JaVA spiking for all-year preparation

Jermaine Lannaman, Gleaner Writer

Despite Jamaica's fifth- and sixth-place finish in the men's and women's categories of the just-concluded Caribbean Volleyball Championship (CVC) in Suriname, Jamaica Volleyball Association (JaVA) president, Warrenton Dixon, remains optimistic about the future.

According to Dixon, while the team failed to make it to the knockout rounds of the championship, a number of players finished in the top 10 of their respective positions, including digger Ricardo Chong and blocker Dellan Brown, who topped their respective categories, and this for him is encouragement that the talent does exist locally to perform at the highest level.

"When you look at the challenges we faced and how far we reached in the championship, with a number of our players finishing in the top 10, there were some real positive things coming out," Dixon told The Gleaner.

"For two of our players to have gotten awards is something I take pride in. It shows that Jamaica has a lot of talent. I must give kudos to the coaches to achieve what they achieved," he added.

The championship, which is held biannually, saw Trinidad and Tobago capturing both the men's and women's titles after defeating Barbados and the hosts in the final.

However, Dixon said while winning the championship would have been ideal, he was not too disappointed with the finish as, given the resources, they were heavily disadvantaged in comparison to their opponents.

"Unlike our opponents who train year round and participate regularly in international tournaments, we only had about two months to assemble and prepare, due to a lack of resources. Trinidad, for example, competes on the world circuit," he said.

Dixon, who was elected president in November 2009, also point to steps JaVA plans to take in improving the country's showing at tournaments in the future.

"I do not wish to return to these comments a year or two from now. We have to turn our hands and make fashion," explained Dixon.

"There are a number of things that need to be done to arrive at a solution. One such solution is to try and have a year-round training programme for our junior and senior teams.

"We will also be starting a primary school competition, with the intention of identifying and managing talent and developing a solid Under-13 programme. This programme will then serve as a feeder into other national programmes.

"Another area we hope to embark on is the training of the sport's administrators. If our administrators are not properly trained then our players won't be properly trained either," Dixon reasoned.

"We are conscious of the challenges regarding funding, but we do not plan to sit and not do anything about it," he added.

The next international assignment for Jamaica will be the Caribbean Volleyball Association Youth Championship next April, followed by the next staging of the CVC, which will be held in the US Virgin Islands.