Volleyball builds for the future
While most of the news from the world of sports has been dominated by the selection of a coach and players for the national basketball selection other sports have been engaged in some less dramatic institutional development.
Over the next twelve days, teachers and volleyball coaches will be brushing up on their game skills, thanks to the visit of Paul Brasson, an instructor with the International Federation of Volleyball. According to Clement Usher, the President of the Belize Volleyball Association, each year different sporting associations undergo similar training, which is offered through the Belize Olympic and Commonwealth Games Associations. Today he is not only grateful that this year it will be his association’s turn to benefit, but the course also comes just in time.
Clement Usher, President, Volleyball Association
“Right now we are preparing our senior teams to go to the qualification tournaments for the upcoming Central American and Caribbean Games and we are also preparing our youth – both boys and girls – to go to the Central American Scholarships, which should be held in Salvador and Honduras. So he is here at a very important time because he will be able to assist our national team coaches to better prepare these athletes for these upcoming events.”
Also high on the course’s agenda is teaching the participants how to get primary and high school students interested in the sport.
Paul Brasson, F.I.V.B. Instructor
“To give them tools on how to teach, to teach, not how to play the game of volleyball; to become more attractive for the students in the high schools. Motivation factor is a big issue for many teachers they cannot handle that.”
Clement Usher
“These courses are very beneficial because the coaches that come from our international federation are all very experienced; they are all very qualified and they come and they impart a wealth of knowledge on our coaches and potential coaches that we have working, that we have working with our national association.”
Usher says despite the fact that volleyball has grown tremendously the bleachers continue to remain largely empty. Presently the association is looking into ways of how they can attract more fans to the court.
Clement Usher
“We are trying to get them out to the games because we know without participation at that level it will be very difficult to have a successful program financial wise. Because, I mean if you don’t have a paying public, then we don’t have the funds available to undertake the projects that we want to undertake.”
The Olympic Solidarity Coaches Course comes to an end on May twenty sixth.
The course is taking place at St. John’s College. As for basketball, the new court for the City Centre arrived at the port today and installation should begin shortly.
