The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE husband and wife team of Del and Arlene Hughes are back from Atlanta, Georgia, for their ninth appearance at the Jackie Conyers Back to Basics Volleyball Camp.

The camp, which was postponed in the summer, got started on Monday and is slated to wrap up today at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.

According to coordinator Jackie Conyers, the change in the year has worked perfectly for the Hughes, who got a chance to work with a wider cross-section of players from both the government and private schools as they incorporate some of their skills they instil in their players in their Atlanta Boom Volleyball Institute.

“The camp is going pretty good. We have a lot of new campers,” said Conyers, who decided to start the camp to provide an avenue for the local young players to enhance their skills. “We have schools like CR Walker, CH Reeves and LW Young, who have brought out their players to participate this year.

“We are excited that some of the government schools have seen the vision and decided to bring their entire teams out to participate. Hopefully they can go into their league and improve on their performances.”

While Conyers said she was delighted to have the Hughes back for another year, she noted that local coaches Kurkwood Green Sr, Glen Rolle, Markland Rolle, Jamal Forbes and Melinda Bastian have all played their part in making the event another success.

Arlene Hughes, a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University where she was named OVC Scholar Athlete, said this year’s camp was one of the best because they have a number of campers who have returned and are able to perform at a higher level.

“The campers are able to step up and compete at a complex level because of the level of kids that we have gotten,” she said. “So we are able to enhance what they are doing, or what they should be doing, just at a higher level.”

Providing a new mindset so that the campers will be in a better position to perform better, Arlene Hughes said they have incorporated fun workout sessions that are designed to bring out the best in each individual.

“We like the time of the year that the camp is being held because when school is out, they come straight here rather than in the summer where they are home, they’re sleeping or they are doing all sorts of other things because it’s the summer,” she noted. “So this is a perfect time to be here.”

Del Hughes, a graduate of Albany State University and former head coach of the USA Women’s Open Championship team, said they were blown away by the number of participants that they have had so far.

“We normally see those numbers around day three, four and five of the camp,” he said. “With this being in their season, the coaches have brought out more of their players, so we might be looking at restructuring the camp.”

While their focus is on instructing the campers, the Hughes will also take the opportunity to work with the Bahamas Volleyball Federation’s Youth Girls national team that is preparing to travel to the 3rd CAZOVA Girls Volleyball Championships in Tacarigua, Trinidad & Tobago, December 4-9.

Greene Sr, who will serve as the head coach for the team, said they are thrilled to have the Hughes back to impart their knowledge to the campers, which also includes members of the youth national team.

“We are always excited when we have Del and Arlene, who are committed to the Bahamas, come back and work with our players,” he said. “It’s good for them to reintroduce some of the techniques that they use in their programme, which has been very successful in Atlanta.

“So as far as the camp and the campers go, it’s an exciting time for us. It’s always good to see how the campers react to what they have to offer. I think we all benefit from it. So we are looking forward to the rest of the camp.”

Alice Roberts, an 11th grader at Kingsway Academy, is playing competitive volleyball for the first time this year. She’s also expected to be a part of the Youth national team that will be travelling next month.

“The camp has been really good because it has helped us to improve our skills tremendously,” she said. “They are teaching you the same things that our local coaches have been doing, but they have done it slightly different, which has made it more exciting.”

This is 15-year-old Roberts’ first year at the camp and she admitted that it’s been a “lot more tougher than I expected. I just expected the basic passing and stuff like that, but they give us a lot of drills as well.”

With all of her teammates participating in the camp, Roberts is confident that what they are taught will help them to improve their skills before they head to the tournament.

Diego Gardiner, a 14-year-old student of Queen’s College, is back for his second appearance at the camp and he’s pleased with the way things have been going for him as a setter for the Comets’ volleyball team.

“It’s good to have them come here and help the youth of the country develop their volleyball skills,” he said. “I find it very generous for these coaches to come here and help the youth of our country.”

Compared to the first one he attended, Gardiner said the camp is still growing, which has been an added plus for him as a participant.

The final session of today’s camp is slated to get started at 4pm and wrap up at 8pm.