Thursday, July 9, 2009

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Coaches get 'Back-to-Basics' By KELSIE JOHNSON ~ NG Sports Reporter ~ kelsie@nasguard.com: Volleyball matches in the 2009/10 government school volleyball season are expected to be more competitive now that the junior and high school coaches are getting a better understanding of the game and the changes that were made. More than 25 coaches from the government school sector are participating in the first annual coaching clinic, which is also a part of the week-long Jackie Conyers Back-to-Basics Volleyball Camp. The coaching course will assist coaches in fulfilling the mandate handed down the Ministry of Education late last year, stating that all coaches must receive certification if they wish to continue on with the after-school sports programs. The coaches, who are partaking in this two-day clinic that was approved by the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture and the Bahamas Volleyball Federation (BVF), will be presented with a completion certificate at the end of the course. In order to receive this certificate of completion, the coaches must participate in all sessions and complete the number of hours set by the BVF. Upon completion, persons who are successful will be recognized as a Level I national coach. Instructor for the clinic is Penny Lucas-White, a former professional player touring in the Italian League. Coach Lucas-White, who is also a former national team player for the United States of America, was pleased with the response from the coaches and their willingness to learn. Lucas-White said: "Today we went over serving, we showed them the jump, top spin, jump floater, standing floater and also the short serve. We did passing as well, and then we started to do some serve receive, transition and defense. I am very pleased with how positive the coaches have been," said Lucas. "In the morning session everyone wanted to get out and take part in the drills that we were running." Lucas-White explained that it wasn't as difficult to explain the new rules and changes to the coaches, because most of them had already been exposed to it. However, she stated that the exposure wasn't on a high level and at some points there were persons who were a little hesitant. She said: "I think it was a little bit of both, coaches not being exposed to the new rules and changes and some who were just set in their ways. I had a coach who was kind of set on teaching passing one way, and once we showed him how fast the game has revolved, he really couldn't teach the kids how to follow through on the passes and he admitted that he will change the way he taught. I thought that was a huge step because it is kind of difficult to change people and the things they've been doing for a long time. Everyone else, the majority of the coaches, they've been more than open and willing to learn." Head coach for the senior girls volleyball team at C.R. Walker Secondary School, Floyd Armbrister, was ecstatic about participating in the two-day clinic. According to Armbrister, the changes which have taken place in volleyball, can be complicated when trying to teach and incorporate it especially when the season is very short. Armbrister believes that since more coaches are being exposed to the high level of play, the games will be more competitive and may go on longer. He said: "There were some things that we basically knew before, but she showed us some key pointers that we can incorporate into our program. I got a grasp of the coordination, how to step up defense and capitalize on the offensive end. I think we (the coaches) have learned a lot from coach White today. "I have to implement some of the things that we've learned into the program because the old stuff that we used to do is getting outdated. This was proven in 2007 when C.R. Walker lost but was able to come back in 2008, thanks to the assistance from Laval Sands a national volleyball player, and win. Laval brought some of the drills and movements from the senior national program to us, what they were using, and we won, so it showed me that some of the things that I used to do was outdated and needed to be improved so that the athletes could improve in their games." For Lucas-White, the plan for today is to go through the offensive and defensive stands of the game. She believes that this is key as the coaches prepare for competition. The veteran coach and former player noted that once the coaches are exposed to the high level of the game, the kids and play in the country will change. The clinic and the camp has moved to the D.W. Davis gymnasium due to the scheduling conflict of the Kendal G.L. Isaacs National Gymnasium. Friday, June 26, 2009