21st August, 2015
Taiwo Adelu
A three-week training to expose primary and secondary school students in Lagos to the rudiments of volleyball has ended at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere with over 250 participants in attendance.
The training, tagged Junior Volleyball Development, was facilitated by the Youth Volleyball Mission of the Samaritan’s Feet International, with support from the Heart of America Region Volleyball Association and Club North Volleyball.
Nigeria’s coordinator of the programme, Suraj Olajide Onatuga, who had been in the U.S. a few years ago to train in youth development programme in volleyball said that “more than 250 children took part in the programme and it was open to primary and secondary schools students. Our target is to produce a new set of national players unlike in the past where 27 year old players played for the national Under-18 team.”
The former coach of Nigerian men’s volleyball team said he went to the United States of America to understudy youth developmental volleyball programme because volleyball in America is well structured, adding that the Junior Volleyball Development Programme would be a turning point to uplift the standard of the game not only in Lagos but the country as a whole.
“Some of the players I trained when I started a youth volleyball team in 1985 are now top class coaches in USA and one of them is supporting the programme through his contacts in America. The camp is to take the sport to the grassroots as volleyball equipment such as balls, nets and kits would be provided by our American partners to support the programme,” he said.
According to Coach Onatuga a.k.a Mansu, the camp was a build up to next year’s Junior Volleyball Development League which will debut in Lagos.
He added that the kids from the camp would continue regular training to keep them in good form ahead of the commencement of the league.
He noted that Tunisia, Egypt and Cameroon were better rated than Nigeria because they have good youth developmental programmes which have aided the growth of volleyball in those countries.