The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AFTER an intense month of training sessions that was completed on Saturday, the Bahamas Volleyball Federation feels it is better equipped to move forward with a vibrant beach volleyball programme.

The BVF hosted a weekly training session at the Bahamas Football Association’s Beach Soccer facilities at the foot of the Sir Sidney Poitier Bridge. The sessions were conducted by visiting coach Augusto Sabbatini and local coach Kurkwood Greene.

Sabbatini, a Brazilian coach with 31 years of experience, spent the past three months in the Bahamas working with the men’s and women’s national volleyball teams before they participated in the NORCECA Tournament in Suriname in August before he concluded his trip with beach soccer.

The emphasis for the beach soccer training sessions was to prepare the youth, junior and under-23 players to participate in a series of international tournaments next year.

A total of 29 players, including 14 females and 15 males between the ages of 14-21, participated in the training sessions, which were conducted on Saturday mornings.

Greene, the vice president of the BVF, said they contacted FIVA, the governing body for volleyball, for assistance with their training programme and they sent Sabbatini.

“The concept with the beach volleyball programme was to concentrate on the junior players,” Greene said. “So we put out a call for young people between the ages of 12 and 21 because we have several teams to field for international tournaments next year.

“The beach training also give us an idea who can also play volleyball indoors. But with beach volleyball, there’s less people to play on a team and while we have a few players on the senior circuit, we want to get our junior programme going. It’s a lot more fun to play, but we hope that we can sustain this programme at least once a week on Saturday to put the resources in place.”

Sabbatini, who will leave town today for St Lucia for one year for another programme, said he was glad to implement the training programme for beach volleyball and he hope that the BVF will continue it.

“Most of the time when I leave, the programme stops, but you have some very good players and they need the programme to continue so that they can develop,” Sabbatini said. “There are a lot of technical aspects of the game that they have to work on.”

Sabbatini said he enjoyed his experience here in the Bahamas, especially with the facilities at the Beach Soccer complex. He said the Bahamas also have some excellent players who can excel in the sport.

Pratt sisters Sternesha Pratt, 16, and Sterniah, 14, both students of Leadership Academy and Andiel Bowleg, a 16-year-old student of Aquinas College, were among some of the female players who indicated that they enjoyed the experience.

As an aspiring actress who speaks Spanish fluently, and participates in ballot, gymnastics and hip hop, Sternesha said she’s excited to branch out into another sport.

“I am very tired, and I can’t wait to go into my mother’s car to drink some water and when I go home, I am going to go to sleep,” said Sternesha, in a Spanish translation.

The 12th grader said as a former track athlete who also played the panio, said she was aways interested in learning something new and when the opportunity presented itself, she decided to test her skills in beach volleyball.

“Before I came here, I thought I was good in volleyball, but when the coaches took us through the training sessions, they really humbled me,” she said. “On my first day here, I barely could pass the ball back to the coach.

“But after coming here for the past month, I really improved. Now I am able to pass the ball back to the coach and I can hear ‘good job Sternesha’ from the coach. I was able to pass the ball to my team-mates. I really learn how to be consistent.”

Her younger sister, Sterniah Pratt, who is now in the tenth grade, said she decided to come out because when she started playing four years ago, she enjoyed it.

“It’s been good, but it’s been tiring playing in the sand,” she said. “The first time I got here, I thought I was good, but as I started to practice, I realized that I got better.”

She noted that as long as she stays focused and concentrate more on her serving, she will eventually get better.

Bowleg, a native from Andros, came to the camp with the hopes of improving her game since she started playing from grade ten. She’s now in grade 12 and she hope that what she was taught will enable her to become a better player.

“Out here is very hot and you get tired running in the sand,” Bowleg said. “I have to work more on my overhand serving. But I’m looking forward to playing at the national level.”

For his attendance in just about every training session, Leroy Tre Moncur, a 16-year-old 11th grader of St Andrew’s School, got a special gift from coaches Sabbatini and Greene.

Moncur, who started playing volleyball in the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools, said as the captain of the Hurricanes’ senior boys’ team, when his coach Rachel Knowles told him about the programme, he decided to come out and participate.

“It’s been an excellent experience. I learnt a lot in and off the court,” Moncur said. “Coach Sabbatini and Greene have both been excellent volleyball mentors in how to play volleyball.

“Beach has overall been a different experience and it has allowed me to improve my game, digging, receiving, spiking, everything on the court.”