Local volleyball standing at the crossroads

The local Volleyball set-up is indeed standing at the crossroads, and is in dire need of some directions.

Hopefully, tomorrow’s extraordinary general meeting, set for the Girls’ High School, will find the compass bearings and chart the course for the sport, which only five years ago promised so much.

Like many other sporting disciplines here, volleyball is suffering from lack of a definitive pathway towards development, and the minimal successes regionally have blanked the vision of both administrators and players alike.

Persons seem to have gone over the moon with the pockets of growth both on and off the court, hence, paid little attention to kniting the fabric of volleyball on the ground; that is, ensuring the local units are continuously replenished by young players.

This was not done, and coupled with the non-hosting of a national competition for some time, added to the downturn in interest and a fading away of active players.

Substantially, as well, the past two years or so, volleyball’s administrative arm has been spiked by internal infractions which have opened up possible lifelong sores.

At this point, what is needed is for a renaissance, a purging of the minds of all the toxins which have accrued over what may be considered trivial.

But it is easier said than done, as first of all, persons with such mettle and forgiving hearts are few and far between.

Is there available a bunch of committed persons who are willing to grind it out and give some man-hours to ensure it is run in a manner coherent with modern day tenets of administration?

Are such persons available? Only time will tell, as tomorrow is nigh.

The task at hand to woo such persons may be harder than pulling teeth, but something has to give for the survival of volleyball, and suffice those persons who see the sport as their recreational lifeline.

Critically too, there is a cadre of young male players who can hold their own among the best in the region, and it is imperative that they are given a relief through the conduit of an acceptable administrative structure to showcase their wares.

Optimistically, someone has to take the lead and accept the mantle to head to organisation and wade it out of the miry ground.

This may mean making some tough decisions, such as forgoing some of the competitions regionally for the sake of taking a fresh start and commence again to build from the ground up.

The pockets of talent which exist among the lot of players who have that which make them eligible for national selection do not translate into a formidable unit, as they are as good as the pool which stands as the best.

Over the years, volleyball was assessed by the ready-made participation in the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) and NORCECA tournaments, and that was that.

A closer look is that our representatives only made it thus far, which exposed that somewhere we are lacking a firm footing in the sport.

The participation of the two female outfits in overseas tournaments gauged where we were, and the final placing told the stories.

And, despite the men’s team advancing to the second round of the world championships qualifiers, no one realistically expects them to get any further.

However, what is generally offered at the annual schools’ competition, is the perfect barometer of where St Vincent and the Grenadines’ volleyball is at.

The picture has therefore been painted unobscured that the immediate need is to structure volleyball in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The new executive, when ushered in tomorrow, must from day one go back to the communities and get the caravan rolling and stimulate persons to play volleyball again.

Those traditional areas, such as Layou and Gomea, have to begin to light up with bumping and spiking once more.

At the same time, the new executive has to perk up the supply line of the sport, which is in South Rivers and Dickson.

This column can make suggestions and point to the direction which volleyball needs to travel, but the incoming executive may share a similar vision for the sport to move upwardly and do so in the shortest possible timeframe.

Players alike have to show that they are worth the investments of money, time and other resources needed for their progress, so that they can be competitive among their regional counterparts.

In all this, those who have the courage and have that inclination to take up the battle of administration at the national level, must be forewarned that it will not be an easy road, neither will it be a bed of roses.