fantastic for Blackburn Rovers Community Trust to win the boys event, particularly when they have only been training for a short number of weeks. It clearly shows what can be achieved with some quality coaching and increased participation opportunities. 

"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."

Premier League 4 Sport is a groundbreaking £3.8m partnership with the Government which aims to offer thousands of young people the chance to get involved in volleyball, badminton, judo and table-tennis ahead of the 2012 Olympics.