2009-05-25 14:28:00
Kingston, Jamaica, May 23, 2009 - It is not the way you start but the way you finish. That was the story of Bahamas during the Norceca-D tournament and Saturday night was not different as they recovered from one set down to upset hosts Jamaica 3-1 and join Mexico as teams qualified here to the third round of the 2010 FIVB Men’s World Championship.
The Bahamians, who earlier in the event erupted from a two-set hole against St. Lucia, prevailed against the home team by score of 19-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-22 and claimed a spot in the next phase of the competition. On Sunday they will meet Mexico, winners over Haiti by score of 25-16, 25-16, 25-20.
The winners of Sunday’s match advance to the Norceca-G (July 6-11) in Puerto Rico while the losers will go to Norceca-H in Cuba (August 12-17).
“We are happy to go home with this victory,” said Raymond Wilson, the coach of Bahamas. “Tomorrow we go against Mexico to try our best. They are not more talented than us in the Caribbean but they are mentally tough and they only focus in volleyball.”
Jack David, the Jamaican coach said: “We still need to overcome those hurdles and win the big games. We play volleyball but we are not there yet. You have to give a lot of credit to Bahamas.”
Shedrick Forbes led three Bahamians with double figures in scoring with 15 points. Byron Ferguson and Renaldo Knowles added 12 and 11 respectively. For Jamaica, Danny Wilson had 19 and Dellan Brown scored 13 points.
Leonardo Manzo led Mexico with 13 points, Tomas Aguilera added 10, including four blocks, and Irving Bricio chipped in 8 points.
“We achieved our goal of qualifying and now we hope to finish first and advance to the tournament in Puerto Rico,” said Jorge Azair, the Mexican coach. “Today we started a little anxious but then we recovered and played pretty well.”
In the first match on Saturday, St. Lucia finally won a match as they beat Cayman Islands 3-0 (25-11, 25-15, 25-14) in a lopsided contest for the fifth place.
St. Lucian Kaji Charles had an excellent overall performance with 11 points that included three blocks and four serving aces. Amobi Armstrong also had 11 tallies. For Cayman Islands Olney Thompson recorded 10 points.
Monday, May 25, 2009
JAVA TO ASSESS QUALIFICATION FAILURE
By Andre´ Lowe, Observer staff reporter lowea@jamaicaobserver.com
Monday, May 25, 2009
The Jamaica Volleyball Association (JAVA) will commence an assessment of their ill-fated FIVB World Championship qualification campaign, which ended with a heart-breaking spike inside the National Indoor Sports Centre at the end of Jamaica's 1-3 loss to The Bahamas in Saturday's semi-finals.
Meanwhile, Jamaica's head coach David Jack has laid the blame on poor execution from his players and mental weakness after watching the 'Riddim Boys' surrender three consecutive sets (18-25, 22-25, 22-25) after earlier claiming the first, 25-19.
Said Jack: "I really don't know what went wrong, it's rough and we played hard. I think we were plagued by some poor passing and until we can move away from that we won't be able to win these. We have some very talented players on our squad, but for some reason when it comes to the big games we are not able to get over the hurdles.
"It (mental block) is something that has plagued us, but we just have to continue working on it. It's not easy, but we cannot give up." he continued.
JAVA boss Wayne Robertson was obviously disappointed with the outcome, but maintained that the national programme was still in a good position despite the setback.
"We now have to assess what went wrong, we cannot get discouraged because the programme is a long-term one. Though we are disappointed we have to look at everything and when that assessment is completed we make the necessary implementations.
I'm sure we will be able to see the growth."
Robertson opined that he believes the Jamaicans lost as a result of underestimating their opponents who they have beaten comfortably several times last year.
He added: "I can't over-emphasise the importance of not losing momentum because we won the first set and I think we then started to take it easy.I think we underestimated them as they are a team that we have defeated consistently, but that is now behind us and we must now move forward."
Jack agreed and added that it is important that the team plays more games together to continue the development of the team and the sport in Jamaica.
"We have to keep building, we are on our way, we just need to keep playing the game and keep fighting. If we give up then volleyball dies, so we have to keep playing, coaching and getting players who can get us through the next level,"
Jack said.
JAVA will now turn their attention to the female qualifiers in Florida, which is set for July 6-8 at the University of Central Florida Arena.
The Jamaicans defeated Haiti 3-1 for third place last night, while The Bahamas faced Mexico in the championship game with the last two already qualified to the next stage of qualification for the World Championships.
Monday, May 25, 2009
The Jamaica Volleyball Association (JAVA) will commence an assessment of their ill-fated FIVB World Championship qualification campaign, which ended with a heart-breaking spike inside the National Indoor Sports Centre at the end of Jamaica's 1-3 loss to The Bahamas in Saturday's semi-finals.
Meanwhile, Jamaica's head coach David Jack has laid the blame on poor execution from his players and mental weakness after watching the 'Riddim Boys' surrender three consecutive sets (18-25, 22-25, 22-25) after earlier claiming the first, 25-19.
Said Jack: "I really don't know what went wrong, it's rough and we played hard. I think we were plagued by some poor passing and until we can move away from that we won't be able to win these. We have some very talented players on our squad, but for some reason when it comes to the big games we are not able to get over the hurdles.
"It (mental block) is something that has plagued us, but we just have to continue working on it. It's not easy, but we cannot give up." he continued.
JAVA boss Wayne Robertson was obviously disappointed with the outcome, but maintained that the national programme was still in a good position despite the setback.
"We now have to assess what went wrong, we cannot get discouraged because the programme is a long-term one. Though we are disappointed we have to look at everything and when that assessment is completed we make the necessary implementations.
I'm sure we will be able to see the growth."
Robertson opined that he believes the Jamaicans lost as a result of underestimating their opponents who they have beaten comfortably several times last year.
He added: "I can't over-emphasise the importance of not losing momentum because we won the first set and I think we then started to take it easy.I think we underestimated them as they are a team that we have defeated consistently, but that is now behind us and we must now move forward."
Jack agreed and added that it is important that the team plays more games together to continue the development of the team and the sport in Jamaica.
"We have to keep building, we are on our way, we just need to keep playing the game and keep fighting. If we give up then volleyball dies, so we have to keep playing, coaching and getting players who can get us through the next level,"
Jack said.
JAVA will now turn their attention to the female qualifiers in Florida, which is set for July 6-8 at the University of Central Florida Arena.
The Jamaicans defeated Haiti 3-1 for third place last night, while The Bahamas faced Mexico in the championship game with the last two already qualified to the next stage of qualification for the World Championships.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
JA START VOLLEYBALL HUNT AGAINST HAITI
by André Lowe, Observer staff reporter lowea@jamaicaobserver.com
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
The Jamaican senior men's volleyball team will begin their hunt for a place in next year's FIVB Men's World Championship in Italy later this evening when they face neighbours Haiti in their opening game in Group D of Round Two qualifying action at 7:30 at the National Indoor Sports Centre.
The group is completed by qualifier favourites Mexico, St Lucia, Bahamas and Cayman. However, they will only face Haiti and the Cayman Islands in the 'preliminary' round and will then play a knockout game with one of the other teams based on their position after these two games.
The top two teams at the end of the tournament will move on to the next phase of qualifying.
Head coach David Jack, who has experience coaching on the US collegiate circuit, is expecting the number 66-ranked Jamaicans to finish in one of those top two spots and is hoping his charges can take full advantage of playing at home.
Said Jack: "I think our chances are good, just seeing how the team was prepared, their commitment and passion for working really hard and we are playing at home.
"That should count for something; we must let home field advantage pay in our favour. We hope to see a raucous crowd cheering us on. (we are) looking towards that championship game and we hope to be a part of it."
The team which boasts the likes of experienced campaigners such as North American-based Parrish Offer, Andre McLean, Dany Wilson and NORCECA beach volleyball standout Mark Lewis, have been in training since September of last year, and Jack is banking on the expertise of his top players to pull his team through.
"We expect them based on their experience both on and off the court to lend a hand to some of these less experienced players and guide them along the way so that we can see that difference when they step on the court," shared Jack.
He did, however, concede that he knows very little about this evening's opponents as a collective unit, but has information on a few of their top players.
Jack added: "Our first opponent is Haiti; we don't know the entire team well enough but individuals from that team have played in the senior volleyball tournament that have been hosted at GC Foster several times. So in our preparation we have been working on a number of areas that we think are key (for the match-up)."
The Jamaicans will next in action on Friday at 5:00 pm against the Cayman Islands at the same venue.
Team: Robert Andrews, Dellan Brown, Ricardo Chong, Omar Frazer, Namarie Gordon, Collin Henry, Shavoy Irving, Mark Lewis, Andre McLean, Parrish Offer, Delford Morgan, Richard Reynolds, Donovan Richards, Delroy Salmon, Errol Smith, Conaradio Taylor, Dany Wilson.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
The Jamaican senior men's volleyball team will begin their hunt for a place in next year's FIVB Men's World Championship in Italy later this evening when they face neighbours Haiti in their opening game in Group D of Round Two qualifying action at 7:30 at the National Indoor Sports Centre.
The group is completed by qualifier favourites Mexico, St Lucia, Bahamas and Cayman. However, they will only face Haiti and the Cayman Islands in the 'preliminary' round and will then play a knockout game with one of the other teams based on their position after these two games.
The top two teams at the end of the tournament will move on to the next phase of qualifying.
Head coach David Jack, who has experience coaching on the US collegiate circuit, is expecting the number 66-ranked Jamaicans to finish in one of those top two spots and is hoping his charges can take full advantage of playing at home.
Said Jack: "I think our chances are good, just seeing how the team was prepared, their commitment and passion for working really hard and we are playing at home.
"That should count for something; we must let home field advantage pay in our favour. We hope to see a raucous crowd cheering us on. (we are) looking towards that championship game and we hope to be a part of it."
The team which boasts the likes of experienced campaigners such as North American-based Parrish Offer, Andre McLean, Dany Wilson and NORCECA beach volleyball standout Mark Lewis, have been in training since September of last year, and Jack is banking on the expertise of his top players to pull his team through.
"We expect them based on their experience both on and off the court to lend a hand to some of these less experienced players and guide them along the way so that we can see that difference when they step on the court," shared Jack.
He did, however, concede that he knows very little about this evening's opponents as a collective unit, but has information on a few of their top players.
Jack added: "Our first opponent is Haiti; we don't know the entire team well enough but individuals from that team have played in the senior volleyball tournament that have been hosted at GC Foster several times. So in our preparation we have been working on a number of areas that we think are key (for the match-up)."
The Jamaicans will next in action on Friday at 5:00 pm against the Cayman Islands at the same venue.
Team: Robert Andrews, Dellan Brown, Ricardo Chong, Omar Frazer, Namarie Gordon, Collin Henry, Shavoy Irving, Mark Lewis, Andre McLean, Parrish Offer, Delford Morgan, Richard Reynolds, Donovan Richards, Delroy Salmon, Errol Smith, Conaradio Taylor, Dany Wilson.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Team Ontario Coaches
Shane St-Louis - Boy’s Head Coach
Shane St-Louis, professor of the Fitness and Health Promotions program at collège Boréal in Sudbury is also the head coach of the men's Vipères intercollegiate team. Shane has had great success at the club level developing one of the first club programs in the northeast region and winning 4 consecutive Provincial Championship titles from 2005 to 2008 with his 18U Les Diables boys team.
This will be Shane's third season with the Ontario Provincial Team program. He had the honor in leading Team Ontario Women’s 1 team as head coach at the 2007 NTCC held in London, ON. He then took the role as an assistant coach with the Men’s Canada Games team during their 2008 training camp in Toronto, ON. Now as head coach of Team Ontario Men’s 19U, Shane is looking forward to preparing his squad for a great showing at the 2009 NTCC held in British Columbia, ON. Having worked along side some great coaches in the past 2 years with both the mens and women's programs, I am very focussed on building a great team that will progress not only during the sumer, but for long term success of the athletes as well as the provincial program. Shane is a certified level 3 coach, sport conditioning coach as well as a personal training specialist. He is currently enrolled at the United States Sports Academy in Alabama (US) to attain his Masters in Coaching and Sports Management.
Chris Galbraith - Boy's Assistant Coach
Chris Galbraith, an NCCP Level 3 volleyball coach, comes to the Provincial team having coached volleyball for over 20 years. After six years coaching at Queen's University (including 2 years as the Women’s varsity head coach) Chris returned to his coaching roots. This past season he has coached three different age groups, including elementary school clinics, U16 Boy's club, and Sr. Boy's high school volleyball. A firm believer in hard work and dedication, Chris says "I am really looking forward to working with this year's Provincial team. For
many of these athletes, these are the most important years in their development. The work that they put in over the summer will determine the future role that they will play with their post- secondary teams, and I am pleased to be able to
help them reach their goals."
Parrish Offer - Boy's Assistant Coach
Parrish is one of the newest members of the Team Ontario coaching staff. He recently finished his first professional season in the Danish Elite Division with Middelfart Volleyball Klub. While competing at a professional level, he also found time to coach two female teams. His success as the head coach of these two teams gained him notice, and several associations across the country invited him to be a guest coach and to run various youth clinics.
Prior to competing internationally. he spent five years with the McMaster Marauders, four of which he was captain and led them to an OUA championship in 2008 when he was also named a OUA First Team All-Star. Parrish's passion and drive for the sport is what makes him an effective coach. He has been given numerous awards for leadership and team play and hopes that he can use these skills to bring the team together in a very short time. Parrish is excited to be training some of the best athletes in the province in their quest for gold. "Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice
makes perfect!"
Michael Wahbi - Boy's Assistant Coach
This is Michael's first year working with the Provincial Team. He is extremely excited to be working alongside some brilliant minds behind the sport. Michael currently serves as an Assistant Coach with the York University Men's Volleyball
Program where he continues to expand his tactical and technical knowledge. Michael has also had the opportunity to work with the Etobicoke WildCats 17U Team as an Assistant Coach. Michael is a secondary school Phys.Ed/Social Science teacher at Bishop Allen Academy (TCDSB). Within his first two years of coaching, his Jr. Boys Team captured the TDCAA title! A huge accomplishment as the Jr.Boys last achieved this in 2001.. Michael is eager to motivate our high performance athletes. Remember: "the game of volleyball can be won or lost in the mind - it's 95% mental."
Shane St-Louis, professor of the Fitness and Health Promotions program at collège Boréal in Sudbury is also the head coach of the men's Vipères intercollegiate team. Shane has had great success at the club level developing one of the first club programs in the northeast region and winning 4 consecutive Provincial Championship titles from 2005 to 2008 with his 18U Les Diables boys team.
This will be Shane's third season with the Ontario Provincial Team program. He had the honor in leading Team Ontario Women’s 1 team as head coach at the 2007 NTCC held in London, ON. He then took the role as an assistant coach with the Men’s Canada Games team during their 2008 training camp in Toronto, ON. Now as head coach of Team Ontario Men’s 19U, Shane is looking forward to preparing his squad for a great showing at the 2009 NTCC held in British Columbia, ON. Having worked along side some great coaches in the past 2 years with both the mens and women's programs, I am very focussed on building a great team that will progress not only during the sumer, but for long term success of the athletes as well as the provincial program. Shane is a certified level 3 coach, sport conditioning coach as well as a personal training specialist. He is currently enrolled at the United States Sports Academy in Alabama (US) to attain his Masters in Coaching and Sports Management.
Chris Galbraith - Boy's Assistant Coach
Chris Galbraith, an NCCP Level 3 volleyball coach, comes to the Provincial team having coached volleyball for over 20 years. After six years coaching at Queen's University (including 2 years as the Women’s varsity head coach) Chris returned to his coaching roots. This past season he has coached three different age groups, including elementary school clinics, U16 Boy's club, and Sr. Boy's high school volleyball. A firm believer in hard work and dedication, Chris says "I am really looking forward to working with this year's Provincial team. For
many of these athletes, these are the most important years in their development. The work that they put in over the summer will determine the future role that they will play with their post- secondary teams, and I am pleased to be able to
help them reach their goals."
Parrish Offer - Boy's Assistant Coach
Parrish is one of the newest members of the Team Ontario coaching staff. He recently finished his first professional season in the Danish Elite Division with Middelfart Volleyball Klub. While competing at a professional level, he also found time to coach two female teams. His success as the head coach of these two teams gained him notice, and several associations across the country invited him to be a guest coach and to run various youth clinics.
Prior to competing internationally. he spent five years with the McMaster Marauders, four of which he was captain and led them to an OUA championship in 2008 when he was also named a OUA First Team All-Star. Parrish's passion and drive for the sport is what makes him an effective coach. He has been given numerous awards for leadership and team play and hopes that he can use these skills to bring the team together in a very short time. Parrish is excited to be training some of the best athletes in the province in their quest for gold. "Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice
makes perfect!"
Michael Wahbi - Boy's Assistant Coach
This is Michael's first year working with the Provincial Team. He is extremely excited to be working alongside some brilliant minds behind the sport. Michael currently serves as an Assistant Coach with the York University Men's Volleyball
Program where he continues to expand his tactical and technical knowledge. Michael has also had the opportunity to work with the Etobicoke WildCats 17U Team as an Assistant Coach. Michael is a secondary school Phys.Ed/Social Science teacher at Bishop Allen Academy (TCDSB). Within his first two years of coaching, his Jr. Boys Team captured the TDCAA title! A huge accomplishment as the Jr.Boys last achieved this in 2001.. Michael is eager to motivate our high performance athletes. Remember: "the game of volleyball can be won or lost in the mind - it's 95% mental."
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Serving it up for Jamaica Former Mac star Offer pursued dual citizenship to play for national team
May 16, 2009
Larry Moko
The Hamilton Spectator
(May 16, 2009)
The volleyball career of McMaster University graduate Parrish Offer has taken him from Kingston, Ont., to Kingston, Jamaica.
The former Marauders captain was scheduled to leave this week for the Jamaican capital, where he'll play for that country's national team.
Offer was born in Kingston, Ontario, 24 years ago. And before beginning his outstanding career with the OUA champion Marauders, he played in Kingston for the provincial AAA high school champion Regiopolis-Notre Dame Panthers.
"My mom, Patricia, was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica," said Offer, earlier this week, in explaining his route to the national-team level.
Offer said that last year he took the advice of McMaster men's volleyball coach Dave Preston, who suggested he pursue dual citizenship. Offer then researched the matter and got in touch with Jamaica Volleyball Association boss, Wayne Robinson.
"I just found out three weeks ago that my citizenship has gone through and that I was eligible to play in the world championship qualifier."
The six countries competing in Group D from May 20-24 at the National Indoor Sports Centre are Jamaica, Mexico, St. Lucia, Haiti, Bahamas and the Cayman Islands.
A potential showdown with Canada could come in later rounds.
The North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confed- eration (NORCECA) is one of five continental confederations with the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB). The next FIVB world championships take place in 2010 in Italy.
"I'm excited to be going," Offer said. "There's a whole side of my family like my grandmother, aunts and uncles, that still lives in Jamaica. They have only seen me play through video or pictures from my mom.
"Most of them live on the other side of the island, but they're going to try and make the trip. It will be special for them that I have a Jamaican flag on my jersey."
Jamaica is ranked No. 66 in the world.
Offer played professionally last season in Denmark. His Elite Division squad was comprised of Danes, three Canadians, a Brazilian and a Norwegian. Their coach was Japanese.
"That was a fantastic experience," he said. "The blocking is bigger and stronger and the serving is tougher, but I adjusted to it."
The former OUA first-team all-star will also serve as an assistant coach of Ontario's under-18 team this summer.
Offer has been joined for recent workouts at the Burridge Gym by Josh Lichty of the Marauders. The St. Catharines native - a former CIS all-rookie team selection - is scheduled to be in Winnipeg June 14 to participate in a three-day Canadian junior national team tryout camp.
The selected players will travel to Pune, India, July 31-Aug. 9, for the world championships.
"There are a few new faces, but I'm hoping they stick with the majority of the squad from last year," said Lichty, who played for the junior national squad, which finished second at the 2008 NORCECA qualifying tournament in El Salvador.
Offer and Lichty were McMaster teammates in 2007-08.
"Josh is a phenomenal athlete," said Offer. "I kind of look up to him, actually. He's the future of McMaster volleyball. And if that's the future, good things are going to happen."
McMaster middle blocker Nathan Groenveld - a former OUA player of the year - also attended the senior national team's recent tryout in Winnipeg. The world championship qualifying tournament will be Aug. 7-12 in Cuba.
Larry Moko
The Hamilton Spectator
(May 16, 2009)
The volleyball career of McMaster University graduate Parrish Offer has taken him from Kingston, Ont., to Kingston, Jamaica.
The former Marauders captain was scheduled to leave this week for the Jamaican capital, where he'll play for that country's national team.
Offer was born in Kingston, Ontario, 24 years ago. And before beginning his outstanding career with the OUA champion Marauders, he played in Kingston for the provincial AAA high school champion Regiopolis-Notre Dame Panthers.
"My mom, Patricia, was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica," said Offer, earlier this week, in explaining his route to the national-team level.
Offer said that last year he took the advice of McMaster men's volleyball coach Dave Preston, who suggested he pursue dual citizenship. Offer then researched the matter and got in touch with Jamaica Volleyball Association boss, Wayne Robinson.
"I just found out three weeks ago that my citizenship has gone through and that I was eligible to play in the world championship qualifier."
The six countries competing in Group D from May 20-24 at the National Indoor Sports Centre are Jamaica, Mexico, St. Lucia, Haiti, Bahamas and the Cayman Islands.
A potential showdown with Canada could come in later rounds.
The North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confed- eration (NORCECA) is one of five continental confederations with the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB). The next FIVB world championships take place in 2010 in Italy.
"I'm excited to be going," Offer said. "There's a whole side of my family like my grandmother, aunts and uncles, that still lives in Jamaica. They have only seen me play through video or pictures from my mom.
"Most of them live on the other side of the island, but they're going to try and make the trip. It will be special for them that I have a Jamaican flag on my jersey."
Jamaica is ranked No. 66 in the world.
Offer played professionally last season in Denmark. His Elite Division squad was comprised of Danes, three Canadians, a Brazilian and a Norwegian. Their coach was Japanese.
"That was a fantastic experience," he said. "The blocking is bigger and stronger and the serving is tougher, but I adjusted to it."
The former OUA first-team all-star will also serve as an assistant coach of Ontario's under-18 team this summer.
Offer has been joined for recent workouts at the Burridge Gym by Josh Lichty of the Marauders. The St. Catharines native - a former CIS all-rookie team selection - is scheduled to be in Winnipeg June 14 to participate in a three-day Canadian junior national team tryout camp.
The selected players will travel to Pune, India, July 31-Aug. 9, for the world championships.
"There are a few new faces, but I'm hoping they stick with the majority of the squad from last year," said Lichty, who played for the junior national squad, which finished second at the 2008 NORCECA qualifying tournament in El Salvador.
Offer and Lichty were McMaster teammates in 2007-08.
"Josh is a phenomenal athlete," said Offer. "I kind of look up to him, actually. He's the future of McMaster volleyball. And if that's the future, good things are going to happen."
McMaster middle blocker Nathan Groenveld - a former OUA player of the year - also attended the senior national team's recent tryout in Winnipeg. The world championship qualifying tournament will be Aug. 7-12 in Cuba.
Update #1
Hi all, I'm here in Jamaica now and have been here since Wednesday. We trained Thursday night for 2 hours and then on Saturday for 5 hours straight!!! We go again today (sunday) for another 5 hours!!! It's quite unusual for me as the longest I've ever trained straight is 2 hours, but down here it seems to be the norm. It's quite tough on the body for me and I cramped up yesterday right at the end of practice from the length of practice combined with the Jamaican heat! But hey, I guess we're training for World Championship Qualifiers and coach wants us in the best shape! at this point I'm used to tapering and trying to get our energy up, but again things are quite different down here.
Yesterday was a pretty successfuly day in terms of teamality as we seemed to unite and come together a bit more. Today, is the last practice before they make the final cuts to get us down to 14 guys for the tournament.
As for the volleyball, the players are quite good and passionate about the sport. We're a good sized team with middles around 6'7 and 6'8, setter and right side at 6'4 and 6'6 and then some 6'4 left sides mixed with some smaller guys that can jump outta the gym (crazy jamaican genes!)
Our offense is a bit slower than i'm used to and i'm just trying to adjust to that right now. That is the part of the game that i'm having the most difficulty with. My passing and defense seem solid and i'm hoping that my connection with setters will come in the next couple of days.
I've gotten interviewed by TV Jamaica a couple times and i'll try and post some links when i can find them
cheers
Yesterday was a pretty successfuly day in terms of teamality as we seemed to unite and come together a bit more. Today, is the last practice before they make the final cuts to get us down to 14 guys for the tournament.
As for the volleyball, the players are quite good and passionate about the sport. We're a good sized team with middles around 6'7 and 6'8, setter and right side at 6'4 and 6'6 and then some 6'4 left sides mixed with some smaller guys that can jump outta the gym (crazy jamaican genes!)
Our offense is a bit slower than i'm used to and i'm just trying to adjust to that right now. That is the part of the game that i'm having the most difficulty with. My passing and defense seem solid and i'm hoping that my connection with setters will come in the next couple of days.
I've gotten interviewed by TV Jamaica a couple times and i'll try and post some links when i can find them
cheers
Friday, May 15, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Jamaica - Team Composition
Team manager SUZETTE BAKER
Head coach DAVID JACK
Assistant coach GATASHEU BONNER
Doctor
Therapist / trainer CHRISTOPHER RICHARDSON
Journalist
Name Lastname Shirt Name Birthdate Height Weight Spike Block Club
Dany Wilson JAMAICA 10/12/1982 200 90 0 0 VIKINGS
MARK LEWIS JAMAICA 20/10/1980 198 86 0 0 Vikings
Donovan Richards JAMAICA 0 0 0 0
Parrish Offer JAMAICA 0 0 0 0
Errol Smith JAMAICA 0 0 0 0 VIKINGS
Namarie Gordon JAMAICA 0 0 0 0 Venus All Stars
Ricardo Chong JAMAICA 0 0 0 0 UWI
Andre McLean JAMAICA 0 0 0 0 UWI
Richard Reynolds JAMAICA 0 0 0 0 UWI
Delford Morgan JAMAICA 0 0 0 0 UWI Club
Dellan Brown JAMAICA 0 0 0 0 Vikings
Conaradio Taylor JAMAICA 0 0 0 0 Vikings
Shavoy Irving JAMAICA 14/03/1988 0 0 0 0 G. C. Foster College
Collin Henry JAMAICA 0 0 0 0 Creole
Robert Andrews JAMAICA 0 0 0 0 G.C. Foster College
Delroy Salmon JAMAICA 0 0 0 0 UWI Club
Omar Fraser JAMAICA 0 0 0 0 UWI Club
C=Captain L=Libero
Staying up to date!
A few people have asked me where they can follow along with my volleyball down in Jamaica. I've found this website that has alot of good information. I'll also be trying to keep my blog up to date barring I have internet all the time.
I leave tomorrow for Jamaica, and I'm getting quite excited!
http://www.norceca.org/TEAMS-%202009%20WCQT-MEN-Kingston,%20Jamaica.htm
I leave tomorrow for Jamaica, and I'm getting quite excited!
http://www.norceca.org/TEAMS-%202009%20WCQT-MEN-Kingston,%20Jamaica.htm
Friday, May 8, 2009
Former Regi star takes his talents to Jamaican team
from the Kingston Whig Standard
http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1558782
VOLLEYBALL: Parrish Offer, fresh off his first season as a pro player in Denmark, will play at world championship qualifier
Posted By MIKE KOREEN
For Parrish Offer, it was pretty much a no-brainer.
When the Regiopolis-Notre Dame graduate was told there was a chance he could represent Jamaica in international volleyball competition, the local lad might as well have said, 'Ya, mon' on the spot.
The well-spoken, Oshawaborn, Kingston-raised young fellow, who just returned from his first professional season in Denmark, recently received his Jamaican citizenship (his mother, Pat, was born in the Caribbean country).
Next week, Offer, 24, is off to the other Kingston -- in Jamaica -- to play for the country in a world championship qualifying tournament, where many family members will see the McMaster University product bumping, setting and spiking for the first time.
"The thing I'm happiest about is a whole side of family gets to see me play," Offer said yesterday during a quick trip back to his old stomping ground -- the Regi gym.
"They've only seen pictures and videos. Just the opportunity for them to see me play is really special. Having a Jamaican flag on my chest makes it all that much better (for them)."
While the proud Canadian would love to represent Canada one day, Offer admits he's not under serious consideration to play on this country's national team.
Canada is ranked 21st in the world, while Jamaica is 66th.
"I know my limitations," Offer said. "I'm not at that level (of the Canadian team), I know where I am. This is a good way for me to go get some good international experience. Plus, I get to go to Jamaica for free."
Just before he left for Denmark in September, Dave Preston, Offer's coach at McMaster University in Hamilton, told him about a former player of his who played internationally in the Caribbean because of family ties and suggested he look into the possibility.
So Offer contacted the Jamaican Volleyball Association, who didn't take long to warm up to the Canadian after examining his resume.
Offer completed his requirements for citizenship while in Denmark and finally got the green light to come down less than two weeks ago.
Offer is travelling with his girlfriend and will receive free airfare, accommodation and food.
"I'm going in completely not knowing (what to expect in terms of competition)," Offer said of a six-country competition that includes the Cayman Islands, Haiti and Mexico, St. Lucia and the Bahamas.
The top two teams advance to the next round of world championship qualifying in Cuba later this summer.
"I'm expecting to contribute very well," Offer said. "I was just want to give them a little bit of international experience, playing at a high level."
That experience came in the top league in Denmark this past season, playing for Middelfart. The team, which advanced to league semifinal play, featured two other Canadians, a Brazilian, a Norwegian and a Japanese coach.
"We had all the continents covered," Offer said with a smile. "We communicated in English, but there was a little bit of broken English here and there."
Offer, who also coached a couple of girls teams for the club while he was in Denmark, has a contract offer to return next season, though he's exploring the market before marking a final decision.
Offer enjoyed his time in Denmark -- crowds were usually in the hundreds -- and also travelled to the Netherlands and Spain.
"It was a really good learning experience," he said. "It took me a little while to adjust. The game is a little bigger and a little faster (than the university game in Canada).
"It was a great place to get started."
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