Preliminary reports are coming in that the inaugural Caribbean Games in Trinidad and Tobago are going to have to be postponed due to S1N1 (Swine Flu). A meeting is taking place on Monday, June 22nd to try and find and alternative date. This article talks about the number of TT volleyball players that have come in contact with the virus.
TT’s Influenza A/H1N1 cases jump to 18
By LARA PICKFORD-GORDON Thursday, June 18 2009
After reporting that TT had seven confirmed Influenza A/H1N1 cases on Tuesday, the Health Ministry yesterday reported that the figure has jumped to 18.
This means that TT has the most cases for a Caribbean country while Cuba, Barbados, Bahamas, Dominica has recorded single-digit figures, and the Dominican Republic, one death.
The World Health Organisation reported that 76 countries had 35, 928 cases of influenza A (H1N1) infection, including 163 deaths. The Ministry said this was an increase from June 12 when 29,669 cases were reported in 74 countries.
According to a release from the Health Ministry yesterday there are 11 confirmed H1N1 cases in Tobago and seven in TT. It stated, “the most recent cases have been discovered as part of the Ministry’s surveillance procedures and epidemiological controls.”
The Ministry said consistent with protocol the persons infected have been placed in isolation and were being treated. “All patients are doing well,” it said. Newsday learnt that investigations were being conducted into the cause of the increase in Tobago.
Meantime, the Health Ministry has been informed by the health authorities of the US Virgin Islands that no volleyball players from their national team who were in Trinidad and Tobago recently have tested positive for the H1N1 virus. This follows positive tests for one member of the TT volleyball team and 11 members of the Suriname team who participated in the international volleyball tournament held from May 31 to June 6.
The Ministry said it has “ramped up activities in relation to the H1N1 prevention, management and control and is committed to informing the public of all new developments”. Attempts to get additional information regarding the increase in cases in Tobago proved futile. County Medical Officer of Health, Dr Mentor Melville, has been directed to refrain from commenting in the media. Newsday was told that all enquiries are referred to the Chief Medical Officer of the Ministry of Health. When Dr Cumberbatch’s office was contacted, Newsday was asked to “direct all enquiries to the Communications Unit”.
“We are conducting surveillance and asking the public to continue using hygiene practices to prevent the spread of the influenza A/H1N1,” said Kevin Garcia Communications Consultant of the Health Ministry in response to a question about the jump in cases in Tobago.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Caribbean Games 2009
The 2009 Caribbean Games are fast approaching and I will be traveling to Trinidad & Tobago to compete with the team. The games run from July 13th to the 19th and have 28 countries competing in various sports. The Central American and Caribbean Games are the oldest continuing regional games. Only the Olympic Games have a longer continuous history. Mexico, Cuba and Guatemala were the three only countries present at the first games, which were then called the Central American Games.
This will be another good test for us as we will play powerhouses Cuba and Mexico in competition as well as get another chance at the Bahamas who knocked us out of World championships.
The games website is http://www.caribbeangames2009.com/ and will have live video during the games.
Friday, June 5, 2009
A New Era begins...
This is my formal announcement that I will not be returning to Denmark next year to play for Middelfart VK. I am currently in a transition phase in my life right now. Having played professional for a year, I understand a new style of game; a different type of practice; and a different way of life. Just recently upon traveling to Jamaica, I again was introduced to a new style, type of practice and way of life! At this point I need to explain something: this Jamaican team is very very skilled. We have pretty controlled passing, excellent attacking and at times we are an effective blocking team. The missing piece right now is our offensive sets. We get great passes but continue to run high outside sets. As an outside hitter, I can say with full confidence that the Jamaican team does not really need me to hit the ball. They have guys who can do that already. With that in mind, I have decided with the support of the Jamaican management and head coach, to transition into a setter. I really believe that this Jamaican team can be successful and I also believe that I can be an accurate and effective setter. I understand that I have hours and hours of work to do in the gym to get the repetitions that I need to set at the international level, but I am willing to dedicate myself to getting those reps and becoming a top level setter.
Some who are reading this may question my ability or reasons for doing this. Keep in mind that I am only 24 which may seem old to some and young to others, but the top age for volleyball is 28 because you're still in strong physical shape but you have a greater understanding for the game. And that is exactly what I want to increase by taking on this new roll; I want my understanding of that position and thus the entire game to increase. I've got some great coaches surrounding me to help me with my quest, but if there are any setters out there feel free to post me some suggestions or things that you have found particularly difficult in your struggle!
I will continue to update my blog regularly on my pursuit to be an effective setter. For those of you in Denmark and especially my girls teams that I was coaching, it has been a difficult decision for me to make, but I wish you all the best and hope that you will remain in contact with me!
Some who are reading this may question my ability or reasons for doing this. Keep in mind that I am only 24 which may seem old to some and young to others, but the top age for volleyball is 28 because you're still in strong physical shape but you have a greater understanding for the game. And that is exactly what I want to increase by taking on this new roll; I want my understanding of that position and thus the entire game to increase. I've got some great coaches surrounding me to help me with my quest, but if there are any setters out there feel free to post me some suggestions or things that you have found particularly difficult in your struggle!
I will continue to update my blog regularly on my pursuit to be an effective setter. For those of you in Denmark and especially my girls teams that I was coaching, it has been a difficult decision for me to make, but I wish you all the best and hope that you will remain in contact with me!
Monday, May 25, 2009
Bahamas upsets Jamaica and joins Mexico in third round
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.
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.
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)