The Tribune

TO ensure that they are abreast of all of the rule changes before they start their volleyball competition, the New Providence Public Primary Schools Sports Association is engaging its members in a two-day seminar with the New Providence Volleyball Association.

The event got started on yesterday at the Anatol Rodgers Gymnasium with the theoretical part of the seminar, conducted by Kirk Farquharson, Lanza Miller, Adalbert Ingraham, the first vice president of the NPVA, and scorer/statistician Rosemarie Munnings.

The practical session will take place today.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology’s Sports Division is assisting the NPSSSA.

Farquharson, the president of the New Providence Volleyball Officials Association, said they are collaborating with the NPVA to assist the primary school physical education teachers and coaches.

“The sessions are going very well. Because it’s only a short time, we’re only trying to pick out the most important aspects of the rules, so that we can pass onto the coaches for the application and interpretation so that they can get an understanding of it,” he said. “Their response has been really good and they are asking a lot of questions.”

The presenters did their presentation verbally and through video presentations.

Miller, who serves as the vice president to Farquharson, said they want to promote the game of volleyball from an official perspective and, at the same time, educate the teachers of the rules of the game so that they understand the fundamentals of the game when they teach it to their student-athletes.

“The sessions so far have been going great. The participation is very engaging and excellent,” he said. “There are a lot of questions being asked. The engagement is very good and very healthy. We appreciate it because it gives us an idea to understand where they are in their programme in terms of the rules of the game. “So we’re very happy with the results so far and looking forward to even further events like this where we can go and help as much as we can. We understand the time they put in for each of the disciplines that they have to go through, but we are willing to come in and help to promote the game of volleyball.”

Clara Storr, senior education officer in the Ministry of Education, said with this seminar and the others they staged during the year, they hope to provide a solid foundational aspect to teaching the sport of volleyball in the post COVID-19 environment.

“We want to ensure foundationally, especially at the primary level, that core skills are taught to the students,” she said. “Therefore, we can try to bridge the gap to junior high and then it can be better propelled into the senior high competition.

“We hope to provide the opportunity for the teachers and coaches to be properly trained because often times if teachers don’t have the adequate skills, they can only teach that which they know.

“So it is indeed an honour and privilege that we can partner with the New Providence Volleyball Association, who provide optimum skills to keep us on par with not just what’s happening in the region, but what’s happening in the world.”

The NPPPSSA, headed by president Latoya Sturrup, had at least 80 participants, including those from the Family Islands, who logged in virtually to the seminar.

Teachers and coaches will now prepare their teams for the NPPPSSA volleyball tournament that is slated to run March 20-24 at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.