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KINGSTOWN, St Vincent and the Grenadines, July 21, 2015 – St
Vincent and the Grenadines’ Volleyball Federation has been
benefitting from the expertise of Olympic Solidarity Programme
coach Sean McKay in recent months.
McKay spent five months in the Caribbean Island nation as part
of Olympic Solidarity, whose aim is to organise assistance for
all National Olympic Committees (NOCs), particularly those with
the greatest needs, through multi-faceted programmes that
prioritise athlete development, training of coaches and sports
administrators, while promoting Olympic ideals.
The key is to provide teacher and coach training so that they in
turn can start junior training programmes which then continue
into primary and secondary schools as well as clubs and the
community, as well as develop administrative support off it.
McKay ran coaching programmes at every level and in almost every
geographical region of SVG, while working with a school, club or
community representative so as to help them develop their skills
to get the most from their club or school team.
Vitally he appointed a Grassroots Co-ordinator and High School
Volleyball Co-ordinator to ensure that kids start volleyball
early and that by the time they reached their teenage years that
there was a competitive school team structure to benefit from.
He also put in place a Club and Community Co-ordinator to ensure
that there was a competitive league for adults from which
national teams could be selected. All three positions were
designed to continue the initial work that he started during his
stay on the islands.
He helped developed one-day competitions, which were seen as the
best way of developing the sport, as they aid fundraising,
talent identification and sport visibility.
He coached the two national volleyball teams for the NORCECA
Continental Cup and male U19 and U23 and the female U18 and U23
teams at the Windward Island Games. The teams benefitted
enormously from their three meetings a week, which helped raise
the level of the teams and developed the skills of assistant
coaches Vance Andrews, Cassius Franklyn and Devon Williams.
The Canadian worked closely with SVG Sports Officers, who are
responsible for engaging the islands’ youth and developing sport
in the communities. McKay provided basic training in volleyball,
beach volleyball and grassroots implementation of those sports. |
