High school coaches Adrian Ramdeen (Oracabessa) and Damion Gooden (Camperdown) will both represent Jamaica at a one-week seminar for mid-court players in St Lucia, beginning this weekend.

Ramdeen led Oracabessa to repeated successes in the Under-15 category of the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association volleyball competition, while Damion Gooden led Camperdown's female Under-18 team to a third-place finish.

The trip is being made possible as a result of two scholarships from the North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA).

"I am very passionate about volleyball and am really happy to know that I am one of the chosen coaches to be given this opportunity to improve my technical knowledge about how to coach middle hitters," said Ramdeen.

Gooden said he too was looking forward to the learning exercise.

"Oftentimes we do not appreciate the significant difference in knowledge base that is required to coach the various specialist positions in volleyball," he said.

"I'm eager to acquire additional knowledge so that I may further contribute to the development of volleyball in Jamaica."

scholarship challenges

Meanwhile, Major Warrenton Dixon, president of the Jamaica Volleyball Association (JaVA) and second vice-president of the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association, explained that there were challenges in securing the scholarships.

"NORCECA was insisting that only coaches who were already FIVB certified would be eligible to receive the scholarships," he said.

"However, I pointed out to the Confederation president that Mr Ramdeen and Mr Gooden, as well as other coaches from the region, may not be FIVB certified, but they are always available to help with the work of volleyball, which is what was important."

Dixon, in continuing, also explained that Ramdeen, in particular, was very instrumental in the execution of the JaVA primary schools competition, a tournament he believes will form the foundation for Jamaica's future in the sport.