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

Jamaica Volleyball Ad

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

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."

Summer has arrived

Hi all, we've finished our season and playoffs now. Although the playoffs didn't quite go the way we wanted (we finished 4th), it was still a pretty successful season which brought our team together. I'm going on vacation now to Amsterdam, Spain, and Morocco for a couple weeks before returning to Canada on April 28th.
See everyone soon in Canada!

Playoffs have arrived!

Quick playoff update. We won our first match against Marienlyst 3-1 at home and lost tonite 3-0 at their place. We play Sunday in the final match of the best two out of three in Odense. I'll write more on the series after that match

http://www.tv2fyn.dk/video/20735

tv video