A number of initiatives are being planned for Cayman’s youth volleyball players.
From a junior clinic with a renown international instructor to matches against foreign teams, much focus is being put on the next generation of local spikers. As Cayman Islands Volleyball Federation Vice President Kennedy McGowan states, the youth will get plenty of exposure.
“We have a lot planned for the youth this year,” McGowan said. “There is the four-day clinic this week with Juan Cartagena, who will have assistance from Cayman’s national junior coach Andrea Williams [and assistant coach Davison Ruwende].
“Then there is the Easter clinic, where we will invite all of the junior girls to play a team out of Jamaica. We plan to get exhibition matches lined up against Wesleyan’s all girls team. That would be for the school Easter break and would help to raise the level of the junior girls national team.
“One of the highlights will be a summer camp for the junior players. That will be in Madawaska, Canada in late August.”
Cartagena is a International Volleyball Federation instructor and the head technical coordinator for the North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation. A former national team manager for Puerto Rico, Cartagena has visited Caribbean nations like Aruba, the British and US Virgin Islands and Bermuda in recent months to work with local players and coaches.
Cartagena has been in Cayman for a few weeks and will work with youngsters age 10-18 at this week’s youth volleyball clinic. Sponsored by Domino’s Pizza, the sessions take place at the University College of the Cayman Islands multipurpose hall on 22-25 February. Wednesday’s session takes place 10am-4pm, Thursday runs 8:30am-2:30pm, Friday goes 8:30am-5pm (kids will be transported to the beach for 2:30pm) and Saturday runs 9am-12pm. The sessions are free.
McGowan states the presence of Cartagena can help Cayman chase national props.
“We were tentatively set to host the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association [a regional organization under NORCECA and the FIVB] youth women’s final on 5-11 March. However there is not enough time to host that and the NORCECA tour [opener] in the same month.
“Ultimately we’re eyeing the 2013 Island Games. We just need enough exposure and training for the period of time leading up to Bermuda. In the mean-time we’re developing a national training programme for beach and indoor volleyball. With the help of Juan (Cartagena) we will ensure it’s within the guidelines of NORCECA and FIVB.
“It will include the schools and the goal is to implement it by the end of the year to have everyone working from the same plan, running the same drills and staging the same kind of training sessions.”
The youth initiatives come as Cayman’s national teams were focused on this month’s semi-finals of the NORCECA Continental Cup (a qualifier for the 2012 London Olympics). The women’s squad of Cristin Alexander, Jennifer Bily, Taylor Burrowes and Stefania Gandolfi played in Costa Rica and finished fifth. The men’s side of Richard Campbell, Philippe Deslandes, Shervin Rankin and Olney Thompson wrapped up play in Nicaragua over the weekend.
For more information on Cayman volleyball, e-mail Kennedy McGowan at [email protected] or call 916-4407
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