St. Lucia hosts successful Technical Seminar

CASTRIES, St Lucia, August 31, 2014 - Beach volleyball development in St. Lucia received a boost after a FIVB Beach Volleyball Coaches Technical Seminar was successfully completed in Castries from August 6 to 9.

Jeffrey Brehaut from England led the programme which welcomed six men and three women from across the St. Lucia.

The Course was arranged by the FIVB Development Centre in the Dominican Republic and ran over four days with the main aim of developing a coaching structure and resource pack for the introduction of beach volleyball into schools and youth areas of the country.

Introduction to beach volleyball at a young age was identified as the main area that challenged the growth of the sport in the St. Lucia and it was evident that it needed to be addressed. The structure of the course focused on beginner and intermediate levels, but also touched on advance level coaching.

Two objectives were set for participants to follow up on and implement in the next period of development.

The first was to set up two main beach volleyball centres on the island, one in the north and one in the south to allow access for all to continue the game into adulthood. All nine coaches were encouraged to promote these centres as much as possible, making them the focal points for the sport in St. Lucia.

The second objective was to form closer ties with schools and develop a resource pack to make it easier for teachers to introduce beach volleyball. This should be followed up by regular school competitions and cemented by coaches visiting schools to support teachers.