Volleyball teams prepare for C.A. championships
Good evening I’m James Adderly and you’re just in time for this latest dish of Sports Monday. There’s something special happening at the City Centre these days. Very quietly a group of young Belizeans have been using this vaunted venue to be the best they can be in volleyball play. As we head into the 2000 Central American Senior Volleyball Championships to be staged at El Salvador, set to kick off this weekend, there’s a feeling of excitement mounting among the female athletes. The feeling that they’re doing the right thing is evident from the effort they put in at training sessions. It’s hard work, its tough and for certain folks, these repetitive sessions are an attempt to instill the fundamentals of the game into the individual athlete.
Taeko Inoue, National Female Volleyball Team
“This senior team that we have presently, consists of a lot of very young players and the starting six is made up of many of those young players. I am one of the younger players, I am only seventeen years old and I think that this is one of the best senior teams that we have ever put together. I think we have a very good chance of winning this time around.”
James Adderly
“Is there a mesh of senior and rookie players that make this team so much different from the others?”
Taeko Inoue
“Well, we are a very close knit team and I think that the ideas and thoughts of the younger generation and the ideas and thoughts of the older generation come together quite well and it makes us work together harder, realizing that we have younger players and older players together.”
James Adderly
“Let’s talk about your role, what’s your role on the team?”
Taeko Inoue
“Well I play line or the outside player and I guess my job is to pass and play defense and block, just like anybody else on the team. There is going to be some very hefty competition in El Salvador, definitely. Most teams have been practicing longer than us, probably for a year longer than us because they haven’t stopped practicing from our last competition where we went to Guatemala. We took a little break after that and they didn’t take a break.”
James Adderly
“Will we win our set this time?”
Taeko Inoue
“I am quite sure that we’ll win our set or probably games.”
Of course once you’ve done your best not even the angels can do better and we wish out girls well at El Salvador.
Meanwhile people, the gusto with which the National Male Volleyball Team participates in the training session is absolutely uplifting. This team has come from the bottom of the heap in Central America to now challenge for the title in the senior tournament.
James Adderly
“Obviously you all are doing something very different from what
you’ve been doing the past couple of years, because recently you were able to get two wins from El Salvador in a five game match up. So what’s happening in terms of training and preparation?”
Arvid Arnold, National Male Volleyball Team
“Well, we are stressing more on defense and offense and our defense is getting stronger and our offense is still at that level where we can compete with other teams.”
James Adderly
“Now you’ve been to senior championships where you didn’t win a set. How does it feel like going in to Salvador with that much more confidence?”
Arvid Arnold
“It feels very good and we are very confident that we can win a medal over there.”
Of course there’s some ways to go yet, but volleyball has made tremendous gains over the past two years and now it’s time to take their rightful place in Central America. Good luck to both the guys and the girls.
Turning to the football news, Sunday’s BNFA First Division game at Toledo saw Metro Stars of Belize City mash up the Mavericks three-one. In closing we certainly want to tell you that Marion Jones continues to impress. She is heading for her five gold medals at the upcoming Olympics. Nevertheless, yesterday she picked up the two hundred metres in an impressive fashion. The fastest woman in the world, she has Belizean roots. That’s it for now.
