Local youth volleyball players recently got a chance to rub shoulders with Olympians.
Canadian duo Martin Reader and Josh Binstock, who competed at the London Games, graced the Madawaska junior volleyball camp. The stars, who were in Cayman back in March for the North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation tour opener, passed on tips to participants in Canada.
The Cayman Islands Volleyball Federation sent 12 kids to the camp. In its 40th year, the camp attracted over 500 participants.
Of the Cayman contingent, 10 were girls like prodigy Chante Smith-Johnson. For women’s national team player Jennifer Bily, the development of the young women is promising.
“There is a terrific young bunch who has been training indoor every Saturday morning, as part of the National Junior Development Programme,” Bily said. “There is some great talent out there coming from all districts around the island. They are getting introduced to the sport, improving their ball control skills and rallying potential.
“The next goal is to get them on the beach. The beach has a whole new set of challenges, obviously the elements (heat, wind, sand) must be embraced so as the juniors continue to improve (making enduring the elements that much more tolerable), we will hopefully see some of them migrate to the sport of beach volleyball.”
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